Bike Weight Loss

SG said:

Hi all,
I bought my MTB some years ago although it has an aluminium frame it
still seems to weigh a lot compared with the stuff around now. As the
bike cost about over £1000 I am a bit reluctant to let it go without
relooking at the weight problem it seems to have.
Its been suggested that one area to look at are the wheels – I
currently have Mavic 221's – are they known to be heavy? Or should I
just take the loss and get a lighter bike?

Cheers
Sam

I know it's very cool to have the lightest bike possible but that
doesn't necessarily give you the performance benefit that the
manufacturers claim you'll get. It depends.

Total weight of bicycle plus rider is useful to take into consideration
if you're doing a *lot* of climbing.

Weight on the wheels ought to be shed if you want very quick
acceleration, and then we're talking about tyres and rims only
(rotational mass).

But we're talking about very marginal improvements in the above cases.
Say you reduce the weight of you bike by a whopping 400 g, by spending
another £300 on it. That's half a water bottle difference. OK, this is
not related to the question you're asking, but the weight trap is often
costly to get out of, and it's sometimes in the head.

One thing - you may get more joy by using tyres of lesser rolling
resistance, e.g. slicks. If you're not out in the woods so much then the
usual knobbly tyres slow you down a fair bit.

Have you figured out *why* you want to reduce weight on the bike? As
pointed out earlier,it doesn't matter as much as some would claim . . .
/Robert

Can't speak to the wheels but I can offer a comment or two. I have a
heavy mountain bike. Fork is probably 5 pounds or so. A cheap
suspension fork from 1999. New super expensive forks are around 3
pounds. I have a Thudbuster suspension seatpost. 1 pound or more
compared to half pound or so for the super expensive light weight ones
now. I have a super comfortable 1.5 pound Brooks saddle. The plastic
torture devices used today are a half pound. My all steel loose cog
cassette is probably close to a pound. The more expensive ones with
the aluminum carriers trim a few ounces. LX crank and derailleurs add
a little extra weight compared to the upper lines. Not much but some.
Wire bead tires instead of kevlar. A few more ounces. And of course
the Blackburn Expedition rack adds over a pound. But I like to carry
lots of stuff on the mountain bike.

Obviously, all of the parts on the bike add to the weight. Fork is
probably where you can make the most difference. Maybe two pounds.
You might be able to shed a pound by changing the frame. Half pound
to one pound in the saddle and seatpost. A few ounces in the stem and
bars if you went ultra lightweight and carbon. Maybe a half pound or
so with lighter tires. Maybe a poound by changing the drivetrain to
an upper end group that emphasizes light weight. I could easily shed
six to seven pounds off my bike if I were willing to spend $2000.

Changing rims as you plan might save you one ounce per rim. Maybe two
ounces per rim if you went with the lightest rims you could find.
Doesn't seem worth the effort to me.

If you want a lighter bike, you pretty much have to change every part
on the bike. You will probably be happiest starting from scratch and
buying/building a new bike and getting rid of the current bike.

I have no comment on the goal of having a light weight mountain bike.

[email hidden] (SG) wrote in message news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

Hi all,
I bought my MTB some years ago although it has an aluminium frame it
still seems to weigh a lot compared with the stuff around now. As the
bike cost about over £1000 I am a bit reluctant to let it go without
relooking at the weight problem it seems to have.
Its been suggested that one area to look at are the wheels ? I
currently have Mavic 221's ? are they known to be heavy? Or should I
just take the loss and get a lighter bike?

Quoted message said:

Changing rims as you plan might save you one ounce per rim. Maybe two
ounces per rim if you went with the lightest rims you could find.
Doesn't seem worth the effort to me.

If you want a lighter bike, you pretty much have to change every part
on the bike. You will probably be happiest starting from scratch and
buying/building a new bike and getting rid of the current bike.

First ask yourself why you want a lighter bike. Do you race? Just
ride here and there around town? Along with this are you "feeling"
the weight of the bike, i.e, is the bike impossible to go fast with
without a huge effort that you feel justifies your wanting a lower
weight?

Second consider what you may give up and gain. A "heavier" bike tends
to mean that it can hold up better to more aggresive offroad use. I
have a X-Country Kona Kula Deluxe that I would be scared s***less to
take on any serious backcountry trail because I know the frame alone
would probably crack. I had a G. Fisher SuperCaliber from '95 and I
flat out loved that bike. The only reason I got a new one was because
my GF was stolen. My new Kona is faster than my old GF but I took my
GF everywhere and did everything on it. Today companies are
developing bikes more specifically for one type of use. This means
that higher end bikes are losing their "go anywhere, do everything"
abilities. Downhill bikes suck for x-country trails and hills.
X-Country rides suck for anything other than smooth obstacle less
trails. However you now gain a much higher quality bike frame, geared
towards its intended demographic, than in times past. My Kona today
probably would have been $3000 or higher back in '95. Subsequently my
all Shimano XT equipped GF bike has become a $1000 decent frame bike
paired with much lower quality components and are often mix n match.
If I were racing myself on my Kona vs. my GF, today I would kick my
yesteryear butt. But I've swapped out many of my stock Kona
components at my initial purchase and now I'm looking to rebuild my
rear wheel and swap its hub for something better. I've replaced my
saddle on the Kona. I've done more "little" maintenance projects on my
Kona than I care to remember compared to yearly maintenance being
about it on my GF.

So my point to all this is if you like your bike now, stop worrying
about silly things. If you want a new bike and are using "lightness"
as an excuse to go shopping then go for it. Put new rims on your
wheels if they need it mechanically not because you "need" the latest
and greatest. About the only true reason to upgrade because of
technology right now is Stable Platform Valve shocks and forks. This
really does make a big difference in dual suspension bikes (not so
much for hardtails).

Quoted message said:

[email hidden] (SG) wrote:
I bought my MTB some years ago although it has an aluminium frame it
still seems to weigh a lot compared with the stuff around now. As the
bike cost about over £1000 I am a bit reluctant to let it go without
relooking at the weight problem it seems to have.
Its been suggested that one area to look at are the wheels – I
currently have Mavic 221's – are they known to be heavy? Or should I
just take the loss and get a lighter bike?

I just went through a sort of bike rebuilding project. I didn't really set out
to lighten my bike. I have a Cannondale and wanted to get rid of the headshox
and the crack-prone swingarm. Lightening was a secondary benefit. I'm not a
heavy rider and it's nice to have a lighter bike that can be thrown around on
tight trails a bit easier. Ideally I'd like to have an even lighter bike but
functionality is more important than lightness for the sake of lightness.
If you generally like your bike, a tire and wheel upgrade might be nice but
talk to someone knowledgeable about what your goals are and how much you want
to spend. What type of bike do you have, how do you use it and how much does it
weigh?

"SG" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Hi all,
I bought my MTB some years ago although it has an aluminium frame it
still seems to weigh a lot compared with the stuff around now. As the
bike cost about over £1000 I am a bit reluctant to let it go without
relooking at the weight problem it seems to have.
Its been suggested that one area to look at are the wheels – I
currently have Mavic 221's – are they known to be heavy? Or should I
just take the loss and get a lighter bike?

If you really want a lighter bike (& who doesn't, esp. MTB), just sell that
one & put the money towards a new bike -- that's the only cost-effective way
to go.