My project bike.

K

Knife Outlet

Joined
Jan 4, 1999
Messages
3,000
I know there are some cyclists on the forum and I'm one of them. Just thought you might enjoy my new bike that I built up from a carbon fiber frame. It weights just a hair over 16 lbs. with the pedals.
raven.jpg
 
Great looking bike. How about a components list and frame brand? Is that a compact crankset on it?

KS
 
Whoa! Nice looking hack :D The gearing looks nice and close judging by that rear mech :thumbup:
 
Keyser Soze said:
Great looking bike. How about a components list and frame brand? Is that a compact crankset on it?

KS
Click to expand...

OK, the frame is a QS2 from Pedal Force, the compact crankset (50/36) is FSA SLK carbon fiber, wheels are Neuvation M28 Aero with Michelin Pro 2 tires. Shifters, brakes, cassette, derailleurs and chain are Shimano Ultegra 10 speed. Bar and stem are Ritchey WCS. Seat post is FSA carbon. Saddle is Selle Italia SLR and the pedals are Speedplay X2.

Yes, I'm used to a triple so I geared it pretty low to make sure I could ride it uphill. The cassette is 12/28. It turns out to work quite well except I can't use the 28 tooth cog without throwing a chain at the chainrings so I still need to work on that problem. Most likely I need to change the front derailleur angle to the cassette. Except for the occasional chain throwing issue, it is a treat to ride. I plan to dig into the chain throwing problem tomorrow.

I'm not a racer. I'm a geezer who likes bicycles. I can't push 50/12 on flat ground so the gearing certainly isn't too low for me. I had never ridden a carbon fiber bike so I used this project to get that experience and enjoy some recreation along the way.
 
Cool bike! I really like the look too. The black carbon fiber frame with no decals is great. It's like the "black helicopter" of bicycles.
 
Uh, might want to get your scale checked. Sweet looking bike, but it's not going to be close to 16 lb. My Ultegra 10 TCR composite weighs in at 18.75, and my friend (slide13)'s full Record Klein tips the scales at 16.95 or so. You have lighter wheels than me (I think) and your frame may be a bit lighter, but you won't drop 2.5 lb off mine with those two things. Regardless, it's a very nice bike and it's surprising how little of a difference weight actually makes to your speed. The bike feels way faster and more nimble, but by yourself, on the flats, there's not really a measurable performance advantage.
 
Eric1115 said:
Uh, might want to get your scale checked. Sweet looking bike, but it's not going to be close to 16 lb. My Ultegra 10 TCR composite weighs in at 18.75, and my friend (slide13)'s full Record Klein tips the scales at 16.95 or so. You have lighter wheels than me (I think) and your frame may be a bit lighter, but you won't drop 2.5 lb off mine with those two things. Regardless, it's a very nice bike and it's surprising how little of a difference weight actually makes to your speed. The bike feels way faster and more nimble, but by yourself, on the flats, there's not really a measurable performance advantage.
Click to expand...

16 lbs. 5 oz. without the seat bag. The scale is calibrated and I weighed the bike by weighing myself alone and holding the bike. The difference is the weight you see. The wheels are not particularly light at 1725 grams. I had some 1400 gram wheels but I was afraid of them so I switched to the sturdier, heavier model you see. The frame is 2.2 lbs - about as light as frames get. I save some weight with the carbon crank set and the titanium bottom bracket. The integrated headset weighs almost nothing and the fork has a carbon steerer. The bar and stem are actually lighter than most carbon models. The pedals are tiny. The saddle is only 225 grams. Those things might have helped. I weighed someone else's Bianchi EV3 (aluminum with carbon stays) at the same time and it registered 17 lbs. 2 oz. His bike has a carbon crankset as well but heavier wheels. It has a Campy Record drivetrain.

What you say about the importance of weight is certainly true. My Bianchi Veloce weighs 22 lbs. and I don't really notice the difference except on a long climb. I wasn't even trying to make a light bike, just a carbon fiber one. I wasn't even paying attention to the weight of the parts. I just wanted good quality parts. I was surprised by the weight at the end of the project.
 
My home-built recumbent tips the scales at a portly 38 pounds...

Hopefully, I can get version 2.0 down to near 30.

At some point (I'm reading a new book on nanotechnology) they will be able to manufacture a frame from carbon nanotubes, joined at the molecular level instead of fibers suspended in a matrix. Then, all bets will be off... They are talking about making items like golf clubs that will weigh only a few grams total.
With ceramic bearings and bearing races, the heaviest part of the bike is liable to be the water bottle.
 
razcob said:
Is that a huffy?
Click to expand...
That reminds me of a bumper sticker I once saw (appropriately, on a car parked in front of a bike store--probably the owner's):

"If Huffy built a plane, would you fly in it?"
 
Knife Outlet said:
.

What you say about the importance of weight is certainly true. My Bianchi Veloce weighs 22 lbs. and I don't really notice the difference except on a long climb. I wasn't even trying to make a light bike, just a carbon fiber one. I wasn't even paying attention to the weight of the parts. I just wanted good quality parts. I was surprised by the weight at the end of the project.
Click to expand...


As a long-time cyclist it's always a treat to watch the guys debate ad-naseum over weight and components, then go ride only on the flats and never climb hills. As a hack racer, I can assure people that bike weight is not a limiting factor in races. Sure, if I had to muscle up a climb with a 30 pound bike Vs a a sub-20 lb ride it would eventually make a difference. But anything under 20 lb simply doesn't matter for 99% of the riders and racers.

Like the old saying goes, "get out and ride."

Enjoy that sweet, new ride, my friend.
 
As one of the bike magazine editors said, there's a big difference between "light' and "scary light".

For biggish guys like myself (a tad over 200 pounds) such things as TI pedals and such are generally not reccomended.

I once bought some super-light tubes....flatted within a mile.
During Le Tour, they had quite a bit of coverage on the current technology used within UCI rules. I believe the typical pro "mountain climbing" bike is in that range; the lads need all the help they can get climbing the Alp de Huez....

The regular bikes used on the road stages are a bit more robust, and the time-trial bikes are geared more to aero efficiency than lightness.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top