I think the UK Hill Climb National Championships might be my favourite bike race of the year. Yes, I’ve bought you tech galleries and pain faces from Paris-Roubaix and The Traka, but no event in the world has as many mad, sketchy, homemade, and amazing builds as this.
I’ve already bought you the eventual men’s winner’s machine, Harry MacFarlane’s 4.8kg hacked Trek Emonda, but that’s just the tip of the iceberg. On the slopes of Bank Road in a small town just south of the Peak District national park, I saw Brompton brakes mashed together with eTap shifter paddles, frames found in skips raced at the highest level, and even Alex Dowsett’s hour record tyres. Trick carbon superparts rubbed shoulders with duct tape and homemade bits. Ancient tubular wheels were fitted to modern superlight frames, and components get forced to work together if only for a few minutes. It’s a tech journo's dream day out.
More than the beautiful, crazy builds that I’ll get to shortly, it’s also the deepest I’ve ever seen any athlete go, not just in cycling but in any sport. People look shell shocked after Roubaix, but from the very start of the day through to the last rider there were empty bodies littering the finish line. I saw more sick than I care to describe and more than one rider being ushered into the back of an ambulance, having quite literally turned themselves inside out. It was truly savage to watch.
And almost every single rider is an amateur. Nobody is paying them to do this, and many have driven the length of the country for an effort of between two and five minutes, just for the love of it, so my hats go off to every single rider.
The bikes, though, at least for the purposes of this article, are the star of the show. The course was short and very steep, so it was a true weight weenie championship, and almost every rider I stopped had been shopping on AliExpress. Cycling Time Trials, the governing body for UK hill climbs, has a very relaxed attitude to equipment rules; no weight limit, no approved list of parts, just make it as light as you can, and if it snaps in half, that's on you. Just fit lights and wear a helmet, and you’re all good, which led to some incredible light mods.
Let’s get into it then, starting with a Scott Addict that was found in a barn…
Tyler Lowe of North Norfolk Wheelers found this old Scott in a barn and clearly began to sand the paint off to save some weight before abruptly giving up.
The SRAM Red shifters had seen better days, but they only have to work for a few minutes.
The juxtaposition of a very uncut steerer next to a computer held on by a single O-ring is somewhat confusing.
Lights will be a theme of this gallery. They just have to be illuminated, but nowhere does it say they have to be reliable.
Mike Bedford of Verulam CC had clearly drawn (quite literally) inspiration from last year's winning machine with a paint pen scheme.
Mike Ayling of Abergavenny CC had a very handsome resprayed Felt RD3 with this lovely old USE aero seatpost.
Old bikes featured quite heavily, partially as peak weight-weenieism was about 15 years ago now, and partially as they're cheaper to create hill climb builds with for the keen amateur.
1x configurations were almost totally ubiquitous on the day. The whole build I'm told cost under £200 and a donation to a charity for the frame.
It's eight-speed and weighed 7.86kg on my scales.
Henry Willis of Total Tri Racing had quite the Giant TCR, starting with this superlight saddle.
Sacrificing not only a set of Dura Ace shifters, but also a set of Pro Vibe Superlight bars is true commitment to the cause.
He was also running a top-end XTR crankset.
Oliver Glen of Reifen Racing had some incredibly narrow tubular tyres on his Canyon Ultimate. I was told the rear one was from Alex Dowsett's hour record.
The frame had been converted to Di2 using some electrical tape and a cavalier attitude.
Hill Climb Final Boss needs to be applauded for cheering every rider from the start of the day through to the favourites.
This 2013 Cervélo S2 belonged to Oswestry Paragon's Peter Fletcher, who was rocking a very tiny front chainring.
Not everyone chopped their bars, but many did.
I don't think I've seen a Ceramicspeed OSPW fitted to a cable actuated Campagnolo Record rear derailleur before, and I don't hate it. I reckon that housing could be a bit shorter though...
Ciamillo L8 brake callipers are claimed to be the lightest on the market, at 65g.
These tiny lights were a common sight, here on Akbar Mufti of Huddersfield Star Wheelers' machine.
They're the creation of Tom Southey, weight 6g including the battery and (according to his website) are 'surprisingly waterproof'. If you're curious, his page on them is great fun.
Kudos to Geoff Ware of Minehead CC for tackling the hill in this getup.
Darimo parts on a sanded back S-Works Aethos frame... now we're talking proper hill climb bling.
Chris Potts of Farnham RC was also part of the tiny lights brigade.
Everything was slimmed down, including the rotors, but he still ran tubeless tyres to avoid a last minute puncture scuppering his run.
I'm not sure comfort was a key consideration here.
The Extralite rims helped get a size 58 disc brake bike, setup tubeless, to 5.7kg, which is seriously impressive.
You need two brakes to compete, but if you run a fixed gear you can just use one on the front, saving precious grams. Simon Warren of Norwood Paragon and the 100 Climbs books (happily his race number was 100 on the day) was one of several fixed racers.
This started life as a Monoc track bike.
The rear hub is unassuming, but it's a Royce model... very much an 'if you know, you know' bit of bling there.
The 36:22 gear ratio is very different to what you'd use on the boards.
The padding from this carbon-shelled saddle had been removed.
Jennifer Lemmen won the matchy matchy award of the day with her Pinarello Dogma, with orange Hope hubs and floating brake rotors.
Motivation is key for such a short effort.
Yes they weight more than standard bar ends, but vibes have to count for something, right?
Giles Hundleby of Horsham Cycling was rocking some beautiful old Lightweight tubular wheels.
While weight-weenism ran rampant, I have to shout out Laura Ayres of Melton Olympic CC for running what seemed to be an entirely stock and extremely aero Cervélo S5.
This Cervélo however, belonging to Frankie Leventon of Huddersfield Star Wheelers was leant up next to it and was very much a lightweight machine.
Those Ciamillo L8 brake callipers were in evidence again... or were they?
Her 1x setup was built around the inner chainring position to give a more optimal chainline when in the larger sprockets.
Even computer mounts can be made lightweight if you put your mind to it.
This AliExpress saddle was a common sight.
Here's another look at those beautiful brake callipers, though I was told they were AliExpress versions and not the original.
Her Di2 cable was left exposed for courses where running 2x might be advantageous.
I was told the wheels were Mavic prototypes made for former time trial world champion Emma Pooley.
Alice Larkin of High Peaks Cycles RT had clearly decided she needed bar tape for the course, but only in the area around the hood. Everything else had been torn away and either left to dangle or replaced with a single layer of electrical tape.
Joss Winter of Matlock CC had managed to get her alloy Cannondale Caad down to 8.3kg, and this titanium (I'm almost certain) Thomson post had presumably helped... plus it looks cool.
Phil Garner of Croston Velo had an incredible 3D-printed watch mount and light. Killing two birds with one stone saves some grams for sure.
I was told that "I found it in a skip and threw AliExpress at it". Not advisable, but also very much the theme of the day to the point I began thinking of it as the AliExpress World Champs.
An aftermarket, and presumably light AliExpress cassette.
Another 1x setup with a bulbous 4iiii power meter.
AliExpress brakes and colour matched cable housing was quite the vibe.
While walking down the hill for a snack I snagged Joe Stringer of Muckle CC, who had some MCFK bling on a very lovely SuperSix Evo.
The frame had been sanded back to bare carbon, and the logos repainted with as little black paint as possible before clearcoating.
Scott Palmer of Aerologic RT was running an Argon 18 Gallium with Zed wheels laced up with nylon spokes.
Darimo finishing kit kept the weight down, though there's surely scope to ditch an O-ring here.
A Darimo seatpost and all-carbon Selle Italia saddle shed some grams.
His drivetrain consisted of a GRX crankset mated to SRAM Red rear derailleur.
You don't really need the expanding bung or top cap for a few minutes of racing. If the bearings come a bit loose you won't notice until the race is over.
Dan Smith of Shapo was running the common AliExpress saddle, but had ripped the faux leather cover off.
He also had a lovely mismatched set of mismatched wheels. What looked to be a tubular Fast Forward at the front and a deeper Hyper rear setup with a TPU inner tube.
His Bontrager brakes were also quite skeletal.
These old Bontrager XXX Lite wheels are still very light by today's standards. They were fitted to a Ribble belonging to Nico Raine of myhillcycling.
Marcus Begley of SPRNT was in a spot of bother at the finish, but not nearly as much as some others.
Oliver Tandy of Solihull CC had a set of Lightweight Gipfelsturm tubular wheels on his SuperSix Evo.
Truly world class drip here from Bhima Bowden of Macclesfield Wheelers. The commitment to the colour scheme was unmatched.
His nine-speed cassette was tightly spaced.
His lights were duct taped on.
I've no idea if these brakes are fakes or not but I suspect they were.
He was running a 23t chainring to offset the small block at the rear, mounted to a Cervélo frame of unknown type.
An unusual configuration here, and one where pulling the brakes isn't something that's a priority.
Another aero stalwart; Sam Witter of Congleton CC was rocking a blacked out S-Works Venge ViAS.
Local father and son duo Darren and Finn Miller of Matlock CC raced aboard the same bike, a 5.6kg stripped-back Viner frame covered in encouragements.
No top cap or bung here.
Rob Walker of Ward Performance UK also had the tiny Tom Southey lights. I have it on good authority that his partner, Jess, traded them with a clubmate for a delicious pastry.
Walker's Felt was new to him this season, and had the usual bare bars.
I've got a real soft spot for big checkerboard carbon weave.
Given Rob and his fan club are pals of mine I wanted to include some excellent sign making too.
I also want to show you this amazing man who cycled 70 miles from Scunthorpe to watch, before cycling 70 miles home.
Cowbells were everywhere, but some fans bought their own homemade noise creations.
Matthew Fletcher of Harrogate Nova had an average heart rate that makes me feel quite unwell.
James Bacon of Team M.I. Racing Townsend Vehicle Hire adopted the usual pose at the finish line, but managed to not collapse on the ground like many others.
Ok, here's a really fun one... usual SRAM shifters and sawn off bars...
Plus some very old Campagnolo brakes.
I think that's a SRAM Red crank under the tape but I can't be sure. .
But the real star of Scott Chalmers of Magspeed Racing's bike was these old Mavic Helium wheels.
This old Specialized Allez Comp used to be Chalmers' dad's race bike, and Scott has also raced the national 24hr time trial aboard the same machine, albeit in a very different configuration.
I should start a petition to make wheels colourful again...
Charlie Openshaw of Team Lifting Gear Products had bullhorn bars on his Canyon. These weren't all that common, but save you from having to get the hacksaw out.
Yes, this may have cost a fraction of a gram, but a personal touch is always welcome.
His brakes (for once) weren't AliExpress knockoffs, but Planet X models.
Noel Stoddart of Allen Valley Velo was using a Continental Olympic Pro Ltd tubular tyre. These only come in 19mm and cost £229.95 each.
Perhaps my favourite find of the day belonged to Jonathan Allen of Cowley Road Condors.
The pink brake levers are AliExpress Brompton levers, but it's what's taped to them that caught my eye.
It transpires that Allen had bought a set of crash damaged eTap shifters off eBay, gutted them so only the paddles remained, and re-soldered them to get them working, before taping them to his bars. Truly a mad endeavour, and one that was worryingly not waterproof, given the rainy forecast.
He was also running a bright green 1x chainring.
And some rarely-seen Chinnlad wheels.
The seatpost on his Focus Izalco Max was apparently the one it came with, predating those we see on modern track bikes nowadays.
Kishan Bakrania of Arctic Aircon RT told me, after he managed to get back up from the floor, that his power meter stopped working at the start of his run.
His SuperSix Evo had been resprayed in an extremely handsome green.
Extremely lovely paint, that.
Don't worry mate, I'll hold it for a bit...
Dan Letherbarrow of Cheltenham & County CC was another of a handful of fixed racers.
I think this was Nicholas Latimer of Team Lifting Gear Products, but I was too concerned with getting him a foil blanket (once I'd taken his photograph for posterity) to check his number.
He was running some very tasty FMB tubular tyres though. Very nice indeed.
Another entry into the tiny lights hall of fame came on Rob Borek of Bristol South CC's fixed gear Cannondale, piloted on the day by Arion Oates of PDQ Cycle Coaching due to Borek being unwell.
Lovely bullhorns here, with the scantest tape possible.
I think these THM brakes are actually legit, as I believe the bike predates the rise of AliExpress.
This was the only THM crankset I saw on the day though.
Carbon spacers are a must if you're not going to slam the stem.
Oates' aim was to beat Borek's time of 2:32, that he set on the same course on the same bike in 2019. While he didn't quite manage it, coming in at 2:43 on the day, Oates was hamstrung by a front wheel puncture two minutes before his start time, leading to a mad panic that nearly brought him to tears. Luckily a wheel was loaned at the 11th hour allowing him to post what was still a very respectable time.
I'm always here for the single zip tie brigade, as evidenced on Becky Hair of FTP Race Team's Specialized Amira.
I saw a lot of chopped off bars, but Hair had the only bike with chopped off levers that I could see.
With a 1x setup the left hand shifter could be replaced with a lighter SRAM one, which had then been trimmed further.
Also, just a great paint job.
If you're not going to remove the bung, at least get a skeletal top cap.
Maia Howell of Shibden Cycling club was running some ancient tubular tyres fitted to current Junior world champion Harry Hudson's old bike.
Hats off to the volunteers at the top who spent most of the day wrapping exhausted riders in foil.
Rob Walker eventually came in 13th overall, with an extremely sore head to show for his efforts.
I'm almost certain these ee brakes fitted to a Colnago are fakes, but they look cool nevertheless.
Very old tubular tyres were a pretty common site. Many of them are track tyres with no puncture protection, meaning riders often warm up on separate machines and carry their bikes to the start line to reduce the risk of flatting.
This was Maia Howell's machine still, with those ever-present brakes and a lovely small light.
Harry Hudson, current junior world champion, was riding a relatively stock Quick Pro team bike.
He collapsed on the ground after, but had taken the win by 7 seconds.
A 1x Cybrei crankset isn't something we've seen much of.
He also had a very neat rear light, with two LED bulbs. Truly a flex that he could carry such unnecessary weight and still win.
Paint weighs a lot, especially paint this complex, but it's fun to look at.
His Arcaris 8848 wheels weigh a claimed 884.8g per pair.
Cat MacIntosh of Knights London had a lovely alloy Extralite stem on her Aethos.
As well as a very skinny Wahoo computer mount.
An MCFK seatpost and Berk saddle round off the hill climb parts bingo card very nicely indeed.
Lucy Lee of DAS Hutchinson had some stunning old Lightweight tubular wheels on her Canyon Ultimate.
Maddie Heywood of Elevate RT came home in 3rd, and ran quite a large Wahoo Elemnt Roam computer.
This was offset by that common AliExpress carbon saddle however, slammed right back on the rails.
A pink chain was the most colourful option of the day, and matched the aftermarket skewers.
These tiny lights match those on Oates' fixie, as both bikes were set up by Rob Borek.
A 1x with a spider-based power meter to try and pace the effort.
Here's those tiny lights again, and the bars had been trimmed to right below the shifter clamp.
Second place and everesting world record holder Illi Gardner of Cardiff Ajax CC ran a 1x setup, but decided to leave both the front derailleur in place and a chain keeper. I saw one rider drop a chain at the last stretch of the course and it was heartbreaking.
AX Lightness tubular wheels rounded out a pretty light looking Factor.
Josh Coyne of Elevate RT left it all out there on the hill.
He ran Profile TT bars on his Cube.
At this point I'm just assuming all the ee brakes were fake.
There's definitely scope to trim those lights down for next year, even if the seatpost they're mounted to is crazy light.
Kieran Wynne-Cattanach of Team Lifting Gear Products had a "5.something kg Giant TCR", helped for sure by these nylon spokes.
He was also running this very light carbon computer mount.
A Dura Ace crankset was mated to a 1x Rotor chainring.
All in all a very neat machine it must be said, and one that was piloted to second place.
These fake ee brakes belonged to the eventual winner Harry MacFarlane of Rule 28 Outliers.
I've already brought you a full gallery of his race winning bike, but here it is with the Brisk wheels attached, saving even more grams over his recon setup.
Not only did MacFarlane win, but he took a couple of seconds off the course record, which is even more impressive given the conditions were windy and a bit wet.
That's all, folks. I hope you enjoyed nerding out over these mad bikes as much as I did shooting them, though it should be said that I, nor Cyclingnews, advocate the use of fake components, however rife they may be at an event such as this. UK hill climbing is certainly a niche corner of the cycling world, but it's absolutely jam-packed with fun tech, and the photos here are the best bits from a much longer list of things I saw.
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