Best way to lighten a bike?

[militantmandy]

Aright folks. I've got a Giant XTC 4.5. Not a bad bike at all for the money any has been serving me very well as I learn the art of downhill. I'm wondering though, if anyone has any suggestions for loosing a bit of weight fromt the bike. The only thing i've replaced are the pedals and i'm wondering what else will give me the biggest weight savings.

Cheers!

[smifffymoto]

Why spend loads of money making your bike lighter when common sense says the biggest weigh loss is from the rider and that cost nothing.

[militantmandy]

I'm under 10st and 5ft 7. I'm not getting much lighter than that!

[Kermit power]

Why particularly do you want to lighten it?

It weighs 13.38kg as standard, which is just a shade over 2 stone. You could chuck lots of money at expensive lightweight components to shave a bit off, but unless you're an absolute twiglet, you're not going to be cutting out a huge percentage of the combined weight of you plus bike.

I looked at this on my bike, and figured anything I could save would be purely academic in terms of having any real impact on how easy it was to ride up a hill, so I spent the money on upgrading the forks instead.

[rhinochopig]

Money best spent on reducing rotational and unsprung weight - so wheels, tyres, tubes, etc.

Another good way is to switch your seat post over to I-Beam as the I beam saddles are half to a third the weight of your typical MTB saddle.

[militantmandy]

Kermit power said:

Why particularly do you want to lighten it?

It weighs 13.38kg as standard, which is just a shade over 2 stone. You could chuck lots of money at expensive lightweight components to shave a bit off, but unless you're an absolute twiglet, you're not going to be cutting out a huge percentage of the combined weight of you plus bike.

I looked at this on my bike, and figured anything I could save would be purely academic in terms of having any real impact on how easy it was to ride up a hill, so I spent the money on upgrading the forks instead.

I see what you're saying. Really I was just wondering if there was one componen (or set of) that would take a decent chunk off. If the answer is "no" or "not unless you spend a fortune" then I suppose that answers my question!

[militantmandy]

rhinochopig said:

Money best spent on reducing rotational and unsprung weight - so wheels, tyres, tubes, etc.

Another good way is to switch your seat post over to I-Beam as the I beam saddles are half to a third the weight of your typical MTB saddle.

Will investiage. Cheers!

[WildCards]

Wheels without doubt. They may not reduce the weight much on paper, but a decent set of wheels will transform the ride of the bike.

[militantmandy]

WildCards said:

Wheels without doubt. They may not reduce the weight much on paper, but a decent set of wheels will transform the ride of the bike.

Could you recommend a decent set? I get the feeling it'll be reasonably big bucks?

[Master Mischief]

militantmandy said:

WildCards said:

Wheels without doubt. They may not reduce the weight much on paper, but a decent set of wheels will transform the ride of the bike.

Could you recommend a decent set? I get the feeling it'll be reasonably big bucks?

I have a pair of Magura Pro S wheels that will be for sale very shortly.

They cost the thick end of £500 less than 3 years ago. DT Swiss Hub, Mavic Rim etc.

The front one weighs just over 800 grams on digital scales so you wont get much lighter real weight.

The only reason that I am selling them is to make room for a set with 15 mm through axle for the latest Fox Forx.

I can get more details / photos to you if you PM me.

I can post price if you want or we can discuss by PM.

I am not looking for mega money IMO.

Jon

[rhinochopig]

militantmandy said:

WildCards said:

Wheels without doubt. They may not reduce the weight much on paper, but a decent set of wheels will transform the ride of the bike.

Could you recommend a decent set? I get the feeling it'll be reasonably big bucks?

As you're quite light, you could try a set of Maxxis Medusa 1.8 tyres. They really are superb tyres and weigh something like 400 grams, which is typically half the weight of normal MTB tyre. They can be a bit draggy, and will pinch-flat on really rocky stuff, but I use them all winter on forrest tracks without puncture and I'm 16 stone. Those plus some decent light inner-tubes will save you nearly a kilo of the rotational weight for not much money - the tyres are about £20 a pop.

[militantmandy]

rhinochopig said:

militantmandy said:

WildCards said:

Wheels without doubt. They may not reduce the weight much on paper, but a decent set of wheels will transform the ride of the bike.

Could you recommend a decent set? I get the feeling it'll be reasonably big bucks?

As you're quite light, you could try a set of Maxxis Medusa 1.8 tyres. They really are superb tyres and weigh something like 400 grams, which is typically half the weight of normal MTB tyre. They can be a bit draggy, and will pinch-flat on really rocky stuff, but I use them all winter on forrest tracks without puncture and I'm 16 stone. Those plus some decent light inner-tubes will save you nearly a kilo of the rotational weight for not much money - the tyres are about £20 a pop.

Well looks like i'll be buying Master Mischief's wheels off him. Will definitly be looking into tyres as well, as mine are well worn down from commuting and are also rather prone to punctures. Maxxis seem to be the way to go (certainly seemed that way at Ft Bill).

Thanks for the help guys!

[mackie1]

I recently swapped the fork on my XC bike for a lighter one. Saved nearly a kilo. Beyond that I probably won't bother.

[militantmandy]

mackie1 said:

I recently swapped the fork on my XC bike for a lighter one. Saved nearly a kilo. Beyond that I probably won't bother.

This is definitly something i'll look into once i'm a bit richer. Between wheels, tyres and rotars, i've spent my monthly quota!

[hman]

if you want increased speed and less fatigue swap your tyres out for maxxis crossmarks and pump them up to 60psi, they work fine on cinder track, brilliant on road, no probs on grass but if it gets a bit boggy you'll need to drop the pressure right down as they clog easily.

[mackie1]

militantmandy said:

mackie1 said:

I recently swapped the fork on my XC bike for a lighter one. Saved nearly a kilo. Beyond that I probably won't bother.

This is definitly something i'll look into once i'm a bit richer. Between wheels, tyres and rotars, i've spent my monthly quota!

Just looking at the spec, yours has a Rock Shox Dart front fork? I had a Dart 3 on mine and swapped for a 2009 Reba SL. Probably the biggest single drop you can get by changing a single component (apart from the frame!).

[Roman]

mackie1 said:

I recently swapped the fork on my XC bike for a lighter one. Saved nearly a kilo. Beyond that I probably won't bother.

Reba's, SID's or Manitou Mars would be the cheapest light weight fork options. The Mars tend to be cheaper than the others as they are slightly older and spares are harder to find.

Other than that BBB make some very light bars and stems ( www.allterraincycles.co.uk ) for not much money and you can often get some good deals on light seatposts & saddles. If you choose carefully you could save 1lb by changing all four with a budget of £70-80 and then ebay the replaced items to recoup some of the cost. When you need to replace the cassette some good deals can be had on XT or SRAM which can save a good chunk of weight too..

[LRdriver II]

I am confused... its a hardtail right? And you are doing downhill stuff on it?.. figure out what your priority is as maybe having heavy and bombproof stuff is best for you. If you want XC, then wheels and tyres are the easiest way to drop weight off it and change handling. Actually buy the bits I have for sale in the classifieds!.. that should drop some weight.

Forget all this beardy crap about rider weightloss etc.. Thats like listening to lentils whinging on about you driving a ferrari instead of a fiesta, as the speedlimit is 70 and they do the same job afterall.
Riding a light bike is a whole lot more fun and razorsharp than a heavy job.. Fact is.. 13kg hardtail is damn heavy for XC and light trails duty. So unless you need it more jumps/freeride/DH etc.. then get some lighter wheels.

But then again I am biased having a few sub-10kg hardtails and a 5.9kg roadbike..

Edited by LRdriver II on Tuesday 30th June 16:46

[neil_bolton]

Have a poo before you go for a ride.

[mackie1]

Gah I just looked at your for sale list LRdriver. Reba SL for £150!? Bargain! I paid over £200 for my 2009 model in white.