{"id":48879,"date":"2023-04-27T19:00:01","date_gmt":"2023-04-27T17:00:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bikeradar.com\/?p=726192"},"modified":"2023-04-27T19:35:45","modified_gmt":"2023-04-27T17:35:45","slug":"if-i-won-the-lottery-8-of-bikeradars-dream-bikes-revealed","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/cyclingplus\/rss_feed\/if-i-won-the-lottery-8-of-bikeradars-dream-bikes-revealed\/","title":{"rendered":"If I won the lottery\u2026 8 of BikeRadar\u2019s dream bikes revealed"},"content":{"rendered":"

Got a cool mil’ lying about? What would you choose? <\/p>

By Jack Luke\n \t\t<\/p>

Published: Thursday, 27 April 2023 at 12:00 am<\/p>

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Ahh, the most timeless of idle thoughts \u2013 what would you buy if you won the lottery?<\/p>\n

Sure, boring stuff like purchasing houses for your loved ones or becoming a philanthropic saint is worth considering but, let\u2019s get real \u2013 you\u2019re obviously going to spend a load of coin on a sick new whip.<\/p>\n

We put this question to the BikeRadar tech team and their answers were unexpectedly broad.<\/p>\n

From slightly silly niche downhill bikes<\/a> to sensible (yet spendy) superbikes, we\u2019ve covered just about everything.<\/p>\n

What would you spend your winnings on? Do you have any favourite \u2018tactics\u2019 for the lottery? Leave your thoughts in the comments\u2026<\/p>\n

Liam Cahill: a rim-brake Giant TCR (yes, really)<\/h2>\n
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Imagine this but much, much fancier.<\/span><\/figcaption> Russell Burton \/ Immediate Media<\/i><\/span><\/div>\n

If I won the millions, I wouldn\u2019t be buying a superbike.<\/p>\n

Oh no. I\u2019d be having me a good ol\u2019 used rim-brake Giant TCR<\/a>, which I\u2019d upgrade with a Shimano Dura-Ace R9050 Di2 groupset.<\/p>\n

I rode a similarly specced bike on the cobbles of Roubaix and it was one of the best-handling machines I\u2019ve ever ridden.<\/p>\n

I want a bike that I wouldn\u2019t mind throwing into a sketchy corner during local road races, but this would, of course, be treated to a new paintjob first.<\/p>\n

I\u2019d go with Azure Blue over chrome to make it really pop in the light, though I\u2019d ask for clear lacquer over bare carbon on the graphics to keep things subtle.<\/p>\n

It would have a set of handmade carbon wheels that I\u2019d get my mate Rob to build up on a set of Tune hubs \u2013 in chrome, naturally. The tyres would be something simple, such as the Continental GP5000<\/a>, but I\u2019d be fancy and put some TPU inner tubes<\/a> in there.<\/p>\n

I\u2019d put one of the best power meters on it too \u2013 something such as a Power2Max NG. I\u2019d finish things off with a Ritchey Neo Classic bar, white bar tape and a white saddle.<\/p>\n

Tom Marvin: an oh-so-niche Starling Sturn V2 DH bike with a Classified hub<\/h2>\n
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We got our hands on a prototype version of the Sturn back in 2018.<\/span><\/figcaption> Jack Luke \/ Our Media<\/i><\/span><\/div>\n

Though I never ride downhill, if I were to adopt the dirtbag, van-life, seasonaire<\/em> \u2018thing\u2019 again, I would build a very niche Starling Sturn V2 DH bike.<\/p>\n

The Sturn is a beautifully crafted steel downhill bike. Thanks to its singlespeed, high-pivot, chainring-on-the-wrong-side drivetrain build, it\u2019s reminiscent of Brooklyn Machine Works\u2019 long-travel downhill bikes of the early 2000s.<\/p>\n

The chainring runs a Jack Drive system.<\/p>\n

This sees the chain run up the chainstay to a sprocket mounted around the main, high pivot.<\/p>\n

This main pivot-mounted sprocket is driven by a sprocket on the other side of the pivot, which, in turn, is driven by a chainring mounted to the left-hand (non-driveside) crank.<\/p>\n

The high-pivot<\/a> design \u2013 with its one-to-one, constant chain length drivetrain \u2013 gives a rearward axle path with zero chain growth (and thus no pedal kickback). This would help smooth the deep braking bumps that plague bikepark downhill runs by the second week of the season.<\/p>\n

The system also means there is no rear derailleur<\/a> to prang off rocks and roots, and the rear wheel is \u2013 theoretically \u2013 lighter. This reduces un-sprung weight, improving suspension sensitivity.<\/p>\n

On the face of it, I reckon a singlespeed would be fine \u2013 ultimately, if everything is lift-assisted, then you only need to put a few pedal strokes in before gravity does its job.<\/p>\n

But, given this is a money-no-object build, I\u2019m going to make mine a \u2018dinglespeed\u2019 \u2013 yep, a 2-speed bike.<\/p>\n

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A downhill bike with a Classified hub? Impossible, probably. Have I won the lottery? Yes.<\/span><\/figcaption> Tom Marvin \/ OurMedia<\/i><\/span><\/div>\n

I\u2019d fit the new Classified MTB rear hub<\/a> to the bike, and because I\u2019ve an unlimited budget, get a machining house to build a singlespeed sprocket for the 2-speed, electronically activated hub (which requires a bespoke cassette, usually).<\/p>\n

Finally, finishing the build would be a plush coil-shock fork, some broad alloy downhill hoops (I wouldn\u2019t want to appear too opulent during my season with carbon hoops), a range of Maxxis tyres<\/a>\u00a0and a pair of powerful stoppers from Formula (because I like how they look).<\/p>\n