My 11 year just got a new Specialized Allez jr and we are interested in upgrading some of the components to lighten up the bike a bit. Are there any very light "race wheels" that would work on this bike?Also, any suggestions about other components that we could upgrade to lighten the bike in order of importance?

Wheel wise if you look around you will likely find some carbon aero wheels for time trial bikes in the 650c size but these aren't necessarily lighter than what you have already.
Weight wise I can't see anything specific or cost effective to address.
My two bobs worth is that he/she just needs to start riding and training and as they develop and get used to the bike then issues may present themselves to be addressed. I can't see any point in upgrading first. My two bobs worth is that factors relating to fit are more important to address first than weight.

Thanks for your reply. Although he is only 11 he has been racing since he was 9 and is always looking for an-edge both in training and equipment so the question is always how light can the bike get for him. He is the State Champion MTB racer and is looking to add road race Champ to his resume. I know “it’s not about the bike” but he does his part in training so small tech advantages always help.

Wow, I guess that changes things a bit. Congrats on your son, you must be really proud of him.

He’s a kid but a very serious competitor. Just trying to support him in an endeavor that is very rewarding. And yep very proud of him.

OK 650 cc is a volume (ala Motorbike engine displacement)

.. for clarity industry standard ETRTO numbers for bead seat diameter is better..
(middle of the brake track)


571 mm imprinted on the tires ? that's French 650C ,
A is 590, often on 3 speed bikes
B is 584... now Aks 27.5 " in MTB lingo now ..

regular 26" is 559... 2nd number tire width like 559-47 (26" x 1.75")...



....

650C used to be more common in triathlon bikes, and many or most of the high-end stuff available in 700C was also available in 650C. I don't know if this is still true, but established shops might have NOS 650C stuff laying around.

Thanks, I came here to engage in the same pedantry but didn't have to , thanks to your post!!!

You'll occasionally see some lightly used 650 carbon wheels on eBay. You might also try the triathlon-inclined forums like Slowtwitch.

If you want to build your own, you can probably get pretty light. If his bike is 130mm in the rear, you can get some featherweight Bitex hubs. They have held up great for me (stronger and heavier than an 11 year old, for now).

You can still find relatively light rims from the ladies. Certainly not the ultra light carbon stuff but i bet 380-400g per rim is available. Get double butted 1.8/1.6/1.8 spokes. I did that on my gravel bike, and haven’t even managed to knock them out of true yet.

That’ll net you a pair of wheels possibly a couple pounds lighter than anything that comes on a kids bike. It’ll cost $500 if you build them yourself.

There’s nothing else that can drop so much weight for the money. If you’re interested though, crank and bottom bracket. Cassette. Seat/seat post.

If it was me and my kid, I’d probably just get a really nice used 650 bike, depending on what he’s already got.

Definitely look to the TRI forums. 650c was pretty common from the early 90's-Y2K for the aero benefit; ZIPP, HED and Mavic all built 650c versions of their aero race wheels.
I'm in to SoftRide bikes, and most of the later 'wing' bikes were set up for TRI, and probably half of the ones i see are 650's

Velocity still rolls 650c rims, and will build pretty much anything to order, though they tend towards strong rather than light off-the-rack.
PURE also does a 650c tubular wheelset, if you want to go that way.

thanks to all for the ideas and opinions.

I just looked on ebay and you have options.

Best I saw was a set of Mavic Open Pro's, NOS. If they're 415g in 700c, imagine a fair bit less in 650c. Use the hubs and spokes I mentioned earlier. I am hoping it's got rim brakes, discs throws my weight estimates off a bit.

Given the smaller size, that'd put him at probably 1350-1400g for the set. So not scary light but very light and probably just about a bombproof as a set of road wheels can be, he is 11 after all.

Back in my tri-days, I had a Felt B2 (back when it was a boutique brand from Answer) with Hed 3 wheels on it. I don't think he should or is even allowed to rock carbon tri spoke wheels but stuff like that is probably still around somewhere.

Back then, Y2K-ish, skinny tires were all the rage. I know I had 23's on my road bike but I sort of remember my 650 stuff was even narrower, like 20mm. Talk about a pain in the butt to mount. With all the science and attitudes trending toward a slightly wider road tire now, is his new Allez built to handle wider tires? I'm certain my Felt could not have ran 25's. Terry makes 28's, probably the widest 650c on the market. FWIW, 650b is different and you can't fit a B tire on a C rim or vice versa.