Bike on a diet.. what to do first?

Beardface

Hi all,

Ok, so I'm a bit stuck.I want to make my bike a bit lighter, but not really sure where to begin.. this is the bike.. 2010 Marin Attack Trail:



Spec list here. The only changes to it have been a set of Fox 36's and a single E-13 ring up front. I'm in a bit of a quandary.. I'd love to lighten it up a little, in an attempt to get up the hills a bit easier, yet still making the downs fun.

The wheels would be the ideal place to begin I guess, but I only really have about £200 to play with, ideally including tyres.. I could maybe push to £250, which would get some nice Superstar wheels with Trizoid hub, but no tyres (Nevegal 2.35s are heavy!). The wheels need to be 20mm front, 135x12mm rear. Any suggestions for a light, tough set of wheels for little cash? I realise I'm probably asking the impossible here!!!

Or, would the money be better spent elsewhere..? I don't ride particularly hard and like to think I ride smoothly, so would an XC rim be worth considering?

What would you do?

styxd

How much do you weigh? It would be more benficial to trim weight off you rather than the bike. Obviously, if you're pretty lean then ignore this advice!

But if you dont ride hard, why have you got that bike in the first place? Sell it and buy something lighter.

1mancity2

I don't know what your current wheels weight but have a look at these, bargain, I got mine last week and they are pretty nice wheels, any axle covered as well.

http://superstar.tibolts.co.uk/product_ ... cts_id=537

Beardface

styxd wrote:

How much do you weigh? It would be more benficial to trim weight off you rather than the bike. Obviously, if you're pretty lean then ignore this advice!

But if you dont ride hard, why have you got that bike in the first place? Sell it and buy something lighter.

Sorry, I should have rephrased that.. I do ride hard, but like to think I ride smoothly.. does that make sense? I don't seem to mash wheels due to bad landings etc.

I'm 6ft, a shade under 14st. That's being worked on too 12.5-13st is the aim. A lazy winter has been my downfall!

Beardface

1mancity2 wrote:

I don't know what your current wheels weight but have a look at these, bargain, I got mine last week and they are pretty nice wheels, any axle covered as well.

http://superstar.tibolts.co.uk/product_ ... cts_id=537

I have WTB Speedisc AM rims, Marin hubs. Not sure on the weight, but they're heavy! Not sure how much compared to the DHX set linked.. I have looked at the AMX set, which is a few g's lighter.. but (and here is my downfall).. I want black spokes. the tart in my will never die..

Suppose a custom set of those, but with black spokes is an option though!

styxd

Yep, you make sense.

But, its never going to climb like a whippet, and thats not aided by a 14 stone rider either!

I'd say the best spend would be on some light, fast tyres. If you can get away with them without puncturing all the time etc.

Otherwise, you could replace every component on the bike and save loads of weight, none of it is particularly light stuff. Would it make much difference? Probably not much. Losing a couple of stone off you would make alot more difference, but thats by the by.

If you want a bike that climbs better, Id just look at a new bike altogether. Do you really need something with 150mm of travel? If you're smooth, would you be better off with a 120mm travel bike? It'll still be just as much fun downhill, you'll perhaps just have to ride it a bit differently. It'll be alot more fun on the flat and uphill though.

Beardface

Makes sense, but I love this bike Getting married in December too, so a new bike is out of the question!! (Also another reason to try to trim some fat off!!)

I had the '09 120mm Mount Vision, thoroughly enjoyed it, but always found myself hesitating on the bigger stuff, hence the move up the travel.

Suppose as a cheaper start, I could go for just tyres. Generally been good with punctures, most of the trails I ride are more rooty, rather than rocky, so that shouldn't be an issue. Any suggestions for a grippy light tyre, ideally 2.25? I'm pretty used to Schwalbes previous to the Nevegals (Nics and Fat Alberts), so could be an option.

Thanks for the replies so far too, appreciate it.. I'm a bit indecisive, as you can probably tell

The Rookie

Weigh some of the easy stuff, bars (competative would be around 250-270g), stem (120-130g), saddle (less than 300g), seatpost (less than 300g) and then see what you can get that will get you from where you are to those more competative weights, don't be afraid of buying used as long as it's good! Also the shifting is all on the heavy side so maybe look towards X9 shifters, lighter front mech and maybe X9/X0 rear mech, you'll also have nicer shifting as well as a lighter bike!

Simon

Beardface

The Beginner wrote:

Weigh some of the easy stuff, bars (competative would be around 250-270g), stem (120-130g), saddle (less than 300g), seatpost (less than 300g) and then see what you can get that will get you from where you are to those more competative weights, don't be afraid of buying used as long as it's good! Also the shifting is all on the heavy side so maybe look towards X9 shifters, lighter front mech and maybe X9/X0 rear mech, you'll also have nicer shifting as well as a lighter bike!

Simon

Good point Simon, cheers. The smaller, cheaper bits are a good way of shaving little bits of weight. I'll keep an eye on the classifieds, I'm usually pretty good to spot a bargain.

I need a lottery win..

supersonic

How hard do you ride? Are the forks set at 160mm?

Beardface

supersonic wrote:

How hard do you ride? Are the forks set at 160mm?

They are at 160 ss, yep.

I think I ride hard enough for them to be at 160, my intention with this bike is to get back to the riding I used to do.. A bit more full on if I don't ride hard enough yet, I certainly plan to when back to full fitness!

I was just after a general opinion of what others would do to make it a bit lighter on not an overly huge budget if it was their bike

supersonic

I'd certainly look at new wheels, but the £220 sets (or more) as the £130 won't save you any weight.

Foam grips from Bontrager will save 100g. And they cost 10 quid!

The SRAM cassettes are not light either.

Beardface

Awesome, cheers ss, appreciate the help

Brood

I feel your pain, I'm 6ft5 and 17 stone - trying to get up some of these mountains is agony!

lawman

bars, stem, seatpost and tyres would be a good place to start, to drop a significant amount on wheels is going to take up most of your budget. tyre wise nics and hans dampfs seem to be a good combo, 2.35 hans dampf front and a 2.25 nic on the rear is a good setup. could always try the 4cross nobby nics. exotic do great value lightweight kit, they do a 750mm carbon bar for a pittance and stems and posts to match. change the grips to ESI chunky grips and save 100 grams and keep with the colour scheme.

Beardface

lawman wrote:

bars, stem, seatpost and tyres would be a good place to start, to drop a significant amount on wheels is going to take up most of your budget. tyre wise nics and hans dampfs seem to be a good combo, 2.35 hans dampf front and a 2.25 nic on the rear is a good setup. could always try the 4cross nobby nics. exotic do great value lightweight kit, they do a 750mm carbon bar for a pittance and stems and posts to match. change the grips to ESI chunky grips and save 100 grams and keep with the colour scheme.

Cheers, I thought the Hans Dampfs were a slightly heavier tyre, which is why I was thinking Nics. Always done well with Nics before, but the Hans Dampfs do look nice. I'd guess the trailstar, rather than the pacestar would be the best shout for longevity? Not cheap :shock: , but I'd rather steer clear of the ORC compound ones.

Had some exotic stuff on a previous bike, so thanks for the reminder mate! Grips are a good shout too.. I think it's probably best to start on the smaller bits, then work up to the wheels.

lawman

pacestar nics are ok, I have to admit to being abit disappoined with them, the trailstar hans dampfs have a softer compound, so will roll slower but grip better, unfortunately they don't afaik make a trail nobby nic, but they do a jared graves 4cross edition, which is completely different to the standard compound, it uses extremely soft shoulder knobs, but keeps the fast rolling centre compound, and comes with the snakeskin sidewall, 580g each, loads of grip, and they look ace! they will replace the pacestars soon, as they realyl have been a disappointment, but considering I've run them on wet as fook DH runs mostly rather than xc, the haven't been too bad! for xc and trail they are pretty good.

Beardface

Haha, fair enough!

I was referring to the Dampfs with regard to the Pace/Trailstar compounds, but shall check our the 4x ones as well. Cheers bud, appreciate it.

Beardface

Brood wrote:

I feel your pain, I'm 6ft5 and 17 stone - trying to get up some of these mountains is agony!

Most of mine is excess flab after a lazy winter/too much driving.

However, I am quite broad as well, anything less that 12.5st, I begin to look like a crack addict

Got to 10st once.. never again!

leaflite

lawman wrote:

but they do a jared graves 4cross edition, which is completely different to the standard compound, it uses extremely soft shoulder knobs, but keeps the fast rolling centre compound, and comes with the snakeskin sidewall, 580g each, loads of grip, and they look ace!

How do these compare to high rollers?

A set of High rollers (or advantages or ardents) could help make your bike lighter without affecting performance as I find them very grippy and the folding 2.35 versions are quite light and not too expensive.