The Extralite SCR058: A 9lb Hill Climbing Machine
- Posted on
- By G. Keller
- Posted in Builds, Custom Builds, Extralite Build, Road Bike, Tech, Weight Weenie
Recently we did a rebuild of a super light bike we build for GCN. The rebuild had a focus in making the bike functionably lightweight, which involved bringing it up to a whopping 9lbs. Come have an in depth look at a fresh take on a screaming light build.
A few months back we were approached by the fellows at GCN to build an outrageously lightweight bike for hill-climbing purposes. They begged for an 8-pound bike, and we delivered (like we do!). We cautioned them time and time again during the process that the true sweet spot for a lightweight build was about a pound heavier. So, after we got the bike back we decided to do a rebuild, and this time turn the bike into what our vision was originally... we swapped a few parts to beef up the bike as well as make it a bit more efficient, and now we present to you our ideal 9 lb hill-climbing machine. Peruse this gallery of finished pictures, then hop over to our YouTube for a complete build video. Enjoy!
As with every proper weight weenie bike, there is no paint job—just a raw 3K weave with a small amount of gloss for the Extralite logo.
Schmolke TLO Handlebars. We used super light Tesa tape to wrap the bars, and then for bar ends we went with hollow carbon bar-end plugs.
The Extralite Hyperstem. We were actually able to trim the steerer tube a little, as we dialed in the fit a little compared to the original build.
The Extralite Hyper Spacers are 3D printed from nylon, and have a minimal weight penalty. The 5 mm spacer is half a gram, and even the 10 mm spacer is under a gram. When you compare this to standard alloy spacers, you're saving multiple grams per spacer.
The Extralite Hypercap is very slick in that the cap itself is nice and thin, and the bolt is hollow. The top cap and bolt together weigh 2.8 grams.
Seat collar by Extralite.
This saddle and seatpost combo is a little treat from the early days of Berk Composites.
We used a SRAM 10-speed rear derailleur that has been tuned with Extralite UltraPulleys. We used the super light Alligator I-Link Mini housings for all of the shifting and braking.
Cranks by Grigio Carbonio. These are currently the lightest cranks available. The bike is set up 1x, so for a chainring we went with a single chainring from an Extralite OctaRamp chainring set.
The pedals are an oldie but goodie from M2Racer. Pictured are the Orb II. M2Racer sadly closed shop in 2006, but they are still legendary in the world of all things weight weenie.
We went with a SRAM Red 10-speed cassette so that shifting would be as on point as possible.
This wheelset is a one-off made by Extralite specially for us, just for this project. It uses Extralite Cyber front and rear hubs laced to the Extralite tubular rims with carbon spokes.
Tires by Veloflex. On this iteration of the build we went with a wider tire with a little bit more flat protection.
We used Extralite Streeters for the QR skewers on this bike.
Very handsome build.
So there you have it. This is our take on a 'proper' hill-climbing bike.
Reach out to the Park Avenue Studio if you are ready to dive down the rabbit hole and get a super lightweight build of your own.
Click on the thumbnail below to watch the whole rebuild video where we go over parts choices and build the bike back up!
Visit Fair Wheel Bikes on YouTube →
Until next time, happy riding!