I Built An Illegal Super-Light Hill Climb Bike For Under $1000! | Part 3

[@gcntech]

Do you think Alex will be able to beat Ollie in the hill climb?

[@Damian-ck5lo]

No

[@jugaloo5873]

Not without bar plugs! No-one likes getting gored 😄

[@MichaelWilliams-iv6dj]

Let’s hope so. Otherwise the GCN crew aren’t going to have Ollie as the perpetual butt of their fitness jokes.

[@KenSmith-bv4si]

Without a doubt Alex is going beat Ollie, seriously have none of you ever "sandbagged"? I don't play poker but if there's more then one cyclist playing, I'm in.

[@petinka721]

Ollie Win easy.

[@DI-ri9md]

Thanks Alex. This series ACTUALLY motivated me to do my own project. Rather than buy a new 5 grand-plus bike, I got a CAAD10 for $500 and have started doing it up. It's so rewarding putting your own personalised kit and building up your own bike in your way. So thank you and GCN for inspiring my new project, and for saving me a few quid!

[@MB-jz3uu]

Same bought a 2010 six13 for $250 and have been building it up with modern components slowly. It's my first road bike and feels like a massive improvement over the old hybrid bikes I'd use to bike around on.

[@askmeaboutmattweiner]

I wouldn't have sanded the paint off, but since you did I think you should hit that bare carbon with some polish. A nice shine in it would look really nice

[@spinnersf]

Nice build, but sacrifice a gram and get some plugs on the ends of those bars. We learned the very hard way this year that open ends can be deadly in even a low speed crash. Good luck going up!

[@BuyoutVied]

Ooh yeah. Unplugged tubes can cause some serious wounds.

[@danielb1279]

It is surprising how satisfying it is to watch someone assemble a bike from the frame up, especially when you have the correct tool for each part of the job. Maybe this could be the start of a whole ASMR channel, quietly watching bicycle maintenance as a way to de-stress and find inner tranquility...perhaps call it Zen and the Art of Bicycle Maintenance?

[@ChristopherCarrie]

ASMR bike builds: kzbin.infovideos

[@morenocolombo7468]

Have a look at Gee Milner, exactly the type of video you are looking for :)

[@bigelliot]

Search for "dream build" and you'll find literally hundreds of vids like that.

[@Philatlondon1]

Must be nice when you have a wall of Park Tools at your disposal.

[@zenspeed404]

Old Shovel?

[@thomasclougher2281]

I built a bike up almost exactly the same. Found a cheap old carbon bike (Mekk Poggio) and then spent ages hunting out all the bits I wanted. Fully built up it comes in at 7.7kg and I thought I'd done well with a full SRAM Red setup, blown away how light you've managed to get that!!! Nice build, really enjoyed watching and it looks good too!

[@SwiffMeister]

handlebars can be cut even shorter and the cable routing can also be optimized by shortening them a few centimeters. it looks like the left shifter is still attached to the handlebars which can be taken off since it is not used, and is there still paint on the wheels? The 'super lightweight' red nut for the front wheel can easily be modified on a lathe in such a way that it does work. And when trying to loose as much weight as possible I would also consider to modify the 'quick release' levers on the wheels since you will never remove them during a hillclimb, so no need for quick release.

[@ravennexusmh]

the bare carbon would look awesome if you handsanded it to a an even finish with finer and finer graded of wet and dry.

[@GCNalex]

I agree, however I'm not sure I can face any more time sanding, it's such a slow process, but does highlight why a proper paint job from the expert costs a LOT

[@bugabutu]

@@GCNalex You can also heat shrink the hood covers

[@ravennexusmh]

@@GCNalex true the time with the finger sander left many high and low spots that would take along time to get right. a tube sander would of made a much cleaner and quicker job of it.

[@gerhardw.933]

There is something called sandpaper block/sanding block/sanding sponge. It is a handy squared sponge with a sandpaper wrapped around. Easier to use than the traditional flat sandpaper - it is washable, and comes in different grits. When you start sanding you should finish it properly or just leave it when you are afraid of sweat, elbow grease, and time.

[@karlnorgaard6077]

I agree. Maybe wax it after too.

[@cabrown0525]

Love these types of series. Great work!

[@MichaelWilliams-iv6dj]

Great series! How about doing a 4th episode showing what it takes to get to sub-6 kg and a 5th episode of training to beat Ollie.

[@Philatlondon1]

There's some easy weight losses to be had. The stem and seat post for starters.

[@Spongeblunt]

Hill climb bike or not please plug those sharp bar ends, people have gutted themselves before in a crash doing that and you absolutely do not want to promote that.

[@SampoSaarela]

Yep, and pair or wine bottle corks doesn't weight much.

[@MrJob91]

Dont drink the wine buy the bottle for the cork.

[@ShannonSouthAfrica]

I've gutted my leg on an old pedal brake bike without bar tips....

[@polymerbikes]

@@ShannonSouthAfricaoof same. Fixed gear down a hill to my SAT test. Had loads of fun that day 😂

[@ShannonSouthAfrica]

@@polymerbikes Can imagine

[@GeeFunk84]

I love how the editing style has gone full-blown 90s recently.

[@Bazza1968]

Full on naff Malcolm In The Middle....

[@friendofships]

Funny watching this the day after watching Francis Cade’s bike weight saving video, I think he got their bike down to ~5.7 kg, though the frame may have been smaller.

[@darrengarvie8832]

I think Francis Cade Frame is very small but still its 5.7kg and I think it is going the be lighter than that soon 😁

[@georgehugh3455]

Was Francis under any kind of financial restriction?

[@darrengarvie8832]

@@georgehugh3455 no he wasn't 😁 as the wheels alone cost a £1000 🤣

[@docmccoy9813]

10:35 "Absolutely incredible", specially the blue paint forgotten spots

[@mikecortes8481]

You could’ve saved like 100 grams on that seat post with a carbon one.😆 those old bontragers are a weapon! 🤣

[@RazzFazz-Race]

I think even when the bike should be light, you should close the barends. If you fell into it, it works like a hole-punch. 5gr that can save your life.

[@DavidFritzIII]

@gcntech, I noticed on some of the brake mount and other areas not 100% of the paint was removed, I based my 186g guess on the fact that all paint was removed and would argue that had you not missed a few spots I would have been spot on 😉. Joking aside, love these bike build videos and feel free to get in touch for my water bottle 😀

[@권용대-b5v]

Filming and editing of this video’s bike building is top-notch! Look forward to see more experiments like this one from GCN.

[@iancalland5934]

You need handlebar end stops to make it safe . Most races would not let you compete without them

[@darrenmiller6129]

CTT regs are fine. This is just about trying to go up a hill vs the stopwatch. However you do need a working set of lights.

[@ethangodridge6833]

Thanks Alex for the series. If you had the climbing style of Feather than you could remove the saddle for saving even more weight😂.

[@mechpade]

he could also remove the seat post

[@gcntech]

That was a suggestion made by the team here at GCN Megabase but alas, Alex is no Feather!! 😂

[@sebastienhendrickx4689]

Hey Alex, since you're saving every gram possible, you could first set the right torque on the top cap, then tighten your stem bolts and then remove the top cap, since the stem bolts now keep the tension in the system.

[@kosomakkev9552]

He could have also removed the left hand gear lever because it doesn’t have a front derailleur. Keep the brake lever but take the gear lever off

[@konigsegg_1to1]

He could’ve removed ALL the paint, even the paint on the stem

[@andyblackshaw9186]

..and the star nut.

[@montanajones8393]

@@kosomakkev9552 He could have saved even more weight by replacing both STI shifters with old school brake levers & using the Dura Ace 10sp downtube shifter instead. Campagnolo sells carbon brake levers without the shifting pars for people that want to run down tube shifters.

[@kosomakkev9552]

@@montanajones8393 that’s make it over the 1k budget

[@ryan6465]

Shame to lose such a nice paintjob

[@mdettman1]

I love it! That old Trek is now an Elysium post-apocalyptic roadbike

[@TheMashurst]

I've already built my bike, but it was interesting to see this anyway. I didn't have an existing bike so I had to buy everything and the total spend was £1255, but that included buying a frame, which cost me £350, so you can say I spent £905. Mine weighs 6.2 kg, but that includes my carbon blade pedals and you didn't give us the weight with pedals on yours ;-)

[@timmedcalf1357]

It's probably been mentioned but you could have taken a leaf out of Lance A's book and ditched the STI shifter for the front mech and put on a standard aero lever and a downtube shifter. Cheap parts, easy to do, big weight saving.

[@watchesnwheels]

Would suggest a layer of UV protective resin/ lacquer, or even a bit of paint for frame longevity.

[@darrengarvie8832]

But that adds weight 🤣 also how long before it gets affect by UV rays? Are we taking day weeks or years?

[@mitchellsteindler]

Really don't think UV matters for a late season hill climb bike in the UK

[@albr4]

don't think he cares about the longevity when he's sanded into the carbon in many areas...

[@docmccoy9813]

3:32 Cane Creek words not looking forward: OCD nightmare!

[@idpro83]

183 grams. That's more than I thought. So it's absolutely worth it getting rid of the paint. 👍🏽

[@SampoSaarela]

And 1830g for getting rid of disk brakes, 1000g for changing to 20/24 spoked tubular wheels (and the tires). No wonder you can't buy bike under 8Kg and under 8K€ nowadays.

[@growlydog]

@@SampoSaarela wait disk brakes add almost 2kg over rim?

[@SampoSaarela]

@@growlydog generally yes. You take a 6k$ bike from 10 years ago and they are generally that much lighter than the bikes today at even more expensive price ranges. But it is not only the brakes themselves, more and longer spokes, the mounts for the brakes, etc etc

[@singingitman]

As you've removed paint, why not get it resprayed in a nice glittery or metallic purple. You know Manon will love you for doing so.

[@karlnorgaard6077]

That front QR nut could have just been filed flat. Also, on a climb specific build, I'd put a 28mm on rear, 23 on front. Another thing, we'd all have liked to see a little drillium. Not 1980's style drillium, but maybe drill out some voids on back sides of crank arms. Bars coulda donated a bit more weight too. And though I think this build is rad, I feel a bit more effort could have been put into the frame finish, just looks a bit too humble. Haha. Nice job Alex.

[@Philatlondon1]

You could probably drill a load of holes in the chainset and it would still retain enough stiffness.

[@lucas_vido]

I wonder what Hambini would say about that BB...

[@FeintMotion]

That spin tests don't mean anything since the bearings aren't under load

[@eloelo8625]

I have an old Felt f85 with threaded Hollowtech II SM-BB5700 and its spina like a crazy. Like square carteidge bb

[@Shellewell]

Probably something needlessly expletive-ridden and sexist.

[@loc9588]

@@Shellewell sexist?

[@weijianlau2156]

@@FeintMotion probably centreline of the frame is misaligned

[@TheAttyjace]

You should use this to challenge Ollie and his hill climb bike on the "slab" Si just climbed. :)

[@dimitrimestoussis8719]

Could have saved some more weight by cutting the cable housing to a proper length (would have looked better as well). Overall interresing, good job!!

[@karlnorgaard6077]

To me, immaculate cabling is critical to any build.

[@mikecortes8481]

This was a much needed/ over due GCN video! Cheers 🍻

[@livinginsyn4814]

Can't wait to see Alex's "how much do I need to dope to beat Ollie" series

[@Alejandro_BoniIIa]

Could be lighter with 1. full carbon fork 2. titanium seat clamp 3. jag wire cables 4. Sanded stem/handlebar 5. Titanium bolts if not already used

[@xtrailz]

You should take a picture and send it in to the GCN bike vault. Don't think they'll give it a Supernice though!

[@happydays8171]

It'd be funny if it got a thumbs down then beats Ollie.

[@karlnorgaard6077]

My snobby bike build rule regarding electrical tape is...no electrical tape. I have a hack that eliminates the need. One drills holes behind brifters for cables to enter handlebars, then two more holes up by stem for cable to exit handlebars. Super clean, light and needs no tape. And to anyone claiming this to be foolish, I've observed the holes and no cracking whatsoever has occurred. As far as chopping off the drops, it can be dangerous. One night after a couple "energy drinks", was bombing down a hill, on my way home when out of habit, I went for the drops. They were not there. I was able to somehow catch myself before slamming chest into stem. But it was close.

[@bubblesezblonde]

I really enjoyed this thanks.

[@Star14trek]

Hmmm struggle from Ambleside village? Corr that's tough i have racied up it at the end Helvellyn Tri .... That's a hard climb from village LOL especially if 85kg+ rider ? Mind you we were also trying to save enough energy to run up and down Helvellyn mountain too around 10miles 😁 mind you if you are taking B road up unlike tour Britain to than that's a lot easier!

[@AnvilAirsoftTV]

Least there’s a pub at the top

[@frankhamel2744]

Amazing how much Olie has progressed in his time with GCN! Went from the butt of the joke being dropped all the time to being the MEGA Athlete cyclist that requires Alex to build out a super light climbing machine through a bike build series and still fall short on Olie’s time. Superb! Love the hair by the way (Olie, not Alex…)

[@petercah]

Check out his hill climb stuff before he joined GCN...content is content 😉

[@MarcusFAquila]

watched Francis Cade`s video, gr8 to see you GCN guys on a road. Can`t wait to see your video from the start!

[@hungerknochen]

used full carbon fork would have saved at least 200g. And the seatpost. Thomson used one.

[@blablablubbiblubb]

The problem with this system are the tubular tires. They are so inefficient, that the 400g heavier wheelset with GP 5000 would be quicker. That's one of the reasons, why the professional riders are so quick nowadays.

[@david.vandergoes]

I am surprised you didn’t use simpler brake levers and a single downtube shifter. That’s got to be lighter than those bulky integrated levers.

[@CoachNealF]

Wheelie chairs are the best. I'm sitting on one right now! So awesome.

[@stuart.w]

Must be nice to have a seat that doubles as a toilet seat, that'll save you valuable minutes in a race, no need to drop off to empty, just drop as you go!

[@TheRawvoice]

Good video! Light bikes rule!

[@orvillealdrich7601]

Great vid! Love the “wheelie chair” reference 😂

[@monkeyboy7981]

I assume you took a good run up and carried some speed around the corner into the hill climb 🤔 The feature on Strava that lets you compare segments with other athletes in a virtual realtime view is useful, I found that a friend whos time I was trying to beat was done with some shenanigans, not exactly cheating but I definitely declared shenanigans 😁

[@reginaldscot165]

Just file off/sand off the end of the aluminium cap. As long as you re-tap the threads it will be fine and you will probably save another 0.5 of a gram!

[@G60syncro]

Not to mention the weight of the shavings removed from the threads and boss removal!!

[@loc9588]

not worth the risk (no pun intended). Anything less than exceptional clamping force + friction on the back wheel causes it to slip out of the frame with these skewers, as i had the misfortune of finding out.

[@SignorLuigi]

Great video! 👏👏👏 It looks like you forgot to install the handlebar endcaps. Without them, the bike could be quite unsafe. 😳

[@joejoejoejoejoejoe4391]

Diacomp single pivots, single bar end shifter, cyclecross bar top brake leavers, file the skewer cap, take most of the sprockets off.

[@newbeginnings8566]

A nice polish up and varnish finish for the frame.. Less cut off the bar ends.. Then it would look much better and be more practical without gaining too much weight...

[@DrewKime]

I'm looking forward to seeing someone finally go up against Ollie in *his* specialty.

[@sasha371]

get trek decals and clear coat the frame. that would look brilliant

[@neoschieldonreglos1372]

The next should be building a gravel race bike under 1000£

[@Paddyhudson]

I’m building a great one using almost entirely Aliexpress bits but it’ll still be closer to $2k. It ain’t easy, and there isn’t 30 years of old usable parts lying around.

[@MaxMue]

Nice build! Wouldn't you have to paint the bike in UV resistant clear coat? Otherwise the sun will harm the frame as far as I know.

[@mitchellsteindler]

Late season hill climb bike...won't see much UV.

[@RazzFazz-Race]

It depends on the Epoxy resin and hardener u use. there exist resin which is UV resistant.

[@nathanbouton6700]

I have to say, as a career mechanic, watching your tool selection and execution over these videos I feel perhaps off camera work is your safe space. Cheers. 😅

[@davefave4351]

Back in the late 70s/early 80s myself and Alf Engers* used a French 'Huret Jubilee' rear mech (downtube shifter) and Weinmann (605?) side pulls and levers (no rubbers) on our TT bikes as these were the lightest options available... *You've probably heard of Alf. A bit of a legend. You wouldn't have heard of me though. Most definitely not a legend....

[@marcelsow5817]

Manon can put a nice custom paint job on the bike, since the 183g won't make Alex significantly slower than he already is 😉

[@The1trueDave]

Stripping the STI mechanism and inner shift lever out of the LH shifter might have saved you another fair bit, there is some weight in those things*. It'd be a daunting job putting them back together again but probably not that hard if you didn't mind ruining them :-) *(if it's possible to do this and still keep the brake lever function? Not sure...)

[@claysmith894]

Pantani style

[@andrewwhite889]

While you've saved considerable weight which should translate to fewer watts required to meet the challenge, I noticed a big problem that negates much of work you did to save weight. When you were constructing the drive train and spun the crankset, the cranks stopped far too quickly meaning there's a serious problem with the bottom bracket which is costing you some serious wattage. The crankset should have spun as freely as your rear wheel if it's perfectly aligned and with quality bearings.

[@dennishopp7071]

Since the front Mech was taken off, more weight saving would be to just use a non shifting front break lever.

[@artemisxo6734]

i think gluing tubulars saves some rolling resistance compared to the tape- heard that on gcn

[@AnvilAirsoftTV]

Yup. Taped on tubs are terrible. Those sprinters aren’t especially good either.

[@The_Cotswold_Engineer]

Has Alex taken up being a Triathlete? What no socks? Tut tut!!!🤣🤣🤣

[@appa609]

Why did you take the paint off the frame? That Discovery Channel paint was so nice.

[@aldrinclementina4297]

I'll say better put some bull horns instead of normal cut handlebars. With the bull horns you know in advance that you don't have the drops, so you won't make the mistake to go for the drops( which aren't there) 🤣

[@davidparrott2090]

i hope there was some thread lubricant involved but not pictured! I saw some pretty dry threads

[@Skaughtto]

Alex: "it looks absolutely incredible." Wife: *looks up, audible laughter*

[@nimrodstern663]

Great work. Realy nimble and light! How much it weights with pedals?

[@jascollinscork]

6.7kg I think

[@markgunn6680]

There's something quite appealing about a 'rat look' bike! 🙂

[@eltigre0320]

What tubular tape was used for the tires?

[@timtaylor9590]

How much weight did sanding the paint save

[@johnnyloco11]

so what was the weight of the paint saving?

[@jonh9777]

183g look at 14:19.

[@duckmanduckfairy8010]

Great build but for safety put some bar plugs in!

[@ChrisCapoccia]

You don't need bar ends on the open ends of the handlebars?

[@abedfo88]

I have those same skewers, they really need two springs !

[@howlinhauler]

was there info about bottom bracket?

[@cb6866]

Thanks Alex and crew...now , to " The Slab " that Si did ?

[@kaupo80]

What are those short horns for on the handlebar? Why not cut the handlebar a little more to save a few more grams?

[@mrsmith4662]

For two seconds, the paint would have been worth it. Aesthetics are so important on bicycles and that's one of the problems with these new expensive bikes (thinking of the local Specialised shop). You're paying all that money for something you don't like the look of (e.g. dark grey carbon).

[@KBE87]

5:15 "we don't wanna break any rules" *looks at 'illegal ... bike' in the title* Got me all confused there, my friends Loved the series! More budget + building stuff please

[@BC-wj8fx]

Illegal in the title is a short way of saying a bike under the UCI's 6.8kg limit. The hill climb does not have the UCI weight limit. There are other ways that this bike is UCI illegal, but weight is the most commonly referred one.

[@aleksitiikkala]

Needs bar end plugs! For safety.

[@johnsmithers284]

Too heavy

[@carlosflanders518]

The shifters are pigs. Lose 40g by removing the rubber hoods. Lose 10-20g per shifter by removing the flightdeck internals - depends on how much time you want to spend disassembling and reassembling. Lots more weight to be saved by removing full left shifter internals.

[@TREK8481]

I have a question if someone can help I have a 1989Trek 1500 will a modern rear wheel and cassette fit?

[@kidkarbon4775]

Noticed the weight measured is without pedals, what's it weigh with your chosen pedals? Good effort though for under a grand. By comparison you couldn't buy a single wheel on my own weightweenies build for that. 😂

[@SARGEinc]

The sanded frame looks substantially better as a bike than it did as a frame.

[@Biking360]

Stick the headset tool in the post for me Alex. I will use it for sure. I'll buy you a couple of beers when I see you. Jay

[@julianallen515]

Interesting to see Alex "glue" a tubular tire on using tub tape and no glue. We used to call that "taping" a tubular on or "risky". Good job he's not using that on a velodrome or in a 'cross race.

[@DigininjaRobin]

Where did those red bolts come from? I thought you'd spent all your budget already.

[@triathlonsteve9675]

@gcn, is this an episode of hack or Bodge ? Not sure which way that vote would go 😂😂 Great fun stuff though GCN

[@joejoejoejoejoejoe4391]

Wouldn't Dia-comp single pivot callipers save some weight ?

[@bobbrown6389]

I have an old Timetrial rear derailer made in France it weighs in the grams, as in the 80s I was racing on a 27inch frame and I raced on a 55 big ring and a 45 small ring, and on the rear for my gears was a smallest was 33 and a largest was 10, my bike was built in Milian Italy, but it was a beast for downhills. I used High pressures on Mavic MA40 rims with a complete Campag outfit, I was 6 feet 4inches Tall and my weight was 95kgs and my bike cost me at the time $6500.00, and I was starting my career in the Australian Army, cheers all

[@johnworth319]

You should repaint it in a tech episode as penance. And it’s fun!

[@Peluche54]

SL-R400, BL-R400, 8 speed cassette, should be easy weight cut for very little money 🙂

[@BennoSattler]

11:11 Uhm, UCI does "allow" for pedals at the weigh-in - meaning with proper road bike parts, you'd be well legal ;)

[@RocketRuss]

That little Tune QR lip you could just zip right off by rubbing it on a coarse file.

[@richardh50]

you could save a few quid by using a stud bar & a couple of nuts & washers to press fit the head set bearings

[@Lesley_Pokemon]

Great job Alex