Carrera Kraken - with new wheels 25/11/2014 (page 6) - 9.6Kg

supersonic

Have you weighed the whole bike? Always seem to come out a pound heavier!

The Rookie

Yes, see post above yours!

njee20

I'm still skeptical! There's nothing hugely light on there, and the wheels are downright heavy!

Not saying you've not weighed it at that - but I doubt your scales!

The Northern Monkey

njee20 wrote:

....but I doubt your scales!

Not this again :roll:

The Rookie

njee20 wrote:

I'm still skeptical! There's nothing hugely light on there, and the wheels are downright heavy!

Not saying you've not weighed it at that - but I doubt your scales!

But each component I can verify pretty much matches manufacturer declared weights (some a little lighter, some a little heavier) on a few components I've weighed them across 3 scales as well to be sure....

njee20

Impressively anal, chapeau ;-)

The Rookie

It's the engineer in me.....PM me an email address and I'll send you the excel spreadsheet for you to critique if you like?

I think the key is that as I'm on a budget (It's still cost in total sub £700 including parts I've had to change due to wear and tear over 2.5 years use) I've always been really careful to make sure it's got the lightest (not necesarily the blingiest) part I can reasonably source, also not being afraid to 'have a go' also helps, for example I swapped from Avid Juicy5 brakes to my current setup for a total cost (to date) of £35, using the lightest part I could afford for each individual part, the XTR rear caliper is IS mount which is a useful saving of 34g on the adaptor plus bolts the avids needed for example, also as the XTR came as a pair the lighter pad retaining pin is now in the front Saint caliper (2g saving).

njee20

Hear what you're saying, I'm just struggling to overlook the fact that the single heaviest part is bloody heavy! I'd be throwing together some A2Z or eBay hubs on some discount Stan's rims (Olympics were going cheap from various places) and some lighter tyres - you could drop 4lbs for £200!

The Rookie

Yes the wheels (and tyres) are heavy, not tried wheel building yet....£200 is more than 25% of my entire cost so far! Tyres will be lighter folders when they wear out, when it wears the mud rear it's lighter and my summer Michelins are lighter as well....

The Northern Monkey wrote:

The Beginner wrote:

Carbon came from ebay (where else) and cost a substantial £11.50 delivered!

Got a link tothe seller? Would like to make my own bash!

http://myworld.ebay.co.uk/agus_a1/&_trk ... 1497.l2754
Put a search on as he tends to list some about once a month. Fibrelyte are a little dearer.

mrmonkfinger

FWIW there are some laserdisc lite hubs on ebay now for ~£60, and CRC are clearing out laserdisc xc rims for £9 each. £20 for a full set of ACI alpina spokes on ebay - that would come in around 1650g total. DIY build and you're looking at around £100 total.

Or if you don't rate the WTB hubs, there's always people selling novatec D711/712 hubsets (very light) for around £80 on ebay.

The Rookie

Thanks for the heads up, not tried wheelbuilding yet.....always a first time I guess!

mrmonkfinger

Take it slow, follow a good guide, its relatively straightforward.

Its a good skill to have as you're then open to buying partly knackered wheels to save a good hub + set of spokes, which should appeal to your budget concious nature.

gt-arrowhead

Damn thats nice! love the panaracer fire on there i see your crank now, thats awesome. thanks for the info:)

The Rookie

Thanks......good luck with yours....

kevinharley

You could always convert to SS ... that'd save a huge chunk of weight, and you'd have to fork out only peanuts!

I have a Boardman Team hardtail (already a decently light bike) and went SS last autumn, and genuinely it was the best cycling-related thing I've done. I ride with 2 mates who've been SS for years, and another mate followed me a few weeks later ... he's a convert too! I like the extra lightness, the more direct power transfer, the greater chuckability of the bike, and the subconscious feeling that you've not got a load of gear bouncing around on the back waiting to be snagged by a rock or a branch.

I don't know what the terrain is like round where you live ... I'm in Leeds, and most of my riding is local trails in and around north Leeds ... its not exactly flat, but I've found nearly all of it rideable. I've found that you have to adopt a slightly different approach to uphills, particularly rooty / rocky ones ... you have to carry more momentum into the bottom of the climb, and climb more out of the saddle (but hover closely over it so you can sit down and put the weight back over the rear wheel if it starts to slide). There are a couple of climbs that I can't do now (yet!) which I used to be able to granny up in before, but there are other climbs that I'm doing quicker, because you have to keep the momentum going to get to the top! The other downside is pedalling like a hamster down hill, and on the inevitable road sections linking the trails!

Oh, and although my mates who have gone SS also have other bikes (with gears, and rear suspension) for bigger terrain, like you, I'm on a budget and only have the one (mountain) bike. The gears (only at the back) are going back on for a trip to Wales in 2 weeks, but I'll probably take them off again as soon as I come back .. until we go to the Lakes in the summer.

I've not weighed the components I took off ... but I bet the saving is much more than you'd get for £200 wheels!

njee20

But it massively compromises the bike. Not ideal for everyone by any stretch!

Greer_

njee20 wrote:

But it massively compromises the bike. Not ideal for everyone by any stretch!

Was thinking the same thing, couldn't think of a nice way to put it! Some things are worth the added weight!

The Rookie

My legs won't cope with SS, if I try it I'll chuck some bits in an old bike first!

My wheels will have cost about £100 and will come in at about 1670g with the 2 Ryde (nee Rigida) rims I've just bought (sold my Crossrides for just over £60), with folding tyres both ends that would put me on the cusp of 10Kg.

Not sure how SS adds directness, fixed maybe, not SS!

Losing the rear gears would take off 640g in gear changing plus cassette, and 40g of inner bash guard then I'd ad a tensioner and SS conversion and shed maybe 30g of chain, so net saving of about 500-550g, Remembering that my bike is probably lighter now than your SS team anyway (unless it's significantly modified!).

I ride with a number of SSers, and I keep getting to the tops of hills ahead of them, especially in slippery conditions where I can spin all the way to the top with the front wheel just skipping the ground, as soon as they stand up they wheelspin to a halt!

The Rookie

So the Ryde Edge rims are on, 1718g for the wheelset now (a little heavier than I was hoping for coutesy of the plain gauge spokes that were on there), that with a few other tweaks here and there and my summer tyres has dropped the weight to 10328g now, could be 130g lower if I had a Ron on the back as well!
Just have a better headset to go on (bits merged from Scott and Marin OE headsets) now which will drop me under the 10.3kg mark - then I'll be gunning for 10kg (in summer trim at least!).
Also doubled the value of the bike with a Hope QR seatpost clamp, not my first choice but the shaped bush on mine split and a friend had this one going spare - at least it's black!

njee20

Change to a allen bolt seat clamp, significantly lighter!

The Rookie

I could, and it would, also less conveniant! I often change saddle height for the terrain, so I'll stick with a QR, an AEST would save 22g anyway!

njee20

Grips and cables? Quaxar outer is light, not silly money either. They look like normal rubber grips too?

Isn't that a Hayes front rotor too?

The Rookie

Hayes front disc yes, a little heavier than the alligator I run on the rear (110 v 72g) but at the moment I'm happy with the 38g penalty for a little more heat capacity, I did have a 'gator on the front and it got a bit hot a couple of times.

Grips are Renthal Kevlar, I'm toying with going foam which will save me 50g, but I won these and they are still as new and they are a really nice grip - could go on my retro though as the Giant grips on that are FUBARed!

Not really considerd Quaxar, have looked into it now, only Uk source is £12.49 for 2metres, shame when I only need about 60cm, my current outers weigh 16g, so potential saving is about 6g, I'll get Quaxar when I need to replce them!

The Rookie

OK decided to try some Carboncycles foam grips (just £4.79!) it was that or KCNC (aka Tritec or Avenir) which i have on my commuter, but the CC ones look a bit fatter, with the headset that will put me at about 10.2Kg....

WindyG

Glad I switched to foam grips, feel much better than any others I had tried plus a decent weight saving for very little money, my Ritchey ones have had some real abuse and are hardly wearing other than a chunk out the end of one when I clipped a tree during a race.

The Rookie

Well I have some Exotic carbon foam grips on, the foam cells are much larger than the KCNC/Avenir/Pork rings and they are more squishy, one short ride so far (the daughter had an asthma attack) and they survived that OK. Picked up some CF bars, so will add a new post when I have the bars and headset on as well as a lighter Gamut outer bash and will be at circa 10.1-10.15Kg

Lewis A

You could always go fixie, lose gears and a brake. do fixie mtb even exist?

The Rookie

No thanks, and not that I'm aware of though some people ride brakeless (nuts)!

Lewis A

Madmen. Same for fixie riders too though...

The Rookie

OK, latest update, weight is now just a smidgen over 10.1Kg at 10,106g, although I need to sort some bar ends which will add about 12g.


Frame: Carrera Kraken 16" resprayed Ford Metallic purple
Forks: Manitou Skareb Elite, solo air with SPV
Bars: Syncros UD carbon
Stem: Superstar with bikehut faceplate
Headset: Mix of Scott, Marin and FSA!
Grips: Exotic carbon foam
Bar Ends: Not yet!

Front Brake Lever assy: Shimano ST-M765 (XT)
Front Caliper: Shimano M800 Saint
Front disc: Hayes
Rear Brake Lever assy: Shimano M800 Saint
Rear Caliper: Shimano M965 XT (IS mount)
Rear Disc: Alligator
Hoses: Alero


Shifters: ST-M765 (XT)
Cables: Jagwire
Front Mech: None
Rear Mech: Shimano M965 (XTR) with alloy jockeys
Chain Device: Gamut bash and home made carbon inner guide ring

Seat: Bontrager Inform RXL
Seat Post: Promax carbon
Seat Post Clamp: Hope

Cranks: Shimano XT HT2
Chainring: E13 32T single
Chain: Shimano
Cassette: XT
Pedals: XT SPD
Bottom Bracket: BB70

Front Wheel
Rim: Ryde Edge7
Spokes: Plain guage
Hub: Superfast
Skewer: XT
Tube: Continental
Tire: Schwalbe Rocket Ron

Back Wheel
Rim: Ryde Edge7
Spokes: Plain guage
Hub: Superleggera
Skewer: XT
Tube: Schwalbe
Tire: Michelin Dry Mountain2

Weight: 10,106g

Other info: Total cost on the road £555.