Günter Mai's 3195g world record SPIN

[pk0r]

I have the delight of being able to present the current (fully spec'ed) world record bike of Günter Mai, weighting in at a scant 3,195g.
The bike had been presented back at last year's Eurobike in the beginning of September at the GermanCarbonGroup booth and by now [Feb. 2008] already came to see 12,500 road km, which should be proof enough of its usability & reliability. It had also been featured in last month's issue of German Tour-Magazin.
Günter, who has already been known for his extremely light and highly tuned bikes for over a decade, has once again been pulling out all stops in the quest to top his previous 3.5kg world record Scott CR1. As with everything borderline, the more you approach the limit the harder it gets and the more efforts and creative thinking it needs to shave some further tenths of grams - especially since Günter's projects are not only about building the absolute lightest bike any possible, but just as well about optimizing the performance whilst above all maintaining the reliability for everyday riding. With this vision in mind Günter has been spending endless hours in his workshop & with tests out on the road, dedicating himself to the smallest bits, trimming down all the metal parts on his lathe, or rebuilding complete components in carbon. As a result there probably is not one single part or bolt that has not been fine-tuned. Due to his long-time presence & reputation in the scene, both as ambitious tuner but also committed cyclist, Günter also reaped the support of some of the best reputed tuning companies who most often see him as the perfect platform to test new parts prior to their release. Complete part lines such as Tune's Skyline series have directly evolved from his projects. Like that many of the used parts are one-offs such as the custom SPIN frame, THM Clavicula one-bolt crankset, Nordischer Rahmenbau custom carbon stem, LEW custom Boron wheelset or extra light Schmolke TLO handlebar [the latter three being in general production]. Yet all of this does not stop Günter to spend endless further hours in his workshop to shave off another tenth of a gram here or there - which after all does add up to quite a mass.
In the current setup the bike is down to a scant 3,195g.
For sure it has not been designed with powerhorses like Fabian Cancellera in the back of the mind, however it does not make any compromises regards safety, stability or riding quality either. The frame for example offers a lateral stiffness of 94Nm/° which translates to an STW of 138.75Nm/°/kg. Most of the other parts have been specifically designed for a rider of his weight in mind.
For everyday riding Günter usually relies on Vittoria Crono Evo CS tires as the Tufo Elite 110 - whilst being "perfectly" usable - only holds up for a maximum of 1000km on the rear wheel which translates into just about a week of riding for Günter.


As followed the complete build list:
Frame: Spin Custom 677.5g
Fork: THM 214.0g
Cranks (incl. BB): THM 366.7g
Headset: 26.7g
Chain: KMC X10SL 214.8g
Saddle/seatpost combination: Schmolke/Speedneedle 77.0g
Cables: 15.6g
Nrakes: 88.6g
Front derailleur: Record/BTP 28.5g
Stem: Nordischer Rahmenbau 53.8g
Bar: Schmolke 111.3
Brake levers: 86.5g
Chain rings: 69.2g
Rear derailleur: 48.3g
Skewers: Tune 16.3g
Chainring bolts: 9.3g
Pedals: 65.2g
Cassette: 52.8g
Shifting levers: 9.0g
Wheels: Lew custom Boron 704.4
Tires: 218,0g
Seat clamp: 6.0g
BB cable guide: 2.7g
Bar tape: 12.3g
Tire glue & air: 20.0g
3194.5g

[fred]

This is crazy

[pritchet74]

The Nils, how much does your bike weigh?

[Theros]

Amazing bike! The weight is just astonishing and so are the looks of everything (including your bike pk0r, very stylish). One question though, what's written on the Lew's?

[pk0r]

Next to Günter's bike I don't really dare to say: but just as in the pic it is 4.60kg.
I have the feeling there needs to come something new for The Nils as well this season.

[Anaszi]

what's written on the Lew's?

"Lightest in the world"

[pk0r]

The original version said:
To: S-Tec
Lightest in the world!
25 September 2007
P.L.

Günter has only left Paul's signature as he thinks it looks really stylish and also fits to the SPIN writing on the downtube.


Thanks for the comment on my bike as well Theros. You really come to feel like a tank next to Günter - however he really deserves the spotlight after all his work and excessive tuning sessions day and night.

[Rasmus]

That thing is so ridiculously cool I can't even begin to describe it. Even though I -- with my erotically chubby 100kg -- would probably never be able to ride it without breaking it I applaud the bike, the workmanship and the will to push the envelope of what's possible. In short: Sweet!

[Jared B]

Thats one hellava bike there.

The challenge is truly out to crack into the 2kg barrier.

jared

[Knut]

This is truly an amazing bike, and one I'd have no problems riding. I'm sure I could get to grips with the downtube shifters, it's only last year my winterbike with downtube shifters was finally put to rest.

One thing I'm curious about - how does one go about riding all those kilometers without some bottlecages? Camelbag, or?

Again, hats off for pushing the envelope, great stuff!

[KF]

That bike is truly an amazing display of what is possible in the world of "Weight weenieism".

The hours he has put into making it so light is incredible. As well as RAS, it would break under my fat a$$, but hats off for making a project like that.

[KF]

When you see both bikes directly next to each other, you would never think of the fact, that actually 1.405 kg (!) are between those two.

Nor the fact that they, together, weigh less than most of the entry/mid level bikes out there

[BMANX]

Absolutely amazing. Here I am thinking that I was doing good with my derailleur tuning getting my front derailleur to 76g with clamp and getting my rear derailleur to 140g and his are the same weight as my front only. Amazing.

[Jared B]

We need Brent's 500g Ueberlight to attack the 3kg border.

The challenge has been set Brent!!

[Fibre-Lyte]

Two absolutely stunning bikes, and one incredible record! I must admit, I'd prefer not to have down tube shifters but there again my bike weighs around 6.8kg.... that's 2 of Gunters

Out of curiosity, and if it's not rude of me to ask, what weight of rider could the bike safely cope with (for 'normal' use)?