I recently sold my beauty of a Bianchi Porteur style bike, bills have to be paid. But I still have my early 90's KHS road bike. The bike is quick and agile enough, but is comprised of mediocre Leechi and shimano. All in all its decent enough, but weighs more then I would really like.

So... what things, other then the frame, could provide the best weight loss. I will start with the heaviest and move down.

Thank you in advance for your help.

Wheels are the biggest place to shave weight.

Edit ^^^Beat me to it!^^^

Wheelset...Aim for somewhere under 1400-1500 grams.

+1 on the wheels...

also do not forget the tires and the freewheel/cassette. There are some steel freewheels out there that weigh a whole bunch. In general, the bigger the piece, the more weight impact it has... (in other words, shifters and derailleurs are not the places to look for weight savings). Use the smallest seat post possible, a lightweight saddle, a lightweight crank, lightweight handlebars, lightweight pedals etc...

After the wheels its the Motor.

My bike would weigh 20 pounds less if I lost 20 pounds.

+∞
-Gene-

Anywhere you can reduce rotational mass would be a good place to start.

Figured that would be the likely first place to start. The next step I think might be the cranks, as they are a huge chunk of solid metal, aluminum, but still metal. Thank you all for the input. Zaphod, LOL... that would likely be the cheapest way to cut weight, however, I am in the midst of trying to gain it.

In that case YOU are the biggest thing that can save weight - and it's free! Here's what you do: eat less, move more.

lol ummm, i dont think that you still win. I mean, you collided with a ****ing van!

as for changing your parts out, you're looking at a good chunk of dough! I say find a solid pair of beater rims and just accept the bike's weight and ride it to hell and back!! I dont think it would be that cost effecting trying to get the bike less than 18 lb. I say swap to 8 speed shimano 105 sti or better and just accept its 21-22lb weight.

Emphasis on riding it to hell and back

my 2 cents anyway..

How light you want to go, depended on how much you have. What model of KHS do you have?

I just asked two bike mechanics the same question. I got the same answer as the first three posts. Wheels. I made the big move and I'm glad I did. Don't just focus on weight. Consider the hubs as well not just for weight, but rolling resistance. That can be as important as the weight.
As for me, if I can borrow liberally from Amani's post, my 20lb Giant went to -12lbs when the rider lost 32lbs last season. Amazingly my speed increased too. I'm sure there is some sort of rule there, something like for every 2 inches of waist lost you'll increase 0.5 MPH average speed over 50 miles.

...plus the aerodynamic advantage gained

What I did with my Appel is buy some custom made wheels that were about 1500g, bought (used) a 105 crankset (39/53), DA index DT shifters, an Ultegra 10-speed cassette, Thompson stem and Selle Italia seat (mid-range). In all, maybe I invested $400 in a steel frame from 1987, and it came out to 19 lbs. It rides like a dream, and can easily stay up with the group rides.

doggy: Yeah, it is not really an investment piece for me, more just wanting something more efficient to ride. I sold my Bianchi and kept the KHS, mostly due to the efficiency of the bike overall. I guess, in general I would just like to make my KHS a bit nicer and bit lighter, as it is a tank (Aprox. 25lbs).

abarth: The KHS is a Aero Sport, double butted, tig welded True Temper. The brakes and levers are Lee Chi, and are not very comfortable on the hands, as the hoods are short and narrow. Component group is Exage, I believe. Really it rides fine, just want it to be nicer and a bit lighter. It's not being raced.

Even pro's agree. Mark Allen (triathlete) remarked that it's a lot easier to lose 2 lbs than spend $2000 trying to make the bike lighter.

Personally I think it would be a lot easier to loose 2 lbs off of a 25 lb bike than loose 2 lbs off of yourself! Now if you already have a 17 lb bike or something it would be the other way around.
I lost about 25 lbs last year when I started riding again, and even though I know I am faster now it was gradual, I notice a much bigger and immediate difference when I put on a light wheelset though.
I would go over the bike with a magnet, anything it sticks to replace it, get rid of any steel parts on the bike (if there are any) and replace them .
The seatpost, stem and crankset are good inexpensive places to start, maybe even the seat if it is original.

Rusty

I would go over the bike with a magnet, anything it sticks to replace it, get rid of any steel parts on the bike (if there are any) and replace them .

Rusty[/QUOTE]

Whaaaaat? I have a steel bike.

LOL... As do I...

I will start with the wheels, then likely the cranks as they look like cheap cast cranks, and I imagine that they are weighty.

^^ So wise. My motor is trying to lose 40lbs....
Wheels are also a great place to shed pounds

Developing an appreciation for sprung and unsprung mass is also effective.

Other than wheels and crankset suggested above, here is a few general suggestions to lost a few oz. Change your steel fork to a carbon fork with either carbon steer tube or aluminum steer tube. Change the threaded stem and headset setup to a threadless setup. Get light weight saddle, light weight seat post and light pedals. By changing those items out I was able to get my 22lbs Specialized Epic Carbon down to just under 20lbs. It took me a while and a couple hundred bucks to lost that 2 lbs. A few more hundred bucks for a light weight wheelset and Dura Ace cassette, I think it will lost another pound. Can i feel the different with 2 less pounds....you bet.

Give up booze and start counting calories. Limit yourself to 2500 calories per day and work out 4~5 times per week burning 1000 calories each work out. That will cut ~2.5lbs per week on your bike/rider weight. In 10 weeks your bike will be 0lbs equivilent! Also your Cg will drop making your bike/rider unit handle better....

Sure, I actually should lost 20lbs according to my doctor but what fun is that.

I've lost 40 lbs in the last two years.

My bike needed a diet, too

Look at;

Wheels
tires
crankset
seat
fork