ideas on shedding weight

will1984

i wondered if anyone has any good ideas on how best to lose weight from my bike i have a felt compulsion 2 2008 and whilst its great going down and on steep technical climbs keeps traction very well i find that on long rides i struggle with fatigue

would be grateful of any input

Andy B

tyres are the cheapest way to lose weight, then other things like forks, chainset, wheels

The compulsion is a burly all mountain bike & is not really a lightweight machine & it fairly well specced, it will cost quite a lot to reduce the weight.

Just ride more

bomberesque

can you post the full spec?

often, even on well speccd bikes the wheelset will be quality but not light. This can be an area where you can save a bunch of weight in one fell swoop (but Andy is right; tyres and tubes will be the most efficient cost/benefit wise)

for example, I was trying out some stuff between bikes the other day and at one point fpund myself with Mrs B's Mavic Xride front wheel in one hand and my Easton XCone in the other so I plopped them on the scales. Now; the X-ride has a 2.25 NNic on where the Easton has a 2.1 Highroller Kevlar so I expect a bit of a difference there, then again the Easton has a 180 disc where the X-ride has a 160.

the difference in weight.... half a kilo :shock:

I was quite taken aback

cranks are also somewhere you can save a bunch in one shot, but of course depends what you have to start with.

jayson

As above, wheels and tires are an obvious and relatively easy way to shed a couple pounds or so depending on what u have and what u buy.

Forks can be another way to lose some bulk but its not always a cheap option unfortunately depending on what u have on ur bike already.

Stuey01

You struggle with fatigue on long rides? You and every else too buddy.

Train more and get fitter? cheaper option too.

ride_whenever

get fitter!!!!

will1984

my fitness is at a decent level the forks are rockshox pike 409 i think and are quite heavy but perform really well and seem to be able to take a lot of punishment i live in the pyrenees at the mo so there are some very long steep climbs i am running a different front whell now as the original broke so will have a look at replacing the wheels any thoughts on a good option the mavic crossride look decent i didnt realise tube made such a differnce i usually by the cheapest as i get a lot of punctures its very rocky were i ride

thanks for the advice

RichMTB

Don't be too obsessed by shedding weight. Lighter tyres are a good starting point but not if you end up going slower becuse you new tyres are sketchy on anything but bone dry hard pack!

my 28lbs full sus is a lot faster than my 23lb hardtail on aything but smooth fireroad

bomberesque

Pike 409 is a heavy fork (<2200gr) esp if Uturn and coil

There are similar (burly 20mm 100-140 thro forks) that run closer to 1700gr
Revelation (although I'm not sure on '10 weights, the '09 ones weren't very light)
Magura Thor
Fox TALAS 32

none are very cheap though

if you're happy at 140, look at Fox 32 Vanilla. Mrs B has one (but not the thro version) and it's super and really very light. If you have loadsamoney DTSwiss 150

I thought about these for my Evil (have Pike 426 atm) but decided against it in the end as the Pike is a great fork and I didn't think the weight loss would be worth the investment. Still considering though.

wheels for that kind of bike (ie, one with a pike on) I changed mine to Hope hoops with 5.1 rims (would probably go for Stans flow rims today but they weren't available at the time). The pair runs to about 1850gr (excl everything) so was a 1/2 kilo saving for me but it depends what you have as to how much you will save. I dare say that XTs on the same rims with DB spokes from Merlin would be cheaper and as light. If you're bothered enough, strip your wheels down and weigh them, then you know how much benefit you're buying.

Tubeless sounds like it should be lighter but once you've added latex it's pretty marginal. eradicating pinchflats is what it's all about for me and I love teh tubeless

will1984

the pike is a great fork it seems to be bomb proof i will have a look at the wheels you mentioned the Hope ProII/DT EX 5.1 look good

thanks for the help

paul.skibum

Long rides in the mountains = tiring! Get used to it I reckon!

You dont want to lighten your bike too much in a mountain environment - it'd be a bit of a pain to be the wrong side of a range with a broken rear wheel or something.

filthy667

Just take more mars bars with you. I did 50 miles xc ride on my kona last week and it weighs 40lbs......think i averaged 10 miles per mars bar.

Ridg

as said wheels and forks are where you can save the most weight, but the lightweight (and still strong) stuff doesn't normally come cheap.

If you're running large discs then, you could save around 100g on those, I changed my hayes 203mm to a 160mm and saved ~100g, finishing kit wont save you that much, unless you're running really cheap heavy stuff already, that said finishing kit like a new thomson X4 stem or seat post can be done over time and you don't have the heavy hit financial of a new wheel set.

once you've shed all the weight you can, then it's time for some Ti bolts.

alternatively, shedding some excess weight from yourself could be an option

fletch8928

I feel tired and fatigued after all my rides.
On the note of weight like everyone said wheels and or tyres, i have just shed a few 00 grammes by changing my rear tyre, the wheels had already been changed and i am experimenting at the mo. I wouldnt say i can feel any difference,(except grip) but it has to be helping somewhere along the line

wordnumb

Removing all punctuation from your posts will not help shed weight. Nice idea though.

CycloRos

+1 for Hope Pro II's easily serviceable and ultra reliable just what you need for the Pyrenees (you lucky beggar!) and I'd go for Mavic rims over DT but that's just my personal preference.

Saving weight on the wheels is where you'll notice it the most.

king_rw

diet/work on your leg strength in the gym as well as the bike

ride_whenever

will1984 wrote:

on long rides i struggle with fatigue

proper diet and get fitter, or ride slower. You should be able to ride below threshold practically indefinitely with enough food and water, mtbing is basically interval training so more fitness will allow you to put in the work for the climbs without killing yourself so much that you accumulate to much of a lactate debt

RealMan

Take a dump, then get fitter.

MrChuck

wordnumb wrote:

Removing all punctuation from your posts will not help shed weight. Nice idea though.

Picky, but still.

Raymondavalon

paul.skibum wrote:

Long rides in the mountains = tiring! Get used to it I reckon!

+1 there Paul.Skibum!

And get fit.. losing a few kilograms on a bike won't make as much difference as losing a few kilos on your body

I weigh 98Kgs (215LBS) and also own a Felt Compulsion 2SE (2008 with Pike 409 forks). In fact my bike weighs a little more due to fitting a Joplin R seatpost, carrying a Topeak under saddle toolkit and also fitting Panaracer Rampage tyres to it, the tires improved my traction on ascents dramatically.

The Compulsion 2's are not quite billy goats (like certain hardtails) when it comes to tackling ascents, it has Equilink and although it's not quite the panacea for hill climbing, from experience I assure you it does make a difference.

Good legs, momentum and the right tyres it what ANY bike needs to get you up a reasonable hill climb.

Northwind

You can get fitter AND lose weight, it's not an either or :roll:

Best bet is to find out what you've got- get some half decent scales, and weigh the individual parts. See if any bits are particularily heavy.

konanige

I agree with the get fitter tips, strength and reliabilty is what you need in the mountains not a lightweight that rides like its made from noodles. I ride a 36 pound Kona Coiler everywhere, and look at it like this; the heavier your bike is the fitter you'll get!





They wont let me breed on account of my bad temperament.

Shaggy_Dog

the cassette is a good way of shedding weight, try an XTR or SRAM PG990. You'll be amazed at how much rotating and unsprung weight can be shed from this area whilst improving the shifting considerably

Dirtydog11

will1984 wrote:

i wondered if anyone has any good ideas on how best to lose weight from my bike i have a felt compulsion 2 2008 and whilst its great going down and on steep technical climbs keeps traction very well i find that on long rides i struggle with fatigue

would be grateful of any input

You will still struggle with fatigue, you will just get to where your going faster.

Willrideforcake

RealMan wrote:

Take a dump, then get fitter.

DAMMIT! Beat me to it...

trouty65

Have to agree get fitter

I weighed 192 lbs (13 stone 10 lbs) and took up running to compliment my cycling. I have lost 22 lb in the last 6 months and am now 12 stone 2 . The difference it has made to my cycling is huge !

Do specific training to raise your threshold ..... it works

Paul

Shaggy_Dog

Obviously getting fitter will help you get up hills quicker but if you're struggling with those long draggy climbs I'd suggest streamlining your rolling stock. I.E. Smaller rotors, lighter wheels, tubeless conversion, faster rolling, lighter weight tyres. All of this will compromise your downhill confidence, but you will actually go faster if you can bring yourself to trust the kit you're riding. Make sure you've set up your suspension properly, if necessary go into your local bike shop and pay someone to set up your bike properly for XC riding. Think about tyre pressures, you want low rolling resistance, but if you run the tyres too hard they'll bounce of every bump you hit, slowing you down. Same can be said about gear choice, most bikes pedal better in the middle ring but you may find the big ring allows the suspension to compress more effectively, absorbing bumps that will slow your momentum.

Suspension setup, gear choice and tyre pressure adjustment are free but there is no magic formula, you'll have to figure out what works for yourself out there on the hills so bring a shock pump and a tyre pressure gauge and fiddle halfway up those draggy climbs.

Northwind

Shaggy_Dog wrote:

tubeless conversion.

Most people add weight when they go tubeless, even though they think they're saving it- a notubes rim strip and 2 ounces of sealant is heavier than my Schwalbe XXlight tubes and a standard rim tape

Shaggy_Dog

I weighed my wheels and it was a bit lighter, not a lot but you could feel it in the front wheel when steering. I was using standard Bontrager tubes. Worth it for the puncture protection and the abilty to run 20 psi without having to worry about pinch flats. The single biggest improvement to my mountain biking since going to clipless pedals. However the Bontrager tubeless system is the lightest if you want to be anal

Northwind

I think to be fair the reason you found a weight loss is that standard tube you were comparing it with- you can get reliable tubes that weigh in sub 100 grams, my own XXlights are about as reliable as any normal tube I've used. No point comparing tubeless with a heavy OEM tube...

I'm not anti-tubeless btw, I've just done a BMX tube conversion as an experiment and I'll be doing it on my soul as soon as my replacement stans yellow tape arrives (had to cut the old stuff to replace a spoke) but most times, it's just not a weight saver. It's got its own merits though.