[Closed] Little weight losses that actually make a difference

Wheels are always the best upgrade 😉

Thoughts... ask a question rather than making some statements that don't require a response?*

* Walks off feelings smugly sarcastic.

Thoughts... ask a question rather than making some statements that don't require a response?*

* Walks off feelings smugly sarcastic.

but are there any little changes that you make that really change the weight in a positive fashion?

😉

After wheels, forks are a good one.
I find the front end more maneuverable & 'fun' when I've got a lighter fork. There's a limit there though- you don't want to go too far and end up with something noodly and flexy.

Yeah, well sod your poo disclaimer - I've dropped a stone on blubber in 6 weeks, that coupled with a skills course - best upgrade ever, I've never been as fast or had as much fun on a bike in 12 years of riding.

Erm
Tyres obv
SLR saddle and a sub-200 g post
Cassette that doesn't weigh 0.5 kg
Rotating parts of drivetrain - pedals/shoes/cranks

Tyres are the only thing I have really noticed.

All the other parts are worth reducing weight on as they all add up to the overall weight but can't say I would notice if solely reducing a seat post by 100 grams.

really change the weight in a positive fashion?

tyres. not only £/g some of the best money to spend but also potential to save big g

you may also win on rolling resistance going from a 'trail' tyre to a lighter and faster rolling XC type.

What's on it atm?

Depends very much on the bike and what it comes with, the weight savings I've through mostly wanting to get other benefits has been crazy.

Tubes (~1100g to SV13J ~370g, or 29er SV19A ~280g)
Fork (~1500g to OO Fatty carbon ~650g)
Tyres (~3200g to JJ snakeskin 4" ~2200g, or G-One 29x2.35" ~1100g)
Bars (~400g to Knuckleball ~200g)
Stem (~200g to Corto ~125g)
Wheels (fat ~3800g to 29er ~2300g)
Pedals (~550g to C162 ~225g)

So in fat mode, it's lost ~3.4Kg, while in skinny form ~5.7Kg... And that's without swapping out the gravity field inducing saddle and post that weigh in at a hefty ~750g total! 😆

Do you carry any water with you when you ride?

Pound for pound the most effective weight saving is to pay a domestique to carry the bottle/camelbak around and pass it to you when you are thirsty

Sell it. If it's not fun at 25lb it never will be.

Find a stwer with some scales, they'll have it down to 22lbs by just weighing it, regardless of what kit is hanging off it...

What percentage of total rider+bike weight is the bike?

A light person trumps a light bike whenever weight matters (ie, up hills).

Find a stwer with some scales, they'll have it down to 22lbs by just weighing it, regardless of what kit is hanging off it...

Doesn't work, its always heavier than you think, trust me I've tried it...

Okay ....

Tyres are currently 2.25'' NN on the front with a Thunderburt out back. Currently not tubeless but I have the bits to give that a bash with the DT rims.

Rider is 95kg or 210lbs so bike at 25lb is a small percentage of overall weight.

I didn't say that the current set up wasn't fun!

I do wish I had magic STW scales as it would make the process so much easier + I would have a sub 30b steel fatback with 5'' tyres .....

Doesn't work, its always heavier than you think, trust me I've tried it...

I ain't about what you think, it's what strangers on the Internet think that matters...

I think most people have it here, but:

1. Spinning weight - every time you hit a pothole, accelerate around a corner or brake, you're trying to overcome the inertia of your wheels. Make 'em lighter and the more weight you can remove from nearer the outside, the bigger difference it will make - so rims and tyres make a huge difference (you're not still running with tubes, I hope!), spokes make a bit and hubs, very little
2. Unsprung weight - like on cars, if you can minimise upsprung weight, the bike will respond better and crash through bumps with less effort. Forks, hubs, brakes, transmission will help here
3. Everything high up - keep the weight low, so strip weight first from higher up on the bike and work down from there
4. Clutter - Don't use a bottle, get rid of the cage. Pump strapped to the bike - swap to CO2 and get it in your back pocket. 14kg of assorted tools in a saddle bag - have a good clear our and cut back to the minimum that you need. (for me, two CO2 cylinders + head, tube, small puncture kit, powerlink, super-small multi tool)

It's diminishing returns, so once you've got some decently light wheels and tyres and got rid of that clunky, pig-iron cassette, you're into weight-weenies stuff that will make no more than marginal difference.

Oh, and when you weigh it, lie. Everyone does it, so think of it as moderating your results.

It's pretty simple to work out weight saved per £ on any component you are looking at buying.

You will feel tyres etc more.

At 95kg, unless you are 6'8" then the cheapest weight saving and biggest improvement to your riding would be to drop 10-15kg off you.

3. Everything high up - keep the weight low, so strip weight first from higher up on the bike and work down from there
4. Clutter - Don't use a bottle, get rid of the cage. Pump strapped to the bike - swap to CO2 and get it in your back pocket. 14kg of assorted tools in a saddle bag - have a good clear our and cut back to the minimum that you need. (for me, two CO2 cylinders + head, tube, small puncture kit, powerlink, super-small multi tool)

Doesn't point 4 contradict point 3? Moving all the clutter from the downtube higher up to his back pocket. 😀

Yeah, well sod your poo disclaimer - I've dropped a stone on blubber in 6 weeks, that coupled with a skills course - best upgrade ever, I've never been as fast or had as much fun on a bike in 12 years of riding.

Spot on.

Worry about your bike control, power to weight ratio and ability to get oxygen to your muscles....end of story.

At 95kg, you're 10kg above the weight limit of many components you'd be interested in.

In terms of lowering bike weight, if you're worried about an X470 rim being too heavy (which it's not), why are you still riding round with 150gram inner tubes when you can go tubeless ?

any little changes that you make that really change the weight in a positive fashion?

imo, not really, not practically. I just don't think dropping a kilo or so on a bike makes worthwhile differences. You can/may feel that it's a little lighter to hop or pick up but the actual pace, climbing etc, no change really. You get used to it quickly so the initail 'feels different' impression isn't the same as'it's faster'.

If you have a 400g saddle and drop to a 150g version, that moves around quite a bit on the end of a long post so there's one place you might feel it more easily.

1. Spinning weight - every time you hit a pothole, accelerate around a corner or brake, you're trying to overcome the inertia of your wheels. Make 'em lighter and the more weight you can remove from nearer the outside, the bigger difference it will make - so rims and tyres make a huge difference (you're not still running with tubes, I hope!), spokes make a bit and hubs, very little

True, but it works both ways so wheel weight-weenieism is one area I'm sceptical about, light wheels may spin up a little easier but they slow down easier when they hit bumps. On a road bike light wheels are great. On an off-road bike I think light wheels don't work as well overall as a heavier wheel that uses a larger tyre, wider rim, doesn't flinch at rocks etc. There's a balance to be had, depends how / what you ride of course but the general 'lighter wheel is better' idea is a bit roadie imo.

With anything like this tho if you can drop weight at no cost to durability and ability to hold speed, go for it.

Tyres are currently 2.25'' NN on the front with a Thunderburt out back. Currently not tubeless but I have the bits to give that a bash with the DT rims.

Rider is 95kg or 210lbs so bike at 25lb is a small percentage of overall weight.

You could be faster overall with bigger, heavier tubeless tyres that can handle lower pressures on a suitable rim. 95kg bouncing over stuff due to a 35psi 2.2" tyre is slower than something like a 2.4 EXO tyre (900g?) on a 30mm rim helping you roll smoother at ~23psi. The energy it takes to bounce you and your bike up and down is just lost momentum.

Doesn't point 4 contradict point 3? Moving all the clutter from the downtube higher up to his back pocket.

Hey, I never said that weight weenieism was logical 🙂

That said, I always prefer a lighter bike under me, and my clutter in my pockets. This means that (in my mind at least) I can chuck the bike around more freely. I also object to a cluttered bike, but I admit that this is aesthetic...

Why not ditch the front brake? No idea how much weight it'd save but it costs nothing. Any thread i've seen on here about light bikes they always have two brakes. On XC style bikes - having a rear brake only is more than enough to slow you down.

Thanks for all the suggestions folks.

Some interesting ideas - but, at the age of 54, I'm finding it difficult to drop below the 90kg mark (need to make a big effort on that front)

Before you all start ...... "just have a poo before you head out" etc etc humour me here.

So - that's what Tom Dumoulin was up to...

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That was a looot of drilling!

Once a MTB is down to near 30lbs (unless it's an XC race bike) the cost to drop weight without other downsides becomes astronomical.

If lighter wheels were always better then 26 wouldn't be dead!

I put some Schwalbe hurricane touring tyres on my 29er. Bloody heavy. Bike felt hard to accelerate and very sluggish. Going back to the nineline WTB's as soon as funds permit!

you could save a chunk by not riding frames made of pig iron. 😈

Belly, arse and moob fat.

Then wheels, forks, tubeless, and other stuff.

Take everything off your bike and weigh each component, compile a spreadsheet and figure out what you can swap that gives you the best weight for codt.

Tom IP

Without reading through all the above, I'd go:

Wheels
Fork
Components (seatpost / bar / stem)
Drivetrain (specifically chainset / cassette / pedals)

But then it's all relative. I'm putting heavier tyres on my 150mm travel bike because I'm expecting to go to the Lakes later in the year.

cheap savings that can add up to a few hundred grams, going from expreience of a giant XTC advance 1:

grips - foam grips for £10 - ~100g reduction
rotors - promax lighweight rotors £5 each from ebay - ~150g reduction
saddle - decent saddle for ~£60 - 200g reduction
cassette - go to XT if not already - saving ~150g

Assuming you have the tyres you want and are tubeless.

Seatpost, bars and stem can all be changed, up to 100g saving on each of those too depending on what you have on now.