[Closed] I'd lke to lose 2lb please

switch the whole drivetrain to SRAM XX or XTR.

wheels have 'enduro' in the title so will be porky.

how much do you want to spend.

what benefits do you see 2lb less weight giving you?

lighter chainset
smaller rotors

Take a dump.

lighter grips and seat clamp
lighter chainset

I got some XT crank arms might save a bit, but the most will be swapping the wheels out...

how much does 1 of those tyres weigh out of interest?

Grips and seatclamp for cheap gains, then tyres, rotors and seatpost, then wheels.

slx is about 100g heavier than xtr

go double up front, kcnc seat clamp at 12g, lighter tyres spesh are 550gisg, foam grips save 100-200g on those spesh grips and are about 10 quid, ashima air rotors save 80g ish on a pair

The main one wheels, replace with Stans rims on ZTR of Hope hubs.

Replace SLX items with XT or ideally XTR.

Grips, replace with foams.

Deda 100 stem, nice but not the lightest and if you don't mind me saying it belongs on a road bike, get a KCNC SC Wing or Syntace F99.

Reba Team Forks, replace with SID.

180mm rotor - replace with 160mm.

Tyres change to Scwalbe Rocket Rons or Fast Freds or if you don't want to spend that much, WTB Nanoraptors all sub 500g tyres, if you are using tubes then change to Conti supersonic of Maxxis flyweights at around 90g.each.

You could probably shave a 1/2lb off the wheels for not 'ridiculous' money. Your finishing kit is a bit on the porky side too: that seatpost is a brick considering it's carbon but everything else could be dropped by 30-50g too. It's doesn't really look like that bad a build, and like you say at this point it's all accumulative so a lot of weight loss will cost a lot of money.

About £400 to spend so Crank Bros wheels are sadly not an option.
Is there a huge weight saving between SLX and XT and then having got my head around swapiing the chainset and shifters over to XT, is the further upgrade to XTR worth it?
The grips are superb. I couldn't go back to standard cyclinder type grips but alighter version of the paddle design would be ideal if anybody knows of any? It would help if I'd weighed these parts before fititng them wouldn't it? My focus was on multi day rides but now having done a few I'm going to head more toward endurance racing. No podium aspirations by any means but it would be nice to put on a good show for my own vanity.
"Go for a dump" It didn't take long did it? Never mind.
I'd love to get it lighter than 24lb but I assumed that would be unrealistic. My weight saving aspirations are based entirely on having less weight to lug round 24 hour race courses (and the Peak District etc as this bike gets ridden at least three times per week so it needs to function well).
Any weight to cost effective recommendations for the wheels?
Thanks for the input so far.

An ideal candidate for a set of race wheels for race days and run the Mavic's the rest of the time.... reckon njee is the bloke to point you at the lightest wheels and tyre combinations you can get for your money.

Are the superstar Superleggera XC Pro Wheelset at £250 lighter than the Hope builds? at 910g rear and 770g front?

I rekon changing the crankset for anything regardless of weight will just be a waste until its worn out, and if your riding 3 times a week that will happen soon enough, worry about consumables like that then in my opinion... and even then with heavy use running stuff like XTR cranks and rings is a massive investment for everyday use. .

Oooh. more replies.
Arrgh, I can't get my head around chaniging the grips. Round grips hurt after a few hours, these weird shaped things are lovely.
KCNC seat clamp has just purchased via ebay (with ti bolt).
The wheels are about to go on the classifieds, thank you. I think with the sale of the Mavics, my spend on replacement wheels will be about £200 (2nd hand if anybody has anything?)
Ashima Air rotors are about to be googled.
SLX chainset and shifters (about 1000 miles use and cosmetically unmarked) about to go in the classifieds as well.
My Deda 100 Zero stem is 116 grams on my scales and is the perfect ride and length but if I can get the same fit for less weight, I'll have a look.
I'm not mad keen on the performance of the Storm Conrol tyres. They're adequate in all conditions but not great in any so I'm happy to keep them on my training wheels. My new wheels will get something as suggested above.
Thanks for all the replies. This weight loss thing is quite addictive.
Ant reccommendatins for a seatpost? It needs to be at least 360mm length.

Go tubeless! 300-400grams right there. Cost...next to nothing! Woop woop!

ashima air rotors from merlin

I thinkt he sort of bike that is a 'race' bike vs the sort of bike you can ride round the peak(s) 3 times a week are not going to be the same thing.

you're likely to break/wear out lighter stuff far more quickly ridign it day in day out so carrying a few extra grammes to make it last is probably a good trade off.

money might be better spent getting a 'proper' personal trainer to set you a schedule and give trainign advice?

Are the superstar Superleggera XC Pro Wheelset at £250 lighter than the Hope builds? at 910g rear and 770g front?

Nope.

I have Hope DT swiss 4.2d on Hope ProIII SP they come on at 1650g, a good light XC build but not whippet race build you will be looking at 1450g and spend around £300 - £400, if it's your only bike used all year round in all conditions I would opt for a slightly sturdier build than 1450g, but that is just my opinion.

Don not spoil your ride in favour of a few grams on stuff like grips if your happy with what you have then you will be faster because of it.

In my experience the biggest gains you can get in speed will be on having the right tyre on the bike for any given conditions.

KCNC seat clamp has just purchased via ebay (with ti bolt).

Unfortunately the Ti bolt on that clamp is made of cheese, it's a nice clamp and still light even after replacing the bolt with a steel one.

Ant reccommendatins for a seatpost? It needs to be at least 360mm length.

Budget? Alu or carbon?

You want to lose 2lb from your bike but describe yourself as chunky 😯

Go tubeless! 300-400grams right there. Cost...next to nothing! Woop woop!

How on earth do you work that out? by the time you add sealant and a ghetto or rim strip type setup or even heavier, UST tyres, a 90g tube and light tyres has to be lighter?

a 90g tube and light tyres has to be lighter?

It is.

Steve is chunky in the same way someone coming out of belsen was!

reckon njee is the bloke to point you at the lightest wheels and tyre combinations you can get for your money.

Glad my reputation precedes me 🙂

With £400 in total to spend I wouldn't target the wheels. You could blow all that on a set of wheels, but IIRC the Crossmax Enduros are only about 1900g anyway, and you're not gonna get an 1100g set of wheels for £400! If you're really set on it, get some ZTR hubs on Alpine rims, you'll likely get a pound out of those.

Go for some Schwalbe Rocket Rons and run them tubeless.

If it runs a 31.6 seatpost, If you could get away with 350mm I've got a really light New Ultimate aluminium seatpost which will drop 100g over the FSA.

Going 2x9 with a 28/40 or something would be cheaper than a new chainset, although I've got an XTR for sale in the classifieds 🙂

Don't bother with XT, even XTR will give you fairly small gains.

Both the rim and tyres are tubeless ready, so it's only the valve and the sticky white stuff to be added. Most tubes that I've weighed have been about 150-200grams, but I get what you mean by the 90g race light tubes. Do they puncture much? I've never tried them, I've always assumed that someone my weight (13st, similar to OP) would see them bursting pretty sharpish...

You want to lose 2lb from your bike but describe yourself as chunky

People describe me as 'square shaped' I've also heard people refer to me as 'Big Mike', I'm 6'2" and at my worst I'm 14 stone at my best I'm 13.5 stone, genetically I couldn't get any smaller, you don't have to be wafer thin to want a light bike.

Don't bother with XT, even XTR will give you fairly small gains.

Pfft, says the man who out weight weenies the weight weenies on weight weenies.

😉

But I don't have 1900g wheels and 200g grips, and anyway, I've got XX 🙂

I get what you mean by the 90g race light tubes. Do they puncture much?

Yes, avoid.

have Hope DT swiss 4.2d on Hope ProIII SP they come on at 1650g, a good light XC build but not whippet race build you will be looking at 1450g and spend around £300 - £400,

Sounds like a lot of extra £££ for not a lot extra saving of lb's to go race wheel wieght, and he would still possible need a burlier set for everyday use, at the 1650g mark you can use them daily..

How much is the Hope DT4.2 coming in at these days? The Superstar wheels still sound pretty cheap to me at £250 and only 30g heavier.

Thanks again for the replies.
Gutted about the ti bolt on the seat clamp. I was getting giddy about having Ti on my bike :-}
It's already set up tubeless. i wouldn't go back to tubes.
I have a sports science degree so I'm fumbling through a half hearted training plan (Christ it's boring writing it and then doing it is a living death!)
Hmmm, a good point about weight verses use that I hadn't considered. It is my only mountain bike. I have a few road bikes and a commute bike so I might reduce my off road time to preserve any delicate parts that may be bought but I'm mindful if I want to do well, my training needs to be specific. While cycling is cycling and stresses and adaptations from road cycling to off road cycling are hugley similar, there are crucial differences that need to be honed and maintaned by some intense off road training.
Merlin will have some of my cash in the next hour (sorry for going off on one on your thread the other day. I've been an arse to people for a while now, I blame my new pils).

Get 355s over 4.2s every time, lighter, easier to run tubeless and far less prone to denting. Same money too when you get Hope Hoops.

But I don't have 1900g wheels and 200g grips, and anyway, I've got XX

I get what you mean by the 90g race light tubes. Do they puncture much?

Yes, avoid

In your experience njee, in mine they don't puncture any more than normal tubes.

I run the 110g welter weight tubes, use them all the time, zero issues, unless a thorn punctures, but the difference in thickness is about 0.4 of a mm so whatever tubes would get speared in the same manner..

Get 355s over 4.2s every time, lighter, easier to run tubeless and far less prone to denting. Same money too when you get Hope Hoops.

I would agree with that if I had had the choice at the time I would have gone for that unfortunately Stans rims didn't exist then, although 4.2s don't have a rep for denting AFAIK, it was their heavier cousins.

4.2s don't have a rep for denting AFAIK, it was there heavier cousins.

I've always found DT rims to be bad frankly! I've seen some seriously dented 4.2s.

In your experience njee, in mine they don't puncture any more than normal tubes.

Aah, I've not used any tubes for 9 years anyway! Personally it's not a weight saving I'd make based on what I've seen of other peoples experiences, yours excepted. Irrelevant anyway, as he's running tubeless.

Bit of a hijack but still on topic...

Whats the lightest sub £300 tubeless ready wheels?

I've always found DT rims to be bad frankly! I've seen some seriously dented 4.2s.

Quite possibly, I've only seen the heavier ones dented, that said I don't know anyone else with 4.2s!

[willy waving]My cannondale F500 cost me £300 and weighed 24.5lb [/willy waving]

On a serious note...........

160mm rotors weigh significantly less than 180mm ones.

I'd get some 1600g wheels, they'll be a good enough comprimise between racing and everyday use.

Other than that I'd just save weight as and when you change something. No point ditching a perfectly good seatpost if its not disgracefully heavy.

Tubeless debate alert!! Heh heh. 😉

Tinsy- just bought some Mavic 819's on Hope pro2 hubs, came in at 290 on CRC ('custom built'- I think this means they use a machine.) I weighed them at 1.04kg rear, 0.91 front. So there you go.

Dont matter what they use to build em, I had 2 indetical builds, 1 done by hand the other from CRC, both exactly the same as you would expect.. (just thought I would open a new debate)

I remember working it out on CAD how much wieght I could save by using Revolution spokes over DB ones... Weight saving does indeed get very anal.

I still gaurantee you the biggest gain you can get in speed is having the appropriate tyre on the bike for the conditions, as long as the rest of the setup is in the right ballpark.

Thanks for the offer njee but it wouldn't be long enough sadly.
I'm going to try out the foam grips. saving the best part of 200grams for £10 costs has to be worth a go.....but then again, I like my paddle grips. I don't know what to do.
New wheels seem to be quite a subject don't they?
I'm surprised fork upgarde only got one metion so far. No major upgrade worthwhile there?

Tinsy......so it's all down to your tyres why you had to walk home from your ride last weekend

Go for a thicker foam grip, Bontrager Xlite are very good and are only £9.

'm surprised fork upgarde only got one metion so far. No major upgrade worthwhile there?

Unless you 'need' new forks it's a big spend to save relatively little weight.

I doubt if changing your grips will make you quicker, you'd be better off spending the money on the wheels, less weight to get rolling,

Go for a thicker foam grip, Bontrager XX lite are very good and are only £9.

+1

Although it's the 'Race X Lite foam' you want, the Race XXX Lite foam is very thin, I'm not sure the latter are sold aftermarket in the UK though.

You'd drop a bit going for the fork, but a SID Race would blow your entire budget and save less than a pound.

I remember working it out on CAD how much wieght I could save by using Revolution spokes over DB ones

Revolutions are double butted, and you could've saved a fair bit of time and just looked on the DT Website 😉

HA HA toomanybikes, I actually made it home pedalling but only just, I do indeed put that down to XC'ing the bike I built for the alps, I think it is tubeless though, it just feels like the previous owner has used 300ml of sealant in the ****in things.. but then I suppose some saint hubs and 719 rins aint going to be featherweight!!

Revolutions are double butted, and you could've saved a fair bit of time and just looked on the DT Website

Titanium rigid forks and single speed 😀

just remove the front wheel

Why not forego the grips all together and just use a thin bar tape. I've seen some Pro MTBers with this set up.

Saying that, if you are planning endurance races, the weird grips you have at the moment and like, will probably keep your speed higher than changing to something you are uncomfortable with.

seen some roadies without bar tape at all! its the next step!

take off the pedals and scoot along the floor?
take out the quick releases and dont do any hops?
make it SS?

or just leave it alone. why bother doing anything?

I've been putting my bike on a diet recently - foam grips saved 150g over lockons, downgrading rotors from 183/183 to 160/160 saved another 100g or so. Removed bottle cage bolts, windows from shifters, saddle bag clip etc.... another 50odd g.

Try an ibeam saddle/post pretty light combo for not much

Oh - I've knackered a 4.2 rim, but that was in Morzine through a particularly rough section on my nomad, not surprising really. In my experience they are pretty good, have yet to try stans.

"..why bother doing anything?"
Because I want to. It's as simple as that. I dare say when I get it down to 24lbs, I'll then try for 23lb.
Thanks for (most of) the replies.

your choice buddy. i just wonder why people fret about weight. the one thing that made me faster ever was more riding.

rode road to make me faster uphill. rode bmx track and DH to make me better technically.

not a penny spent on bicycle...

losing 2lb wont guarantee you are faster. weight does not guarantee speed.

Wheels and tyres are where I'd start. The Specialized Storm Controls aren't super heavy (I've a set on my Enduro) but something like Speed King Supersonics would save perhaps a pound. If the current wheels are 1900g then a 1500g wheelset is going to save the best part of another pound. Both those savings are in the places you'd notice it most as well.

My lightest bike has Speed King Supersonics and American Classic wheels and you'd need £400-500 to do the same I think.

I'm not convinced forks are the best place to lose weight - I got a set of SID Race for my bike but decided I preferred some heavier forks (Fox Float's) so stuck with them. The SID Race were fairly cheap 2nd hand though so something like that might be worth considering.

My Zion is down to 23lbs (weighed not calculated and with pedals fitted) now despite having minimal XTR (just the rear mech) and with alloy seatpost and bars.

Would recommend Schwalbe over Conti SS if you want to run tubeless, whilst the Supersonics will seal they're very porous. Schwalbe's go up much more nicely.

Would recommend Schwalbe over Conti SS if you want to run tubeless, whilst the Supersonics will seal they're very porous

I've not tried tubeless yet (no real need as there aren't many thorns in my area so I don't tend to puncture often) as it seems like extra hassle to solve a problem that I don't have. I had Racing Ralphs on the bike and while they were good in the dry the SS's are much better general purpose tyres as well as being lighter.

But Rons are the same claimed weight as Speed Kings (mine come out very slightly lighter), and grippier IMO. Still, that's a tyre debate, which isn't for this thread, but I wasn't too sure on Speed Kings.

Tubeless saves weight and gives better grip, reason enough to do it for me!

the one thing that made me faster ever was more riding.

Good for you, and if you upgraded the bike and did more riding, you'd likely be even faster. Seeing as there's racing involved, it makes sense to do what you can, and if that includes making the bike lighter, it's an obvious thing to do!

I'm riding less in fact tracknico. To be fair, I probably couldn't ride anymore than I was if I wanted to.
My riding focus and ergo stresses and adaptations are much more targeted toward a higher effort over a shortened but still sustained period rather thsn the multi day touring I was doing.
I have a good idea of what my potential was as of 8 years ago being the last time I was in the lab. Sadly, I wasn't ever going to win anything but I can make a fair show on most rides these days so I've not blown completely.
I just want to reduce weight on my mountain bike so it can be as light as I can get it and crucially financially afford to get it and also so that I am giving [u]me[/u] the best chance I can to do as well as I can.
Thanks again all. Loads of stuff to go through and I need to start flogging stuff to raise some cash to lose some heft from it.

I guess it's all personal preference but better tyres would be at the top of my list, best weight saving and performance enhancing, pound for pound in my experience, upgrade.
For tubeless I would go for Racing ralph and maybe nobby nic up front (although would like to try a fast fred tubeless), for tubes conti race kings 2.2 supersonic, much better than speed kings, faster, gripper and don't puncture at the first sight of any thing lumpy.
I am lazy so don't bother changing tyres at all if I can help it but it's amazing what you can learn to ride (at speed) with semi slicks if you ride all year round with them. I change the front if the weathers really bad but haven't used a non semi slick on the rear for about 5 years and have never had any problems at all, and like the way the back kicks out a little sometimes. But that just me but worth a try.

if you find second hand xtr wheels (the new kind not the paired spoke ones) they are very light and i rate them very highly, i'm heavy-ish and ride hard and have never had a problem.

has anyone mentioned pedals?

single speed it, 2 pound lost and no money spent?

or bung on some carbon rigid forks and ztr/stans wheels and some of the other sensible ideas on here

I saved about 3lbs from my Anthem simply changing the wheelset and tyres and going tubeless with non-UST tyres.

SR Dirty Flea hubs with ZTR Olympic rims and DT Rev spokes
Schwalbe Dirty Dan 2.0 run tubeless with an olympic valve, yellow tape and stans tyre milk.

Less than 2500g for the lot and they've never let me down or had a flat.

Did anybody suggest oging singlespeed yet?

get a set of race wheels with 160mm ashima rotors. tubeless with schwalbe. run the heavier ones for training/routine riding.

when you wear out the rings go 2x9 (i thing i'll be trying this next i think)

oh, and try the grips for a tenner - what have you got to lose.

Why don't you lose 2lb that would be much cheaper ?,have a good dump before you ride

"Please refrain from the going to the toilet before you ride nonsense and at 12st 8lb myself, I'm happy as I chunky am thank you very much :-}"

It's up there in the original post. The very last sentence. I didn't ask how I could lose 2lb the cheapest way possible. I think I might also at some point made reference to my sports science qualification. I know a bit about physiology. Thanks anyway.

Thanks for all the useful advice and suggestions. The quest has begun.

Please take this the right way. A few years ago when I was racing on the road (badly!) actually racing saved me huge amounts of money as during races I realised that spending the money on the newest flashy wheels was not going to make the difference. Sat at the computer it is all too easy to read reviews and manufacturers descriptions and before you know it you have pressed play and put in your credit card details.

You have a sports science degree, use what you have learned. 2lbs makes a difference at the very top end for the rest of us (if you were top end you would not be asking) it makes no difference.

Yes this is a variation on the "have a poo statement" but simple maths does it. 2lbs is a far smaller percentage of your mass (what about a lighter multi tool?) and can be done easily by most. Proper intervals will make a huge difference as I found out just the once!! Sahme I couldnt bring myself to punish myself so much again.

As I said not criticism.

I love this place, I really do 🙂

Dont ask daft questions then!!

Oh dearie me. I'm going to leave it now. No offence intended. Thanks again all 🙂

the Race XXX Lite foam is very thin, I'm not sure the latter are sold aftermarket in the UK though.

I doubt if changing your grips will make you quicker, you'd be better off spending the money on the wheels, less weight to get rolling,

Bloody hell! I've swapped the grips for FSA bar tape (double wrapped), the seatpost clamp for a KCNC ti bolt clamp and the Mavic wheel qr's for Superstar qr's and I've shed nearly half a pound already. That can't be right! I'm going to check it again.

Yep, just checked. 188 grams = 0.4lb.
generic seatpost qr 42grams - KCNC version 12 grams - 30 grams saved
Specailized Ergo grips 180 grams - FSA bar tape 60 grams = 120 grams saved
Mavic wheel qr's 120 grams - Superstar hollow axle wheel qr's 82 grams = 38 grams saved
I like this game :-}

WEIGH EVERYTHING. You can't effectively weightweenie unless you know the weight of the parts you're replacing.

"In your experience njee, in mine they don't puncture any more than normal tubes. "

I ran 100g Schwalbe XXlights before I converted to tubeless, they were just tubes, didn't puncture any differently to any other tube. I had one in the front for Fort William Still, my tubeless is lighter than 100g (most people's isn't, BMX tubes or Stans strips + sealant is almost always more than 100g)

I've got the XXX Lite grips on my Top Fuel, them seem really comfy, I must say though I don't really seem to mind any grips!

I went 1x9 withan nstop and Ti bash ring only cost £30 that saved 1lb

pace rc31 carbon forks (£200) will save you 2lbs

get a kmc x9sl chain somewhere was knocking them out for £25 the other day that'll save a bit too

get a pg990 cassette

got mine down to 19.04 lbs now!

FSA bar tape 60 grams

Some decent foam grips would be 20g, and less slippery in the wet.

[i]Mavic 819's on Hope pro2 hubs[/i]

While I've a few 819 wheels, they are heavy, but strong so I use them as everyday wheels.

I wouldn't be selling anything to fund lighter parts, as its always handy to have spares.

Buy a couple of sets of scales (one to weigh the bike, and one to weigh parts), and go from there.

Over more standard stuff, and not stupidly expensive:
I-beam seats/posts - save 100-200g.
Hope Hoops running Stans rims - save 100-200g.
Lighter bars, either carbon or alloy - save 50g.
Ashima rotors - save 100g
XT cassette - save 50g
540 or XT pedals - save 50g
Ti bolts - save 100g

TBH though, whenever you are replacing something worn, look at the weights - and whenever you buy anything else, look at the weights.