There’s a shed-built nature to all hill climb bikes, with riders taking weight savings into their own hands, unbound by the UCI regulations.
These often crude-looking machines usually sacrifice many comforts in their quest for featherweight status, with bar tape and saddle padding usually first to hit the dustbin.
The bikes at this year's National Hill Climb Championship were no exception, with riders launching off the start line on lightweight builds that would see a UCI commissaire vibrating with anger.
Sanded down for savings
While turning up to an event with the lightest bike quickly becomes an arms race for those with deep enough pockets, this mysterious sanded-down Cervélo ridden by Bhima Bowden shows you don’t have to spend a fortune to build a competitive bike.
The Macclesfield Wheelers rider says he is unsure what frame he rides, other than it's a Cervélo R-Series.
That’s because the bike has been sanded down for weight savings, with neither paint nor lacquer adding any performance benefit on the hill.
As well as the sander, Bowden also pinched a hacksaw from the toolbox to cut down his Hylix handlebar, creating a bullhorn-esque design matched with SRAM Red 22 levers.
Red 22 mechanical remains the lightest groupset made by a major brand, and it's still a favourite for those building lightweight bikes.
Simply Red
The bike has a SRAM Red 22 derailleur, which is used in a 1X setup, with a single chainring connected to the Rotor Vegast cranks.
Bowden has swapped out the brakes for a set of £85 carbon fibre calipers from AliExpress, which share more than a passing resemblance to Ciamillo L8 brakes.
While we’re not sure we’d trust these to descend a Col, they tick a box on the competition’s starting list – as do the tiny LED lights on the front and rear of the bike.
Elsewhere on the bike, Bowden has opted for a padless carbon fibre saddle, while the bike rolls on a set of carbon fibre wheels wrapped in Veloflex tubular tyres.
Gracing the scales at 5.9kg and costing Bowden an estimated £1,200 in components, this Cervélo celebrates all that’s weird and wonderful about the UK hill climbing scene.
More from the National Hill Climb Championship
- This 14-year-old's budget weight-weenie bike weighs 5.7kg, has AliExpress parts and features ‘uphill brakes’
- A £150 bike with £4,799 wheels: this veteran rider's hill climb bike won my heart
- Don't try this at home! I love these super sketchy hacked eTap shifters
- 6 ultralight bikes from the 2025 National Hill Climb Championships
