Saving weight on my Trek 4300 or swap out?

yukka
yukka Posts: 4
edited April 2011 in MTB beginners
Hi All,

I have just come back to cycling after several years and have recently purchased a board man road bike however I've got a few local trails that are off road and thus will need to use my 2007 Trek 4300 Disc for these excursions.

As most of the rides will be on semi rough trails and have a fair share of climbs I'd like to remove some weight from the 4300 which weighs circa 15kg...

A couple of options considered are swapping out the frame for something cheap off eBay (maybe a carbon Chinese job) or maybe switching such components such as the wheels and swapping the suspension fork to a rigid one.

Would a wheel/fork change make a drastic change in weight or indeed perceived weight in transit?

Not ready to buy a new mountain bike just yet as those that would interest me are circa £2k so would like make a couple of quick changes.

Cheers in advance

Comments

  • xtremedash
    xtremedash Posts: 182
    Hmm, cheap chinese frames are something to try at your own peril!

    Your easiest way to to improve the feel is to shed weight from the wheels and tyres, these will also effect the acceleration and braking more as they are a rotating mass.

    The forks would also be one of the heavier items. Beyond that you really should consider replacing the bike. Also as you get more into riding your own fitness level and potential weight change will have far more effect on how easy/hard you find it to ride the bike.
    If you're not living life on the edge, you're taking up too much room!
  • supertwisted
    supertwisted Posts: 565
    Swapping out the RST fork you have now for a rigid fork will save you over a kilo for about £65.

    Try this one:

    http://carboncycles.cc/?s=0&t=2&c=92&p=201&
    Less internal organs, same supertwisted great taste.
  • Daz555
    Daz555 Posts: 3,976
    Cutting down weight on the spinny stuff makes the biggest difference. Weight off the wheels/tyres/tubes are good places to start.

    As above - cheap forks weigh a ton and if you can pick up a cheap pair you can save some serious kg for little money.
    You only need two tools: WD40 and Duck Tape.
    If it doesn't move and should, use the WD40.
    If it shouldn't move and does, use the tape.
  • yukka
    yukka Posts: 4
    Thanks for the feedback here guys,

    Would it be worth me investing in a lighter front suspension fork? I'm advised by someone I know that suspension forks aren't really needed unless you are riding on some really serious off road terrain - which I won't be...

    Essentially I'm dumbing the bike down to use as a hybrid of sorts.

    FYI This is the bike in question http://www.trekbikes.com/us/en/bikes/20 ... e/4300disc

    Rims are: Bontrager ranger rims, random google brings up:

    Front: 939g
    Rear: 1136g

    Looks like some potential weight saving here...

    The rest can come off me :-)
  • phal44
    phal44 Posts: 240
    My 2008 4300 (21") is down to about 25 pounds total now :) Not because I went out specifically to lower weight but just as a side effect of replacing almost everything lol :)
  • yukka
    yukka Posts: 4
    Hey,

    What did you change?
  • ThanksBye
    ThanksBye Posts: 519
    edited April 2011
    *Where immature coment by coworker was*[/code]
    Cotic Soul
    Pearson Hanzo
    Airborne Zeppelin
  • cooldad
    cooldad Posts: 32,599
    edited April 2011
    tomatoevousparlour wrote:
    Flog it and buy a proper bike. But not a boardman, they're for bummers.
    Edited
    I don't do smileys.

    There is no secret ingredient - Kung Fu Panda

    London Calling on Facebook

    Parktools
  • getonyourbike
    getonyourbike Posts: 2,648
    cooldad wrote:
    tomatoevousparlour wrote:
    Flog it and buy a proper bike. But not a boardman, they're for bummers.
    What a d1ck.
    I'll second that, on every post of his he always comes across as a t***er.
  • ThanksBye
    ThanksBye Posts: 519
    Sorry, as said on the other post i left it logged on at work and a friend got bored so answered some posts, if you back in my posts part from todays there normal and hopefully not coming across as a t***er
    Cotic Soul
    Pearson Hanzo
    Airborne Zeppelin
  • getonyourbike
    getonyourbike Posts: 2,648
    tomatoevousparlour wrote:
    Sorry, as said on the other post i left it logged on at work and a friend got bored so answered some posts, if you back in my posts part from todays there normal and hopefully not coming across as a t***er
    fair does, give your mate a slap from us. sorry about calling you a t***er then
  • ThanksBye
    ThanksBye Posts: 519
    No worries, i choose to ball bearing his bars instead
    And to the OP if you say choose to get some new wheels, you could go for something like hopes, there very easily converted so would be a good investment
    Cotic Soul
    Pearson Hanzo
    Airborne Zeppelin
  • cooldad
    cooldad Posts: 32,599
    edited April 2011
    tomatoevousparlour wrote:
    Sorry, as said on the other post i left it logged on at work and a friend got bored so answered some posts, if you back in my posts part from todays there normal and hopefully not coming across as a t***er

    And again
    I don't do smileys.

    There is no secret ingredient - Kung Fu Panda

    London Calling on Facebook

    Parktools
  • ThanksBye
    ThanksBye Posts: 519
    Its now been edited
    Cotic Soul
    Pearson Hanzo
    Airborne Zeppelin
  • phal44
    phal44 Posts: 240
    yukka wrote:
    Hey,

    What did you change?

    Almost everything so far :/ lol

    Wheels/Forks probably saved the most but I also fitted a whole new drivetrain of brakes/pedals/cranks/bb/derailleurs etc

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