Full Aluminium Dream Bike! (Almost full Aluminium)

I know, I know — you guys love shiny carbon and all the bling. But maybe I can still convince some of you that my dream custom build, made (almost entirely) out of aluminum, can still be damn fast.

A bit of background on why this bike is perfect for me:

I do race, but exclusively XC MTB marathons. My road bike is basically my workhorse. It has to survive tons of kilometers without issues, but it doesn’t need to be optimized down to the very last watt. Aggressive race geometry? Sure. Saving 5 watts with an aero frame? Nah.

I’m a student trying to take cycling seriously and competitively. And as you can probably imagine, keeping up with every carbon trend out there really isn’t easy financially.

I’m a huge carbon hater. Don’t get me wrong — I genuinely don’t care what other people ride. But I’m just tired of hearing every tiny creak from the frame and immediately wondering if I’m about to end up in the hospital… or even worse, having to pay a massive bill for a new frame. I want something solid and reliable that I can trust.

The frame is an 8Bar Kronprinz V4. 8Bar is a small manufacturer from Berlin, and the Kronprinz is their race geometry bike. The “paint” actually isn’t paint at all — it’s raw aluminum (including the sanding marks) with a clear coat over it. In my opinion it looks absolutely sick, especially in sunlight.

The wheels are Newmen Evolution SL R.35 aluminum wheels with a 35 mm depth. One of the very few alloy wheelsets where aerodynamics were actually considered. Sure, they can’t compete with 80 mm carbon wheels — but they’re definitely good enough to sit comfortably in the draft of someone riding them!

The handlebar is an FSA Gossamer Compact in 38 cm. The only aluminum handlebar I could find that comes in 38 cm and has flattened tops. I’m not sure how much aero benefit that really gives, but it’s definitely way more comfortable than traditional round bars.

There are two exceptions in my anti-carbon build though. First: obviously the fork. These days you really can’t avoid carbon forks anymore, and honestly it probably wouldn’t make sense to. Second: the seatpost. I already had it lying around, and it was too nice to let it collect dust. And to be fair, you can actually notice the comfort improvement there.

I absolutely love this bike. I spent countless hours researching everything because basically none of the cycling YouTubers compare the aerodynamics of aluminum wheelsets. You really have to dig deep to find proper comparisons and real-world experiences. Every single part was chosen carefully and exactly the way I wanted it.

And honestly? I really enjoy the peace of mind of not constantly worrying about carbon cracks anymore. Plus, personally, I still think classic round tubes look sexy as hell.