This year’s National Hill Climb Championships was the perfect venue for weight-weenies to display their bike-fettling skills. Seven competitors talk us through their builds
Words and photography Charlotte Head
National Hill Climb bikes LEADOUT
Bike owner Simon Warren Bike Time NX Bike weight 5.9kg Finishing time 16min 26sec ‘The Time NX isn’t a crazy-light bike at its core but I managed to strip off over a kilo from the standard weight. I swapped in my 2005 Zipp 303 tubular wheels with a 22mm Conti podium tub on the rear and a 195g 19mm Tufo on the front. I fitted a pair of chopped-off bars, ditched the front mech and replaced the left lever with an old ten-speed one with no internal gear mechanism. The saddle is full carbon Selle Italia SLR, which was already light but I drilled some extra holes to remove another five grams.
‘The bottle bolts and front hanger have been removed, and I covered the holes with tape to stop water getting in. The lights are LED keychain lights, which won’t stop traffic but do satisfy the authorities.’
Bike owner Nile Battey Bike Fake Colnago C60 Bike weight 7.6kg Finishing time 16min 29sec ‘Along with the gold/carbon frameset, most of the components were purchased from some pretty questionable websites, with shipping often outweighing the actual item price. My favourite elements are the carbon saddle (80g), the pink skewers (40g) and the unbranded carbon tubular race wheels. The whole build originally cost me around £600 but, after many years and miles, I decided to swap out the old Shimano 105 groupset for a new Ultegra Di2 12-speed.
‘I’m quite small so ended up getting some 32cm bars from a children’s bike just to get the right fit. I wanted to get the bike to weigh as little as possible, so glued an old keyring light to the underside of my Wahoo computer mount but I’m also quite light so I was able to favour aesthetics in some areas.’
Bike owner Chris Hall Bike Cervé
