{"id":149,"date":"2021-11-02T12:20:21","date_gmt":"2021-11-02T11:20:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bikeradar.com\/?p=651147"},"modified":"2021-11-02T12:40:18","modified_gmt":"2021-11-02T11:40:18","slug":"rebecca-richardsons-custom-4-7kg-specialized-aethos","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/cyclingplus\/rss_feed\/rebecca-richardsons-custom-4-7kg-specialized-aethos\/","title":{"rendered":"Rebecca Richardson\u2019s custom 4.7kg Specialized Aethos"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>

By Sam Challis\n \t\t<\/p>

Published: Tuesday, 02 November 2021 at 12:00 am<\/p>

\n\n

This is the custom Specialized Aethos<\/a> Rebecca Richardson (Team Brother UK) rode to third place in this year\u2019s UK National Hill Climb championships.<\/p>\n

Hill climb specialists are renowned for making the machines they ride as light as possible and there were plenty of feathery creations on display at this year\u2019s event<\/a>.<\/p>\n

However, Richardson\u2019s Specialized Aethos was among the most impressive on the day. It featured a smattering of saucy tech to take her bike down to just 4.7kg, making it one of the lightest Specialized Aethos builds out there.<\/p>\n

The beautiful but brutal Winnats Pass in the Peak District hosted the championships for the 11th time this year. The climb is only 1.5km long yet rises at an average gradient of 12.1 per cent, with ramps of more than 17 per cent, over rough tarmac.<\/p>\n

\""Rebecca\"<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>
Rebecca Richardson during her effort at this year\u2019s HC Nationals<\/span><\/figcaption> Andy Nichols<\/i><\/span><\/div>\n

The terrain combined with the savage weather conditions at this year\u2019s event made it a particularly stern test for every competitor and meant equipment choice was crucial in each rider\u2019s bid for glory.<\/p>\n

Something special<\/h2>\n

Being super lightweight as it is (Specialized claims that a size 56cm frame weighs 585g), the Aethos frameset Richardson used required little modification, however the collection of components that adorned it was a little more idiosyncratic.<\/p>\n

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) mounted to a Darimo Ellipse bar.<\/p>\n

Darimo is a boutique Spanish components manufacturer specialising in ultra-lightweight finishing kit.<\/p>\n

\""Rebecca\"<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>
Grip tape was used in place of Shimano\u2019s standard rubber hood covers.<\/span><\/figcaption> Andy Nichols<\/i><\/span><\/div>\n

Richardson also used the brand\u2019s IX2 stem, saddle and T1 Loop seatpost, which is notable for the loop of Dyneema cable it uses to fix the saddle onto the post instead of a regular clamping system.<\/p>\n

For that four-piece set of finishing kit, we\u2019d estimate a total weight of around 370g, which is mind-bogglingly svelte.<\/p>\n

\""Rebecca\"<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>
Luckily Richardson didn\u2019t have to stay seated all that long<\/span><\/figcaption> Andy Nichols<\/i><\/span><\/div>\n

Richardson\u2019s Aethos rolls on Vittoria\u2019s papery-thin and supple Corsa Speed tubular tyres and tubular wheels from German components brand AX-Lightness.<\/p>\n

AX-Lightness says its Ultra Disc 25T wheels \u2013 in their stock guise \u2013 weigh just 845g, yet Richardson has looked to shed further weight by building them up with Berd\u2019s polymer String spokes.<\/p>\n

\""Rebecca\"<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>
The wheels are made with AX-Lightness rims and use Berd\u2019s polymer string spokes.<\/span><\/figcaption><\/div>\n

Berd says its spokes have twelve times the strength-to-weight ratio of steel spokes, meaning Richardson should have been able to achieve superlight wheels that didn\u2019t give away as much as they could have in terms of speed-sapping lateral flex.<\/p>\n

So as not to undermine that feathery rolling stock by bolting on chunky plates of metal, Richardson turned to Ashima for its Airotor rotors, which come in at a claimed 85g each, approximately 20g lighter per rotor than the equivalent Dura-Ace option.<\/p>\n

Driving force<\/h2>\n
\""Rebecca\"<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>
This was once a regular Shimano Dura-Ace R9170 drivetrain<\/span><\/figcaption> Andy Nichols<\/i><\/span><\/div>\n

Richardson\u2019s drivetrain is very loosely based around Shimano\u2019s Dura-Ace R9170 groupset, but it has had so many mods that it is almost unrecognisable.<\/p>\n

The chain is probably the only thing to remain untouched. The 2\u00d7 crankset has been ditched completely in favour of a 1\u00d7 32t chainring mounted to a SRAM XX1 Eagle<\/a> crankset.<\/p>\n

The cassette has been whittled down to just five sprockets, to save a chunk of weight and preserve an efficient chainline, and in another nod to efficiency, CeramicSpeed\u2019s OSPW system<\/a> has also been fitted.<\/p>\n

\""Rebecca\"<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>
Hill climb gearing\u2026<\/span><\/figcaption> Andy Nichols<\/i><\/span><\/div>\n

Speedplay\u2019s titanium-spindled Nano pedals top off an impressive build that helped Richardson take third place on the day.<\/p>\n

Rebecca Richardson\u2019s custom HC National Championships Specialized Aethos full specs<\/h2>\n
  • Frameset<\/strong>: Specialized Aethos<\/li>\n
  • Bar<\/strong>: Darimo Ellipse<\/li>\n
  • Stem<\/strong>: Darimo IX2<\/li>\n
  • Wheels<\/strong>: AX-Lightness Ultra Disc 25T<\/li>\n
  • Rotors<\/strong>: Ashimo Airotor<\/li>\n
  • Tyres<\/strong>: Vittoria Corsa Speed tubular<\/li>\n
  • Rear derailleur<\/strong>: Shimano Dura-Ace R9150 with CeramicSpeed OSPW system<\/li>\n
  • Crankset<\/strong>: Sram XX1 Eagle with 32t chainring<\/li>\n
  • Seatpost<\/strong>: Darimo T1 Loop<\/li>\n
  • Pedals<\/strong>: Speedplay Nano<\/li>\n
  • Weight<\/strong>: 4.7kg<\/li>\n<\/ul>

    <\/p><\/div> <\/section><\/body><\/html>\n

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    By Sam Challis Published: Tuesday, 02 November 2021 at 12:00 am This is the custom Specialized Aethos Rebecca Richardson (Team Brother UK) rode to third place in this year\u2019s UK National Hill Climb championships. Hill climb specialists are renowned for making the machines they ride as light as possible and there were plenty of feathery […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":150,"template":"","categories":[1],"acf":{"readingTimeMinutes":"4"},"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/43\/2021\/11\/rebecca-richardsons-custom-4-7kg-specialized-aethos-scaled.jpg",2560,1707,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/43\/2021\/11\/rebecca-richardsons-custom-4-7kg-specialized-aethos-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/43\/2021\/11\/rebecca-richardsons-custom-4-7kg-specialized-aethos-300x200.jpg",300,200,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/43\/2021\/11\/rebecca-richardsons-custom-4-7kg-specialized-aethos-768x512.jpg",768,512,true],"large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/43\/2021\/11\/rebecca-richardsons-custom-4-7kg-specialized-aethos-1024x683.jpg",800,534,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/43\/2021\/11\/rebecca-richardsons-custom-4-7kg-specialized-aethos-1536x1024.jpg",1536,1024,true],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/43\/2021\/11\/rebecca-richardsons-custom-4-7kg-specialized-aethos-2048x1365.jpg",2048,1365,true]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"importmanagerhub@sprylab.com","author_link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/cyclingplus\/author\/importmanagerhubsprylab-com\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"By Sam Challis Published: Tuesday, 02 November 2021 at 12:00 am This is the custom Specialized Aethos Rebecca Richardson (Team Brother UK) rode to third place in this year\u2019s UK National Hill Climb championships. Hill climb specialists are renowned for making the machines they ride as light as possible and there were plenty of feathery…","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/cyclingplus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed\/149"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/cyclingplus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/cyclingplus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/rss_feed"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/cyclingplus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/cyclingplus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/150"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/cyclingplus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=149"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/cyclingplus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=149"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}