5 Ultra-Light Hill Climb Bikes | 2021 UK National Hill Climb Championships

We were at the 2021 UK Hill Climb National Championships this year and have picked out five of the most exciting, weird-looking and feather-light builds for you.

The 2021 UK Hill Climb National Championships returned to Winnats Pass in the Peak District for the first time since 1977 where 300 riders faced biblical weather conditions on one of the toughest courses on the circuit.

With an average gradient of 16 per cent over the 900-metre course, maxing out at 23 per cent for a sustained section at the top of the climb, uncompromisingly lightweight bikes were the order of the day, with just about every weight-saving trick under the sun employed across the field.

Hill climbs in the UK are run by Cycling Time Trials, so they aren’t subject to UCI rules. This means sub-6.8kg bikes and exotic ultralight components are the norm – you really can run whatever you want so long as it’s not a trike or recumbent.

What do you think of our list? Which of these stealthy bikes makes you want to ride uphill as fast as possible? Would you like to try hill climbing?

Photo Credits:
📸 Matt Grayson:
→ https://instagram.com/mattgrayson_photo

Read more on BikeRadar.com:
→ https://www.bikeradar.com/features/pro-bike/2021-hill-climb-national-championships-bikes/
→ https://www.bikeradar.com/features/pro-bike/lightweight-specialized-aethos/

Make sure you check out BikeRadar Diaries for our own attempts at hill climbing in Hill Climb Diaries:

Hill Climb Season 3:
→ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nFgBU8mheWA&list=PLhX4qGpWXV9tmrzfj_-MXEmBFUK68id_O

Hill Climb Season 2:
→ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r5uXvLtbbX8&list=PLhX4qGpWXV9t-m6ax4Xe6Xrvnvm3z_NOZ

Hill Climb Season 1:
→ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X60gzn6Zbdc&list=PLhX4qGpWXV9saA5CHUJuZm5LuZfc8e9Bk

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#HillClimbBikes #LightweightBikes #NationalHillClimbChampionships21

The 2021 uk hill climb national championships returned to win its pass in the peak district for the first time since 1977 with 300 riders faced biblical weather conditions on one of the toughest courses on the circuit we were at this year’s event and have picked out five of the most exciting

Weird looking and featherlight builds for you make sure you check out bike radar diaries for our own attempts at hill climbing they are some of our favorite videos we’ve ever made and are well worth the watch there is a link in the video description for those before we get started don’t forget to

Like subscribe and click the little bell icon so you get notified every time we upload a video Rebecca richardson’s specialized ethos stole the show this year with a smattering of lightweight components bringing the overall weight and don’t forget this is for a disc brake bike to just 4.7 kilograms starting at the front of the bike richardson used shimano dura-ace di2 levers with grip tape used in place of

The rubber hood covers these were mounted to a daramo ellipse handlebar she also used the brand’s ix2 stem saddle and t1 loop seat post which is notable for the loop of dyneema cable it uses to affix the saddle for that four piece set of finishing kit we’d estimate a total weight of around

370 grams which is mind-bogglingly light richardson’s ethos rolls on vittorio’s papery thin and supple corsa speed tubular tires and tubular wheels from german component brand ax lightness ax lightness says its ultradisc 25t wheels in their stock guys weighed just 845 grams yet richardson has looked to shed further weight by building them up

With birds polymer string spokes according to the brand these spokes are made from ultra high molecular weight polythene and are said to be both lighter and stronger than conventional steel spokes the standard two by dura ace crank set has been ditched completely in favor of a 1 by 32 tooth

Chainring mounted to a sram xx1 eagle crank set the cassette has been whittled down to just five sprockets to save a chunk of weight and preserve an efficient chain line and in another nod to efficiency ceramic speed’s ospw system has also been fitted speed speedplay’s titanium spindled nano

Pedals top off an impressive build that helped richardson take third place on the day Rick bailey owner of spoke a small frame builder which is based in sheffield rode to a time of 4 minutes and 12 seconds aboard this custom steel bike the unconventional geometry of the bike is said to be similar to a time trial bike with a steep seat tree bangle short

Head tube and short rear center speaking to bike radar bayley explained the short back end helps to keep the weight of the rider more over the rear wheel helping to maintain grip when climbing out of the saddle this can reduce the chance of wheel spin on the typically wet and greasy roads of

The uk hill climb season bayley was further keen to stress that as the bike is photographed on the flat it looks a bit strange but if you put it on a steep gradient it all makes sense this is a hill climb specific bike if there ever was one the frame is

Constructed from unidentified philip brazed steel tubing this is paired with a custom carbon integrated seat mast the bike is based around a shimano dura ace r 9000 group set run in a 1 by setup with a 38 tooth chainring up front tom bell triumphed on the day putting

Seven seconds into the time set by 2020 national champion andrew feather to win the men’s race bell rode the same rose x light that took him to second place last year with a few select mods for this year’s course and conditions bell’s bike is built with a mechanical

Shimano ultegra r8 000 group set set up in a one by arrangement the 170 millimeter crank set is fitted with a 38 tooth wolf tooth chain ring and a stages power meter the stock ultegra brakes have also been swapped for a set of lighter fouriers br dx001 brakes

Bell ran an unidentified tubular front wheel fitted with a victoria corsa speed tire out back he made a last minute switch to a giant slr-1 30 millimeter deep wheel fitted with a pirelli p04s tire this tire is designed specifically for riding in wet conditions and given the

Wild weather seen on the day this seems like a canny move finally a mount zoom seat post and stem are paired with an mcfk saddle and uncut unidentified bars while very light at 5.7 kilograms bell’s bike doesn’t stand out as particularly extraordinary or flashy as much as we love pouring over

Lightweight tech if you want to be a hillclimb superstar it ultimately boils down to performance pacing and training beecha jones retained her national title in the women’s event setting a time just over four minutes on the same to fussy mons she rode last season jones foregoes

Both tape and drops in a bid to save weight her bike is built with a campagnolo record 10 speed group set with titanium bolts fitted wherever possible to shave off every possible gram of weight the left hand shifter has also been gutted of its internals to save a little bit of weight

Up front jones is running a 10-speed shimano ultegra 6-700 crank set unusually for a hill climber jones is running no power meter jones made a switch from her fulcrum speed 55 wheels in favor of a pair of fulcrum racing zero c17 alloy clinchers these were fitted with a pair of

Continental gp 5000 tires biecha chatted us through her bike in a recent episode of bike raider diaries at belmont hill where her daughter frieda competed in the junior race to watch that video click the link in the video description Peter green hall rode this fixed gear fh grub to take the win and course record on win its pass at the 1966 uk hill climb national championships peter’s son mark has since rebuilt the bike to better suit day-to-day riding but the frame hubs and bars are the same

As those written by his father 55 years ago fh grub was originally based in london but the brand name was bought by holdsworth in 1949 holdsworth continued to produce frames bearing the moniker and the company’s nottingham-based workshop until 1978. mudguards may look wildly out of place on a hillclimb bike however mark was

Keen to point out that on the day his father took the record he rode the bike to win it from his home in nottingham which is roughly 65 miles he then took his mud guards off won the race and then rode home to put that effort into context green

Hall’s record time of 3 minutes and 11 seconds had stood until this year where only tom bell and andrew feather beat it truly heroic stuff What do you think of our list which of these stealthy bikes makes you want to ride uphill as fast as possible would you like to try hill climbing or do you not like the idea of being sick at the side of the road make sure you check out all of our hill

Climb diaries episodes in the link in the video description and as always let us know in the comments any questions you might have and don’t forget to like and subscribe You