Last Autumn I fitted the 2.4 UST RQ as a replacement for the 2.2 version on the same day as a Renthal Fatbar and I felt like my brake was dragging!

Looking to sharpen up my bike for Spring I weighed the 2.4 against a 2.2 and there’s a 439g DIFFERENCE in these tyres.

Think there is a mistake on the Continental website, they have 26″ RQ UST down as 880g it’s 1200g!

I also changed my bar and fork, from a Renthal Fatbar 780mm and Lyrik coil to a Pike solo air and carbon riser bar and saved myself over a kilo in the process (inc tyre swap)!

Doubt I will miss any of the replaced bits!

Still cheaper to go on a diet though. Or for a kilo just take a dump.

The feeling of the brake dragging wasn’t due to the weight….

Ha ha both! Yeah I get that but a 1lb on the outermost radius is considerable. Plus losing 650g of additional front end weight is noticeable for me. Total cost? To lose 2.2lbs I have spent an additional £230 on the forks and bar.

It’s more the 10% increase in tyre width, and thus extra rolling resistance, than outright weight….

True. Either way the bike feels no less capable but more fun now and more responsive.

Making a bike more fun to ride by making it feel more responsive will also make you want to put in more effort if you feel the effort is being rewarded increasing work and reducing body weight, happy days I say!

Exactly!

Still cheaper to go on a diet though. Or for a kilo just take a dump.

and lose weight off the bike – Win Win

Carrying round an over weight bike is a drag, especially if it’s because you are building the bike for 10% of your riding. Fatter tyres, and big coil suspension might tick the box on the super gnar dh trails but if you’re not doing them every ride your just lugging weight around for the hell of it.

Doubt I will miss any of the replaced bits!

Same here. Put my Scott Voltage on a diet last year – nothing too serious just lots of little things esp in the tyres/drivetrain area – and lost over 2kg

It had already been on the usual diet of lighter wheels and forks but that made it feel unbalanced so the originals went back on and I looked at other ways to lose weight

It’s still heavy but the lighter tyres and drivetrain make it feel a lot less draggy without compromising any of its gravity abilities