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I've seen various claims over the years, but which manufacturer holds the record, today?

Also, what size bike and which components go with the claim?

Happy to hear about "custom" / "one-off" vs. (mass) production, but for one-offs it'd be great to know there's proof that the bike is race-proven or otherwise structurally sound.

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  • you asked about road bikes, so i'll comment about XC hardtail and FS bikes that someone got down to <14 lbs (<6.5 kg) and <17 lbs (<7.5 kg), respectively – Paul H Aug 20 '19 at 22:55
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    The UCI requires bikes to be 6.8kg, or 14.99lbs. It is not hard to hit that weight, and in fact, a lot of pro teams glue weights to the bikes to meet the limit. So, there's no one bike meeting the UCI weight limit. If that's not what you meant by "UCI requirements", please clarify. – Weiwen Ng Aug 21 '19 at 1:26
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    @WeiwenNg UCI has far more requirements than weight. Check uci.org/inside-uci/constitutions-regulations/equipment – ojs Aug 21 '19 at 6:51
  • @WeiwenNg I am aware of UCI's weight requirements, which is why I mentioned it in the question. What I am looking for is info on bikes that meet all OTHER UCI requirements, because as you pointed out it's very easy to tack on weights for races. But when I'm not racing, why not have the bike be as light as it can be? =D – Leon Shaner Aug 22 '19 at 4:20
  • The 6.8kg limit will be dropped after the 2020 Olympics. (to be replaced by a stability check) – Carel Aug 22 '19 at 8:22
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GCN did a piece a little while ago on a 4.28-kg bike. The frame is a Cannondale, but everything has been customized to get the weight down, including stripping the paint from the frame and replacing all the bolts with carbon-fiber equivalents (I hadn't even known there were carbon-fiber bolts!).

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I only happen to know about disc brake bikes. The Canyon Ultimate CF Evo Disc 10.0 LTD was recently announced as the lightest disc brake road bike, weighing 5.99KG. Groupset is SRAM RED eTap AXS.

Obviously, the bike doesn't meet UCI requirements in regards to weight.

Read more on https://www.canyon.com/en-de/collections/evo-collection.html including a reference to a 3.7KG bike.

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I would check the GCN video linked to in Adam Rice's answer. I don't see a reason why that bike couldn't be UCI legal other than its very low weight.

When you push to 5 kilos and below, sacrifices in durability and practicality become increasingly inevitable. Just to name a few:

  • Tires can be very, very light, if you don't mind very narrow width, ridiculously low mileage and zero puncture protection. You can shed 200 grams from the pair that most racers actually prefer to use.
  • You can lose 100 to 200 grams from the drivetrain if you don't care about durability or nice gear ratios. The rear cassette can be all aluminium with gearing such as 11-21. Chainrings can be carbon fiber. Chain can be titanium.
  • The lightest carbon fiber road brakes are less than half of the weight of Dura-Ace, Red or Super Record, but no racer would ever accept them for a twisty mountain stage.
  • In general, carbon fiber anything can be built very light and still sort of safe, if you don't mind the excessive flex.
  • Who needs bar tape anyway?

I've seen people riding perfectly practical and durable bikes between 5 and 5.5 kilos. Below that they seem to be all show pieces.

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2.7kg for a custom road bike with 2x10 gears and front and rear brake.

4.9kg (I’ve also seen 4.8kg) for a bike you can actually buy.

It’s surprising that the difference between custom and commercial bikes is that large. You’d think that a large manufacturer has more possibilities than a single hobbyist.

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    Large manufacturers have little motivation to produce ultra-light bikes. There are also potential liability issues if they sell one to somebody and it breaks under them – David Richerby Sep 8 '19 at 21:42
  • I’m under the impression that lots of affluent, older men buy expensive road bikes but never race them (seems to be an attempt to combat lack of training and fitness with money). I’m not sure how liability works, somebody always manages to break components, no matter how over-engineered they are. – Michael Sep 9 '19 at 7:28
  • I'm not sure that's enough of "lots" or enough "expensive" to make a profitable business. Yes, plenty of older, affluent men buy flashy road bikes, but I imagine they're mostly spending a couple of thousand dollars/euro/pounds on a nice bike, rather than several thousand on a superbike. – David Richerby Sep 10 '19 at 14:03
  • As for liability, I'm not sure, either, but industry standard practice is an important guideline. If somebody breaks a UCI-legal carbon bike, it's easy to argue that there are hundreds of thousands of those on the road and they mostly do just fine so it must be something the rider did. If you make some ultra light thing, it becomes easier for the plaintiff's lawyers to argue that industry practice hadn't been followed, that the 6.8kg limit was there for safety, and the manufacturer had made a flimsy, dangerous bike. – David Richerby Sep 10 '19 at 14:06

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