2004 Litespeed Blade or Q-Roo Tiphoon
Lets hear some comments comparing both of these bikes.
You can’t go wrong either way. Personally I have a Tiphoon and love it. Main difference besides the top tube are the seat tube and head tube angles. QR’s angles a little more slack (76.5 and 72.5) versus Litespeed’s which are a little steeper (78 and 73-73.5). Angles are from the 700C wheel versions. Both use 6/4 and 3/2.5 ti tubing. Both have rear facing drop outs to snug the rear wheel close to the frame cut-out. And if memory serves me correctly they are spec’d very similarly with the exception of the wheels. Again, you can’t go wrong either way.
I would have to look at the geometry charts again but I recall these are very, very different bikes (which is why the same company offers both bikes). The liklihood is that if one is idea for you the other may not be.
I would suggest that they are not comparable- One favors the longer torso, heavier rider and the other (if my recollection of geometries is correct) a somewhat lighter rider with a shorter torso.
This should be an easy question to answer with a tape measure… Buy the one that fits the best.
Tom is absolutely correct. I went back and rechecked the geometries and the Blade’s top-tube is substantially longer than the Tiphoon’s (comparing like sizes).