Road Cycling - Sub-18lb Steel Bike

Anyone ride a sub-18lb steel bike. If so, what's it equipped with? Looking to get a custom steel bike within the next few months...

Check the Waterford Precision website. They have a custom steel/Dura Ace setup that is under 17lbs.

http://www.landsharkbicycles.com/
can get them pretty light

the cervelo super prodigy http://www.cervelo.com/bikes/SPG.html should be light enough.. i think. i think any reasonable road frame can get below 18lbs with the right gear. but i see no reason to go below 18 or even 20 lbs since wind is the most evil of all devils for a bike.
see if you can have a steel bike made like the cervelo p3 http://www.cervelo.com/bikes/P3.html

or ti if you can pull it off. just make sure the bb is stiff and the bike is aero. although the rider is 2/3 of the drag. get tt gear for clothing.

i have a tommasini carbo fire with chorus and dt swiss wheels that is in the 18 pound range

its great :)

the cervelo super prodigy http://www.cervelo.com/bikes/SPG.html should be light enough.. i think. i think any reasonable road frame can get below 18lbs with the right gear. but i see no reason to go below 18 or even 20 lbs since wind is the most evil of all devils for a bike.
see if you can have a steel bike made like the cervelo p3 http://www.cervelo.com/bikes/P3.html

or ti if you can pull it off. just make sure the bb is stiff and the bike is aero. although the rider is 2/3 of the drag. get tt gear for clothing.

hmmm...this superprodigy looks like a possible option...

My 62cm Tephra is just under 20lbs, and none of the components on it are light. If I spent a whole bag of ducats on it, I could get it under 18lbs no worries. Right now as it stands, I could care less if it weighed 18lbs.

A steel frame TIG'd from a high end air hardening steel like Foco, 853, OX Platinum etc etc., in your size, regardless of manufacturer, will weight about the same. If you want a steel bike and want it to be light, then the devil is in the parts selection.

My 84 Trek 770 with with full campy Super record and Tubulars will
come in at about 20lbs. I could get it down lower with some
serious lightweight parts but I want to keep it "period correct".

Agree with the tiger, its all in the parts. An Alu frame doesn't
weigh that much more than a good steel frame.

Marty

Anyone ride a sub-18lb steel bike. If so, what's it equipped with? Looking to get a custom steel bike within the next few months...


I ride a Scapin EOS7 Columbus Ultrafoco with Record 10v and Mavic Ksyrium wheels. 8kg.

Anyone ride a sub-18lb steel bike. If so, what's it equipped with? Looking to get a custom steel bike within the next few months...


Sub 18# is a chore regardless of frame material. You will need high end expensive parts to pull it off, particularly with a steel frame.

To hit that mark you are looking at Dura Ace or Record, sub 1500 gram wheels, ultra lightweight stem, bars, seat, seat post, high end racing tires, light tubes, ect.

Not cheap.

Case in point is my current ride:

Custom steel frame (3.5 lbs), Look HSC 3 carbon fork, Dura Ace 9 speed components, handbuilt 1640 gram wheelset, Thompson seat post, Ritchey WCS bars and stem, Avocet 40R Ti saddle, Speedplay X2 pedals, Hutchinson Carbon Comp tires, king headset, Blackburn bottle cages, and Specialized mini-pump. All up weight is 8.6 kg or 18.9 lbs.

Taking a full pound out of my rig would be a real chore. I doubt it can be done without spending a wod of cash and compromising durability.

Ed

I was emailling 531Aussie about this. He said that it must be pretty insane what you'd have to spend to get a steel bike down sub 18lbs. This is what I said -

"I could lose 150g on the fork, 50g on the bar/stem/tape, 100g if I went with a Selle Italia SLR and Alien carbon post, probably another 50g if I went to 20c tires, 150g on the pedals easy, 100-150g going with a carbon cranks and Ti ISIS BB.....there's a 620g weight savings already. I could also lose another 30g by going with a DA cassette and front derail, 100g by buying some Zero Gravity brakes.....and I haven't even busted out the drill yet! If I actually rode a 'normal' sized frame, there's another 150g saving. What am I up to? 900g weight savings? Boy, my wallet would be feeling pretty light too!"

The difference in weight between a high end steel frame and an Aluminium one is about 250g - or about the same weight as a water bottle that's 1/3 full. That's a whopping 0.3% of the total weight of you and your bike. Something to think about next time you're climbing a hill....passing the guys on their Aluminium bikes :)

if you have the cash, try richard sachs cycles. he's been building sick lugged frames for years. If you have the cash and choose your parts wisely you can get into the 15lb range with steel.

My Marin Verona comes in at about 18 pounds. But then, it is a fixed gear, so that really isn't fair...

my serotta CSi is around 19.5 right now, but i'm about to replace my 800-something gram tank of a fork (serotta F1 carbon with 853 steer) with a full carbon reynolds ouzo pro. i'm going to be losing over a full pound off the fork alone and will also shave off more g in the quill stem to threadless stem conversion.

also check out zanotticycles.com - he built a 2.8 lb frame from reyolds s3 steel. the complete bike was something like 16.5lbs, and if i recall, the components used weren't even the lightest available.

do you guys know there's a Weigt Weenies forum?
http://weightweenies.starbike.com/phpBB2/

do you guys know there's a Weigt Weenies forum?
http://weightweenies.starbike.com/phpBB2/

I'm taking your ribbing in jest. My question is to simply see what it would take to get a sub-18lb steel bike. I don't like the ride of carbon...and Ti is out of my price range (considering components).

I'm currently 139lbs. At 5' 6", my power to weight ration is pretty decent. I just want to know how much better I can get with the proper equipment. Rest assured, I pay my dues on the hills...

do you guys know there's a Weigt Weenies forum?
http://weightweenies.starbike.com/phpBB2/

I'm taking your ribbing in jest. My question is to simply see what it would take to get a sub-18lb steel bike. I don't like the ride of carbon...and Ti is out of my price range (considering components). I'm tired of Aluminum. Steel just gives a good ride...

I'm currently 139lbs. At 5' 6", my power to weight ration is pretty decent. I just want to know how much better I can get with the proper equipment. Rest assured, I pay my dues on the hills...

I'm taking your ribbing in jest. My question is to simply see what it would take to get a sub-18lb steel bike. I don't like the ride of carbon...and Ti is out of my price range (considering components).

I'm currently 139lbs. At 5' 6", my power to weight ration is pretty decent. I just want to know how much better I can get with the proper equipment. Rest assured, I pay my dues on the hills...
If titanium is out of your price range, then a high quality steel frame is too. Virtually everyone I've looked at starts in the $2300 range (frame only, no fork) and head for the starts quickly.

A few component upgrades and I bet you could get this less than 18, or pretty close:

http://www.bianchiusa.com/virata.html

The 55cm is under 19 lbs., as is.

If titanium is out of your price range, then a high quality steel frame is too. Virtually everyone I've looked at starts in the $2300 range (frame only, no fork) and head for the starts quickly.

You can get a full custom brazed Landshark with Ultegra from gvhbikes.com for $2k. John Slawta makes great bikes and will paint them as plain or as wild as you like. It's a great deal, even with the Ultegra on there... (gratuitous tongue-in-cheek Shimano swipe by Campy guy)...

Start with an Orbea Ultrafoco Carbon frameset, add Record, FSA carbon superlight cranks, as many light weight alloy or carbon parts as you can find and topolinos or similarly feathery wheel.

Mine is set up with Record, FSA carbon cranks, regular Open Pro wheels with Record hubs, chro-mo bottom bracket spindle, alloy steer tube fork with carbon legs and comes in at about 19 in a 60c. Great frameset, incredible paint, won't break the bank. Benefit of them being a relatively new arrival in the States...

If titanium is out of your price range, then a high quality steel frame is too. Virtually everyone I've looked at starts in the $2300 range (frame only, no fork) and head for the starts quickly.

Are you sure. Where are you looking?

That's bollocks. The average price for a custom Foco or similar from most boutique builders is about US$1200. If you want lugged exotica, sure, that'll set you back more as it's a more labour intensive process amongst other things. It's also probably not your number one choice if you're even remotely concerned with weight. Or like 1 1/8th forks.