Hi Matt.
Did you get this bike from Pauls cycles? I have been contemplating getting one to evolve into an AM machine, and then use my HT primarily for fast xc/ races. How do you find it?
Pretty much echo what the guys have already said, if i do get this bike the 3 area's id be doing first are the forks, wheels and chainset.
Darts are heavy, about 5.5lbs. I would be fitting some recon u turn or maybe even revelation u turn, some 4lb forks. If you were going more XC then reba/ manitou R7 etc are like 3.5lbs so thats near 2lbs alone.
Wheels, on my focus going from the alex EN24/ shimano deore hubs to hope/stans 355 and a SLX 11-28 cassette i saved about 600grams!! Thats a lot for the wheels! depending on whether you want a full on xc wheelset or something tougher, you could see a similar saving (and thats before going tubeless).
Cheap chainsets are silly heavy. Something like a deore HTII chainset can be had for just £50 online, altho you should have the frame faced for the initial fitting so might be best off trying an all in quote from a LBS first.
i think you could probably get to around the 30lbs mark with the bike, thats what i would be aiming for if i get one.
Sure people say, save up for a lighter bike in first place etc etc. Yeah id love a lapierre zesty or similar, i just dont have those sort of funds to buy a bike! 🙁