Bicycle Mechanics - Customizing to lose weight and obtain better handling

Does anyone know any ways that you can lose weight or get better handling on your bike without too much trouble and no money necessary? Such as hacksawing the handlebars to allow you to make sharper turns. Any suggestions appreciated.

OK.

First of all. what type of bike do you have? Road, MTB, BMX etc etc.

Cutting the handlebars so they are shorter wont help turning sharper. Changing stem length, fork rake, tyre selection and technique will help though.

On the weight issue, what components does your bike have?

Regards,
Brendon

Well......start by eating less. You will actually save money. When you get down to your optimal weight level, then you can start on your bike by chopping your handlebars, removing every other spoke, and removing your rear brake.

(BTW, do not do the things I mentioned above except the part about losing your own weight.)

Drillium components were popular in the 1970s, but drilling out Al is a recipie for parts failure, and besides, small differences in weight make little difference to speed.
If you want to go faster, the easiest way is to adopt a more aerodynamic position. As you double your speed, you quadruple your aerodynamic drag, so most of the work of a fast rider is used in battling wind resistance.
The cheapest , easiest and most effective upgrade on any bike is to fit lighter tyres and inner tubes.
Have you considered removing your derailleur mechs, gear levers, cog clusters and multiple chainrings. Whats left is a singlespeed or fixed wheel bike.

shorter stem will give you quicker steering.

Hacking your handlebars will screw up the handling, thats all that does. I worked on a bike that had 16 inch bars(MTB) and when I took it out to test the work I'd done...the handling sucked, thats all I'll say.

Ok, Im really sorry you guys, I should have been more specific. Give me a break please, Im a newb. Um and I have a strange feeling that I should take offense at that weight reply telling me basically that Im fat. Hey Im trying to lose the lbs. I have a BMX bike. I think that there is a lot of confusion going on with what type of bike I have. And hacking your handlebars does help a lot. Maybe not with a mountain bike but BMX it makes a big diff. It does take alot of getting used to though. But thank you to everyone else that actually gave good info and didnt call me fat.

The shorter the handlebars are, the less torque you have. The less torque you have, the harder it is to turn the handlebars.

I dont want to start a fight here but when I hacked my bars, I had no problems turning the handlebars. I suppose it differs depending on the person but I found it easier, much easier, to turn the bars.

Oh and Im not interested in going fast, I want to have a lighter bike for tricks.

Originally posted by matt719
The shorter the handlebars are, the less torque you have. The less torque you have, the harder it is to turn the handlebars.

well i have to disagree with you here.... it is true that you have less torque, but most bikes have light enough steering "action" that torque should not be a big consideration. although you may need a little bit more leverage with shortened handlebars, turning SPEED should be significantly enhanced.

try grabbing your hands at the middle of the bar and turning... you'll see what i'm saying.