One of the nice privileges of this job is, inside cause, entry to kind of something the bike trade can produce. I’ve seen colleagues create bike builds for occasions, gravel superbikes or aero missiles, all well-curated and thought out. Until now, primarily as a result of bike occasions don’t actually enchantment to me, I’ve not leapt into constructing particular, however now right here we’re… I’ve gone and constructed a hill climb bike with a twist.
My native membership, Newtown Park CC, runs its Hills and Pils trip each Wednesday. The route goes up 13 of the nastiest hills that Bristol, a famously hilly place, has to supply, all of them quick and steep, many hitting 15% and a few approaching 20%. In 22.2km the route packs in 553m of elevation acquire earlier than it finishes at a brewery (therefore the Pils), and the present KOM, for the entire route as one section, was a smidge below an hour at 54:58. Given I’ve a background in cyclocross, the chance to make my eyes pop for an hour in a brand new manner was too good to go up.
It should be stated that going for the KOM may be very a lot in opposition to the ethos of the membership, which prides itself on being non-competitive, and the completed factor on the trip itself is to attend on the high of each hill for the final rider within the group, and roll collectively to the foot of the subsequent one earlier than any smashing takes place. As such, I did it alone on a Thursday.
While I do just like the considered giving different riders the impetus to go after the KOM (or perhaps FKT, although it’s maybe a bit quick for that), it’s a route that takes place in an internal metropolis atmosphere with loads of site visitors lights and junctions so… don’t do that at house. And so to the bike…
A hill climb bike with a twist
Before being overhauled in a giant manner, my Hills and Pils bike, for that’s now what it’s referred to as, was a comparatively regular Bowman Palace:R. A enjoyable, however fairly run-of-the-mill rim brake alloy frameset that I purchased primarily as a result of it had a threaded backside bracket and exterior cables. It served me effectively, however was drained in some ways. I’d at all times fancied a flat bar highway bike, principally for vibe causes moderately than something performance-oriented, and so initially I simply wished to do a flat bar conversion and depart it at that.
The paint was knackered, so as soon as the elements had all been eliminated I rode it as much as an previous motorbike workshop and paid a person to present it a pleasant sizzling tub in acid, ensuing on this pretty matte silver end.
I’ve already put collectively a reasonably complete information to creating your highway bike right into a flat bar machine, however the quick story was new shifters, a set of Paul brake levers (for the bling issue) that I had in a field, a 150mm Zipp stem and a few PRO Koryak bars. Initially, I stored my normal highway wheels on, and used the identical Thomson seatpost as I had used for years, however these acquired upgraded presently.
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A really noodly trip
One factor I actually observed initially was the massive enhance in perceived flex that got here from swapping to flat bars. Initially, the bars themselves had been 720mm huge, and whereas the extra leverage was nice on the steep hills the setup imparted an enormous quantity of torsion on the body whereas seated. So wobbly did it really feel that I even stopped midway across the route on a check trip one night to verify the body wasn’t cracked.
After that, I needed to scale back the leverage, chopping the bars right down to a extra cheap 660mm, which helped an enormous quantity. It nonetheless feels versatile at instances, nevertheless it’s now not sufficient to truly scare me.
Weight weenieism, inside cause
It would have been potential to go overboard right here and simply try to make it the lightest bike potential, however I wished to maintain it usable. Hill climb bikes are sometimes wonderful at going uphill, however this one had to have the ability to go down too, and on the flat for some sections, so 1x was out for starters. The previous Ultegra 6800 didn’t have something incorrect with it, and 52/36 and 11-28 was about proper that the bottom gear was nonetheless fairly quick, with loads of beans for any downhills. There are a few hills the place, if you happen to get the momentum and site visitors lights proper, you’ll be able to sort out them within the large ring and acquire a load of time, so one more reason to not go 1x.
The wheels had been the primary large swap. While the alloy set constructed for me by Ryan from RyanBuildsWheels was excellent for typically bashing about, there’s no denying that the Hunt 36 Carbon Wide Aero wheels had been lighter, while nonetheless not being so outlandish and boutique that I’d be scared to hit one of many innumerable potholes that litter Bristol’s streets.
Thomson seatposts are cool, however they don’t half weigh lots. Something I’d at all times been curious to strive was an unpadded saddle, and so I reached out to Slovenian boutique carbon outfit Bjørn, and borrowed a Sedlo saddle and Glagol seatpost. Yes, this goes in opposition to what I stated concerning the wheels, however that is much less prone to crack when confronted with a pothole. I’d used the saddle form earlier than after I examined a completely customized titanium Sturdy, and whereas the cutout was nice, it was the ramp on the again that appealed. Loads of the climbs are finest tackled out of the saddle, however some are on the restrict of what’s doable seated, and when that occurs the rear lip stops me sliding off the rear, particularly with a larger nose-down tilt than I’d ordinarily run.
The solely different concession to weight weenieism was the 12-gram Topeak Feza G12 bottle cage. It’s very mild, seems to be cool, however can also be extremely safe. When it got here to truly taking over the section I hardly ever discovered myself consuming although, so I may simply have jettisonned it totally together with the bottle and saved an excellent 500g. Hindsight is 20:20.
I may simply have swapped the Paul levers out too, given they weigh a tonne every, however to be sincere they give the impression of being so cool I made a decision it wasn’t price it. The whole weight was 7.6kg, together with pedals, cage, laptop, saddlebag, and empty water bottle. Not superlight, however for a comparatively low cost alloy bike it is not half dangerous both.
A pedal dilemma
Initially I constructed the bike up with a set of Crank Brothers eggbeater pedals, not as a result of I ever deliberate on unclipping and reclipping with ease, or for any weight issues, however as a result of the bike would virtually solely be used on rides that completed at a brewery, and strolling round in gravel sneakers is lots simpler. For the section although I swapped these out for highway pedals. It’s minor, however the stability feels higher, particularly in my highway sneakers.
A tyre conundrum
So far this bike has had three units of tyres, and can quickly have a fourth. Initially I match up the Hunt wheels with Michelin Power Cups, my favorite finances tyre, however the rim and tyre combo didn’t play so effectively collectively and the tyres stubbornly refused to seat correctly even with tubes. Off they got here, and on went a set of Vittoria Corsa N.Ext. Same tread because the Corsa Pro, however in a vulcanised rubber casing to keep off punctures a bit.
These will in all probability get re-fitted sooner or later and arrange tubeless to truly struggle off punctures, however for the section run itself I threw warning to the wind and slapped on a recent set of 28c S-Works Turbo Cotton Hell of the North tyres with latex tubes in them. It’s such a straightforward win by way of efficiency it appeared daft to not, and the section is on my doorstep so I figured if I flatted I may simply strive once more the subsequent day.
Just a few last particulars
While I tended to make use of a Hammerhead as my important laptop, I had just lately fried it utilizing a duff charger. Fortunately, I even have a wee little Wahoo Bolt too, which was excellent. I knew the route fairly effectively, however by no means being one for driving to energy, I merely ran it with the map on the display screen together with the full time and common pace, with the targets I wanted to hit for these metrics taped to the huge stem for reference.
One factor I did swap that was a surprisingly nice improve was the brake cables. Since feeling the lever really feel of my colleague Tom’s Cannondale SuperSix earlier than he launched into the Paris-Roubaix sportive, I’ve been chasing an identical setup for my rim brake bikes. Shimano now not makes its highest high quality, polymer-coated cables with MTB ends because the MTB world has lengthy since gone hydraulic and disc brake, so as an alternative I opted for Jagwire highway hyperlink outers mixed with Jagwire MTB inners.
It’s not fairly as clean, nevertheless it saved a number of grams and the lever really feel is vastly higher than it was with a budget housing that was on earlier than. You’d be amazed how rather more confidence you may have within the brakes when the lever suggestions is nice; particularly necessary on steep, twisty internal metropolis descents.
A correct spares package
While I used to be ready to danger a flat, I used to be not ready to then stroll house, so nonetheless ran a correct saddlebag full with spare butyl tube, large tyre levers, a small multi-tool, and a diminutive Birzman Apogee mini pump.
All sufficient to get me house and stay to struggle one other day. I’ve taken to securing it with an extra Voile Nano strap, as I discover it stops any rattling which will happen. Worth the handful of grams for my part.
No aero bars
Something I toyed with in testing was a set of mini Sirocco clip-on aero bars from Controltech. They did enable me to get right into a extra aero place, however in testing, I discovered the instances after I truly had the chance to get into them for any size of time had been minimal. There’s one flat part on the finish of the route round an space of parkland, however actually, I may kind of replicate the place they supplied by simply holding the bars by the stem and dropping my elbows a bit decrease.
A really quick pair of socks
My clothes may have been extra optimum, nevertheless it was chilly after I gave it a crack so a non-aero long-sleeve jersey went on. I had just lately been despatched what had been claimed to be the quickest socks on the earth from Sockeloen, at instances apparently utilized by Mathieu van der Poel, so I slapped these on, however that was it.
Well, did you get it?
Yes, simply. The route is front-loaded fairly closely, so it was solely within the last quarter-hour or in order that I believed I’d make it. In actuality, it was extra of an excuse to tinker and rework a motorcycle as fully as potential, nevertheless it was actually satisfying to seek out the mods had paid off. I can’t fairly shake the sensation {that a} comparatively first rate highway bike with disc brakes would in all probability be sooner, nevertheless it wouldn’t be almost so enjoyable, and it actually wouldn’t have been as low cost, and it’s stored an previous bike going which is at all times good.
I’d love another person to go after it, and there are stronger riders than myself within the membership who may simply do it, however to go any sooner myself would in all probability take some unsafe driving, which is not well worth the related dangers.
I would try to proceed to optimise the bike extra, maybe with some carbon chainrings, perhaps some ultralight wheels, however to be sincere I feel I’ll truly slap some extra sturdy tubeless tyres on it and depart it as a depraved quick pub bike.
Also, I ought to shout out my clubmate Liv who took the QOM the day earlier than and mainly made me determine to go for it the subsequent day.