Lighten my bike

[Mish]

Only recently have I cared about the weight of my bike.
Tired of riding others that are lighter and actually feeling a difference. I'm fit and 167lbs. at 6' and can't really lose much on my body.
Interested in only the components and wheels for upgrading.
Would like to keep frame.
2002 Lemond Titanium Tete de Course frame
Full '02 Dura-Ace
Zipp carbon bar and stem
Thomson elite post
Reynolds full carbon fork
Velomax Orion wheels
Where can I lose weight?
How much?

Or is there a site I can go to to find out for myself.

 

[alienator]

Only recently have I cared about the weight of my bike.
Tired of riding others that are lighter and actually feeling a difference. I'm fit and 167lbs. at 6' and can't really lose much on my body.
Interested in only the components and wheels for upgrading.
Would like to keep frame.
2002 Lemond Titanium Tete de Course frame
Full '02 Dura-Ace
Zipp carbon bar and stem
Thomson elite post
Reynolds full carbon fork
Velomax Orion wheels
Where can I lose weight?
How much?

Or is there a site I can go to to find out for myself.

For the best advice, go to Weight Weenies. The usual answer is to look at wheels. That's an area where you can typically lose a chunk of weight. The forks, cranks follow. Just be aware that you're not likely to see any real improvement. You might perceive one, but the human corpus is a very inaccurate sensor that is very subject to mental bias.

 

[Peter@vecchios]

Only recently have I cared about the weight of my bike.
Tired of riding others that are lighter and actually feeling a difference. I'm fit and 167lbs. at 6' and can't really lose much on my body.
Interested in only the components and wheels for upgrading.
Would like to keep frame.
2002 Lemond Titanium Tete de Course frame
Full '02 Dura-Ace
Zipp carbon bar and stem
Thomson elite post
Reynolds full carbon fork
Velomax Orion wheels
Where can I lose weight?
How much?

Or is there a site I can go to to find out for myself.

Can't wait to watch this thread. Kinda dovetails into the 'future of cycling stuff' thread.

 

[dgregory57]

Weight Weenies...

http://weightweenies.starbike.com/

You can lose weight on virtually each component. How much weight depends on how much you want to spend.

You can save over 100 grams on your brake calipers alone by going to Zero-G brakes... But it will cost you.

 

[dhk2]

Weight-reduction projects are always interesting, but your bike sounds about perfect to me just as is. Considering that we all need more than one roadbike (at least according to my friendly LBS), are you sure you don't want to buy an all-new 14 lb CF wonderbike and keep the "heavyweight" Ti bike as your long-distance comfort rig?

Also, to get an idea of how much you want to spend, you might want to ride your bike up a hill with and without the water bottles. If you carry two large bottles, that's 1400 grams you can drop instantly. The change in feel and performance may help you judge how much each 100g savings is worth.

 

[alienator]

Weight Weenies...

http://weightweenies.starbike.com/

You can lose weight on virtually each component. How much weight depends on how much you want to spend.

You can save over 100 grams on your brake calipers alone by going to Zero-G brakes... But it will cost you.

You can do even better than Zero G and use EE brakes. As light as Zero G's but with action like Dura Ace brakes, or so riders have said. Personally, I like Mavic and Record brakes more than Dura Ace brakes, but that's me.

The Velomax Orions are relative boat anchors. You can get wheels that are at least equally good (Velocity rims, Kinlin rims, DT or WI hubs) from a custom wheel builder while losing almost 200g in the process.

 

[dhk2]

You can do even better than Zero G and use EE brakes. As light as Zero G's but with action like Dura Ace brakes, or so riders have said. Personally, I like Mavic and Record brakes more than Dura Ace brakes, but that's me.

The Velomax Orions are relative boat anchors. You can get wheels that are at least equally good (Velocity rims, Kinlin rims, DT or WI hubs) from a custom wheel builder while losing almost 200g in the process.

One of my buddies here did a refurb/weight reduction project on his favorite Merckx steel frame a couple of years ago. He collected the cost and gram savings on each component he was considering, then rank-ordered them by cost/gram and determined a cutoff cost/gm value before buying anything. IIRC, the steel fork was the first thing to go, then wheels, then gruppo, bars, stem, seat, post and crankset. Lot's of fun for the brave spenders among us

 

[benkoostra]

I bought a set of Williams30 wheels. they are reasonably light, and really ride well IMO. I lost 300g on the bike, and it feels like new. They are around $500. The 19's are lighter and cost about the same.

Wheels are a grrat place to start.

 

[alienator]

One of my buddies here did a refurb/weight reduction project on his favorite Merckx steel frame a couple of years ago. He collected the cost and gram savings on each component he was considering, then rank-ordered them by cost/gram and determined a cutoff cost/gm value before buying anything. IIRC, the steel fork was the first thing to go, then wheels, then gruppo, bars, stem, seat, post and crankset. Lot's of fun for the brave spenders among us

I never understood the cost/gram thing. I always figured that if I wanted something, I'd get it.

I did the weight weenie thing on my Moots, just to see how light I could go and still keep the bike everyday rideable. It can get expensive. It is a fun, tech nerd exercise/challenge. With my 595, I'm doin' the WW thing, and even so, the bike still weighs in at 14.5 lbs.

It's all cycling, so it's all good.

 

[Mish]

The usual answer is to look at wheels. That's an area where you can typically lose a chunk of weight. The forks, cranks follow. Just be aware that you're not likely to see any real improvement. You might perceive one, but the human corpus is a very inaccurate sensor that is very subject to mental bias.

I have ridden some friends bikes and maybe the difference is in stiffness and not weight. I figured weight...and thought it a good excuse to replace some used parts with lighter stuff.

I don't know much about the Velomax Orions. Fork is full carbon (Reynolds) and the crank is Ultegra compact. I have about 13,000 miles on the group.

 

[Phill P]

I look at that build and figure you have to spend a lot of money to replace good parts.


Wheels are the only place that makes sense to change.

However you have said nothing about tyres. Best bang for bucks is decent tyres.

If you want to spend a lot you can go for a full red gruppo and EE brakes.

How much does your bike weigh currently and how much do you want to loose? If you tell me you are 6' and your bike weighs <7.5-8kg I wouldn't be crying about weight, instead you should look at performance, aero and rolling resistance etc.

 

[swampy1970]

Only recently have I cared about the weight of my bike.
Tired of riding others that are lighter and actually feeling a difference. I'm fit and 167lbs. at 6' and can't really lose much on my body.
Interested in only the components and wheels for upgrading.
Would like to keep frame.
2002 Lemond Titanium Tete de Course frame
Full '02 Dura-Ace
Zipp carbon bar and stem
Thomson elite post
Reynolds full carbon fork
Velomax Orion wheels
Where can I lose weight?
How much?

Or is there a site I can go to to find out for myself.

You might feel a difference but whether that difference will really mean that you ride faster is a matter than only a stopwatch and a balls-to-the-wall time trial will tell - but you'd be hard pressed to see a difference on the stop watch between what you have and a CSC team issue cervelo road bike when equiped with wheels similar to yours.

You have a nice bike and to put it into perspective, it's probably as good (apart from the wheels) as what Lance rode to his first couple of Tour victories. If you really feel the need to spend your money - get a really nice set of wheels. Find a good wheelbuilder and have them build them. If you want to spend even more money - get a power meter and make you faster.

If you feel like spending lots on bike stuff, I could do with a new Dura Ace chain and some new bar tape - Cinelli would be nice.

Happy hunting.

 

[alfeng]

I have ridden some friends bikes and maybe the difference is in stiffness and not weight. I figured weight...and thought it a good excuse to replace some used parts with lighter stuff.

I don't know much about the Velomax Orions. Fork is full carbon (Reynolds) and the crank is Ultegra compact. I have about 13,000 miles on the group.

Yes, it could be the frame (which you don't want to part with) ... AFAIK, Titanium is generally considered to be the most compliant (softest) of the materials used for bicycle frames ...

So, FWIW, I think a Titanium frame would be a great choice for a smaller, or lighter, rider ... and, there is probably a sweet spot with regard to size which will vary depending on the actual design (e.g., a Litespeed Ghisallo should probably be reserved for ultra light, sub-125 lb. riders) & fabrication of the frame beyond which the frame be too "soft" ...

The correct crank arm length for a given rider is arbitrary & I think the formulas are suspect -- instead, compare the crank arm length on your bike with the ones on the other bikes you rode. You may want a longer, or shorter, crank depending on the type of terrain you ride ... YES, I think the same rider can efficiently use different length cranks.

BTW. You may want to have your wheels serviced -- new bearings (I don't remember if they are cartridge or "loose" -- the only thing I remember about the Velomax wheels is that their freehub body could be swapped with one from a Shimano hub). THAT could be some of the difference ...

Also, are your Velomax Orion wheels 28 spoke or 24 spoke? I vaguely recall that the Velomax Ascent (?) could be spec'd with either spoke count ... some people would probably say the spoke count doesn't matter, but I think it does.

If your bike has one of the older (non-cartridge) DA bottom brackets, then have it serviced, too. YOU can do it, yourself ... white lithium grease ... the bearings are barely held in place by their respective cages (i.e. the grease holds the bearings in place), so some caution is required.

 

[Bob Ross]

One of my buddies here did a refurb/weight reduction project on his favorite Merckx steel frame a couple of years ago. He collected the cost and gram savings on each component he was considering, then rank-ordered them by cost/gram and determined a cutoff cost/gm value before buying anything. IIRC, the steel fork was the first thing to go, then wheels, then gruppo, bars, stem, seat, post and crankset.

Great approach, but I really would expect to see the crankset farther up the list, since that's one of the best places to save weight after forks & wheels. Or is it last because the lightest cranksets are so prohibitively expensive?

 

[Camilo]

Only recently have I cared about the weight of my bike.
Tired of riding others that are lighter and actually feeling a difference. I'm fit and 167lbs. at 6' and can't really lose much on my body.
Interested in only the components and wheels for upgrading.
Would like to keep frame.
2002 Lemond Titanium Tete de Course frame
Full '02 Dura-Ace
Zipp carbon bar and stem
Thomson elite post
Reynolds full carbon fork
Velomax Orion wheels
Where can I lose weight?
How much?

Or is there a site I can go to to find out for myself.

You didn't mention your tires and tubes. I lost lost almost a pound (>400grams!) changing tires and tubes. Of course, I went from the absolute cheapest, heavy tires and tubes to nice racing tires and light weight tubes, but it was significant in weight and ride quality.

Then of course, wheels are your most likely big winner, but I don't know how much you can save over the orions. First step woudl be to weigh them and compare to listings on weightweenies.starbike.com. I've found their listings to be pretty accurate (w/i a small variation), and many/mot manufacturer's listings are significantly off base.


Don't assume your carbon bars and stem are the lightest way to go. Might be, but some are actually heavier than top quality aluminum for no objective improvement in function.

 

[Mish]

You didn't mention your tires and tubes. I lost lost almost a pound (>400grams!) changing tires and tubes. Of course, I went from the absolute cheapest, heavy tires and tubes to nice racing tires and light weight tubes, but it was significant in weight and ride quality.

Then of course, wheels are your most likely big winner, but I don't know how much you can save over the orions. First step woudl be to weigh them and compare to listings on weightweenies.starbike.com. I've found their listings to be pretty accurate (w/i a small variation), and many/mot manufacturer's listings are significantly off base.


Don't assume your carbon bars and stem are the lightest way to go. Might be, but some are actually heavier than top quality aluminum for no objective improvement in function.

I'm going to weigh the bike as equipped, weigh the wheels...and price powermeters. I ride Conti GP 4000s with Conti race tubes.

 

[Mish]

The correct crank arm length for a given rider is arbitrary & I think the formulas are suspect -- instead, compare the crank arm length on your bike with the ones on the other bikes you rode. You may want a longer, or shorter, crank depending on the type of terrain you ride ... YES, I think the same rider can efficiently use different length cranks.

BTW. You may want to have your wheels serviced -- new bearings (I don't remember if they are cartridge or "loose" -- the only thing I remember about the Velomax wheels is that their freehub body could be swapped with one from a Shimano hub). THAT could be some of the difference ...

Also, are your Velomax Orion wheels 28 spoke or 24 spoke? I vaguely recall that the Velomax Ascent (?) could be spec'd with either spoke count ... some people would probably say the spoke count doesn't matter, but I think it does.

If your bike has one of the older (non-cartridge) DA bottom brackets, then have it serviced, too. YOU can do it, yourself ... white lithium grease ... the bearings are barely held in place by their respective cages (i.e. the grease holds the bearings in place), so some caution is required.

The wheels have cartridge bearings (Many miles) with 24 spoke radial in front and 28 radial non-drive side in rear. The bottom bracket is Dur-Ace with "outboard" bearings (1000 miles). The crankset is Ultegra level compact 175mm.

 

[Peter@vecchios]

Only recently have I cared about the weight of my bike.
Tired of riding others that are lighter and actually feeling a difference. I'm fit and 167lbs. at 6' and can't really lose much on my body.
Interested in only the components and wheels for upgrading.
Would like to keep frame.
2002 Lemond Titanium Tete de Course frame
Full '02 Dura-Ace
Zipp carbon bar and stem
Thomson elite post
Reynolds full carbon fork
Velomax Orion wheels
Where can I lose weight?
How much?

Or is there a site I can go to to find out for myself.

Been watching this and you can spend thousands of dollars to lose perhaps 3-4 pounds. BUT it is 1.5% or so of your cycling 'package', bike, rider, shoes, clothes, etc. You have to decide if spending lots of $ is important or spending that $ on say a coach, with a power measuring system, along with some cycling trips and cycling directed massage, diet(not to make you lighter altho you probably could lose 10 pounds-artificially light, Lemond called it). I think money directed at you is better spent than the easy solution of money directed at the bike.

But, your dough, do what ya want. Just my opinion.

 

[oldbobcat]

I'm fit and 167lbs. at 6' and can't really lose much on my body.
Interested in only the components and wheels for upgrading.

I've always recommended drilled out water bottles.

You're in good company. Merckx was 6' and 165 lbs. in peak form, and most of his bikes weighed at least 21 lbs.

One thing I've noticed in over 35 years of riding is that almost everyone else's bike always feels lighter than mine, regardless of actual weight. And I actually believed this 'til I weighed my 24" Charles Roberts. It came in at 20.5, with a Brooks Pro saddle, no less. Must have been the relieved bottom bracket. If you're really serious about finding machinery to help you go faster you should do some A-B testing before jumping to conclusions.

But I'd rather spend my time riding and just making sure the machine keeps working.

 

[Peter@vecchios]

I've always recommended drilled out water bottles.

You're in good company. Merckx was 6' and 165 lbs. in peak form, and most of his bikes weighed at least 21 lbs.

One thing I've noticed in over 35 years of riding is that almost everyone else's bike always feels lighter than mine, regardless of actual weight. And I actually believed this 'til I weighed my 24" Charles Roberts. It came in at 20.5, with a Brooks Pro saddle, no less. Must have been the relieved bottom bracket. If you're really serious about finding machinery to help you go faster you should do some A-B testing before jumping to conclusions.

But I'd rather spend my time riding and just making sure the machine keeps working.

Reality, what a concept.