Tag1

My wife has this bike:

Trek 6500wsd



It's got pretty decent components stock, but it weighs in somewhere around 29 lbs, according to the probably inaccurate home scale. I'm wondering what is the first thing you guys would change for a substantial weight difference. Ideas?

C Law

wheels, seat, handlebar, pedals

pathdoc

Not to be coy but I once heard a guy talking about how much it cost to lighten your bike 1 lb. He then went on to say most people could lose 1 lb of body fat for no cost at all.

C Law

Maybe he likes his wifes cushion the way it is.

And I guess you have never been married.

"honey, I know your bike is a couple of pounds too heavy, but you could stand to drop a few yourself, if you know what I mean"


that wouldn't go over to well

Tag1

Thanks for the reply, I was hoping for a bit more specific suggestions...which wheels are light yet sturdy?

Tag1

Fortunately she doesn't have much to lose.

Also, there are a few 62305 page discussions on here about reducing bike weight vs. body weight. Interesting read if you're bored...

C Law

How much money do you have?

American Classic is a great weight/cost compromise


I would go with a carbon bar. (easton)

I would throw on some eggbeaters for pedals

I would look at a Selle itiala SLR sea

3-4#'s probably.

KrisA

I'd go for a SID fork. I'm not sure what the Axel weighs, but I'd guess the SID is likely almost a pound less. Some say it's a "noodle", but for my 145lbs I don't notice much flex. In terms of it's weight and performance I can live with what flex there is. If your wife is around 120 it would be the perfect fork for her.

Tires are likely heavy, perhaps with wire beads. A good kevlar beaded tire (Hutchinson Python perhaps) with some lightweight tubes might save around a pound.

The crankset is heavy. My bike came with a similar Shimano unit (FC-20) it was an anchor. Change it to something like a Raceface Evolve, or Shimano LX... or even a Deus or XT if you want to drop more cash.

Wheels are expensive for a light set, but you could save over a pound easily. I've been riding on light AM Classic MTB 350's this year. I had to true both the front and rear out of the box, then the rear after their maiden voyage, but since then they have held up well. For the price and weight I can't complain. The other option would be a custom built set with light hubs (DT 240s, AM Classic, Hope, etc), light spokes (Super comp, or even Aerolight or CX Rays if you want to get crazy) with light rims like Stans ZTR's.

Seat could be lighter, but this is a tough one with women, a comfortable seat for them is worth it's weight in platinum!

Lastly, the bar, stem and seatpost could be swapped out for a lighter set saving a couple of hundred grams.

Blazinall91

drill holes

ponchotempest

I bet there's a lot of weight in the bottom bracket and seat. The bottom brackets are usually epecially cheap because you can't see it.

Then think wheels and fork

free_pizza

you could always lose the disc brakes, and go with a light set of V's

telenick

The cheapest way to shed considerable weight on a mtb bike without killing the bank account is to look at tires and tubes first, then the saddle.

After that... wheelset and fork.

tokidokizenzen

If the trail is not too bumpy, I think think the suspension forks is where you could shed the most weight. Go rigid with this.
https://bikeparts.com/search_results.asp?ID=BPC105573
Anywhere else you try to shed weight will be very hard to notice IMO. Lose the suspension fork and you will immediately notice a huge difference.

nav

I'd change out the fork first. The Manitou Axel Elite weighs in somewhere around ~1900 grams. Changing to a nice but not lightweight fork would save you almost a pound and, more importantly (in my opinion, at least), it'd perform much better (Fox F100 or Rockshox Reba: ~1600 grams). Changing to a super-light fork such as a Rockshox Sid saves even more weight (~1400 grams).

Tires and tubes, the saddle, seat tube, handlebars and pedals and all that are inexpensive to upgrade, but I don't think you (or she) would notice a difference changing them out to the extent that upgrading the fork would have. But tires can be very heavy, so consider that next.

Crank and wheelset would be the next two I'd consider. American Classic is a lot of money unless you find a good used set. WTB makes some hubs based on American Classic's old design and you can find them laced up to something for not too much (e.g., here).

jonbth

I have a 6500 and bought Bontrager race lite tubless rims and tires to save a few pounds. I changed the crank and might get a carbon bar and stem in the future.

yater

I'd say a nice set of mavic wheels and a reba fork. The fork alone should save you 2 lbs. These are also the most important factors in ride quality. The difference between a crap fork and a reba is night and day. Same with the wheels/hubs.

free_pizza

2lbs?? doubtfull

Axel fork weighs 1905g, lightest reba fork is 1646.. (1905-1646)*2.2/1000 = just over half a pound..

ed 

Manitou Axel Elite is a hefty 4.3lbs.
Try a new Manitou R7 super - 3lbs
Manitou Black Super Air - 3.4lbs
Rockshox Reba - 3.5lbs

Rotating weight is a great place to save a few oz...try some Bontrager Race-Lite or XTR mavic x717 wheels...heck, if you can afford it, get some Mavic Crossmax wheels. Good strength to weight ratio.

You can get a really nice Easton Carbon EC70 or EC90 handlebar for not a whole lot of money if you shop around. EC90-135g, EC70-150g (those are both riser bar weights BTW)

The U.S.E. Alien aluminum seatpost is very light at 178g and the reviews seem to be great

You could save around 1/4 lb by putting on a Shimano XT 11-32 cassette

Crank Brothers Eggbeater pedals are very light. You may be able to save 1/2lb or more with these. (not sure what yours weigh)

You could save in the neighborhood of 1/8lb by getting an FSA XC-115 stem.

I saved 1/4 lb pound when I switched from my Bontrager Race Luxe saddle to a SanMarco Arami. ($35 eBay)

This should be a good start.

Tag1

Thank you guys for all the great replies!

Lots of good ideas here...A few people mentioned Eggbeaters - Can you guys recommend a light platform pedal? She hasn't moved to clipless yet, and I don't know if she will ever (it's looking like she's a bit more into the freeride/xc side of mtb, I'm teaching her how to wheelie and bunny-hop right now )

I'm also thinking a Reba might be in order too, especially if the Manitou craps out anytime soon (actually seems decent so far though!). I've got a Tora which is great, so I'm guessing the Reba is the bees knees...

Jason222

yep

WannaGetGood

There are a ton of ways that you can make you bike lighter.
1) Cut Seat Post
2) Speed Holes
3) Lighter Parts

Okay, maybe not a "ton" of ways.

wearyourtruth

remove the following... derailers, shifters, shifter cables, cassette, 2 chain rings
attach the following... freewheel, chain tensioner

yater

My stock manitou six comp was 5.5 lbs. My reba is what? 3.4? You think I forgot to research this or something?

free_pizza

sure you did your research, it would be good research if the guy had a Manitou Six on his bike, but he doesnt, he has an Axel Elite.

MichaelW

Work out the cost per gram saved for each component.
The quickest and easier upgrade are tyres.