Hi there,

I have a Boardman Sport HT. I really like it and my MTBing has really improved. I have a terribly small budget and so upgrading to a new bike is not an option. My mates bikes are super light compared to mine and i wondering if there is anyway i can put my boardman on a diet, or do i need to save up for a new bike?

Many thanks

Ben

Ben – though it's harder to do, it's cheaper to achieve: put yourself on a diet* – it's the best way to make you faster.

*unless you already have single digit body fat, in which case get saving for bike stuff..! 😀

Can of worms well and truly open there!

Tyres is usually the best place to save weight, relatively cheap with most effect.

OEM saddles are often very heavy, as are handlebars and stems. It's really a case of what you have to spend!

Tyres and wheels will give you the biggest meaningful weight saving and will significantly improve the ride and handling of the bike (assuming the ones on there currently are cheaper factory items), by virtue of stiffness.
Obviously this depends on the wheels and tyres you already have. What are they?

Body weight's the cheapest option if you've got it to lose. Otherwise start with tyres then wheels.

tyres are the best upgrade any bike can have.

what tyres come on it?

replace them with something both light with folding beads, and now its summer, dry, fast rolling. Racekings for me 🙂

then wheels, as rotational weight has a greater effect than static weight.

then unsprung mass comes next, so rear mech, cassettes, hubs, etc (oops, yours is a HT, so ignore this bit)

and then boring stuff, like stems and seatposts and saddles.

a quick google image indicates your using the Dart fork.

ive never used one, but price range suggests its a fairly basic fork, and a suspension upgrade will both save weight, but more importantly, give a better ride, and therefore much much more control

i would suggest, tyres for cheaper weight saving
followed by a flashier fork.

if its got oem steel beaded tyres you can save 1-2lb by some decent kevlar tyres,

OEM saddles are often very heavy, as are handlebars and stems. It's really a case of what you have to spend!

It's very difficult to generalise. The OEM finishing kit on my inbred is pretty light – the bars were about 5g heavier than protapers at about 275g. Seatpost and saddle aren't stupidly heavy either.

I'd seriously start taking bits off and weighing them if they're OEM (ie, Boardman branded) and looking up weights online for the parts that aren't – weight weenies is a good website. Otherwise it's very easy to spend money without saving any weight.

I would suspect that the wheels are probably fairly good, as they're kept a fair way up the model range.

On-one have some good deals on light saddles (one of the italian makers I think). I more or less shop by weight & price now and ignore brands…

Haddock to the forum, haddock to the forum….

oh sod it

haddock was looking in his LBS, and the salesman came over and asked what he was looking at
H: "If i put these bars on, I can shave off 100g"
SM: "not being funny, but you could just lose a stone"
H: "Excuse me?"
SM: "I did it after X-Mas. I worked out it was like carrying two extra bags"
H: "Good point"

Thanks,

My weight certainly isn't an issue and i certainly will not be cutting down my own body weight.

Ritchey wheels on and maxxis tyres. Both came as standard. I have been looking at a schwalbe tyre to replace my back tyre.

The head stem is ritchey, as is the seat post i think. Don't know if ritchey is any good?

ps, yes they are rock shok darts.

Ritchey is a good brand but they also make some cheap/heavy stuff.
Best thing to do is take bits off and weight them and see where the heaviest items are.
If you are on a budget then eBay is great for things like handlbars / stems / seatposts at knockdown prices.
If your saddle is a brick then there's plenty of cheap and light options around these days, e.g. Charge Spoon.

From the Halfords website (2010)

* Alloy Rims: Yes
* Approximate Weight (KG): 12.7
* Brake Type: Hydraulic Disc
* Chainset: Truvativ 5D 44/32/22
* Exact Frame Size: 18"
* Fork Lock-out : Yes
* Fork travel: 100mm
* Forks: Rock Shox Dart 3
* Forks – Adjustable damping : Yes
* Frame Colour: Black
* Frame Material: Aluminium
* Frame Size: 17-18
* Frame-: Double butted aluminium
* Front Brake: Tektro Auriga Comp hydraulic disc brakes, 160mm rotors
* Front Mech: Sram X5
* Gear Shifters: SRAM X5 9 speed
* Gender: Mens
* Handle Bars: Ritchey OS 31.8mm
* Headset: Semi integrated cartridge headset
* Hubs: Sealed bearings
* Number of Gears: 27
* Pedals: Alloy platform
* Quick Release Wheels: Yes
* Rear Brake: Tektro Auriga Comp hydraulic disc brakes, 160mm rotors
* Rear Mech: SRAM X5
* Rear Shock: NA (rigid)
* Rims: Ritchey Pro Disc 32H
* Seatpost: Ritchey 27.2mm
* Stem: Ritchey OS 31.8mm
* Suspension: Front
* Tyre size: 2.1"
* Tyres: Continental Speed King
* Wheel size: 26"
* Saddle: Cboardman, Cro-Mo rails

As above, I'd be checking the weight of the tyres, tubes, and saddle to start with.

Boardman saddles aren't that heavy, certianly no more than 325g's I think.

Tyres is the easiest option, although I thought the boardman HT's came with conti speed kings?

well mine have maxxis on

I know I'm coming close to THE stereotypical STW response here, but one option would be to get a singlespeed converter kit, and even some second hand rigid forks. If your mates are leaving you for dead up the hills then chances are they're fitter than you as well as having lighter bikes, which SS should help with too.