Mountain Biking - what is the next best thing to buy for lightening your bike besides frame and rims?

I am looking for things to upgrade to lighten my bike besides frame and rims?

Tires. Fork.

Light tires, as kenhill suggests, are perhaps the biggest bang for your buck. Cranks, fork, and seatpost after that.

Carbon fork (a good one will run around 1.6-1.8 lbs, I wouldn't go lighter than that.) or tack on another .25 or so pounds for a decent steel fork.

Go tubeless using a conversion kit ala Stan's and a set of good quality medium lightweight tires. Avoid the weight of UST specific tires and tubes.

There isn't much weight to be saved in the seatpost, but a lightweight seatpost/saddle combination can save 0.5 pound.

Pedals. There can be as much as 0.5 pound difference between the clip/platform type and a dedicated clipless pedal. This makes a difference, as you are expending energy to rotate them all the time. Expect to spend $$$ to save weight here, though.

V-brakes are lighter than discs. They don't stop quite as well. IME this is not a worthwhile compromise.

Everything else pretty much gets eaten by the 'weight vs. durability vs. price' monster.

Not worth the worry or the $$$ if you ask me. Get it at/under 24 lbs and go ride fast.

I am looking for things to upgrade to lighten my bike besides frame and rims?The engine.

V-brakes are lighter than discs. They don't stop quite as well. IME this is not a worthwhile compromise.




I, and many will beg to differ. A good set of Vs, like XTR, Paul motolite, Avid single digit 7's, are all very very good brakes when set up correctly using quality levers, cables and housing.

In fact, from personal experiance, the single digit 7's and pauls out stop any mech disk brake I've used, and wieght a crap ton less. A good set (not cheapo) of hydro brakes stop amazingly good, but a good set of proberly set up V's will stop just as well, if not better. Non-disk wheels tend to be lighter too. Not always, but generally are.

Most people with poor V experience where using either crappy brakes, crappy levers, or had them set up poorly. One of the most common V-brake complains at the shop is due to improper adjustment, or incorrect housing/cable installation. (please, please, PLEASE use ferrules and the correct cables... Seen too many housing with no ferrules, then the customer complains on sloppy braking. This goes for shift cables too.)



+1 on the engine. Loose 5 lbs, you'll notice a huge difference, even if you don't think you need to. And the best way to do that? Go ride more. And your penis will look bigger too....:p

I, and many will beg to differ. A good set of Vs, like XTR, Paul motolite, Avid single digit 7's, etc., etc., etc.Oh boy. Get ready for it . . . .

http://www.vpsingles.com/pics/hiding.gif

Joetronic, I have to say: I have run some damn fine V-brakes, and while just about any brake you mentioned will stop a bike just as well as a good disc, they certainly offer a different feel and IMO less control. My BB7s with Cane Creek DC levers and SJ cables are just somehow better than my old SD7s with kool-stops on the same lever/cable setup.

In the end, I think the difference between a disc setup and a V-brake setup is slightly less than half a pound. Certainly within the margin of error for preference on something as crucial as brakes.

---

-1 on 'the engine' which seems to be a canned reply to everything weight related on the forums. How do you know how much this rider weighs? On my way out the door I weigh 165 lbs at 6'2. Certainly I don't need to LOSE any weight.

I know, I know, but it needed to be said. I could have said just go SS, or fixed, but thought I'd be kinda a good boy.

Bring it on!! lol

Not worth the worry or the $$$ if you ask me. Get it at/under 24 lbs and go ride fast.

+1 , altho one's particular weight threshold is gonna be affected by what they can afford $$$-wise.

How much do you suppose going from 30/27lbs down to 24lbs is going to cost?

I try to get things as light/functional/durable as possible as long as the money and indulgence will allow, then it's just go out and ride the thing and have fun.

Drillium

Hey-

The plain and simple fact is disc performance- that you can ride faster and with more control using disc brakes.

At least when there is some kind of 'mountain' in your mountain biking.

-1 on 'the engine' which seems to be a canned reply to everything weight related on the forums. How do you know how much this rider weighs? On my way out the door I weigh 165 lbs at 6'2. Certainly I don't need to LOSE any weight.

No body needs to loose weight, and I don't know how much the OP is, but, if anyone looses 5 or so lbs, you will feel a difference. If not only the less weight, but healthier, and the mental aspect of is it even a better advantage.

Now, yeah, v-s only loose about 1/2 a lb, but those 1/2 pounds add up. And again, the mental aspect of knowing you lost 1/2 lb in bike weight makes you feel good. Kinda like carbon bars. Not much weight loss over alloy or alum bars, but your brain tells you different.

okay, my v-brake propaganda rant is over....

But in all seriously, why worry so much about weight. Hell, my new build is at 24lbs. I could have went lower, but who really cares. As long as you can ride it, thats all that matters. IMO, I would work on your riding technique and endurance. Then when you have the money (since you are asking besides frame and wheelset I take it your on a budget) you can upgrade to a lighter bike. Then at that point you'll be used to jugging around the few extra lbs, and hopping on a lighter bike, you'll f'n fly. just ride as much as you can, and enjoy it.

No body needs to loose weight, and I don't know how much the OP is, but, if anyone looses 5 or so lbs, you will feel a difference.

I've seen many riders who look like losing 5 pounds might actually be really unhealthy. I'll inlcude myself in that group at certain points during the season.


Hell, my new build is at 24lbs. I could have went lower, but who really cares. As long as you can ride it, thats all that matters. IMO, I would work on your riding technique and endurance.

Agree completely. If I had built up my bike sub 22lbs, I would worry about breaking things all the time instead of riding hard. And I'm a big believer in technical ability overcoming obstacles... when I see guys cleaning crazy technical climbs up here, it's not the bike, its the rider.

-1 on 'the engine' which seems to be a canned reply to everything weight related on the forums. How do you know how much this rider weighs? . . .There is more truth to this almost always than just flippancy. It covers whether a person could lose a few pounds or not. (BTW, I'm 6'-1" and 175 some I'm not that far off from you myself). Working on the 'engine' is the best, cheapest thing a person can do. Even if you don't need to lose weight, gaining strength or endurance in essence 'lightens' the bike without spending a dime. People fuss with grams here and there in a sea of pounds and foot-pounds.

^^^ding ding ding, we have a winner.

Really though, your right on brother.

As long as we're beating dead horses, i'd like to toss in my "own" cliche: Light, strong, or cheap: pick any 2.

This is an old chestnut that sort of applies here, although once things get too light, no matter how costly, durability will suffer. Similarly, i have seen things that were cheep and heavy and weak, so that's not always true, either. But, as someone said above in a more roundabout way, going rigid will save weight. Going single might, too, but depending on your frame, it'd be totally not worthwhile to make the conversion.

-rob

Ride this:thumb:.

Ride this:thumb:.

Duh, I forgot about the hoverbike.

you could also shave your legs. Loose at lease a gram or two... lol

But in all seriousness, you should at least trim your armpits, if not shave em completely. I use a #2 on the clippers. Much cooler and less sweaty on long hot ride.

Okay, I know I'm gonna get it for that....


Or ride naked. Even better.....

... one's particular weight threshold is gonna be affected by what they can afford $$$-wise.

How much do you suppose going from 30/27lbs down to 24lbs is going to cost?

I try to get things as light/functional/durable as possible as long as the money and indulgence will allow, then it's just go out and ride the thing and have fun.

That's sound advice ken. "Law of Diminishing Returns" is applicable here. It might take a few hundred to get a 37lb bike down to 27lbs, but it's likely to take a thousand+ to get a 27lbs bike down to 24lb bike. That last 3 or 4 pounds is gold mine territory and may not be worth the frame it's going to be invested on if the bike started from the 37lb price point.

Going back to the original OP question, after tires and wheels my next port of call would be hollow-axle cranks and lighter pedals if the bike doesn't already have it... uhmmm after that stem, handlebar then saddle then I'd probably quit lightening after that. Just my 2c

.

This thread is kinda dumb w/o knowing the OP's current build.

Recommending blindly is wise.

^^ But it's entertaining. E-speculation is the waste-oil that powers the interweb forums ;).

+1 engine

The following kind of assumes you are looking at gaining speed for racing or something, but here it is:

In considering lowering weights on road bikes, I believe they tend to say that loosing 1 pound off the weight is akin to 6 seconds on a 7% climb [1]. And as the article points out, it only gets to be less of an issue over flats. So figure out if making those 6 seconds up as part of losing weight/gaining strength/efficiency is worth the cost of the part to lose 1 lbs. As far as racing, go watch the expert/cat 1 racers and you'll see that the people vying for the podium may have vastly different bike weights/styles, but still are competitive: the engine matters a bit more than the bike. *

That isn't to say I don't like trying to figure out what things I can buy to lower my own bike's weight or that the rule above really applies directly to mountain biking. I have a list of stuff I'd like to switch or bikes I want to buy b/c of weight. Obviously riding a bike that's <= 24lbs is going to feel worlds different from 30lbs. Now if you're into marathon/endurance riding, it may make sense because you've effectively gone past the point of handling the weight for an hour or two hour mark to somewhere between 3 to 30 hours (where that weight can really add up).

[1]: http://www.smartcycles.com/bike_weight.htm

* Watch the WC XCO stuff and the bikes and rider weights are probably all pretty similar

One could own a 6.5lb Domain and sell it for $300, and buy a $400 Float...saving well over 2.5lbs for a mere $100.

On the other hand...the OP could already be riding a 3.8lb fork, so recommending him to buy a new fork is totally right on...huh???

(KenHill excluded. He's still my hero.)

Poop before your ride.

^ :lol:

or organise your non-riding friends to stand along the trail to give you water... and leave water bottle/hydration pack behind... :D

<mad joke... strokes goatee>

.

I, and many will beg to differ. A good set of Vs, like XTR, Paul motolite, Avid single digit 7's, are all very very good brakes when set up correctly using quality levers, cables and housing.

In fact, from personal experiance, the single digit 7's and pauls out stop any mech disk brake I've used, and wieght a crap ton less. A good set (not cheapo) of hydro brakes stop amazingly good, but a good set of proberly set up V's will stop just as well, if not better. Non-disk wheels tend to be lighter too. Not always, but generally are.

Most people with poor V experience where using either crappy brakes, crappy levers, or had them set up poorly. One of the most common V-brake complains at the shop is due to improper adjustment, or incorrect housing/cable installation. (please, please, PLEASE use ferrules and the correct cables... Seen too many housing with no ferrules, then the customer complains on sloppy braking. This goes for shift cables too.)

I agree^. The way the industry is attempting to force disc brakes on everyone is pure feces.
Discs are better in a couple of instances, but not like the way the industry is pushing it.
They have people thinking they need those cool looking frisbees on their wheels and the bigger the better..lol.

^^ Thank you.

Pure feces. A force feed diet of fecal matter.

Lighter weight bike doesn't make you a better rider or get you up the hill MEASURABLY faster.

If your body fat is greater than 10%, you need to start there. Losing weight lowers your center of gravity on the bike and when you lose weight, you're usually exercising more. Fitter and lower body weigh = better rider.

As far as the disc thing goes, at present, all my bikes have rim brakes, which makes sense, as i only have 2 mtbs, and one is a SS with track ends. But, i have to admit that, after riding allamuchy, i did yearn for disc brakes on some of the sustained downhills.

The worst thing going on in the cycling market, as far as brakes go, is the discs turning up on things like touring bikes, cross bikes, and *commuters*. I get the whole all-weather advantage of the discs, but a bike designed for commuting with discs? That's just plain weird.

Anyway, i hope we, as luddite cyclists, can save the quality, off-road v-brake. If we can't, we're doomed to spend the rest of our life bleeding our bikes, which is almost as horrifying as the prospect of true turd-brakes, like tektro Io.

-rob

Drill holes in everything you can . I't's free too :D

I use cable-pull mechanical disc brakes in one of my bikes... no bleeding hassle, and no rim wear when riding in muddy conditions.

.

Disc brakes on commuting and touring bikes make a lot of sense as these bikes are designed to be ridden day in and day out through all kinds of weather and in some places you can wear out your rims in a season due to the wet weather and grit. On a loaded touring bike having discs means that epic descents come with very controlled and fade free braking and a good set of touring wheels is not cheap.

On that note...I have been pondering swapping out the disc wheels on my RM for my old non disc wheels which are many degrees lighter and still way strong and installing my XT V brakes as I will be riding XC and won't be hitting the singletrack in the foreseeable future.

And even if I did hit some singletrack, I rode that for years on V brakes and they always stopped my skinny ass on a dime in all kinds of conditions.

And an already light bike will just get a little lighter where it counts... I could always rock a 1 by 8 too and lose a few chainrings, a front d, and a shifter and not miss them all that much... if at all.