Weight Weenie Hip Hop Aspirations

What seat is that?

Crashing on Vico is grim! Didn’t realise that’s where it happens. I suppose it’s right so cars do tend to drive slightly more sensible.

Glad to see the bikes ok.

Tune!

Yeah it wasn't awfully fun 😂 I think I'd gotten carried away with what a lovely time I was having too, the weather was beautiful and that view is great! Perish the thought of that car being just a little bit further up the road when it happened though, wouldn't have been fun at all!

We must get out for a spin soon once the next restriction is eased (giving me a chance to regain some sort of fitness I've lost through baked goods and Netflix over the last two months!)

Having sold the Allez I've been fighting the itch to start another weight weenie/ HHSRB build and I'm finally about ready to start into the plan...

Expect another slow burner with twists and turns aplenty as I try to justify buying ever increasingly expensive and decreasingly weighty parts and it's looking like the frame will be a custom build this time around too...

Frontrunners in the frame stakes are Vetta and Frank The Welder.

I sort of just want a Spooky Skeletor frame and these were originally welded by Frank The Welder so that's what's really making the most sense, it'll be a little bit more expensive than Vetta and a little bit more hassle with taxes and import etc. but I reckon it will be lighter than the offering from Vetta and as a mountain biker it would be really cool to own a Frank The Welder frame!

I've been nerding over parts for the build and have a few ideas I'm fairly set on already so I'll start going into those soon and as always I'm open to suggestion and opinion on my potentially terrible ideas...

Here's a couple of snazzy Skeletors for inspiration.

The first thing I have planned for the build is an idea I had for some wheels that I had originally planned for the Allez but never got around to before selling it...

They may be a terrible idea.

I'm really keen on the idea of ultra low-profile climbing wheels and I think they look fantastic on a HHSRB build so this is what I would like to acquire first of all... I'm sure I'll also look out for some super deep carbon bois in the future too but first things first.

I've done the homework and come up with two options as follows:

Option 1:
Pacenti Brevet 28h rims
Bitex RAR12
Bitex RAF12
Sapim Polyax alloy nipples
CX Rays spokes
Weight - 1470g

Option 2:
Gipiemme NISI Sludi 390 32h rims
Bitex RAR12
Bitex RAF12
Sapim Polyax alloy nipples
CX Rays spokes
Weight - 1388g

Aesthetically I prefer Option 2 but I've also seen a small bit of commentary online suggesting the welds on the rims can be a bit shit and that the older version had a habit of pulling spokes through (apparently resolved in current model with addition of eyelets).

Am I an idiot and why should I just go for Open Pros (UST)?

in my opinion all silver has the edge in terms of looks.
machined sidewalls on black alloy rims can never look anything but average.
i am riding dura ace c24 carbon/alloy wheels at the moment which are excellent for hills, but even with the nice glossy dura ace finish, they just look like wheels. tanwall tyres help, but still

Yeah agreed too. I have Open Pro CDs on my Kona Miyata which are great but the brake tracks do eventually start to wear in...

What are your thoughts on the likelihood of the Gipiemme rims exploding on a spicy descent?
Part of the reason I want to build this bike is that I've been itching to do Club Des Cingles for a few years now and would like to have that in mind...

i would class the likelihood as unlikely and not consider it a parameter :)

if overheating is a concern, enve tubs are probably the answer ...

Yeah I'm keen to avoid tubs for the moment... I'm sure I'm overthinking it. They're not very expensive rims either so if they do fail I won't mind rebuilding them provided I survive the incident :)

In that case I'm inclined to take the WW points and go for the Gipiemme ones unless I hear otherwise... there's very few reviews of them online and the first one that pops up on Google is of catastrophic failure but surely no news otherwise is good news?

Unless everyone who's ever bought them has died fiery death on hills?

As soon as I read your post I thought of this build:

https://weightweenies.starbike.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=144812

Ambrosio Nemesis rims would be cracking, there are some NOS on ebay, 32 hole. Could also go for shallow carbon rims? I have some 25mm Light Bikes on Bitex hubs from Arkane and they really fit the bill, light and no chance of wearing the brake track to a shiny finish.

I built a pair of the nisi/gipiemme for a customer and I dont remember the welds to be that bad

And I doubt it can be way worst than mavic welds by example

As a wheelbuilder I dont recommand using alloy nipple if you want your wheels to be durable. If you're not against rebuilding them every 2 to 5 years then go for the little extra gain

If you are light rider you can lower the count of spokes with kinlin/mavic rims to. Something like 20/24. If you're not that light you might feel the wheels a little less rigid. And you're losing the full siver rims idea

Suffering succotash that's spicy! Very much on the vibe I'm after at the moment alright!

I did consider Light Bicycle and would probably build some up in future but I really want that excessively shallow look... the Gipiemme rims are only 13.5mm (0.5mm deeper than Ambrosia Nemesis) and the Pacenti ones are 15mm for example...

That sounds very reassuring! I'm not exactly a light boy sadly (c.90kg at the moment but should be closer to 80kg to be honest) so my true Weenie potential will never be fulfilled but I'm happy enough to stick with 28h/ 32h depending on the rim in question!

is hpluson tb14 not an option ?

tb14 are relatively heavy

But for sure really good shit... I rarely see brands with such constancy in term of almost perfect welds

I would have considered them but a few years ago I had loaned a friend a bike and he had an off which resulted in a new front wheel being needed, he went ahead and had a TB14 put on it and when I got it back off him a few months later I couldn't believe how shitty the TB14 looked... it may have just been bad luck but it didn't seem to wear very well?

Is that common with them or once off you reckon?

From whats I've seen h+s rims seems to wear a little faster than average probably due to aluminium they use ((Especially in cyclocross/daily use to be honest).

But the fact that they look worn depend on many things and especilly how often you wash them and what quality of brake pads you're using.

I think bad pads and no wash will result the same whatever the brand of the rim

good feedback. in my mind, rims that have a rounded transition for sidewall to flat profile will always have this issue, unless consitently washed as said above...

tb14 tub inspiration tho

That does look very well... I think the silver rims will be a nice departure though without the hassle of fading brake tracks...

I still do like a Standert

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Oof, that Standert.

standert is more moneygun than HH... imo

twists and turns

I am already confused! were you looking to build an aluminium bike? wasnt expecting pacenti brevets either... how long until you're looking up import fees to ireland for a crust?

good thread though, subbed

Sorry yes, frame will be aluminium... just having a creep on some Standerts in the meantime.

Liking the sound of this. I had similar thoughts for my CAAD and slightly regret not going for the Brevet's when i had the choice. +1 for silver rims, they can look a bit vintage with the wrong tan walls (box fresh Corsa's are really light) but this deserves Turbo Cottons which look great with silver IMO. TB14's are really nice looking rims but they felt noticeably sluggish compared with my XR22's. That might just be my lack of power mind.

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