This is the custom Canyon Aeroad CFR that Canyon dhb SunGod rider Max Stedman rode during Friday’s Everesting world record attempt.
Stedman’s chosen climb for the record attempt was Crowcombe in the Quantock Hills, which takes in 154m of ascent at an average gradient of 17.2 per cent. He rode the climb 40 times to accumulate 6,160m of elevation before abandoning the attempt.
Hill climb racing aficionados may raise an eyebrow at Stedman’s bike choice – most hill climb bikes usually follow the ‘lightest-of-everything-thank-you-very-much’ approach to spec choice.
However, when you consider Stedman’s average pace on his ‘basecamp’ attempt – which constitutes half an Everesting attempt at 4,424m – back in August was 17km/h, an aero bike may present some significant advantages over a traditional lightweight climbing rig.
In any case, Stedman’s bike is said to weigh 6.7kg, which isn’t to be sniffed at when you consider the Canyon Aeroad is a proper aero road bike.
What is Everesting?
Everesting requires riders to pick a single climb and complete repeats of it in a single session until they ascend 8,848m – the equivalent height of Mount Everest.
The current record is held by Ronan McLaughlin, who rode a 6.2kg Specialized Tarmac SL6.
!["Max]("https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/21/2021/10/hunt_max_everest-5-41fa257.jpg?quality=90&resize=620%2C413" "\"Max")
Stedman’s bike is set up with a Shimano Ultegra R8050 Di2 11-speed rear derailleur that has been fitted with a Kogel Bearings oversized pulley cage.
This is matched with what appears to be a Shimano GRX 11-40t cassette. This has had the three smallest sprockets removed to save a small amount of weight.
A WolfTooth RoadLink derailleur hanger extension has also been fitted to accommodate the larger cassette.
!["Max]("https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/21/2021/10/hunt_max_everest-2-8c8982e.jpg?quality=90&resize=620%2C413" "\"Max")
Though Shimano’s road bike groupsets are not officially compatible with a single ring setup, Stedman ran a Rotor Aldhu Carbon crankset in a 1× set up with a matching INspider power meter.
He also fitted the optional INspider Aero Crown, which is said to smooth airflow over the crankset (by an unspecified amount).
!["Max]("https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/21/2021/10/hunt_max_everest-4-f85ca75.jpg?quality=90&resize=619%2C413" "\"Max")
The bike is built around a set of unreleased Hunt wheels.
We don’t have full details yet but our contact at Hunt has confirmed these shallow carbon wheels are a progression of the 36 UD Carbon Spoke Tubular wheels we spotted at the 2021 Tour de France.
!["Max]("https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/21/2021/10/hunt_max_everest-6-1bc7190.jpg?quality=90&resize=620%2C413" "\"Max")
These new wheels make a switch to tubeless rims and are fitted with a pair of Pirelli P Zero TLR SL tubeless tyres.
The wheels use the same carbon spoke system as seen on Hunt’s UG Carbon Spoke Disc wheels, which sees the spokes laced to reworked hubs on this wheelset.
The claimed weight for the pair is “1,200g-ish”. Full details on the wheels will follow soon.
!["Max]("https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/21/2021/10/hunt_max_everest-3-56432ac.jpg?quality=90&resize=620%2C413" "\"Max")
Sacrificing comfort for weight, Stedman has opted for a Selle Italia C59 saddle.
This bare carbon shell probably wouldn’t be most people’s choice for a long day in the saddle but, at a claimed 59g, it’s suitably feathery for this kind of ride.
Max Stedman’s custom Everesting Canyon Aeroad CFR full specs
- Frameset: Canyon Aeroad CFR
- Cockpit: Canyon CP30 Aerocockpit
- Wheels: Unreleased Hunt carbon spoke 36mm wheels
- Tyres: Pirelli P Zero TLR SL
- Rear derailleur: Shimano Ultegra R8050 with Kogel Bearings oversized pulley cage
- Crankset: Rotor Aldhu with INspider power meter and aero cover
- Saddle: Selle Italia C59
- Pedals: Wahoo Speedplay Zero
- Weight: 6.7kg