Long time lurker, first time poster
Let me introduce myself.
I delved into the world of lightweight racing bikes way back in 1973, with the purchase of an Atala Competizione. At the age of 18, it was my first experience with tubulars and a double-butted Reynolds 531 frame. It had decent handling, and was my main ride until about a year ago. In other words, I was a Luddite when it came to bike technology. My brother bought a 16.5 pound carbon bike about two years ago, whereupon a test ride was all I needed to convince me it was time to 'bone up' on some of the later technology.
Bikes sure have changed in the last decade, never mind the 40 years that elapsed since my Atala was made.
I had a few goals in mind with this build, starting with the wheels, which I deem critical when it comes to weight. Over the years, I have built many 'old school' steel bikes, in many cases where I would build up the wheels from spare parts. I knew that I could save some money by building my own wheels, so I researched the options there.
After searching the Net (including this site and Ebay), I found that there are many lightweight hubs on the market, some of which are pretty reasonably priced. I settled on Circus Monkey hubs, which are made in Taiwan and sold direct through Ebay.
I also discovered DT Swiss Revolution spokes, which are a cost-effective way to reduce wheel weight. Aluminum spoke nipples were actually around in the 1970's, and were a no-brainer for this build.
I have lived with tubulars over the last 40 years, and though clinchers are much lighter these days, I decided to stick with them. I found that Ebay is full of 1980's era NOS tubular rims for cheap. Many of these have a semi-aero shape, and are anodized gray or black.
Besides my $1500 budget (yes, I know now it was unreasonable), my goal was a sub-14-pound bike that featured aluminum rims, seatpost, handlebars, and stem. Although carbon fiber is certainly viable for those parts, it does drive the price up, and failure can be both catastrophic and painful. In addition, I live in an area that is quite hilly, and aero characteristics are not one of my major concerns.
I looked at a lot of cheap carbon frames (including the ones sold direct from China), and I was very close to buying one when a Scott Addict R1 frame and fork came along for $400. It had a hairline crack in the left seat stay, but it looked like a simple repair. I took a chance on it, and the repair went well, using the tape wrap technique. The repair is about 5" long, and it did away with some of the lettering, but I think the visual impact was minor.
Before:
After:
Of course, one of the prerequisites of a true Weight Weenie is a digital scale, and I have made good use of my 10 pound USPS postal scale, as well as adding a 20 kg model for weighing complete bikes.
The parts I chose were a compromise between cost, utility, and weight savings. Brake calipers were an example where I chose to go retro. I have had excellent service from Weinmann 500's on my Atala, so I chose the 1980's Dia-Compe 400's, deleting the tire guides to save a few grams. They are only 246 grams per pair, including the quick release.
Ultegra drivetrain components seemed a good choice, though the shifter/brake levers are heavy and expensive. Microshift are both lighter and cheaper, but it remains to be seen whether they hold up. I chose the 6601-G crankset over the 6700 for two reasons....it was cheaper and I thought it looked better (more retro). The weight penalty was only a few grams.
Most of the parts are new, NOS, or new take-offs, with the exception of the pedals, the seat post, the saddle, and the bottle cage.
Here is the complete list, weighed on my scale:
Frame, 54cm, w/derailleur hanger 815g, 820g after crack repair
Fork 306g
Headset, including Scott carbon 20mm spacer 66g
Seatpost clamp 14g
BB shift cable guide 7g
Crank: Shimano 6601-G Ultegra SL 53/39 716g
Bottom Bracket: Shimano Ultegra 6700 threaded 90g
Rear Derailleur: Shimano Ultegra 6700 SS 194g
Front Derailleur: Shimano Ultegra 6700 84g
Shift/brake levers: Nashbar Microshift 10-Speed 398g
Cables: Microshift 152g
Brake calipers: Dia-Compe 400, w/ QR 246g
Chain: SRAM PC 1091, cut to length 243g
Cassette: Shimano Ultegra CS-6700 11-28 238g
Handlebars: 40cm Ritchey WCS Aluminum Road 234g
Handlebar tape, plugs: Lizard Skins 60g
Stem: 90mm FSA OS99 118g
GT/Origin8 expander/ top cap (modified) 20g
Headset spacers 5mm + 15mm, carbon 11g
Seatpost: Shimano PRO Vibe 7S 280mm (aluminum) 219g
Saddle: Specialized Toupe TI 143 166g
Wheels: 1169g total (495 front, 674 rear)
.............Circus Monkey hubs (262g)
.............Saavedra Turbo 28H front rim (273g),
.............Trek Matrix 32H rear rim (309g)
.............60- DT Swiss Revolution spokes (291g)
.............60- Alloy nipples (19g)
.............60- rim washers (15g)
Tires: Tufo S3 Lite Tubular 700x21 423g
Rim glue 14g
Skewers: Nashbar cro-mo bolt-on skewers 65g
Bottle cage: Profile Design carbon 16g
Bottle cage bolts: TruckerCo titanium 2g
Pedals: Time RXS Ti 184g (not pictured)
Total = 6275g (13.83 lbs)
Prices, including shipping:
Frame, Fork, headset, seat post clamp Ebay $440.00
Crank Shimano 6601-G Ultegra SL 53/39 crankset 130mm BCD Ebay $99.76
Bottom Bracket Shimano Ultegra 6700 Nashbar $23.99
Rear Derailleur: Shimano Ultegra 6700 SS (new take-off) Ebay $61.00
Front Derailleur Shimano Ultegra 6700 (new take-off) Ebay $38.07
Shift/brake levers, cables: Nashbar Microshift 10-Speed $152.98
BB shift cable guide, Scott Addict (LBS) $10.98
Brake calipers: Dia-Compe 400 (NOS) Ebay $43.65
Chain: Shimano 105 CN-5701 10-Speed Chain Ebay (RMC) $15.00
Cassette: Shimano Ultegra CS-6700 11-28 Ebay $61.35
Handlebars: 40cm Ritchey WCS Aluminum Road Ebay $36.24
Handlebar tape + plugs:: Lizard Skins Ebay $25.85
Stem: 90mm FSA OS99 3k Carbon Fiber Road Bike Stem 31.8 Ebay $73.22
GT/Origin8 expander/ top cap (modified) Ebay (cap + bolt) $9.49
Headset spacers 5mm + 15mm, carbon Ebay $13.99
Seatpost: Shimano PRO Vibe 7S 280mm (used) Ebay $15.00
Saddle: Specialized Toupe TI 143 (used) Ebay $81.00
Wheels: Total = $314.95
.............Circus Monkey hubs ($140.75)
.............Saavedra Turbo 28H front rim ($34.17)
.............Trek Matrix 32H rear rim ($40.00)
.............DT Swiss Revolution spokes, alloy nipples ($99.93)
Tires: Tufo S3 Lite Tubular 700x21 (Bike Tires Direct) $95.39, w/ discount
Skewers: Nashbar Bolt-on skewers $10.99
Pedals: Time RXS Ti (used) Ebay $49.00
Bottle cage: Profile Design carbon (used) Ebay $22.49
Bottle cage bolts: TruckerCo titanium Ebay $4.33
Grand total = $1698.72
Considering that the original bike was about $7K in 2008, and weighed 6.5 KG, I think I did quite well.
Alternate wheels:
Hubs: Circus Monkey 69g front 24H, 196g rear 32H 265g total $140.75
Rims: Performance Aero Gray 19T 24/28 hole 688g/pr $68.32
Spokes: 52 DT Revolution 252g
Nipples: 52 Alloy Wheelbuilder 16g $95.76 (spokes, nipples, shipping)
Total = 1221g $304.83
These were a bit cheaper (less spokes), and the heavier rims may be more durable, but they do weigh 52 grams more.
