[Closed] Reducing Weight - Part Ideas.

start with the forks then the wheelset 🙂

to be honest nothing on that bike sounds Particular light but PrehaPs most weight could be saved from forks + wheels

get some air forks

or if you axctually wanted a light bike youd be better off selling and buying a new one

Whats your budget?

To be fair, your probably going to be better off selling and buying something thats already lighter/better specced.

If you have the budget start with the fork (a fox f100 would save nearly 2lb over your dart 2), cranks and wheels. If not then aluminium spidered cassetes and light tyres/tubes can be a good place to start

Thanks for the advice so far, To be honest a new bike isnt on the cards at the moment which is why I need to upgrade parts.
With regards to a budget, it just depends on what parts need to be bought so the budget can be made around the parts.

You might possibly find a complete far lighter bike secondhand for less than the new forks alone. Staying with Giant perhaps a s/h XTC.
I don't mean to be rude but I don't think the Yukons were a bike designed to be upgraded, just about every component you've listed is at the heavier end of the scale.

Take the money that you would spend on upgrading and start saving for a new / second hand lighter framed bike that would form a better basis for upgrading.

If you really can't wheels and forks are a good start.

You'd notice the performance benefit with a better fork or better wheels and both would be transferrable to a lighter frame if you got the cash. A pair of lighter tyres could save a pound in weight. Aren't On-One doing SpeedKings for a tenner each?

A Rockshox Reba would be likely be cheaper than a Fox and nearly as light.

'Daft' things like foam grips are cheap, save weight and are cheap.

I don't see why people say its not worth upgrading, when everything bar maybe the seatpost/front mech would be transferrable to a better frame. Nothing is lost by buying better parts, if you appreciate that it will never be an xc whippet machine.

Also, years ago my mate had an alloy Falcon hardtail that he'd upgraded with XT and XTR. All the bits then eventually went on an Orange P7 frame. Nothing really lost by doing it this way!

What does the bike weigh now? If you are felling particularity brave strip the frame and weigh it and then do the same with the wheels and forks. As everyone has said, wheels (tyres?) frame and fork make the most difference. I notice that this bike is from Giants 'Sport' range so you are going to struggle to turn it into a XC Racer.

How about switching to Hope [url= http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?PartnerID=79&ModelID=40778 ]Hoops 355[/url] and [url= http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=13113 ]Tora Forks[/url]

That's about £500

I think its about 34lb but not 100% sure : 🙂

You can save almost 2lb (850 grams) just by switching to a Dual Air Reba

Change the tyres first, lighter/faster rolling tyres make a big diference, don't hear what anyone else says, I had Pana Fire XC Pros and swapped them for a lightweight pair of Ignitor/Crossmark pair. Light a day. Then get a lighter pair of wheels preferably some ZTR rims and go tubeless. Then change the forks. If you want to keep going - assuming you can on your bike go for an SLX drivetrain and a lightweight cassette.

Flog, buy a secondhand Kinesis Maxlight complete.
Chances are it'll have been owned by a Glentress mincer like me.

Thanks for the help guys much appreciated,
Time to get the wallet out 😉 😆

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! 🙁

Matt - TBH I'd just sell your bike and buy a lighter one - much easier to manage and usually cheaper unless you go mad! You can get some excellent light-ish bikes for £1k or less, especially second hand from the forum!

@Harveystedham I was gonna buy the bike from pauls cycles but on the day I was about to buy it someone listed one on the forum for £270 brand new. To be honest I love this bike despite what people are saying to sell it and buy a new one and I seem to be in the exact same position as you, which is why i need to upgrade, but for an AM machine its great.

Tyres and tubes. Best value weight saving.

Grab some decent forks (maybe some old revs, reebas) and wheels (bontrager ones are light and cheaper than equiv. mavis sets and come up on ebay often) and swap ovver when you can afford a new frame. Lighter tyres would be good too.