Most cost effetive upgrade to reduce weight on my MTB/Hybrid

eratrya

I've recently bought a Giant M1 which I am very happy with. I know its a hybrid but it has a MTB frame and I plan to turn it into a road friendly MTB.

I will be spending money over time to make it lighter and was wondering what the most cost effective parts are to upgrade in order to reduce the weight of my bike.

GrantyBoy

wheels and tyre's should be first on your list

The Spiderman

Tyres can make a huge difference.Over 400g very often can be shed going from wire beaded to kevlar beaded.If it is used mainly on road you could go narrower too.Lighter inner tubes might be good,but you don't want to go too light or you will compromise puncture resistance.Wheels are a good way to lose weight but are a lot more expensive than tyres.

I would definitely look at tyres,first.

Handlebars are often heavier than necessary at 300g,so some lighter alu bars around 200g or carbon bars around 150g could make a difference.

Most surprising area which you can drop a load of weight for not much dosh,is to replace your cassettte.I upgraded from a SRAM PG950 to an XT cassette and lost 160 g for the cost of £30.

If its used mainly on road,look at the gearing,you may be able to lose the inner granny ring,and use a closer ratio 8 speed cassette too.

Carbon forks,are worth a look too,but again quite pricy.

ddoogie

I'm not sure you are going to be saving quite as much weight as some of you claim. The M2 has some Maxxis Detonator treads on it which are decent tyres in their own right.

You will be able to save a fair chunk of weight by changing the drivetrain. The cassette, chain and mech are all pretty hefty.

The wheels aren't going to be light and £100 spent here could get you a relatively lightweight set of XT hubs on XC717 rims.

The saddle also looks fairly chunky.

eratrya

ddoogie wrote:

I'm not sure you are going to be saving quite as much weight as some of you claim. The M2 has some Maxxis Detonator treads on it which are decent tyres in their own right.

Thanks for all the advice, I will be looking into the prices and see what I can do.

edit: also I made a mistake I have a Giant M1 not M2 does the same advice still apply?

The Spiderman

Sorry didn't check the spec of your bike first.

ddoogie is right.Probably not so much weight to be saved on these tyres,as on some mtbs,as they are already road biassed,but on my Giant XTC I saved 580g by a tyre swap,so its still something to maybe consider.Have a look to see if they are kevlar beaded.

Those cranks are heavy,though,and you could look at one of the bargain Octalink Shimano LX chainsets on CRC for around £35 or Merlin to shed some weight.

A saddle change is worth a look,more so if you find something that is lighter and more comfy.I saved 100g here.

The bars are the same as the ones on my XTC and whilst a good shape are pretty heavy,at around 350g.Even something relatively inexpensive like Raceface Evolve bars would be 100g lighter.

Merlin is a good place to look at wheels,Good prices and you should be able to get something a lot lighter too.

Whilst some of the savings will cost money,you can offset this by selling the old bits on ebay,or in the classifieds,here.

It sometimes makes more sense to upgrade bits as and when they wear out.

Most of this would apply to the M1 aswell as the M2.