patepluma

I'd like to decrease my bike's overall weight. I've got a Fuji Cross Comp - everything stock, and would like any advice on the least expensive, most efficient, weight-lowering upgrades I could make. Thanks.

Retro Grouch 

If there's a cheap, easy way I've never found it.

Lighter tires and wheels would be my first shot. You can probably save a few ounces with a different crankset. After that you're looking at the stem, seatpost and saddle for an ounce or so each. It all costs money.

KevinF

The Weight Weenies site has a listing page here detailing the weights of various components, etc. You can peruse that and get an idea how much weight you can save by getting different components, etc.

There is no "cheap" way to shed weight from a bike other then switching your tires. The Bikepedia page for your Fuji (https://www.bikepedia.com/QuickBike/B...Comp&Type=bike) indicates that it came with 32c tires... Swap those for 23c's (assuming your rims can handle it) and you'll drop some weight pretty cheaply. After that, it gets expensive.

DannoXYZ 

Yeah, check out Weight Weenies. You'll need to replace EVERY SINGLE PART on the bike, keeping only the frame, if you want weight-savings that'll be significant enough to yield benefits. For 1/4th the price of all those parts, you can buy a new bike that weighs the same or even less.

Ex Pres 

quit eating. instead of costing you money, quite the opposite. also increases your power to weight ratio. by far the most efficient way to upgrade, plus your SO will like it.

anti.team

Seriously, I believe the best way to cut overall weight is to cut your own weight. In my mind, it's not worth trying to shed weight from your bike unless you yourself are at your ideal weight. If you are, lucky you!

lymbzero

I was once told that 1 once of rotating weight is similar to 1 pound on the frame.

So with that said, and what others have said, upgrading your tires (lighter) is the simplest way to reduce the weighty feel of your bike when you are accelerating.

Otherwise the cross comp at 22 lbs isn't all that bad.

Carbon stem spacers?

EatMyA**

You have the best avatar ever.

Wordbiker

There's some signifigant weight savings to be had on most bikes with a drill and a hacksaw.

operator

Only if you're doing uphill time trials.

zonatandem

Don't upgrade, too pricey.
Save your $$ and buy a lighter bike.

tellyho

+1. Cheaper to buy a new bike with lighter components.

DannoXYZ 

Which brings around the original question of, "Why do you want to shed bike weight in the 1st place???"

nymtber

BMI is a bit crazy if you ask me. in order to be in their "normal" range, id have to be about 145, and im 5'8 with fairly broad shoulders. the only take into account two things: height and weight NOTHING else. Not a very good system, I believe fat % is a much better way to judge where you *should* be.

my high-school health teacher was probably 5'6" and i bet he weighed 200+, but was probably 4% body fat. He was a weight lifter (did shows and won a bit), but by BMI he would be obese! Pretty sure he was the first one to tell us BMI was a bunch of crap and only weight and body fat % should be used to judge if your body is the right size...

that said, I agree its easier to loose weight (if you can do so in a healthy manner) than to shed bike pounds. BUT, when i switched my heavy specialized 700x23c tires for a pair of michelin Krylion Carbon 700x23c tires, dropping about 2-300 grams in the process, i noticed a real life 0.5mph average speed gain. Also noticed a much smoother ride...haha Rotational (wheel) weight is the best place to reduce weight, anywhere else doesnt accomplish quite as much.

DannoXYZ 

Why thank you! I was cutest at 9-years old. It was all downhill from there.

FLYcrash

That's a gross exaggeration. The factor is not 1:16. If all the weight in the wheel were concentrated in a hoop at the edge, 1 ounce of rotating weight would be worth 2 ounces on the frame from an acceleration point of view. In reality, the ratio is between 1:1 and 1:2 (because the weight is not all at the edges). Also, not everything even in the weight-weenie wanna-be-like-Lance world is acceleration off the line. In climbing, most of the work you do is to get the bike uphill with you, the work for which depends only on total mass.

The 1:2 ratio is not a fudged estimate but is rigorously derived from a consideration of linear and angular momentum. Try it if you're bored.

I'll get off my soapbox shortly, but I'd reiterate others' suggestions that personal weight loss is the way to go if you want to cut the total mass of your situation.

rumrunn6

wheel weight? what about old-school reflectors - those big gooky ones mounted on the spokes - should we remove those?

LagunaPaul

Lance Armstrong says in his book the best way to to climb better is to lose weight. Dosen't matter if you lose weight or the bike loses weight, its all the same. Save your money.

BCRider

If you're racing or riding cyclocross then you won't be able to shed much tire weight since you're limited by the need for fatter tires. If you're only road riding then you can do the tire swap for perhaps as much as 1/2 a lb total loss.

I'm assuming that since you got a cross bike instead of a road bike that you're doing 'cross riding. If you're road riding then you should have just gotten a road bike. The frames are generally lighter by a bit and most of the rest of the components are lighter as well.

Oldpeddaller

Re: BMI -
I checked out the chart on the wall at my doctor's - it really is seriously flawed.

According to the chart I should be nine feet eleven inches tall !!!!!!

jsmithepa

Attach some huge helium balloons.

vfrjim

recently I loss 6 lbs (myself, not the bike) and it made a noticeable difference, a lot cheaper then changing bike parts.

jsmithepa

I notice he never said he wanted to go faster, just wants a light bike, perhaps lugging it upstairs is getting to be a real chore.

ericy

Yeah, but removing a testicle is going too far in my book. I think I would just spring for the lighter bike. Weight weenie indeed.

DannoXYZ 

Actually, body weight will count for more than bike-weight. That's because that pound of fat on your behind will require blood and oxygen to keep it alive, thus depriving some from your muscles. So losing 10-lbs from your ass will make you faster than losing 10-lbs from the bike. And in my case, I've lost 40-lbs, so my bike will have to be negative mass to equal that.