I was first intrigued by the Litespeed Cohutta during our coverage of Interbike last year. The finish and welds on the bike are beautiful and the geometry and tube shapes are definitely eye catching. Even better, they make a 29er that comes in a size small.
Digging a bit deeper, I found out that the Cohutta (named after an endurance MTB race in the wilderness area of the same name in Tennessee – home state of Litespeed) features 29er specific Ti tubing. According to Litespeed, it is the industry’s first-ever 29er specific Ti tubing.
Beyond the 3/2.5 titanium tubes, the Cohutta features what Litespeed calls their “4nine technology” to allow riders to tune the bike to their likes dependent upon their fork selection and headset choice. This particular test model came with the Cane Creek AngleSet for even more customization for each rider. The frame also has a BB30 bottom bracket and a super duty 49mm head tube (for use with tapered steer forks). The bend in the down tube is to provide clearance for the adjuster knobs on forks.
The Litespeed Cohutta is handcrafted in their US headquarters in Chattanooga, TN. Litespeed has been making bicycles right here in the US for 26 years and specializes in titanium and carbon road and mountain bikes and they have even used their expertise in titanium with NASA projects.
Nice bike indeed. Don’t like how the geometry looks like a Rockhopper. The way the top rear triangle connects to the seat tube and how it’s higher than where the top tube connects is not very appealing.
Awesome bike, I have one!