Help me lose weight.

sellisnba

Looking for any help. I want to take part in some race's next year, so i need to lose weight off my bike.
My current setup is

On- one 456 16" frame
RS Revelation dual air fork
Wheelset: hope pro 2 hubs mavic en 321 rims 32h maxxis advantage tryes.
Thompson stem seatpost,charge spoon saddle
unbranded bars
Tecktro brakes.(rebranded shimano deore)
8 speed drivetrain
Crappy sr crankset.

Any suggestions would help. Cheers

MacAndCheese

Budget? Personally I look at getting some kind of Alloy frame.

supersonic

Do you ride hard, do you need the strength?

sellisnba

Only have a small budget, also i would really like to keep my frame (which i have been told is a bit heavy ) I don't ride particually hard but a bit of strengh would be nice. It has to last.

mellex

What is your budget?

You could spend a few hundred quid on XTR throughout and, Bobs Your Uncle, weight lost. Doubt that's a viable solution though.

I would say that money would be well spent on the crank set, especially if you think it's pretty naff already.

sellisnba

I have seen a full xt setup (barring the wheels) for £500 that would probably be my MAX budget and some, however not really sure if it will make that much difference.

My realistic budget, without bashing the credit card would be around 350

supersonic

Soooo - do you need strength and how much, what terrain do you ride?

sellisnba

TBH Supersonic my bike is the only one i have so the terrain i ride is varied. My riding could be woods one day and the quarry thats near to us the next. I guess you could say i need strengh.

Where are my stabilisers?

Don't forget, you can up your budget by selling off your old parts, if ther're in good nick!

Might count towards something

supersonic

The wheels, whilst heavy, are tough and are probably worth keeping though check the weight of the tyres.

Similarly the fork is light and pretty tough. Steel frames are always heavier, and the 8 speed drivertrain will add a bit on.

I'd buy a new bike if you could house two. Keep this as the hardnut, then get a nice racy XC hardtail.

Surf-Matt

Exercise more

Eat less

sellisnba

Surf matt

Thats no fun!

Surf-Matt

Sorry - just being a PITA :twisted:

The Northern Monkey

Surf-Matt wrote:

RIDE more

Eat less crap

amended

sellisnba

I wouldn't worry. I do tend eat to much and exercise to little.

Northwind

No matter what it's going to be a horrible race bike. Sorry, but it's true. But then a proper race bike is often quite horrible for day to day use.

The first thing to do is weigh stuff, if you want to enter the church of the weight weenie. Take it all to bits, find out what's heavy and what's not. Tyres are quite often a surprise, I thought my old wheels were incredibly heavy til I found I had 1050 gram tyres :roll:

TBH trying to make a lightweight bike out of a 456 is like trying to make a sportscar out of a landrover. But that's not to say there's no point trying to make a landrover faster

dulldave

Tyres is the first place I'd look. After taking a sh1te that is.

Surf-Matt

Agree with tyres - saved 200grams and the original weren't even heavy.

Drivetrain lightening gets very pricey.

Possibly get decent bars, maybe a lighter saddle and pedals are worth looking at.

The frame is fairly heavy and heavy duty so don't go mad.

Northwind

Surf-Matt wrote:

Drivetrain lightening gets very pricey.

Mmm. That standard one might be an anvil, and SLX is back down to nice prices- though I have to admit I don't know if it'd work with the rest of the drivetrain being 8-speed.

bike-a-swan

new frame, fork and some lightweight tyres? on-one have deals on rebas at the moment...
a lot of work if you want to swap between them though.

does anyone have any experience with how the 456 performs with the shorter forks?

bike-a-swan

or- ti 456 frame, drops what, a pound and a half?

scotto

throw the seatpost and saddle way, tape a sponge onto the frame, save quite a bit and v cheap upgrade.

Northwind

bike-a-swan wrote:

new frame, fork and some lightweight tyres? on-one have deals on rebas at the moment...
a lot of work if you want to swap between them though.

Rebas don't save a vast amount over Revelations, not considering the cost of the forks. Better spent elsewhere IMO.

k2rider

why has no one asked how much the op weighs? if he can lose 1/2 a stone its the same as 7lbs off the bike. oh yeah forgot to add slx will work with 8 speed.

supersonic

Because he wants to lose weight on his bike? it is not the same as losing weight off yourself.

thel33ter

If you do want the drivetrain upgrade here you go
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Shimano-Deore-XT- ... c5fe71db41
bang on budget.

sellisnba

Thanks for all the replys guys. TBH i would like to loose a bit of weight myself :oops: but i think i'll start with the bike. It seems like the best way to lighten the bike is to start with the drivetrain.
So now i have to decide on which setup

Full XT including brakes £500
or
SRAM X9 gearing, truvativ chainset and avid juicy 7 brakeset Around £370

After much deliberation the frame will probably be replaced at a later date, After all the new stumpjumper frame with 140mm travel is lighter than my on one frame. :shock:

uk_mr_brownstone

I've got a 456 and scandal frames. Although I didn't believe it when people said it, it really makes a heck of a difference having a lighter "snappy" feeling frame when you're wanting to get moving quickly and stay moving quickly.

A lot will depend on your weight and strength though- the thing I've realised after swopping and changing frames and components over the last few years is that at 5'9" and 9.5stone I'm just not strong enough to really muscle around a bike over 30lbs all day.

So if you are bigger and stronger (strength and fitness) the 456 might be ok for what you're asking about- if so, try a new crank and tyres if as already suggested- might be able to loose close on a kilo depending on what you've got now. It's never going to be a racer though!

However, my suggestion would be that for £350 you could buy a £200 alu frame (scandals still at £200- should be ok with your fork) and still afford a new cranks and tyres! Doing this has made a massive difference for me, but I enjoy taking bikes apart and re-building so it wouldn't bother me to rebuild the 456 if I was going away and needed something a bit stronger for a weekend. That way you get 2 bikes for the price of 1 bike and a frame!

bike-a-swan

Northwind wrote:

Rebas don't save a vast amount over Revelations, not considering the cost of the forks. Better spent elsewhere IMO.

they really don't- i'd never noticed quite how close they are..
scrub that idea then.

thinking laterally, what about the kit you ride in/with? some shoes weigh a lot more than you notice, and i'm pretty sure my bag is up there with some road bikes at the start of all day rides. If it's short racy rides you're doing, particularly in the better weather (if it ever gets here!), try stuffing everything in your pockets, water in a bottle grab some disco slippers and go