When we tested Litespeed’s other carbon race bike, the L-Series (RBA, July 2013), we were pleased with its hearty amount of stiffness, but found it lacked the aggressive handling characteristics and light steering feel we’ve come to expect from high-end race bikes. The C1R, on the other hand, serves up a delightfully agile front end that our test riders enjoyed and found inspired confidence within tight, technical situations, like criterium racing. Overall, we felt the C1R to be less stiff than the L-Series, but that’s equivalent to saying, ‘I’ll have a double cheeseburger, large order of fries and a diet soda.’ In the end, those extra calories in the regular soda won’t make too much of a difference, much like the extra stiffness in the L-Series won’t make much difference to the average rider’s experience.