A 5.5kg hill-climb bike

A stripped-down Spesh tipping the scales at 5.5kg

Rebecca Richardson is proving to be a dominant force in hill climbing, with a string of wins over the last two seasons. Fresh off the back of her victory at the Longstone Edge hill-climb, we took a look at the Team brother UK-LDN racer’s customised Specialized S-works Tarmac SL4.

Richardson opts to run a Shimano Dura Ace R9000 groupset not only for its light weight, but also its impeccable reliability, important for racing that can be won and lost in a few seconds. To reduce weight, the shifters have the rubber hoods removed and she opts to run a single 38-tooth chainring mated to a 11-28 cassette. As the season progresses, Richardson experiments with different front rings to suit the courses, as well as removing gears on the cassette to lower weight and optimise chain line.

Alongside the usual tried and tested hill climb weight saving features, such as a stripped carbon saddle and cut down bars, the highlight of the build has to be the incredible ZED tubular wheelset.

Handbuilt by Lee Thortersen, these feature ZED’S own carbon tubular rims weighing a scant 222g each, but the star has to be the Berd polymer ‘spokes’. Floppy like string before building, these are stronger than steel and when under tension create a durable almost everyday wheelset. Laced to Extralite hubs, the entire wheelset weighs an extraordinary 758 grams.

The bike weighs in at 5.5kg, but Richardson has a few more tricks up her sleeve to cut weight even further in future.

GETTING A GRIP Vittoria Corsa Speed 25c tubulars fitted front and rear. These are very fast, offer enough puncture protection and excellent grip. UK hill climb courses can be notorious for their wet leaves, rough surfaces and obscene gradients, all a recipe for a slipped wheel. CHAIN GANG Simplifying the drive chain to a 1x set up using a narrow wide chainring, saves weight by being able to remove a chainring, front mech, cables and by running a shorter chain than is usually needed.

PEDAL TO THE METAL Despite the added weight, Richardson opts to use Powertap P1 pedals in order to help measure her efforts during longer hill climb races when keeping a close eye on your power numbers is so important.

38t single chainring and no front mech