Usually when you’re talking about bicycles under 10 pounds, you’re also talking price tags above $10k. Light, strong, and cheap, pick two, right? However, with the right starting point, bike knowledge, and a careful selection when it comes to components, Colin Dlugas of Endurance Boise proved you can build a sub 10 lb bike for less. According to Colin, the actual retail price of this 2015 Focus Izalco MAX ultimate weight weenie build would total about $8,500 if you bought it from his shop. Technically without labor figured into the build, he states the retail price on the components works out to $8,355.84.
Just how do you arrive at a 9.96 lb (4.52kg) road bike for less than $9 grand? Get the breakdown on the build next…
Colin in his own words:
I started the build with a 2015 Focus Izalco MAX 1.0 Frameset with Sram Red 10spd shifting. The shifters have DuraAce 9000 titanium shifter clamps that were ground down to fit the smaller opening in the back of the shifter and anodized purple because it’s my favorite color and because I can. There is a total savings there of 9 grams (not bad for 3 hours of work). The rear derailleur had the stock Ti pulley bolts replaced with alloy and the pulleys themselves swapped for Aerozine Alloy pulleys.
There are no steel bolts on the whole bike, everything is Ti or alloy. The only steel bearing is the lower headset bearing since it’s proprietary to the frame/ fork. All other bearings are Enduro Zero Ceramic, which cost a lot of money and saved 12 grams.
The wheels are Taiwanese rims and hubs with Pillar Spokes in a mix of Ti and Stainless steel. They are left over from a past build and have over 1k miles on them. The plan is to get a hold of some AX Lightness rims and Extralite or Tune Hubs and build up a lighter set when funds allow.
For cables I used PowerCordz Prime housing, which I love because it behaves exactly the same as regular housing but is half the weight. The brake cables are a prototype PowerCord with a more flexible coating so that I could tie a knot around the brake cable pinch bolt (these are apparently not going into production because of wear issues if not maintained properly). The front Shifting is controlled by a PowerCord as well, and the rear is handled by an Alligator 31 strand shift cable which is my favorite shift cable by far.
Ciamillo GSL Micro brakes with Ti Hardware stop the bike. Ted and Kristi busted their butts to get these to me after one of the batches that my original set was in, was tainted and there was a flaw in anodizing. As we now know, Ted was secretly working on the Gravitas crankset as well. I love the brakes, the finish is flawless, and the performance is even better. Getting them to work with PowerCordz is NOT recommended because it was such a huge pain to tie a knot in a tiny space around a very short bolt.
The cranks are Lightning Cycling Dynamics because they are light and made in the USA. The cranks are fitted with Tune mid-compact chainrings. Tune told me are the first they have sent to the US because they are having a hard time meeting demand in Europe (I ordered them in September and got them 2/16/15).
The prices I used are advertised MSRP so you could build it cheaper if you could find things on sale. All of the weights are measured from the parts themselves, and not taken as claimed. Also, I think it’s worth mentioning that this is my only road bike, and I have been riding it as much as I can.
Thanks to Colin for sending this in! If you’re in the Boise area and want to see about a sub 10 lb bike of your own, or just want to see this Focus in person, head over to Endurance Boise or check them out on Facebook for a more detailed step by step build process, or on the web.
