A relative newcomer to the cycling scene, Litespeed turned out its first bike in 1986 and is based in Tennessee in the US.

The major point of difference between Litespeed and other bike manufacturers is that the company exclusively produces titanium bikes.

Although Litespeed experimented with carbon fibre and aluminium models between 2002 and 2006, it has returned to exclusively building titanium models in the past few years.

The bike ridden by Lance Armstrong in his 1999 Tour de France win was in fact a Litespeed Blade model sporting Trek labels.

The company has an interesting relationship with NASA, and helps the space agency with projects that require titanium-intensive assembly.

Heading the current Litespeed range is the Archon model, a racing bike that relies on a traditional threadless headset and has a terrific power transfer.