Cervélo R3 Hill Climb Special

[Legs]

My Kalloy UNO stem arrived today; at 99g, a touch more than the advertised 93g, but not worth a lawsuit. The FSA stem that came off feels incredibly light, but it’s actually 41g more. The new stem has a slightly lower stack height than the FSA, so I had to put a spacer in, rather than cutting down the steerer (that’s not the kind of project I want to embark on the afternoon before a big race!)



I took the bike for a spin down the road (wearing my jeans and hoodie), to test it out on the little hill in the village. I was 3s outside my 50s Strava KOM, largely because I had to negotiate the sharp corner at the bottom quite gingerly (wind-blown crap all over the road), but I was also not really giving it full full beans.

 

[Legs]

Gave the completed HC build full full beans on Sunday afternoon at Monsal Head Hill Climb. Clocked 1:36.1 for 35th place out of 186 finishers, 7.4s faster than my time last year. User fail on the DoubleTap resulted in an accidental upshift rather than downshift on the Showman's Stretch at the end, which may have cost me a bit, but I was pretty happy with the result anyway.
https://www.strava.com/activities/16041193863

I've got one last thing coming for the bike - I'm swapping my 52g Cateye lights for some 10g minimalist lights.

Next outing is the National Championships in Matlock on Sunday 26 October.

 

[ColinJ]

Gave the completed HC build full full beans on Sunday afternoon at Monsal Head Hill Climb. Clocked 1:36.1 for 35th place out of 186 finishers, 7.4s faster than my time last year.

Well done!

User fail on the DoubleTap resulted in an accidental upshift rather than downshift...

Ha ha - I have done that multiple times! I have one bike with an SRAM groupset, one with Campagnolo, one with Shimano, and one with a bar-end shifter.

I often get caught out in the first part of a ride if I am riding a different bike after doing lots of rides on one of the others. I am usually okay after about 30 minutes to get used to the different shifting method.

 

[Norry1]

Gave the completed HC build full full beans on Sunday afternoon at Monsal Head Hill Climb. Clocked 1:36.1 for 35th place out of 186 finishers, 7.4s faster than my time last year. User fail on the DoubleTap resulted in an accidental upshift rather than downshift on the Showman's Stretch at the end, which may have cost me a bit, but I was pretty happy with the result anyway.
https://www.strava.com/activities/16041193863

Next outing is the National Championships in Matlock on Sunday 26 October.

Great job 💪

 

[Legs]

I got an eBay discount voucher so though ‘what the hell?’ with these titanium skewers.

Tobi’s lights arrived yesterday afternoon, so I whipped out the Araldite and stuck the rear one to my saddle. They turn on and off by removing the piece of plastic milk bottle that’s wedged between the button cell and the LED leg - very high tech!



I think I’m finished now. I’ve shed just over 1kg from the bike. The obvious place to look to save any further weight is the Rotor 3D crankset, but getting something lighter, stiff and reliable would be expensive.

Here's my little spreadsheet! I need to borrow some 10g-resolution luggage scales so that I can bore people with more precision about what it actually weighs, though!

 

[N0bodyOfTheGoat]

Have you got an aero set of wheels that fits this bike?

Have you had a recent good effort up a similar hill, to know your ballpark speed for Matlock?

Depending on your speed, it might be worth at least fitting an aero front wheel for this approx 2-3min uphill sprint, especially if you're getting close to 20mph.

 

[Legs]

Have you got an aero set of wheels that fits this bike?

Have you had a recent good effort up a similar hill, to know your ballpark speed for Matlock?

Depending on your speed, it might be worth at least fitting an aero front wheel for this approx 2-3min uphill sprint, especially if you're getting close to 20mph.

Bank Road is 10-11mph average (I did 2:15 for the shorter 630m course last year ~ 10.5mph). It does level off a little bit at Wellington Street but I don't think anyone will be troubling 20mph! Definitely weight over aero!

 

[ColinJ]

I got an eBay discount voucher so though ‘what the hell?’ with these titanium skewers.

Give those a thorough test under maximum effort. A powerful rider I know could not get her Ti rear skewer tight enough to stop her rear wheel pulling out on steep climbs!

I have heard of other riders having the same issue.

Not an issue that you would want to discover mid-event!!

 

[Legs]

Give those a thorough test under maximum effort. A powerful rider I know could not get her Ti rear skewer tight enough to stop her rear wheel pulling out on steep climbs!

I have heard of other riders having the same issue.

Not an issue that you would want to discover mid-event!!

I have heard similar - will take it down to Chebsey Bank and give it a couple of big torque efforts. It felt pretty tight on tightening up, so I'm hopeful.

 

[Jameshow]

I got an eBay discount voucher so though ‘what the hell?’ with these titanium skewers.
View attachment 789982
Tobi’s lights arrived yesterday afternoon, so I whipped out the Araldite and stuck the rear one to my saddle. They turn on and off by removing the piece of plastic milk bottle that’s wedged between the button cell and the LED leg - very high tech!
View attachment 789983

View attachment 789984
I think I’m finished now. I’ve shed just over 1kg from the bike. The obvious place to look to save any further weight is the Rotor 3D crankset, but getting something lighter, stiff and reliable would be expensive.

Here's my little spreadsheet! I need to borrow some 10g-resolution luggage scales so that I can bore people with more precision about what it actually weighs, though!
View attachment 789988

Rotor lighter than a Cannondale S1 crankset?

 

[Legs]

I don’t know. It’s so difficult to compare weights like-for-like because of what different manufacturers do and don’t include. All I know is that the bloke who sold it to be said that he thought the crankset was quite a heavy one!

 

[Mr.B-Campag]

Still no final weight?

 

[Legs]

I don’t have any luggage scales but I’m guessing around 6.2-6.3kg.