Adam Hansen

TDU 2017 Tech: Adam Hansen’s Ridley Helium SLX

By Jayson O’Mahoney, Posted on January 16, 2017 9:58 am

Adam Hansen has a wee bit of pedigree. Former winner of Australia’s toughest off-road race, the Crocodile trophy, he has taken his success off-road to the WorldTour, and is now the record holder for the number of consecutive grand tours completed, at sixteen. His 2016 Vuelta ride officially broke the record — an absolutely amazing achievement. Adam also has a reputation as a bike tinkerer, shoe maker, and even software developer. Is there anywhere Adam’s talents don’t extend? Drop past the break to get up close with his unique bike setup …

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Of great interest is the crankset on Adam’s bike. Lotto’s head mechanic, Steven Van Olmen, told me it is a prototype SRM unit. However, it greatly resembles the Lightning Bikes carbon crankset, albeit with a matte surface finish and no logos.

Assuming this to be true, Lightning Bikes claim their crankset and bottom bracket assembly is the lightest on the market. Note the surface finish around the spider area of the crank. Because Adam Hansen uses 180mm cranks, availability is the limiting factor. Custom or otherwise, not every manufacturer produces such a crankset.

According to Lightning Bikes, a 170mm crank with 130BCD and a BB86 bottom bracket weighs 405 grams sans chainrings. Hansen is not shy to some unique custom carbon, so we’ll be interested to try an find even more about these things.

The bottom bracket also receives an upgrade courtesy of C-Bear ceramic bearings, who have a been a long-time supplier to the team.

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Article and photos by Gravel Cyclist. Jayson O’Mahoney is the Gravel Cyclist: A website about the Gravel Cycling Experience.