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Supa-light Sunn Radical

Damo

Short One Marshmallow
Sep 7, 2006
4,603
27
French Alps
I like those bikes.

A lot.

Not caring too much about having a bike that light however. I'm happy with the 40ish mark...
 

mandown

Poopdeck Repost
Jun 1, 2004
20,126
7,674
Transylvania 90210
i found two online pulications that cared enough, and thought the public cared enough to generate articles about it. i'm not saying we put a man on the moon here, just making this available for those who might care.

as always, i'm amused by those who don't care about a thread, then bump it to the top of the forum with a comment about how little they care.
 

miuan

Monkey
Jan 12, 2007
395
0
Bratislava, Slovakia
The bike is nice, but you could have posted it in the sub40lb thread instead. If I had the money and reason, I could bring my Morewood to the same weight. I miss both...
 

Uruk-hai

Monkey
Oct 13, 2004
144
0
The 'Quah
I've been trying to find a picture of the Sunn that Francois Gachet won on in Vail at the '94 Worlds (that this bike is based on, I believe).

Yeah, pretty sweet bike. Very clean lines.
 

mandown

Poopdeck Repost
Jun 1, 2004
20,126
7,674
Transylvania 90210
The bike is nice, but you could have posted it in the sub40lb thread instead. If I had the money and reason, I could bring my Morewood to the same weight. I miss both...
Thought about it, but it seems like Sub-35 needs it's own thread.

That actually never happened.
I'm not saying it did. I'm just saying this isn't as impressive as getting a man on the moon.
 

Sandwich

Pig my fish!
Staff member
May 23, 2002
21,030
5,918
borcester rhymes
does that include kickstand?

otherwise...eh...what's the limit before bikes become unridable/too fragile to use for longer than a race run? I appreciate the lightness, and an extra 5 lbs from a competitive bike can make a difference in a run, but I remember Nico losing races because he refused to run a proper bashgaurd, which destroyed his chainring and put him out...

For the sam hill types, then yeah, that bike is impressive. for joe DH rider, people should be striving for more durable, competitive bikes.
 

CBJ

year old fart
Mar 19, 2002
12,860
4,154
Copenhagen, Denmark
Good job on the weight saving but the chain guide I don't know. I have seen it smashed up very quickly. Rest of the build sounds good.
 

boone

Monkey
Jun 27, 2005
362
0
That thing is hot as hell. Glad to see it done!
Though my fat and poor arse could not ride that thing.
I would kill those wheels with poor bashing style and the smaller rubber on 5.1s.
oooooo, not a great choice for me but maybe so for a smooth rider and one who can replace their rims every so often.

Thanks mandown!
 

jonKranked

Detective Dookie
Nov 10, 2005
85,558
24,181
media blackout
for you non-engineering types, a quick breakdown on the design engineer process:

-prove it can be done (in this case, lightweight, but mad expensive and durability is in question)

-improve it - fix the problems from the first attempt (this is where you'd address durability)

-start selling it

-continue to improve it, drive costs down, help to drive up mass production.


its all trickle down. eventually we'll all be on bikes in the mid 30lb range or less (granted it might be 2 decades from now).
 

Jonny5

Monkey
Feb 13, 2007
502
0
34.14lbs! so sweet. so much carbon & ti goodness. clean guide:

Its a nice bike. But those tyres suck arse. And the mod he has done there looks like its saved maybe 20-40 grams. I'd still guess a gamut to be a lighter guide. In any case he could have saved 200+ grams in the crank choice and put some real tyres on.

I'd love to know what the ti mods on the forks are. The only heavy thing I can think on the fork is the footnuts?

Still, rad bike. :)
 

-C-

Monkey
May 27, 2007
296
10
I don't understand whats so special about that compared to others.

There are various other Radicals, Socoms & 224's that are sub 35lbs. Hell any reasonably light frame can be build light & strong. Its not hard.
 

Ian Collins

Turbo Monkey
Oct 4, 2001
1,428
0
Pacific Beach, San Diego, CA
i think he's using the hetero silver ti spokes. i've got the flamboyant rainbow ti-dye ones & love them. been using ti spokes for years with nary a problem.
really?....wow....how much do they save per wheel, and how much do you weigh......i've heard from most people that they aren't worth the strength reduction, and price increase
 

xy9ine

Turbo Monkey
Mar 22, 2004
2,940
353
vancouver eastside
really?....wow....how much do they save per wheel, and how much do you weigh......i've heard from most people that they aren't worth the strength reduction, and price increase
the 2.0 ti spokes weigh ~250g for both wheels. stainless 2.0's are ~450g. db & bladed are less, obviously. the aerolites & cx-rays are much closer (maybe only 30g heavier), but cost nearly the same.

i'm 165lbs. i hit my fair share of decently big / knarley stuff & have never had a spoke failure (though my light rims do get dented to crap). with a good build, these spokes won't be a problem. are they cost effective? probably not. it's a diminishing return type item; when you've done everything else, like the pretty colors, or have a titanium fetish. that said, i wouldn't pay current retail prices for them; $5 a spoke is just silly.
 

JohnnyC

Monkey
Feb 10, 2006
399
1
Rotorua, New Zealand
the 2.0 ti spokes weigh ~250g for both wheels. stainless 2.0's are ~450g. db & bladed are less, obviously. the aerolites & cx-rays are much closer (maybe only 30g heavier), but cost nearly the same.

i'm 165lbs. i hit my fair share of decently big / knarley stuff & have never had a spoke failure (though my light rims do get dented to crap). with a good build, these spokes won't be a problem. are they cost effective? probably not. it's a diminishing return type item; when you've done everything else, like the pretty colors, or have a titanium fetish. that said, i wouldn't pay current retail prices for them; $5 a spoke is just silly.
Did you build the wheels yourself? I've heard they stretch alot and need to be pre-stressed several times (more than stainless spokes) before you can ride them. Makes building a wheel with them take a hell of alot longer
 

al-irl

Turbo Monkey
Dec 9, 2004
1,086
0
A, A
Its a nice bike. But those tyres suck arse. And the mod he has done there looks like its saved maybe 20-40 grams. I'd still guess a gamut to be a lighter guide. In any case he could have saved 200+ grams in the crank choice and put some real tyres on.

I'd love to know what the ti mods on the forks are. The only heavy thing I can think on the fork is the footnuts?

Still, rad bike. :)
Don't dis the tires the Barracudas are great, savage grip easily as good as a high roller super tacky and much better rolling resistance. I admit i was sceptical of them but i just got a radical and it came with those tires as stock so thought I'd give them a try and was plesantly suprissed.

Ill be trying to get mine to the 36lbs mark, with a few mods it shouldn't be too hard.
 

xy9ine

Turbo Monkey
Mar 22, 2004
2,940
353
vancouver eastside
Did you build the wheels yourself? I've heard they stretch alot and need to be pre-stressed several times (more than stainless spokes) before you can ride them. Makes building a wheel with them take a hell of alot longer
yeah, i build them myself. they don't seems to stretch as much as steel when you're pre-stressing, but definitely flex more at a given spoke tension, so getting a feel for the final tension is a bit different. they do however seem to build very stable wheels once they're settled down.
 

S.K.C.

Turbo Monkey
Feb 28, 2005
4,096
25
Pa. / North Jersey
Here's one thing that has me really curious:

- RockShox Boxxer fork with custom titanium internal specs and set up.
... a World Cup with crazy Ti internals...?!

Why...? How much more weight can you save with Ti internals on an air fork?

That's nuts... interesting though. Wonder how much they shaved off.
 

xy9ine

Turbo Monkey
Mar 22, 2004
2,940
353
vancouver eastside
Here's one thing that has me really curious:



... a World Cup with crazy Ti internals...?!

Why...? How much more weight can you save with Ti internals on an air fork?

That's nuts... interesting though. Wonder how much they shaved off.
yeah. not really much in inside you could replace for weight savings. i'm assuming just ti bolts. pulling the stickers would probably save more weight.
 

Dave-B

Chimp
Mar 13, 2007
22
0
new zealand
Here's one thing that has me really curious:



... a World Cup with crazy Ti internals...?!

Why...? How much more weight can you save with Ti internals on an air fork?

That's nuts... interesting though. Wonder how much they shaved off.
You could probably make some ti rebound/compression shafts.
Are the standard ones steel?
 

- seb

Turbo Monkey
Apr 10, 2002
2,924
1
UK
Aye it's light, but I find a coupe of parts choices questionable:

1) carbon handlebar. I know I know, but I've personally had one snap on me (and no, I didn't over-tighten or have any sharp edges). Aluminium makes me a lot happier.

2) i-beam saddle: hellishly uncomfortable imho, and I've snapped one of those too. In fact I know lots of people who have snapped them.

3) 5.1 rims: No thanks, EX823 & CX-rays for me, even if they do weigh a fair bit more. I want to rag it through rock gardens without worrying about my delicate rims.

4) ti spokes: to be fair I have no first-hand experience of these, but I've always been led to believe that they're too flexy for heavy 26" use?


Mind you I'm sure if I posted up my spec list there'd be plenty of you who would question some of my components too!

Good effort to the guy though, 15.5kg is good going.

Anyone know how much those frames weigh? (Please specify whether your weight is with or without shock).