Weight reduction - stock SuperSix 105 '12

CrouchingPig
CrouchingPig Posts: 112
edited March 2013 in Road buying advice
Hello BR!
I have a bone stock Cannondale Supersix 105 2012 model that I'd like to lighten up a little.

Where would you start - Bang for buck wise?

I'm guessing the main weights of the bike are the Aksium wheels and the FSA crankset?

What would you change - and what parts would you replace it with?

Sensible budget of max £400?
Norco Sight C7.2
Giant Defy 1 Disc

Comments

  • Calpol
    Calpol Posts: 1,039
    Wheels probably but I reckon http://weightweenies.starbike.com/ is the place to research this.
  • iPete
    iPete Posts: 6,076
    Not worth it, if it ain't broke don't fix it.

    Well, nothing wrong with lighter/smoother wheels, can make a bike more enjoyable to ride but won't make you measurably faster.

    Any other upgrades, do for comfort.
  • alihisgreat
    alihisgreat Posts: 3,872
    For £400-£450 just get a nicer set of wheels surely?

    Mavic Ksyrium Elite S - 1520g - £450ish
    Shimano RS80 - 1520g - less than £350
    Fulcrum Racing 3 - 1555g - £400
    Wheelsmith Race23 - ~1440g - £450
    etc.

    You can drop 300+ grams where you're going to feel it the most.
  • smidsy
    smidsy Posts: 5,273
    Mavic Ksyrium Elite S - 1520g - £450ish - No
    Shimano RS80 - 1520g - less than £350 - Hell No
    Fulcrum Racing 3 - 1555g - £400 - Err, No
    Wheelsmith Race23 - ~1440g - £450 - Not too bad actually
    :D
    Yellow is the new Black.
  • Are the RS80 Wheels not too special then?

    For reference I'm 84-85KG (13 stone 4lbs) - When I'd bought the bike I was above 15 stone. :)
    Norco Sight C7.2
    Giant Defy 1 Disc
  • Strith
    Strith Posts: 541
    Have you removed the bell and reflectors? And the dork disk
  • Strith wrote:
    Have you removed the bell and reflectors?

    lol, of course. :lol:

    Anyone know what Aksium's and the stock tyres and tubes weigh in comparison to something like the RS80?
    Norco Sight C7.2
    Giant Defy 1 Disc
  • letap73
    letap73 Posts: 1,608
    Are the RS80 Wheels not too special then?

    For reference I'm 84-85KG (13 stone 4lbs) - When I'd bought the bike I was above 15 stone. :)

    Don't always assume Smidsy knows what he's talking about :wink:
  • alihisgreat
    alihisgreat Posts: 3,872
    Strith wrote:
    Have you removed the bell and reflectors?

    lol, of course. :lol:

    Anyone know what Aksium's and the stock tyres and tubes weigh in comparison to something like the RS80?

    aksiums are 1795g, RS80s are 1521g... but that's without tubes, tyres, and skewers.
  • smidsy
    smidsy Posts: 5,273
    letap73 wrote:
    Don't always assume Smidsy knows what he's talking about :wink:

    How very dare you :lol:
    Yellow is the new Black.
  • letap73
    letap73 Posts: 1,608
    edited February 2013
    smidsy wrote:
    letap73 wrote:
    Don't always assume Smidsy knows what he's talking about :wink:

    How very dare you :lol:

    I got some old school cycling plus's from 2010 for you Smids, cannondale supersix was bike of the year, Harry Rowland's wins wheels group test etc - this was of course before the editors sold their souls to the devil riding in on his Giant Advanced Defy shod with Mavic wheels :mrgreen:

    Oh, on behalf of Smidsy, OP - Have you considered Handbuilt wheels?
    For £400 a good wheelbuider should be able to put something together that will suit your own personal needs - Ugo is a good man on this forum to provide such advice.
  • I have a 2012 supersix 105, think it weighs in around 8kgs . Only thing I would change at the moment is probably the tyres. Get some value out of your Aksiums first, £400 seems a lot to spend to shave off a little weight.

    Love it though, great bike....
  • cycleclinic
    cycleclinic Posts: 6,865
    I would start with tyres. Continental GP4000s tyres are very light (205g) and durable. Light weight rim tape is another cheap change. An ultegra cassette will save some more weight. Then do the wheels. I'd like to point ot though before you read on that my "light weight" bike started at 8.88kg and is now 7.57kg. Weight has had to be dropped everywhere to acheive that but it has not made me faster not one little bit.

    If you are less than 85 kg then DT Swiss RR415 28F/28R on Novatec A291/F482 hubs with Sapim Laser spokes and alloy nipples is 1446g. I ride a set similar to these but with Miche hubs (heavier) and stiff for the weight too. You could go for the 32H rear rim for the extra stiffness. There are more aero rims though if that is your thing then CX-ray spokes would help a bit.

    If you a a bit lighter (I think no more than 80 kg) the Kinlin XR200's on the same hubs work well. I again ride a set and they feel fine. These weight 1362g. To make the rear wheel stiffer a 32 spoke rear wheel could be used as 32H XR-200's are landing soon.

    For a durable lowish weight wheelset. Velocity A23 rim 24H front and A23 off centre rim 28H rear with Miche hubs and CX -ray spokes (or laser spokes with alloy nipples). It should be fine for riders up to 85kg (but riding style will influence this). Wheelset weight will be ~1595g. A 28F/32R wheelset would of course be suitable for heavier riders or riders not kind to wheels. Also thicker guage spokes would suit some riders better but add weight.

    For a semi aero set of of wheels the H+ son archetype on a light pair of hubs, like Novatec A291/F482, Ambrosio Zenith (which are rebadged novatecs) or Dura ace hubs would make a good 1545-1700g wheelset depending on the hubs and spokes used.

    There is also the Kinlin XR-300 which is as far as I understand the same rim as the IRD aero on wheelsmith wheel page. this rim is 30mm deep and available in 20 to 28H drillings. A 24/28 spoke wheels set with these rims would be very stiff and suitble for many riders. A set built with CX-ray spokes (or laser spokes with alloy nipples) would be about 1520g.

    All of these wheels would be preferable in my eye's to a factory set and they all do the wheel thing slightly differently. They will also perform better in more ways than just having lower weight than the askiums but that does not mean you should ditch your current wheels. So long as they are round and straight and stay that way then your Askium's are still doing there job of being wheels.

    The velocity A23 on Miche hubs or the H + son archetype on DA hubs would suit the vast majority of riders and cover two ends of the budget spectrum.

    In all cases wheel stiffness can be improved by sing thicker gauge Sapim Race spokes or ACI Alpina DB spokes with a weight plenety of course.
    http://www.thecycleclinic.co.uk -wheel building and other stuff.
  • jordan_217
    jordan_217 Posts: 2,580
    smidsy wrote:
    Mavic Ksyrium Elite S - 1520g - £450ish - No
    Shimano RS80 - 1520g - less than £350 - Hell No
    Fulcrum Racing 3 - 1555g - £400 - Err, No
    Wheelsmith Race23 - ~1440g - £450 - Not too bad actually
    :D


    You've ridden all of these then?
    “Training is like fighting with a gorilla. You don’t stop when you’re tired. You stop when the gorilla is tired.”
  • smidsy
    smidsy Posts: 5,273
    jordan_217 wrote:
    smidsy wrote:
    Mavic Ksyrium Elite S - 1520g - £450ish - No
    Shimano RS80 - 1520g - less than £350 - Hell No
    Fulcrum Racing 3 - 1555g - £400 - Err, No
    Wheelsmith Race23 - ~1440g - £450 - Not too bad actually
    :D


    You've ridden all of these then?

    Ride them, why would I want to do that :D
    Yellow is the new Black.
  • petemadoc
    petemadoc Posts: 2,331
    Tyres tubes and wheels are the obvious choice. Everyone has their favourites.

    I'd go for veloflex master tyres, latex tubes and ksryium elite or hand built wheels
  • jordan_217
    jordan_217 Posts: 2,580
    smidsy wrote:
    jordan_217 wrote:
    smidsy wrote:
    Mavic Ksyrium Elite S - 1520g - £450ish - No
    Shimano RS80 - 1520g - less than £350 - Hell No
    Fulcrum Racing 3 - 1555g - £400 - Err, No
    Wheelsmith Race23 - ~1440g - £450 - Not too bad actually
    :D


    You've ridden all of these then?

    Ride them, why would I want to do that :D

    So you can finally realise that Elites are a pretty nice set of wheels :D
    “Training is like fighting with a gorilla. You don’t stop when you’re tired. You stop when the gorilla is tired.”
  • wow - thanks for the detailed post TheCycleClinic. :)
    Norco Sight C7.2
    Giant Defy 1 Disc
  • smidsy
    smidsy Posts: 5,273
    jordan_217 wrote:
    So you can finally realise that Elitese r a nice set of wheels :D
    better than the ac 420 aeros u sold me?
    Yellow is the new Black.
  • jordan_217
    jordan_217 Posts: 2,580
    smidsy wrote:
    jordan_217 wrote:
    So you can finally realise that Elitese r a nice set of wheels :D
    better than the ac 420 aeros u sold me?

    For everyday riding then yes, probably not as capable of helping you hold higher speeds on the flats but that's from recollection. Both nice wheels though. The 420 aeros are proven to be as good as most so called 'aero' wheels that have a 50mm+ rim depth. Just not sure how that translates into real world performance for mere mortals though....

    The 420's are stiffer IIRC.
    “Training is like fighting with a gorilla. You don’t stop when you’re tired. You stop when the gorilla is tired.”
  • smidsy
    smidsy Posts: 5,273
    jordan_217 wrote:
    just not sure how that translates into real world performance for mere mortals though...
    I do not worry about that 8)
    Yellow is the new Black.
  • mitchgixer6
    mitchgixer6 Posts: 729
    From my own personal experience. I have a 2008 Synapse and the only things left on that from the day I bought it is the frame and fork! I have upgraded everything else over the course of 4 years, and I must admit it is now a totally different bike. The position I have is now much more aggressive, and I have got the weight down to just under 7.5 Kg.

    The thing I upgraded that made the biggest change to the way the bike feels has to be the wheels/tyres though. I now have a set of Planet X 50mm tubs (that I use for racing) which weight 1400g and they have made the bike noticeably faster. Previously I had the original set of RS10's on, and compared to those it's like a new bike. Admittedly these wheels aren't so much of an every day wheel, but something like the RS80's with an open tubular tyre and latex tubes will get pretty close to the same feel as my tubular wheels with everyday practicality.

    So yeah, if you're spending £400 just now then change the wheels/tyres first, then you can work on the rest of the bike over time.
  • themekon
    themekon Posts: 197
    smidsy wrote:
    jordan_217 wrote:
    smidsy wrote:
    Mavic Ksyrium Elite S - 1520g - £450ish - No
    Shimano RS80 - 1520g - less than £350 - Hell No
    Fulcrum Racing 3 - 1555g - £400 - Err, No
    Wheelsmith Race23 - ~1440g - £450 - Not too bad actually
    :D


    You've ridden all of these then?

    Ride them, why would I want to do that :D

    So, not really talking from experience then.
  • essjaydee
    essjaydee Posts: 917
    :idea: Use the money for a trip overseas and shed a couple of pounds training for overseas trip.
    You'll get a life experience you will always remember and shed some weight 8)
    Job done :)

    Well, that's what I would do.
  • Spatulala
    Spatulala Posts: 291
    This month's Cyclist mag had a look at the cost of minimising weight specific bits on an £1800 Spesh Tarmac. From memory, the cheapest relative to weight saved (£ per gram) was tyres, but that's cheating cos they wear out faster than other bits.

    They reduced the weight by 2.3kg, and I think it only cost somewhere over six grand. Bargain!