“Pick Three”
“Cheap, light, or durable, pick two.”
The classic cyclist’s dilemma. As a hardcore weight weenie myself, I often wondered if there was a way around this very challenge. That was until I set out to build a bike that was ultra-light, practical (relatively), and inexpensive (compared to other bikes of the same weight-class). Here are the results of months of incremental improvements in an ongoing project. The projected weight is ~4480 grams (9.88 pounds).
In its pictured form, the bike weighs 4744 grams or 10.46 pounds.
The saddle started off at a very impressive 82g. However, with some aggressive tuning - material removal and strategic reinforcement, that figure was brought down to just 62g.
Berd Polylight rope spokes laced to Extralite Cyberhubs make for a complete wheelset that weighs just 753 grams. I personally would not recommend these spokes for anything other than the sake of being light. Steel spokes are tried and true, and offer similar if not better ride quality.
Since the bike is 1x, the left shifter has had its ratchet mechanism and paddle removed entirely, saving 37 grams.
A mini brake noodle was used, in conjunction with a step-down 5-to-4mm ferrule in order to significantly shorten the rear derailleur cable run.
A dedicated 1x narrow-wide chainring was created for the 145BCD 4-arm Campagnolo cranks. The only reason I still have these on the bike is because I got them really cheap, and they look great. I’m aiming to have them replaced with InColor SkyPivot cranks when stock becomes available, which will take another 210 grams off, bringing the bike to the sub-10-pound territory.
In the meantime, while I wait for those cranks to become available, I have been improving my chainring design with the use of SolidWorks simulations. and FEA