Let's make the slickest bike on the planet

[debaser]

Hi guys!
Long time lurker, first time proper post here. I have had a habit of renovating, building and flipping bikes for years and i need help from you guys with a project i have started which i think a lot of you might have already considered: Let's build the most oil-slicked bike ever.

The rules are we want to fit as many components in oil slicked metal on a bike as possible. For the rubber parts and optional graphics, i am thinking of going for white parts as they stand out and complement the build. I want to go absolutely silly here and would love to make custom decals that just say "OVERCOMPENSATING" in big white letters on the downtube or something like that. Taking suggestions for graphics, by the way.

Please check out my build project spreadsheet here for an overview on gathered components and what i would like input on. Link here:https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1rijnv8PMk7xFtnipKxQlh5-QqzKrYwkKbFE4DLIcKU4/edit?usp=sharing - prices are listed in Norwegian kroner as that is where i am based.

Now, i bike everything but i envision this project as a gravel bike rather than an MTB, as it's a bit cheaper to build and that it simply would be seen more biking to work or as a "café racer" than thrashing around in the forest. I realise this might change as the MTB option is easier and more doable (at least a frame and even a 29" air fork in oil slick colors exist!), but right now i am dead set on the road bike thing.

There are otherwise a few criteria, and some restrict eachother due to component availability, as you can see in the spreadsheet. But here is what i've come to so far:

A 56 or 58 cm frame, road bike geometry
BSA threaded BB, 24mm Shimano is the intended use
Hydraulic disc brakes

So, this leaves us with a few crucial problems which i need help from the Chinertown community with:

There are no metal 700c oilslick road bike frames available, AFAIK.
Do you know of anyone that could do one? I know Golden Bicycles have a fixie V-brake frame and i have found one of those stupid "foldable" 20" wheel frame sets on AliEx with the right color but nothing proper. I would LOVE to hear from you if you know of something!!!

I am willing to go for a decent carbon frame with a glossy "chameleon" finish - but reluctantly
Simply because the shine on electroplated metal is something completely different to a cheap carbon frame with a paint job, you know? I am certain some frames do come close though, and am currently eyeing a cheap Ceccotti RF27 frame (in the glossy N19 color), which looks great except that a T47 BB doesn't exist in oil slick version (while a BSA standard Shimano BB does!). Link here: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005008095688004.html

The rims are a problem
I know Velocity do anodized individual colors for 700c rims (and could prolly do electroplating at a way too high price), but otherwise i have only found BMX 20" rims (i swear this bike wants to be a hipsterbike or an MTB so bad, why can't it be a road bike?) and need help with sourcing something to complement what would otherwise be oilslick hubs and spokes. My first idea would be to get white rims (and white tires haha!) and the second solution would simply be colourful sticker decals. If you have recommendations for either of these three solutions please let me know.

Have i missed something?
A big part of the fun has been scrolling around on Aliex, surprised by exactly how intricate these spare parts can get. Like, why would you even oilslick the bleed port screw on your brifter??? You're gonna spend exactly 25 seconds of your life admiring it. I have gone into this with the motto that if it can be oil slicked, it must be. This leaves us with a lot of moving parts though - like either getting the Shimano crank and making every single screw oilslicked but leaving it black as normal otherwise - OR getting the fully oilslicked Bucklos or whatever janky Ali brand crankset instead. Not everything is landed yet though, and if you come up with a component i might have missed, please suggest it here or in the document!

So, yeah. Thanks for reading. This thread would be to post any updates in the coming months on how the build takes shape, but for now it begins with that one very critical part: Does someone here know of where i could possibly be lucky enough to find a frame to start building on?

[ZacItaly15]

Starting from rotors
https://it.aliexpress.com/item/1005008078037138.html?src=google&pdp_npi=4%40dis!EUR!10.75!5.63!!!!!%40!12000043566644692!ppc!!!&src=google&albch=shopping&acnt=742-864-1166&isdl=y&slnk=&plac=&mtctp=&albbt=Google_7_shopping&aff_platform=google&aff_short_key=UneMJZVf&gclsrc=aw.ds&&albagn=888888&&ds_e_adid=&ds_e_matchtype=&ds_e_device=c&ds_e_network=x&ds_e_product_group_id=&ds_e_product_id=it1005008078037138&ds_e_product_merchant_id=718295931&ds_e_product_country=IT&ds_e_product_language=it&ds_e_product_channel=online&ds_e_product_store_id=&ds_url_v=2&albcp=22261776456&albag=&isSmbAutoCall=false&needSmbHouyi=false&gad_source=1&gbraid=0AAAAA99aYperZp0rr525_3ppmJFMVcEYD&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIqu_dgrPhjAMVbIVoCR0HVyIdEAQYAiABEgJ3w_D_BwE

[jonathanf2]

Titanium oil slick cage screws:
https://www.aliexpress.us/item/3256806670442432.html

Titanium oil slick stem screws:
https://www.aliexpress.us/item/3256806811944584.html

[debaser]

Thanks for the input guys!

Those Risk screws pop up time and time again in my searches and i have in fact bought a few of them for other builds and restorations. The quality and the color on them really shines, so i am looking to put as much Risk on the bike as possible, haha.

As you can see from the spreadsheet, the brake calipers are likely going to be Shimano XT BR-8100 with risk screws all over, to at least get quality brakes (that are surely compatible with any brifters) instead of uber-cheap BR-MT200 copies in color like these: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005008630234975.html

Talking rotors, i've seen a lot of the simplest constructions in oilslick variants (even Sram centerlines branded Sram, i don't think they come this way originally?), but for some extra bling i think i will opt for the Hope fakes with the two-part construction, in this link: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005005134531389.html

I know that if you f.ex. order drivetrain parts from Garbaruk and want them anodized, they'll recommend you to buy everything together so that they're anodized together and the color stays consistent. I am gleefully awaiting to see 15 different attempts at oil slicking mounted on one bike. The glorious stupidity of it, like.

[Tijoe]

Use a lot of parts coated with Teflon and silicone.  Now, that would be the slickest bike...

[debaser]

I'm looking to land a frame with the easter sale so will likely be pulling the trigger before monday is over. It'll be as an experiment to begin with, in terms of shipping and mucking about with my first directly ordered chiner frame - so maybe this will be the first iteration of this build, while trying to source that holy grail metal frame which the world seems unable to provide for me right now.

It currently stands between these two frames.

The Ceccotti C25 "Gravel" variant, in their N19 chameleon glossy color.



Or the aforementioned Ceccotti RF27, more "road"-y, only 28mm tire clearance with a proprietary seatpost. Same color i guess.



I think i'll go for the first one, the C25, solely because of the possibility of installing a metal, or colored carbon seatpost and wider tires on lax geo. Would happily hear suggestions or experiences for or against, or even more so, suggestions for other frames that would do a better job.

[debaser]

So, things are now in motion. Ended up with the C25 from Ceccotti, so it's gonna be something of a Gravel bike i guess.

A white bike seat, oil slick rotors, some screws and a seat post are ordered as well. Gathering parts as cheap as possible with some carefully placed coin discounts.

Spreadsheet is updated. Still a whole bunch more stuff to gather as we go along, waiting for the frame to arrive.

[Crash217]

They make Chameleon seats and bar tapes to keep the theme going.

Seat in chameleon or oil slick-ish; https://www.aliexpress.us/item/3256804242878596.html

Bar Tape; https://www.aliexpress.us/item/3256801330105186.html

There is a bar tape that has a reflective oil-slick appearance but is kind of grey in dull light as well; https://www.aliexpress.us/item/3256807797153359.html

[debaser]

Thanks! I have been looking at that Kocevlo seat which definetly looked interesting. Have a white seat on order which is slightly more comfortable looking, but i think i will opt for the Kocevlo as well.

As an aside, does anyone have that thing and can vouch for the color? It comes in green and blue and slightly more colourful (i guess most "true" oilslick color there is on a seat) variants, so i would be curious what these things look like in real life.

I am still not settled on bar tape. The type Crash217 links to here i've had before and while it does match on color, it is slippery and a little nasty to the touch. Would consider something like this from West Biking which looks lovely (in purple at least) and has a good, proper bar-tape kind of feel: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005008045106679.html

[00Garza]

Looking forward to seeing this build!

I entertained the thought of doing this with a hardtail mountain bike, but I don't think I'd have the courage to ride it in public. 
Keep us updated please.

[debaser]

Thanks, i am glad a stupid project like this interests people!

A hardtail would actually be the optimum build format for this as there exist pretty nice metal oil slick parts for the frame (Tiris have a titanium one, in fact) and the fork (yes, with oilslick outer legs!). It seems manufacturers registered MTB riders as more keen on these parts too, so more detail is available.

Unfortunately the price of a hardtail build would be higher than a dropbar build (due to the two mentioned parts mostly!), but more importantly the sale price of such a build would be far too low as well.

Not even settled why i am building it at this point (except for the thrill of the parts hunt and the actual building), wish i had a shop window to hang this in, like. But i am telling myself i can sell it to someone who wants to hang it in theirs.

[debaser]

Some parts have to be settled before others. Rims before hubs, and crankset before BB.

So at least the crank is ordered too. It looks janky as hell and i have the impression cranksets are the main aliex thing people always complain about being unsafe or just crap. Soon i will be the owner of this thing: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005005952208928.html

It's hard to find it to order without BB or extra inflationary stuff but it came in at a nice $33 delivered. Have also got the Risk spline-crank fastening bolts and oilslick chainring fixing bolts as this one seems to come with plain bolts from the pictures.

This allows us to get the BB, which, for T47, is not available in any special color other than red, from Kactus, here: https://www.aliexpress.us/item/1005003168499711.html

It looks kinda cheap. I have previously used ZTTO or Senicx BBs as the build quality just seems far better, but exploring is fun, no? Of course, the red BB is on its way.

While on the subject of cranks, the abundance of different pedal designs in oilslick color is staggering. Gonna have to let that decision go to a vote on here or something.