And it has S&S frame couplings...
Just to prove what can be done, Croydon-based Roberts Cycles built, for the 2004 London Cycle Show, a frame for customer Neil Carlson that formed the basis of a road bike weighing an astounding 13lbs all-up.
With recent tweaks to the component spec., Carlson has managed to get this down to 12.5lbs and, with a couple more including a radically-lightened SRAM RED rear mech about to be fitted when we visited the Roberts showroom recently, there are a few more ounces still to go.
Naturally enough, being a Roberts, the frame main tubes are steel, although the seat and chain stays are carbon. Components from such manufacturers as Schmolke, Gravity, Extralite and Tufo might be expected on such a machine, but the S&S couplings, while an invaluable fitment to a cycle that gets taken on regular trips abroad, are hardly the stuff of a weight-watcher's dreams.
Nevertheless, the bike is not only light but eminently rideable according to the owner. And the secret of building a featherweight steel frame? 'We weighed a whole load of lightweight tubes and chose the lightest. Some weighed 20g less than others of the same spec.', said Chas Roberts.
Terry Raggett wrote (see)
. Not sure that 12.5 kilo has any particular relevance, though.
Terry
Not sure if you are aware of the imperial system but the article refers to 12.5 pounds which converts to just over 5.6kg - a bit less than the 12.5kg that you have read it as
