XC bike weight. How low can you go?

I’ve just fitted a new SID World Cup fork to my Whyte and (sadly) was tempted to bring out the scales. At 23lbs I know it’s a light bike, mainly XTR, lots of carbon, Ti and other exotic metals. However I am baffled by the folk who claim to have 19/20lb bikes…I can’t imagine taking another 3lb off mine.
I reckon the only significant area to go out is wheel sets – lighter than my Crossmax XL??
What set up have you got chaps?

njee to the forum, please…

Sub 20lb full suss bikes very possible, sub 18lb hard tails very possible.*

You need to be sponsored or have very deep pockets.

*With suspension and gears.

My bike is 19lb………it has no suspension though,or gears.
It cost about the same as your forks 8) .

or if you want to get silly here’s one in the 13s

http://forums.mtbr.com/showthread.php?p=7266623#poststop

My hardtail is 21lb.

frame- BeOne Raw Carbon 21″ (1020grams)
Forks- Rock Shox Sid Team
wheels- Hope Pro3 on Crest rims
brakes- Hope X2 Race inc matchmaker clamps
Gears- XT crank, shifters, front and rear mech, Sram 990 cassette and 991 chain
Pedals- Wellgo MG1
Finishing kit- Ritchey Superlogic bars and post wcs stem
Hope headset, QRs and bottom bracket
Charge spoon Ti saddle
ESI chunky grips

Not running tubeless yet and have Continental Mountain Kings which could be changed to go lighter.

Will be changing to 2×10 XT this year XTR is just way too expensive.

Should be able to get to around 20lb without breaking the bank, it’s amazing how changing each component to one that’s 10% lighter adds up.

Just remember there is a point where lighter means it won’t last very long or might not be upto what you’re planning on using it for.

I reckon the only significant area to go out is wheel sets – lighter than my Crossmax XL??

Can save 1lb off the wheels, dont know what tyres you’re running but bet you can save another 1lb easy. Then the frame, which Whyte is it? Even if it’s the carbon one, there are plenty lighter carbon frames. Ditch 2 chainrings and go 1×10 to save another 1/2lb, then what brakes you running? Unless formula R1’s with lightweight rotors and full Ti bolts, your brakes are overweight. What saddle you got? Bet you can save 50-100g there, as with seatpost bars and stem, can save a bit more undoubtedly. What pedals? 4Ti eggbeaters will knock some weight off.

This is just scratching the surface of obsession. You could easily save 3/4lb off the weight of your bike, but you’d need very deep pockets. And then of course, if your kit is possibly too light, you risk breaking it all the time! Personally, my hardtail at a smidge under 24lb is about as light as I’d want, much lighter and I’d have to spec some significantly weaker parts on it.

silly light

a road bike

Now think what you need to add to make a xc mtb. I think that gives a decent idea of what is possible

Below is my Merlin which was 21.2lb including pedals etc and that’s a spot on accurate weight with the posh digital scales. All usable stuff on it that wouldn’t break and I guess if it ran newer stuff like a 2×10 set-up it could be a bit lighter. But it comes at a price as light bikes feel very nervous, especially over rocky stuff and my Yeti 575 which was under 25lb certainly felt like that but I reckon a smoother rider would feel better on it. The main weight area is the wheels and the Merlin ran Tune hubs which were pretty light

It’s a Whyte 19 carbon frame.
Here goes for the rest:
SID WC fork, XTR disc brakes, Ashima rotors, Crossmax XL rims
Racing Ralph tubeless tyres, FSA Team Pro carbon cranks, 3Ti Eggbeaters
XTR derailleurs, XTR cassette, Yumeya 9-spd chain
xxx-lite grips, RaceFace Next carbon riser, KCNC scandium Wing stem, Easton carbon seatpost and a Fizik Tundra carbon saddle.

I am happy with the bike, it does everything I ask of it and more! As I say, just a but baffled where you could trim more weight from…

loose the riser fit a flat bar, always a lighter option,
The saddle isn’t light, look at Tune for example.
The fork isn’t the lightest Rockshox have ever made and there are lighter current offerings.
Racing Ralphs are light, but Rons for example are lighter and there are lighter tyres still,
Have you fitted Alu bolts and Ti bolts where appropriate?
What cables are you running.

There isn’t the chance to save big amounts on any one component, but by saving a few grams on everything then the weight comes off.

Then when you get truely obsessed out comes the drill.

XL’s aren’t that light wheel wise if I’m right. It’s also little bits here and there that add up. For instance I used a Ritchey WCS stem which was mege light, Xpedo Ti/Ti pedals which are as light as they come. My wheel weight was very low but the front hub wasn’t as light as my Goldtec Pro which would have saved quite a few grammes. Not sure what your frame weight is or the size but the Merlin was just above 3lb and was a 16.25 inch.

tubeless specific RR’s are quite heavy, so you could easily save 1 lb there just going for the standard ones, and still run them tubeless.

Crossmax XL’s are over 1800g, which is very very heavy for a xc race wheel. I just built some 1500g wheels for £150. For £250-300 you could have 1400g wheels easily.

So you can save prob over 2 lb just from replacing the wheels and tyres, which you really would notice a hell of a lot.

Just looked up weight of the XL wheels – 1600g apparently.

Will give wheel replacement some thought – light and strong ideas anyone?
A new KCNC Scandium flat bar could be on the way at 115g.

Reluctant to lose gears as it’s fairly hilly around here.

CP – tell me more about those wheels please?

Goldtec Pro Comp hubs on ZTR Olympic rims are light and strong. Easton EC90 SL low riser bars and Ritchey WCS foam grips is a good ight combo. Keep the gears then and be done.

My race bikes 21lb

Merida carbon frame
Sid wc
Pro 3 on 355s
Ritchey wcs pro carbon pin
Truvativ pro team flat bars
Slr 165
Spesh fast trak pro 2bliss
Ti skewars
Xt brakes and cranks . Rest of drive train is xtr inc pedals

Could go lighter though if i wanted So can see where they get there light bikes from how ever there is a fine line – te above build borders on nae use for all day riding as oppose just racing

Builds into a 17 lb ss though 😉

I’ve still got a full rigid Ti with old (M952) XTR and original first generation CrossMax wheels, that’s 20.5lb. I reckon with new kit it oculd be sub 19lb.

It’s VERY nervous on rocky terrain at that weight though. That’s slightly offset by the fact that it climbs like a homesick angel.

the ones I built are xt CL hubs and dtrevolution spokes from actionsports.de. rims are stans olympic from CRC. I had a £30 voucher, so in reality they’re more like £180. brass nipples. built them my self, so pricing prob not necessarily a fair comparison, but goes to show you certainly don’t need to spend a fortune.

spend a little more on some a2z superlight hubs, and use the olympic lightweight rims from CRC, you’re looking at 1350g.

oh, rim brake versions of the crossmax xl are about 1650g, the latter disc specific ones are over 1800.

Hello! I’m here, sorry I’m late! 🙂

My Top Fuel is 19.89lbs as below:

I’m conceding a pound in the frame to you, which is offset by 1×10.

The wheels are A2Z hubs, Podium rims and Revolutions – 1246g including tape and valves. As above, if you’re using UST Racing Ralphs they weigh a ton – another pound saved with normal Rocket Rons (2011 ones are specifically tubeless ready although I just use the old ones).

Mount Zoom do some really nice lightweight finishing kit – I’m using their bars, skewers, jockey wheels, bottle cage and top cap – really impressed with it all!

The devil’s in the detail though really, a smattering of alu bolts, I-Link cables etc.

I do ride my bike, unlike some of the really terrifying things floating around on Light Bikes, and actually find it fantastic. It’s more confidence inspiring to descend on than the marginally heavier 2010 TF 9.9 it replaced (in fact it’s the best handling race bike I’ve had – beating 3 S-Works Epics and the other Fuel), the front end tracks better – whether because of the tapered fork I don’t know. The wheels have surprised me, I thought they’d be flexy and horrible, but they’re really not, and frankly I prefer how it rides with them compared to the Hope Hoops with Crests I use when not racing.

As I say, just a but baffled where you could trim more weight from…

If you’re running 1600g wheels and 750g tyres I suspect there are some other bits carrying extra weight you’ve not really though about 🙂

However I am baffled by the folk who claim to have 19/20lb bikes..

Remember they have massively optimistic scales, and/or they take several pounds off the actual weight so they can brag about it on forums 😉

My Scale last time weighed was sub 20lbs, and have made it lighter since then. Nothing silly light on it but is is 1×10

08 Scott Scale 10
Fox F100
Hope SPxc3
Hope Mini Pros
Maxxis advantage UST, Rocket Ron, tubeless
XTR Mech + shifter
XT Cranks MRP 1x, MRP 36t
Easton EC70 Bars, Seatpost
Hope Stem
Scott Saddle
Ergon Carbon grips/barends

Lovely bike to race on

Not that anyone will say their scales are inaccurate, but I’ve weighed a lot of bikes on mine – my Fuel is lighter than Scott Forbes full XX equipped Whippet among others.

Remember they have massively optimistic scales, and/or they take several pounds off the actual weight so they can brag about it on forums

I have a set of Ultimate Digital scales which we use in our shop so all our weights are bang on accuate. I got asked when my Yeti came in at under 25lb which isn’t bad for nearly a 6inch travel bike so I took a pictures of it hanging on the scales – job done!

I could get my ’95 Marin Team Ti to shed a bit of weight, but at 21.75lbs I think it’s light enough for me.

There are some silly money weight weenie bikes out there, the lightest I’ve ridden was a 19lb old school Ritchey P20. It was too light for me as it was too flexy, but damn it flew along once you stuck the power down, quite twitchy too which led to a couple of hairy moments

As mentioned before my Scale 10. Doesn’t feel flexy or ‘too light’, rides very nicely

I’ve been running a lot of KCNC kit this year on my race bike:

– KCNC XC2 triple: save 170g
– with a double that’ll be 200g

– KCNC SC Pro ti seatpost: save 45g

– KCNC Cassette: save 64g

– KCNC brakes: save about 260g

I’m a weight weenie and here are some of my bikes 🙂

Giant XTC Rigid – 16.6lbs

Litespeed Obed SS – 14.2lbs with different pedals

Merida 96 carbon 1×9 – 19.8lbs (with rocket rons and pedals)

Giant TCR – 15.2lbs no longer have this one

if anyone is interested I can dig out the build lists

Is that no pedals? I’d question the Litespeed and the Merida personally!

Some lovely bikes there. Plenty food for thought thanks!

One for the obed. i’ll need to update the one for the Merida.

Litespeed Obed M Frame 1530
Mortop Headset 60
Trigon Forks 493
Ameriacn classic wheels 1392
KCNC Ti Skewers 45
Kenda Klimax tires 660
Maxxis flyweight tubes 160
Wellgo M111 pedals 240
KCNC ISIS Crank/bolts 470
Renthal 32Chain ring 35
KCNC BB/bolts 155
KCNC VB-1 brakes F/R 250
XTR Cables 68
KCNC Seat clamp 10
KMC x9SL Chain 210
Kestrel Bars 110
Syntace F99 Stem 96
143 toupe Saddle 170
KCNC Post 153
Pork rind grips 17
superstar 14t Sprocket 28

6352 g = 14.0037 lb

My new frame (08 Scale) should drop mine below 20lbs now –
Reba WC,
240s on Olympics,
KCNC stem, bars, seatclamp, post and bar ends,
ESI Chunkys,
Hope Mini Pros,
XTR cranks (40/28), front mech and chain,
X.0 rear mech and Gripshift,
12-27 Dura Ace cassette,
Conti Twister tyres (tubeless),
Fizik Carbon Aliante
and a good smattering of ti and alu bolts.

If you are willing to weigh your components and do some bolt tuning it’s fairly easy to get under 21/22lbs.

Merida 96 carbon and rear shock + remote 2005g
SID 2009 Race + remote 1480
American classic wheels 1492
KCNC skewers 44
Rocket Ron’s 862
Stans sealant 180
Wellgo M-111 240
Easton EC90 104
Syntace F99 96
stem cap / spacers 22
Formula R1 + AirRotors 276+287
SRAM Rocket shifter with cable 134
Seatpost 166
toupe 143 167
XTR rear mech 177
XTR Cassette 237
seat clamp 11
foam grips 53
KCNC ISIS Crank/bolts 470
Renthal 32Chain ring 35
KCNC BB 151
KMC SL10 chain 237

8926 g = 19.6784 lb

Aah, so they’re spreadsheet weights?

I think it’s harder than people think to get under 20lbs – I’ve still only weighed about 4 MTBs that have done it. Schmiken I’d expect that to be over 20 still based on comparable bikes.

Jeez, you lot are mental. I’d snap that lot within 2 minutes! 😆

njee20.
no they are weighed weights in the list line.
thats just the list of parts (all weighed by myself)
the actual bike weights are slightly higher than the spreadsheets weights for all bikes.

grtdkad like CP says Crossmax SL are around 1800gms, people above will have sub 1500gm wheels, so changing wheels would easily see your bike to 22lbs. JRA do a Stan’s wheelset at 1415gms for £369, so it doesn’t have to be silly expensive. Go tubeless ready schwalbe or Conti Supersonic tyres and supersonic tubes, that’ll probably bring the weight down to 21lbs. etc etc

This is my setup, most stuff is very def not that lightweight (deore chainrings, SLX cassette, lock on grips, standard Time pedals), but key bits are! frame, wheels, tyres

JRA do a Stan’s wheelset at 1415gms for £369, so it doesn’t have to be silly expensive

My 1264g wheels (roughly 🙂 ) were less than £300 – you don’t have to go mental.

Jeez, you lot are mental. I’d snap that lot within 2 minutes!

You’d probably surprise yourself, light kit has got far better. The only part with a weight limit is my rims, swap to some Alpines and there’d not be anything, bike would still be 20.5lbs or so – they don’t feel as flimsy as things did 5 years ago.

On and on: do you not run a chain guide on the Merida?