Shedding weight!!

Ginger_mat

Hi Guys!

Been riding a while now and would love a new bike, sadly because of recently moving into my first place money is a bit tight

So im after as much help as possible to shed a few pounds on the bike, (thats the bike not my fat ass, ha ha), i have a small amount to spend on the bike to upgrade a few parts but just dont know where to start?

Iv taken off spare reflectors and anything else i could see that was surplus to requirements, my bikes a Scott Reflex 20 disc 2007 heres the bike radar review with a spec list too.

http://www.bikeradar.com/gear/category/ ... x-20-11122

Cheers Mat!

Northwind

Take it apart and weigh all the bits Inner tubes would probably be a good place to start though, £7 for a 100g Schwalbe XXlight which will perform on everyday trails exactly the same as a 350g cheap OEM tube... (not for downhilling! Though I did parts of the fort william DH and 4X courses with mine)

RichMTB

Budget?

Tyres and tubes are definitely a good place to start!

There will be excess weight in almost all the parts it just depends how much money you have to replace them.

If you have £100 then £60 on lighter tubes and tyres and £40 on a lighter saddle (OEM saddles can be 500grams) Could save you a pound no problem

stunter ant

If you ride more you'll shed a few pounds of body mass......everyones a winner u shed the weight and your riding!?

Or Inner tunes and Tyres are a good start, try and reduce the rolling weight

stu8975

Get some foam grips, approx 15g for Bontrager xxx, saved me just over 100g on my lock-ons. As mentioned tyres/tubes, but it depends how much you have in your budget.

Matt N

sorry for being thick but what OEM? :?

bomberesque

OEM = Original Equipment Manufacturer. Generally refers to no-name (or branded to match the bike frame) bits that come on most (even quite expensive) bikes.

In order of (probable) value for weight loss looking at your bike spec;

20 quid - tubes
50 quid - tyres
40 quid - Saddle
100-150 quid - wheels

I'd start at the top and work down till you've run out of money.

before you spend, strip the bits you are thinking of replacing off your bike and weigh them. Compare to the actual weights of the stuff you're thinking of buying (google weightweenies for a list of user measured actual weights). This way you will know what you are saving. I think of it in terms of grammes saved per pound spent. Once you've done a couple of comparisons you'll get a feel for what's good value and what;s not

Some bikes, for example, come with lightweight tubes to lower the sale weight cheaply so no point changing them if they're already light (100gr is light for a tube, 200 is not). Tyres same, 5-600 gr is pretty light, 800 is not. weighing wheels is tougher as you should strip the disc and cassette off aswell. If you have the tools it's easy enough though or if you know the model of the disc and cassette look them up on weight weenies and minus them from the all up weight. If your wheels are >2200gr then it'll be worth spending a hundred on sub 2kg wheels. Keep an eye out for deals on carbon H-bars and seatposts. when CRC discount them they can be seriously good value but at full retail, they're not worth it on your bike, I would suppose (aside from looking really pretty ofc)

RichMTB

Just becuase i'm bored,

Here is a list of approximate weights you should be aiming for if you upgrade a part you should be able to get these weights without spending silly money

Wheels 1900g
Cassette <300g
Saddle 250g
Bars 250g
Seatpost 200g
Stem 150g
Tyres 650-700g

Upgrading the fork would save you a chunk of weight as well but its not really a cheap option

llamafarmer

I'd think about a new fork if you're serious about keeping that bike for a while. It's pricey but you could save a fat chunk of weight by going to a decent spec air fork and greatly improve the ride while you're at it. You do have to bear in mind though that all the parts on your bike are fairly heavy, so I wouldn't spend a fortune on it chasing a really low weight.

bomberesque

llamafarmer
Blimey I just looked up that fork .... what an ANCHOR! :shock:

Dart 2 = 2500gr

'10 Tora SL Solo air = 2100 (ish) can be had for 170 from CRC
'09 Reba race dual air = 1800 for 265

Both would work better than the Dart, I dare say and shed at least half a kilo.

So, really depends on budget and the exact weights of replacale kit on your bike now. Remember also that swapping out the fork (especially to the Reba) would represent a real upgrade, not just a weight saving

supersonic

Merlin have Tora 318 air for £150 - 4.5lbs.

Ginger_mat

Cheers for all the advice guys, hopefully will begin upgrading the end of the month, il start with inner tubes and im owed some new tyres for a belated xmas present

Id love to upgarde the fork not just for the weight but as already mentioned for the ride too. That will all depend on money though.

Iv got a feeling i need to replace my bottom bracket and i think my chainset is slightly bent so i might look at upgrading these too, the current bottom bracket i need is a Shimano Un54 i think, but am i right in saying replacing the chainset will mean il need a different bottom bracket too?

Cheers for the help guys!

joshtp

Ginger_mat wrote:

Cheers for all the advice guys, hopefully will begin upgrading the end of the month, il start with inner tubes and im owed some new tyres for a belated xmas present

Id love to upgarde the fork not just for the weight but as already mentioned for the ride too. That will all depend on money though.

Iv got a feeling i need to replace my bottom bracket and i think my chainset is slightly bent so i might look at upgrading these too, the current bottom bracket i need is a Shimano Un54 i think, but am i right in saying replacing the chainset will mean il need a different bottom bracket too?

Cheers for the help guys!

it depends on what bb and chaiset type youv got, if its a octolinl/isis or a square taper than you could actually save a chunk of weight by putting a external chainset and bb on there.

Ginger_mat

Oooo just found some Michelin Air Comp Ultralight Innder Tubes, checked on weightweenies (very useful website btw thanks) they are very light, anyone use these? How are they for punctures?

Airienteer

Yes it'll probably need a new bottom bracket, but nearly all chainsets come with one included. Merlin seem to have the best prices on chainsets, have a look at Shimano SLX, really good value for money.

Northwind

Ginger_mat wrote:

Oooo just found some Michelin Air Comp Ultralight Innder Tubes, checked on weightweenies (very useful website btw thanks) they are very light, anyone use these? How are they for punctures?

Very light tubes can be delicate, and some don't patch well. I like the XXlights because they're light but they're not silly light, but there could be others that are better to be fair, never used those Michelins.

Ginger_mat

Right, i think il try them on recommendation then. Just another quick one, if i do change my chainset would you recommend changing the rear mech and chain too? Spoke to someone the other day and they said that it might be worth doing it all because of the way it wears?

llamafarmer

Ginger_mat wrote:

Right, i think il try them on recommendation then. Just another quick one, if i do change my chainset would you recommend changing the rear mech and chain too? Spoke to someone the other day and they said that it might be worth doing it all because of the way it wears?

Not the rear mech, but the cassette might be worth changing. I think it depends how much they've all worn and stretched as to whether they all need changing at once, but you can shed a fair bit of weight there. Ugrading my cassette, crankset and BB to XT and my chain to a KMC X9L saved me about 270g for a little over £200.

But remember to factor in the cost of tools and/or shop fees.

supersonic

270g for £200 is the sort of upgrades you do later on I'd say.

A Reba for £220 would save about 850g lol.

llamafarmer

supersonic wrote:

270g for £200 is the sort of upgrades you do later on I'd say.

A Reba for £220 would save about 850g lol.

Agreed, I wasn't trying to suggest he did the drivetrain first

Ginger_mat

Thats ok guys, was just thinking if the chainset etc does need replacing anyway then i may aswell kill two birds at once! Gonna go inner tubes tyres first and then look at either chainset or shock depending whats in worse condition. Other thing someone mentioned saddles, how much do they retail at and any recommendations, bare in mind i do a lot of long trail's with lots of sitting down granny gear climbs..

bomberesque

my fave saddle is the SDG Bel-air. it's light (although there are lighter) and a good comfy saddle. I also have the superlight ibeam version, but you need balls made of concrete to sit on it for more than an hour or so and a special seatpost (mine's on the SS, where the saddle doesn't really get so much use anyway)

Northwind

I love my charge knife. And my spoon, but I love the knife more.

mikeyj28

Northwind wrote:

I love my charge knife.

Totally agree. The knife does it for me and its pretty light too.

Airienteer

I have both the Charge Knife and the SGD Bel Air I Beam. I'd go for the SDG because it's comfier (for me, everyone's opinions on saddles vary) and when combined with an i-beam post it'll be the same weight wise.