Upgrading the blast - a few terminology questions

MarkDon

Right, after getting the Blast Deluxe, i have the bug, i want lighter bits, stronger bits, tricker bits.

BUT i don't have a scooby doo about what things are called, and what to look for in upgrades.

To start with, i'm thinking of changing the bars, stem, seat post & grips for now, then the forks at a later date (read up on them, not meant to be much cop)

Bars - standard or oversized - whats the difference, is it weight vs strength? degree of rise, is this just a comfort / preference thing, or is there anything else behind it?

Stem - obv the std / os is to do with the bars, i see length is the main issue, and weight, but there is "steer tube" mentioned, wossat then?

Seat post - all about the weight?

Grips - lock or no lock, bar end type?

Bottom brackets - are these basically the bearings for the crank? what advantages are there for upgrading these?

Now, is there a site somewhere that i can get all the standard weights from, so i can see how much weight i can save, or do i have to remove the standard bits & weigh them?

Thanks for the help, i understand these are straightforward things for everyone here, and i may be getting a bit carried away, but i cant find a decent source for the info

Cheers.

Mark.

supersonic

Oversized bars/stems are stiffer. If that is what you want.

Steerer tube is what the stem attaches too, most are 1+1/8th inch, some 1.5.

Seatpost - not worth spending more than 30 quid on an alloy one. Much of a muchness really. Most weigh 230-350g.

Grips - lock on is very popular.

BB - change when it does. You won't feel ANY difference with a new one unless it is knackered.

Weights - try Weight Weenies.

MarkDon

Ah, so is the steerer tube the upright that comes off the forks?

Right, this is my provisional list so far (Bit of a red theme)...

Da Bomb D6 Tribal Bar 2010 (black)

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Mode ... elID=47404

Atomlab Pimplite Stem (red, 53mm) (say 1.1/8” steer tube, is this ok?)

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Mode ... elID=29854

WTB Shadow V Pro Saddle 2009 (red / black)

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Mode ... elID=25678

RockShox Tora 318 OE 2009

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/p/Sale/26/RockS ... 360045722/

And a few daft bits like red pegs for my DMR V8's.

Yes, these are all in the sale, no i dont have an unlimited budget, and no, i'm not 100% sure if these are any good, so please throw in your tuppence worth & let me know

MarkDon

Any ideas with the list above? Apart from the forks, got another thread going about them in buying advice.

Cheers.

supersonic

The forks (as the other thread) are a fine choice, or the air ones, and have a 1+1/8th steerer as your frame rquires.

As for the rest of the parts, I wouldn't bother. If you want lighter stuff, you need to weigh what you have and compare. if it hasn't broke, it is strong enough ;-)

£50 for a stem is ridiculous really.

MarkDon

True, think i was just getting carried away & wanted to add a bit of colour to the bike (anal i know), will strip the bike down & weight the bits i'm thinking about replacing.

One thing though, headsets, whats the advantage of changing these?

deffler

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/p/cycle/7/Easto ... 360043241/

£15, not sure if its what your lookin for

llamafarmer

MarkDon wrote:

True, think i was just getting carried away & wanted to add a bit of colour to the bike (anal i know), will strip the bike down & weight the bits i'm thinking about replacing.

One thing though, headsets, whats the advantage of changing these?

If you're looking for a bit of colour, things like grips and a seatpost collar might be a good, cheap option. You could also look at wheel skewers, but Shimano make by far the best and they're only black.

RE the bars and stem - All bars are the same diameter at the grip end, but oversize bars have a fat section in the middle where the stem clamps them. Normal bars are 25.4mm diameter, oversize are 31.8mm. I can't tell what size the bars you listed are, but the stem is a 25.4mm clamp and very short! Bear in mind stems vary in length and rise and bars vary in width, rise and sweep - all of which can effect how your bike feels to ride.

Headsets - No point until it breaks.

MarkDon

The bars are 25.4mm, i had another sit on the bike, and with my riding style i think i need at least a 100mm stem, have to have another look. Also prefer a high rise.

Thanks for the help.

Allanblast

I have a blast delux 08 and have started upgrading, a new fork is the biggest weight saver i went for a reba team dual air which is 1.5kg lighter than the original dart 2 fork, then after that your only talking grams,
I've also change the rear cassette and rear mech to shimano xt which probable saved about 500g in weight which when riding i noticed the differnce on the back of the bike.

I am thinking of changing seat post and handle bars but that purley for styling (it wont make me go any faster.

Atz

If I were you, I'd concentrate on performance related parts (i.e. forks, drivetrain etc) before you start buying things like stems, bars etc. There's an awful lot of choice and you'll need a little longer before you have a proper idea of what feels right to you. Also you need to decide what sort of riding you're intending to do with it to work out if you need parts that will take more of a beating or light weight parts.

Remember the age old adage about bike parts - Light, cheap, strong - pick two

Sloper

Check the forum classifieds for good used bits. Look them up at CRC or wherever and compare weights with your own kit.

I'm building a bike based on the same frame as yours. As others have said, the biggest gain (loss!?) you can make in the weight dept. is by swapping that HEAVY Dart fork. I got a pair of Reba SLs. They are MUCH lighter.. the difference is shocking.

I've changed the original Kona 'bars for wider and much lighter items and also bought a used Ritchey seatpost (in the forum classifieds) which was 100g+ lighter IIRC. I bought a KORE stem off eBay too. Only £22 and it's lighter than the equivalent sized Thomsen.
I bought a Charge Spoon seat too, a good bit lighter than the Kona one.

I've also junked the original wheels (the hubs were buggered anyway). I've ordered some custom wheels from Merlin - SLX hubs with splined discs (lighter than bolt-ons I'm guessing?) with Mavic XM317 rims. I expect these wheels to save a fair few grams over the cheapie originals.

I got a pair of older XTR calipers (£30 each) from CRC too, which I expect are lighter than the Hayes ones.

I'll probably be going for an SLX chainset which has to be an all-round improvement on the original one.

I also had the frame blasted and powder coated (£57) :shock:

Having done all that, I can see it would probably be cheaper to buy a decent specced new bike in the first place and I still have a little way to go yet. It's fun to spec and build your own bike though