I Do Things

photo credit: jhenryrose

Back in the bygone days of 2004 I had more time than money, so, my bike geekiness had to take a backseat to cost. Today I am going to moon over what my dream bike would be now. My current bike, a fixed gear, is 24.5 lbs (11,113 g) my goal is to drop to 16 lbs (7,258 g) or less — about 45% weight decrease.

• Frame: Litespeed Ghisallo — it is super light 1.98 (900 g) pounds for my size, M frame. Starting here I already drop more than 2 pounds. Unfortunately the Ghisallo has vertical dropouts, these are bad for single speed bikes, but that can be fixed with a chain tensioner.
• Bottom Bracket — Shimano Dura Ace Track BB7700 173 g. I am a Shimano fan.
• Crank Set & Chainring — Dura Ace FC7710 550 g & 49 tooth ring. Might as well match the set.
• Hubs — Phil Wood low flange rear and front ~ 534 g. I don’t know why, but this is a prestige thing. I have never ridden Phil Wood hubs, but I want to badly.
• Wheelset — Velocity Aerohead Rims, Wheelsmith XL-14 double butted spokes, 700 x 23c tubes and tires ~ 1950 g (total).
• Fork — Reynolds Ouzo Pro AERO 441 g. Carbon fiber forks give a softer ride.
• Headset — Cane Creek Solos 72 g. This is what Litespeed uses so it is the easy choice.
• Stem — Salsa Moto Ace 130 g. I have one of these and like it so I might as well stick it out.
• Handle bars — Nitto Bullhorn 230 g. I like the bullhorn style bars for around town riding.
• Breaks — Dura Ace BR7800 314 g.
• Pedals — Dura Ace PD-M647 568 g. Pedals are surprisingly heavy compared to other parts, but they are clip in hybrids so I can be versatile.
• Freewheel — ACS 18 tooth 135 g.
• Chain — Shimano 105 9spd 305 g.
• Seat Post — Oval Concepts R700 190 g.
• Saddle — Planet Bike ARS 400 g. I love this saddle I have put thousands of miles on my current one. Here my geekiness is taking a backseat to ass comfort.

This is all the major stuff that goes into a bike. It is 15.2 pounds (6,900 g). But I will have to add some miscellaneous parts: cables, chain tensioner (fixes the dropout issue), bar tape, brake levers, reflectors, etc), but I think that even with these additions I will weigh in at 16 pound bike.

I think that the best thing about this bike is that if I get the decals off it will be a unremarkable bike on the outside and dreamy a little rocket in every other situation. I think it could be my last bike ever, especially since it would cost more than a Vespa, unless I get some good deals.