Prototype Birmingham WHEELS Expert - titanium

[dinglem]

Get the thinking cap on buddy!

[oldschoolace]

That would be ace Steve 
It works surprisingly well given how slender it is and how small the grub screws are. Similar principle to a GJS clamp

[oldschoolace]

Any thoughts yet Steve? 

[dinglem]

I've been thinking about the seat for this build, and as it is going to remain in unfinished Ti with black decals i have been looking for black components. As such I was thinking about using a light weight UNI seat with integrated seat post, but prices are crazy for those at the moment.... I recently bought a NOS one for the Scott Beaumont build, but for this one I want to drill it out a little and maybe modify it to swap out the seat post for a graphite UNI item I already have. I believe it is a slightly larger diameter than the usual UNI items (meaning I won't require the shim) but it will mean chopping the seat about a bit. I didn't really want to do that to an expensive NOS seat.

I have kind of settled on a pair of rare black and white Akron BMX grips (my faves) for this, as i have been waiting for a build to put them on, and then last week a NOS Akron seat with integrated post came up for sale on the 'Bay for very little money. Bingo, i grabbed it. Probably considered 'low-end', but I won't be so afraid to cut and drill that now, plus it matches the grips 

I wonder how easy it will be to swap out the seatpost though???

Here's a bit of seat lightening i am using for inspiration....

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The UNI seat post and the AKRON seat.

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[griff]

  love the drilled out bits
Conjures up images of dads doing 'shed engineering' to help their kids go just a bit quicker

[dinglem]

love the drilled out bits
Conjures up images of dads doing 'shed engineering' to help their kids go just a bit quicker

I've enjoyed looking through some old pics of lightened and drilled-out Mini builds from BITD - there are some pretty extreme examples and i have found quite a few articles on light weight builds too. Makes you wonder what difference a few holes drilled in a seat post clamp could really make, but i guess it all adds up and a 1% saving on each of the components soon adds up.

I found this shot of a drilled-out Campy chainring which i liked the look of, but the one i have with my set is much smaller and thinner (probably lighter too).


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The backs of the arms had been milled out also.


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Lightened stem (DK i think?)


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Seatpost clamp.


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[dinglem]

And here's a full article about a lightweight GT race build.


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[oldschoolace]

Cool pics 

I think drilling is quite an art form if done properly. Unfortunately alot of what you see compromises structural integrity and isnt straight or symetrical. If its so weak it cant be ridden then its a bit of a joke part 

Ive seen stems with a 20mm or so diameter hole drilled right through the top cap and base between the four bolts exposing the knurling on the bars. Looks cool if done well 

[dinglem]

I know Harbor Lite marketed a lightened stem which was in fact just a DK Mini stem with a hole drilled through the cap as you described above.


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[oldschoolace]

So curiousity has got the better of me and ive just been to do a bit of drilling 




Yes i know they are not straight, i just eyeballed it 

Given that the holes are about as large as you dare go the original weighs 48.1g and the drilled 38.4 so around a 20% saving in weight. Could start to add up pretty quick on a complete