GoldKnight's Parlee Z1SL - AX Lightness Premium UPDATE

[range]

wow. kind of speechless right now.

[istepinyards]

I just messed myself

[HammerTime2]

4444 grams (9.77lbs)

Nice, light bike. But that's kind of cheating with only a single bottle cage.

[Gold Knight]

yeah--but i left on the thm preload cap and bolt, the fibre-lyte top cap/aluminum bolt and extralite ultrastar expander!

Hammer--if you look at the frame again i cannot put on a second cage (I told Parlee NOT to drill for a second wtaer bottle mount). unless i put on steel clamps!

[jz4nyc]

i think i've eaten heavier burritos!

wow--what a build. amazing to think this kind of thing is even possible.

congrats.

[$mokeyJoe]

Hey Goldknight,

May i ask what the purpose is with this bike? Climbing bike? Daily rides? Show?
I'm just wondering because i think that it's possible to make a 5kg daily rider but this one is still 600g's below.

I also have the AX bottle cages but they don't hold my (750ml) bottles very well. The roads aren't that flat over here.

On the other side...that bike is pure porn for me!

Cheers

[gandini]

If you have enough money to throw at it, a 5Kg bike is easy to make. But for me, there are few compromises that must be made:
+ you might have to accept handlebars and stem that you don't like -- although lots of people with 5K bikes seem happy to run TLO bars and superlight stems (I tried, and I can't). But there's a lot of weight to save in this area.
+ I don't personally think sub-200g tires belong on a "daily rider" and superlight tires are clearly an area where people lose a lot of weight for the "weigh-in."
+ there's nothing that can be done about large frames verses small frames. A small frame is just gonna be lighter because there's less stuff in it.
+ you can save lots in wheels, but again the trade off makes it a difficult choice. I run ultralight wheels, but one day I'm going to get a set of AX aeros and gain 250g because as Jason says: light is not necessarily fast.

Also, don't be hard on someone who runs one bottle cage--I rode the Tour de Tucson (108mi) with only one cage and never got low on liquids.

[Raxel]

WW candidate for 2010. Just everything is top notch.

Some suggestions to make it sub 4:

-Lighter frame: Rue UL will shave 200gr
-Powercordz: will shave 40gr
-Lighter tires: Tufo 110 will shave 180gr
-Carbon rings: Fiber lite rings will shave 30gr
-Full ceramic BB bearings: will shave ~20gr
-Lighter pedals: aerolite ti will shave ~60gr
-Lighter skewers: Tune skyline will shave ~15gr

It's now 3.9. with another 100gr shaving you may keep the frame and make it sub 4...

[Gold Knight]

SmokeyJoe--it is an everyday bike as my wife finally and successfully limited me with only one frameset and 2 pairs of wheels--so i guess you can say i have put all my eggs in one basket! I can upgrade and then sell things for compensation. I use small bottles and bottle ejection has never been a problem.


gandini--Jason always told me that lighter WAS faster --or maybe i got confused! anyway i started the WW in me in the 1980's so i have never changed (except no more drilling/sanding/reaming/taking bearings and grease out/ skipping spoke holes/ect..)

Raxel--
Frame has already been addressed but will be ready by next year!
no on powercordz--i have tried a few times and decided i hate them enough not to use them ever again--so who wants them for free--probably 2 pr brake/shifter (2 bucks shipping)!--SOLD
tires--i really train on Veloflex carbons (LWVentoux) and use the Tufo 195's(AX24's) on climbing days
chainrings--i have them on the bike now from fybrelyte
pedals/skeewers/bearings-no. at least not on a daily ride bike


thanks for the ideas and questions. can't wait for the AX crank and BTP front derailleur!

[$mokeyJoe]

If you have enough money to throw at it, a 5Kg bike is easy to make. But for me, there are few compromises that must be made:
+ you might have to accept handlebars and stem that you don't like -- although lots of people with 5K bikes seem happy to run TLO bars and superlight stems (I tried, and I can't). But there's a lot of weight to save in this area.
+ I don't personally think sub-200g tires belong on a "daily rider" and superlight tires are clearly an area where people lose a lot of weight for the "weigh-in."
+ there's nothing that can be done about large frames verses small frames. A small frame is just gonna be lighter because there's less stuff in it.
+ you can save lots in wheels, but again the trade off makes it a difficult choice. I run ultralight wheels, but one day I'm going to get a set of AX aeros and gain 250g because as Jason says: light is not necessarily fast.

Also, don't be hard on someone who runs one bottle cage--I rode the Tour de Tucson (108mi) with only one cage and never got low on liquids.

About TLO bars and UL stems i only can confirm that i like them. I've a set F99/Schmolke SL on the Litespeed, a set F119/Schmolke SL Oversized on the BMC and a set Extralite UL3/Schmolke TLO on the Merida. So you can guess what my next handlebar will be! lol

And about the wheels i think my next pair will be some light tube wheels.Range <1000g as i run clinchers on all my bikes(1200g the lightest ones) But i won't chose some low profile rims because here we have lots of flat roads and don't need to have low profilers.

it is an everyday bike as my wife finally and successfully limited me with only one frameset and 2 pairs of wheels--so i guess you can say i have put all my eggs in one basket! I can upgrade and then sell things for compensation. I use small bottles and bottle ejection has never been a problem.

Thanks for the comment GK. I can comprehend your wife...lil bit...lol...Great bike anyway! Have a lot of fun with it but i don't think i need to say that. Looking forward for the further updates.

[gandini]

...gandini--Jason always told me that lighter WAS faster --or maybe i got confused! anyway i started the WW in me in the 1980's so i have never changed (except no more drilling/sanding/reaming/taking bearings and grease out/ skipping spoke holes/etc..)...

Well, as you know, Jason offers advice freely when asked for it, and he was happy to build my 780g wheelset for me, but I get the impression he personally prefers a sturdier, more aero build that might come in around 950-1000g. Unfortunately I was a little too late to get a set of AX rims before the policy change--so I will prolly just wait a year or two and see what new goodies come out.

[gandini]

Just an update: inspired by Gold Knight's Premium build, I have managed to get some SRT42 wheels that weigh in at 920g -- very impressive, and the new Premium saddle and post, with a combined weight of 142g (pretty amazing).
There's no doubt that this premium stuff is pretty darn premium, in many ways.
Now all we need is a new AX Lightness frame...

[Discoverspeed]

Beautiful Goldknight

My setup is almost similar to yours apart from the frame (a Storck 0.7IS) and I am on Di2 groupset. I did this to see if I can still get a reasonable WW @ sub 5kg with electronic shifting. The challenge in this was to make sure the chainrings were stiff enough for Di2. Other than that, it was pretty smooth sailing for me converting from my previous SRAM RED setup (@circa 4.5kg) to Di2 (@circa 4.8kg). The ride now is wonderful but I gained a few hundred grammes.

I concur with your assessments on the Powercodz that I used to run for earlier iterations of my bike - I wouldn't use them again if I can help it as brake modulation deproved. The THM Stiletto Light: UMS fork is wonderful - amazingly stiff for its weight. TLO's are great - a bit of "traditional feel" back to a road bike. I will try their new slight ergo shape for a new build - slight weight penalty but ergocomfort.

I wouldn't touch Tufo 110g as suggested by a fellow WW (sorry - no offence) as they are meant for track. I have gotten flak for using the <160g Tufos but apart from grip and comfort, I have no complaints on its durability nor even rolling resistance at the manufacturer's recommended low end pressure range of 145 psi. I find that this is the minimum pressure to make the Tufo <160g run satisfactory. Maybe unthinkable for lots of folks but hey, that is the manufacturer's recommendation and I had no problems for close to 3 years. This is the main component that I have difficulty "trading out" as the weight penalty is heavy for a sub-5kg WW build and in the dry conditions that I normally ride, the new Veloflex Extreme 350 TPI that I am trying out now are comfortable and touch grippier but does not offer significant speed nor safety advantages. So I do have a problem convincing myself to trade out the Tufo for the Veloflex. Having said this, I will continue to find some other tires that offer a better rolling resistance, grip, comfort and weight balance. The two tires mentioned are just at opposite ends of the spectrum that I am considering. Hope to get something in between.

The other uberlight component that is worth considering is the wheelset - I have tried many wheelsets (the "infamous" LEW Pro-VT1, Tune K.O.M. Skyline etc - the sub 900g's) and all of them were too soft (I weigh about 73kg). The one wheelset that I am impressed with so far is the 780g Edge 1.25/Extralight hubs/CX spokes comb sold by Extralight - the Hyperclimbs. It is both stiff and light. A worthwhile consideration to try.

Like you I am awaiting anxiously for the AX treasures - especially the Alpha frame and Morphius crank to build another project that I can use as a "daily ride" if I choose to. I am also aware of another unannounced (non-custom) sub 700g WW frame that should be launched at Interbike (no - not Project California) that will be super interesting. I will wait for independent test reports on durability, STW ratios etc before moving in. 2011 looks like an interesting year. It had been a 3 years' wait for me since my current build and I am hungry.

[djconnel]

If you have enough money to throw at it, a 5Kg bike is easy to make. But for me, there are few compromises that must be made:
+ you might have to accept handlebars and stem that you don't like -- although lots of people with 5K bikes seem happy to run TLO bars and superlight stems (I tried, and I can't). But there's a lot of weight to save in this area.
+ I don't personally think sub-200g tires belong on a "daily rider" and superlight tires are clearly an area where people lose a lot of weight for the "weigh-in."
+ there's nothing that can be done about large frames verses small frames. A small frame is just gonna be lighter because there's less stuff in it.
+ you can save lots in wheels, but again the trade off makes it a difficult choice. I run ultralight wheels, but one day I'm going to get a set of AX aeros and gain 250g because as Jason says: light is not necessarily fast.

Also, don't be hard on someone who runs one bottle cage--I rode the Tour de Tucson (108mi) with only one cage and never got low on liquids.

Why would you ride Tour of Tuscon on a weenied-out bike?

I think one water bottle is appropriate: that's what I'd use in extended hillclimb time trials, where weight is most important.

Same deal with ultra-light tires: rolling resistance is the key issue on tires, but nothing's cheating about using sub-200g tubulars if that's what you'd use (cheating is to not glue them on sufficiently....)

So I'm really impressed: very nice work.

P.S. I just saw my first set of TLOs on Don Becker's rig, and I was impressed. I restrain myself, however....

[jz4nyc]

throw some of these wheels on that bike:

http://www.madfiber.com/