Litespeed Watia
 

I am considering getting a Litespeed Watia gravel bike. Does anyone have first-hand experience that you can share? Both the bike and/or the ordering process.

I'm a little concerned about toe overlap (which is the primary complaint from the cyclingtips review), which I'd like to avoid for dirt riding. I'll probably be looking at the M/L size.

I'm inclined to get it with GRX 2x mechanical drivetrain. Would I regret not getting Di2 or etap? I prefer not dealing with more batteries/charging, but I am curious about the performance and comfort aspect of electronic shifting.

I cannot attest to the experience first hand, but I have (3) close riding friends that recently purchased Litespeeds within the past ~12 months, and a 4th has an order in queue presently. The most recent one was delivered just last week.

Each has a different model...Ultimate, Watia, and a Cherohala and loves it (well, technically TBD on the Cherohala...he's not built it yet, but it looks awesome). In all cases, the delivery was on time and drama-free.

Re Di2 vs mechanical: I have GRX Di2 and it's the sort of thing you don't know what you're missing til you have it (IMO). The shifting is just much crisper, more precise, and easier. The cable management/charging worry was a philosophical issue for me as well before I took the plunge, but a Di2 charge last a looooong time. If you ride the bike for 90mins or so say 4-6 times per week (fairly routine for me) you'll easily go a month between charges. And if you use a BT enabled GPS device and wire in a BT module for Di2, you can get a battery meter readout on your GPS.

What fork did you go with? The Litespeed carbon or aftermarket?

No firsthand experience on the Watia as I went with the Cherohala instead. Very happy with the bike, it’s been great for everything from light “credit card” touring to weekly shop rides. I can say the ordering process was great. Pre-sales support was excellent as I had a number of questions to sort out. And the bike arrived exactly on time, which was quite a feat during the peak of the Covid component shortages. I went with Ultegra Di2 and couldn’t be happier. Even post-sales questions are answered quickly and expertly.

I have toe overlap on several of my bikes and it's a non-issue. You never turn the wheel far enough during normal riding for it to happen. It's only during tight u-turns or similar that it can happen.

Now that GRX is available in mechanical 12-speed, that would be a good option. I have Force AXS 2x and it's great, but robot shifting is well into nice-to-have zone, not remotely must-have for me.

If you are looking used, there is one on Facebook Marketplace in a place just north of Toronto. You could ask him if he had toe overlap.

Litespeed Watia with Ekar. $6,000 CAD which is approximately $4,387 US dollars.

Litespeed Watia

Sweet deal...but wrong size for me. I just ordered a Watia in small.

I ride really large frames and toe overlap is never an issue, but based on what I see from friends and family with smaller frames, it just isnt an issue for them either...like ever.
I can think of 1 time in an uncountable number of rides and miles with others where toe overlap was an issue- my brother in law and I were on a 4 day trip and he was getting on his bike so we could continue during the middle of the day's ride- he started riding, realized he had to turn around, and tried to turn really sharply while moving slowly. He fell, it was funny.

...but thats it.

On a gravel bike, I have to imagine you would lose traction before toe overlap is an issue when you are riding fast and making turns. A turn that sharp would have to make you fall from sliding out, right?

my dad purchased a Cherohalia (sp?) a year or two ago and I helped him build it up. I couldn't get the HS installed and finally figured out that the internally routed brake line through HT was in the way. He wrote to LS and they had a company come out, pick up his bike, drive it back to LS, fixed the issue and rebuilt his bike and drove it back to him. Beyond this, he's been thrilled with the bike and having owned a number of topshelf Ti bikes myself and building his up, I'd have no concerns whatsoever about buying from them. Their customer service seems to be really good as well as evidenced by my dad's story. The toe lap thing to me wouldn't be a huge concern. How many situations are you going to be riding in where this would be an issue?

The only time I might be concerned with toe overlap would be if I was racing a tight cross course.. still not sure it would be a big enough issue to worry about though.. I mean maybe on a super tight trail? But the few times I have caught a toe (I usually ride 54s, so have had plenty of bikes where this could have been a possibility) was only enough to have to put a foot down, not ever close enough to cause a wreck..

I have a Litespeed Gravel which was the predecessor to the Watia. I believe the geometry is nearly identical. I have a size large with the T47 bottom bracket and GRX drivetrain. No problems at all with toe overlap running tires up to 44mm. I've had it for 3 years and ride it regularly on gravel and pavement. It's a solid bike and I have no complaints.

The mech/internally routed Watia has a couple of Ti brazed standoffs below the left rear chainstay. Looks like you place the rear brake hose on those standoffs and attach them with zipties.

Is this correct? I would have thought that the hose attachment would be more, um, sophisticated.

Thanks!

It is internally routed thru the downtube at a port near the head tube and then it exits by the bottom bracket and runs under the NDS chainstay.

If sophisticated = less exposed hose, then yes it it not as sophisticated as some other bikes.


https://roadbikeaction.com/wp-conten..._e-750x430.jpg
...guessing you would hate to see my Fairlight Secan with fully external cable and hose routing. I dont really view my bike or the Watia as sophisticated or unsophisticated due to cable and hose routing though.

Thanks...my specific question is about this boss on the bottom of the chain stay where the brake hose is externally routed just before the caliper.

Do I really just use a ziptie?

Yeah, zipties are best. There are these little plastic C shaped clamps that can clip onto the guides, but they are not robust and easily unclip.
A small thin ziptie with the little head part on the inside of the chainstay closest to the wheel is all thats needed. Attaching that way keeps it a bit tidier looking.

If you want to get wild- use zip ties that match the main or secondary color of the frame.