Ridley Helium SL 5.69kg Custom Build

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Icarus147
Posts: 9
Joined: Thu Feb 16, 2017 10:15 pm

by Icarus147

So, last year I got the opportunity to build myself a new bike, and this is what came of it. It's safe to say I'm more than a little happy with the outcome.

The frame is a Ridley Helium SL in 2015 Lotto Soudal colours, which rather happily also matches my club kit quite nicely. I'd normally ride a medium frame, but went with small because I like a relatively big (but by no means pro-level) saddle-bar drop and the Helium has a rather long headtube in a medium. As I was building partly with racing hill climbs in mind, the extra weight saving was a nice benefit too. It also allows me to get a nice low position for riding flatter TTs.

I used a Praxis ceramic PF30 to Shimano converter in the BB which added about 60 grams over using a PF30 BB, but I wanted to run my Shimano cranks so I was happy to take the weight penalty. I spent a frankly silly amount on Jagwire Elite Link outer cable sets, purely so I could fiddle about with colour combinations, but they paid off with the most responsive mechanical shifting I've ever felt.

All told, with the Reynolds wheels, pedals, and cages, the bike weighed 5.69kg with a little still to chop off the top of the steerer. I also have a set of Mavic Cosmic Ultimates with Vittoria Corsa Speeds on that I use for time trials, which bump the weight up to 5.88kg. I know it's not the lightest Helium out there, but my goal was always to build a fully functional bike that was a joy to ride and beautiful to look at (which I think I achieved, if I do say so myself), while still being used in place of a dedicated hill climb bike that doesn't really do anything else very well.

Full Spec:
Frame/Fork: Ridley Helium SL - Small
Groupset: Dura Ace 9000 - 172.5mm cranks, 50/34 - 11-25
Chain: KMC X11SL Gold
BB: Praxis Works PF30 to Shimano Ceramic
Headset: FSA
Pedals: Mavic Zxellium Ultimate
Seatpost: Deda Superleggera - 27.2x350mm
Saddle: Chinese Time Carbon
Bars: Deda Superleggero - 42cm (O-O)
Stem: Deda Superleggera - 110mm
Inner Cables: Shimano
Outer Cables: Jagwire Elite Link (Brake and gear)
Fork Expander/Top Cap: Pro UD Carbon
Seatclamp: 4zA
Bottle Cages: Elite Leggero
Headset Spacers: FSA Polycarbonate
Bar Tape: Deda cork tape
Wheels: Mavic Cosmic Ultimate - Vittoria Corsa Speed G+ 23-25c or Reynolds KOM rims, Tune hubs, Sapim spokes - Veloflex Extreme 22c
Skewers: KCNC Grooving

KCookie
Posts: 1963
Joined: Thu Feb 12, 2015 9:40 am
Location: Pom living in Australia

by KCookie

Very nice looking bike indeed. Did you happen to weight the frame and fork before building.

by Weenie


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Christono
Posts: 39
Joined: Wed Dec 21, 2016 10:22 am

by Christono

This was my favourite bike from the 2015 tour, really nice build.

burglarboycie
Posts: 988
Joined: Thu Jan 22, 2015 6:58 pm
Location: Northamptonshire UK

by burglarboycie

That is awesome!! One of the best looking frames ever in my opinion, I've always wanted one.

dwn2sk8
Posts: 91
Joined: Mon Sep 20, 2010 4:23 am
Location: Lancaster, PA USA

by dwn2sk8

Very nice! The exact frame I wanted, but couldn't find. I ended up ordering the standard Helium in Brlgium blue. After receiving it I think I'm liking the blue more than the red, but seeing your bike has me second guessing. Still would have liked to have the SL version.

JDEves
Posts: 30
Joined: Thu Sep 29, 2016 9:22 pm

by JDEves

This is on of my favourite framesets. looks awsome :thumbup: :mrgreen:

reedplayer
Posts: 805
Joined: Sat Nov 14, 2015 10:10 am

by reedplayer

thats nice. especially with the reynolds kom.
i once had those rims as well, using nearly the same setup like yours (tune hubs, veloflex, sapim spokes 20/24...). aesthetically nicest wheelset i ever had. good breaking performance, but i found those a bit unstable on fast downhills (and i weigh 62 kg..). regrettably, one rim was damaged while going down umbrail mountain pass road in switzerland. (road in very poor condition at that time :-) )

Icarus147
Posts: 9
Joined: Thu Feb 16, 2017 10:15 pm

by Icarus147

KCookie wrote:Very nice looking bike indeed. Did you happen to weight the frame and fork before building.

I did indeed. Frame came in a 802.8g, fork was 316.4g, so the frame is a little over their claimed weight while the fork is under, but they are painted and within the +/-10% that they allow themselves. *Edit*- Come to think of it, that was the fork weight uncut. I took a decent amount off the top so it probably cancelled out most of the additional weight from the frame.

reedplayer wrote:thats nice. especially with the reynolds kom.
i once had those rims as well, using nearly the same setup like yours (tune hubs, veloflex, sapim spokes 20/24...). aesthetically nicest wheelset i ever had. good breaking performance, but i found those a bit unstable on fast downhills (and i weigh 62 kg..). regrettably, one rim was damaged while going down umbrail mountain pass road in switzerland. (road in very poor condition at that time :-) )

I love the way the bike feels, but I'm 55kg and a nervous descender anyway, so I don't make too much of a habit of smashing descents on it. Because of the issue with the hub and the internal spoke nipples I pretty much only use the Reynolds for hill climbs anyway, the Cosmics are my go-to for longer TTs.
Last edited by Icarus147 on Sat Feb 18, 2017 11:49 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Icarus147
Posts: 9
Joined: Thu Feb 16, 2017 10:15 pm

by Icarus147

dwn2sk8 wrote:Very nice! The exact frame I wanted, but couldn't find. I ended up ordering the standard Helium in Brlgium blue. After receiving it I think I'm liking the blue more than the red, but seeing your bike has me second guessing. Still would have liked to have the SL version.

The blue bike is beautiful too! We have one in the shop that arrived a few weeks after mine was built. I spent about a week trying to work out if I had made the right choice, but I think I did, for me at least. It matches my club kit perfectly. There's a guy in another local club with the blue bike but he's running Campag and it's a thing of beauty.


KCookie
Posts: 1963
Joined: Thu Feb 12, 2015 9:40 am
Location: Pom living in Australia

by KCookie

Tap on the blue writing and it will bring up pics. !!

by Weenie


Visit starbike.com Online Retailer for HighEnd cycling components
Great Prices ✓    Broad Selection ✓    Worldwide Delivery ✓

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