jrhoneOC

Just looking at specs and geometry on a few bikes compared to mine and I noticed that from a geometry perspective some much more expensive bikes have the EXACT same geometry. Yes there are more expensive components but those can be upgraded, and then I look at weight and while my bike is right around 30 pounds stock, some bikes triple the price are 28 pounds stock. I thought well, new wheels, shock and some carbon bits and I could drop 2 pounds...maybe more...then I thought...would I REALLY notice it? I bet lighter wheels will be noticeable because its rotating mass. Anything else...I'm curious about.

CodyDog

You can spread a lot of money to loose just 2 pounds. Not to downplay weight, but I don't think there is going to be much of a difference from 30 to 28 pounds on your bike unless you are a serious racer. I always heard if your going to want to shred a few pounds, do it with your wheels or your body. My MTB weighs 32 and my gravel bike weighs 21 pounds. Funny story.... my friend has two road bikes that are a lot lighter than my gravel bike (Trek Checkpoint) but he wants to ride my gravel bike over his much lighter road bikes.

jrhoneOC

Thanks...I am working on the body....down 32 pounds and going. Goal is 50-60. THAT I can feel already.

Ronsonic 

The only time I ever really noticed two pounds is when I replaced a six pound crappy spring fork with a decent mid-grade four pound air fork.

Mostly because it was two pounds hanging unbalanced off the front of the bike.

Also because the replacement was just plain a much better fork and even though it made the bike balance much better, the improved traction was a bigger deal.

Weight adds up in a lot of places and there are only a few easy inexpensive ways to drop it.

Good job on the personal weight loss.

Kapusta

It depends where the weight is.

Two lbs on the wheels (tire and rims) is noticeable, but not a big deal otherwise, IMO. You notice it more picking it up than riding it.

Try this: ride your bike with and without 32oz of water in water bottles.

I would not buy a 30 lb bike with the plan to replace stuff to get a 28 lb bike. You may end up spending more than if you just bought the more expensive bike, and there may be other reasons the other bike is more expensive. So you could well spend more money and have a worse bike.

If you have specific bike in mind, post them with their specs.

pickettt

Sound advice.

jrhoneOC

Thanks. Im not looking to dump money into this bike. Its a brand new bike and im learning and getting into shape on it. Currently it far exceeds my abilities so I am very happy with it. I was just wondering aside from components what makes a more expensive bike THAT much more expensive. I kept seeing “lightweight” in the literature but when I looked up bike weight they arent significantly lighter. So I was wondering is a few pounds significant? To me its not but again Im a newb.

Darth Lefty 

"The Ripmo AF frame weighs in at 8.25lbs for a medium with a DVO Topaz shock. Compare that to the carbon Ripmo, which weighs 6.1lbs with a Fox Float DPX2."

The difference between the lowest and highest Eagle groupsets is well north of a pound. Most of this is in the crank and cassette.

DT Swiss calls its expensive carbon wheels "1500" and its standard alloy wheels "1900" and that's because there's about a pound of difference between the sets.

There's weight to be saved in the seat post and handlebars and etc.

Maybe a pound in the fork? haven't looked.

You can save about a pound out of each tire going from trail tires to XC racing tires, but you probably shouldn't unless you are XC racing.

If you still have tubes there's more than a pound of savings going to tubeless, even more with plus or fat tires.

Kapusta

There is a LOT more than weight that makes one bike cost more than another. But without knowing what you are looking at it is hard to say what that it.

Two forks can weigh the same, but one be worth 4 times what the other is because it performs better. Same with full suspension frames.

jrhoneOC

yes i know this. That wasnt the question. I know a more expensive fork will be lighter AND perform better because its a better fork. If I am speaking of Frame alone. And one frame is 8 pounds and one is 6 pounds, is that a big difference or not. Thats kinda where im going.

Darth Lefty 

Trek Procaliber 9.9 is 20# with tubes, for what it's worth

Kapusta

I am confused. You were asking about “bikes” - which is generally understood to mean complete bikes - and now you are just interested in comparing frames?

Yes, in the world of frames, 2 pounds is a pretty big difference. But in the context of complete bike weight, it’s really not.

But again, it is more than just weight that makes one frame more expensive than another.

And BTW, whether you are talking about frames or forks, more expensive and “better” does not always mean lighter.

jrhoneOC

Lets make it simple. On a 30 pound bike us 2 pounds weight loss significant. How about 3? 5? What’s significant that someone other than a racer would feel?

If i went from a 30 pound bike to a 28 pound bike with all things being similar would I feel the difference?

Kapusta

Got it.

I would refer you to my first answer, then.

Steve B.

Agree with others that no point spending big bucks to lose 2 lbs. Easier to take a **** before the ride is the often heard advice. But I like the idea of 2 water bottles and see if you feel the difference. I think you need to be in the 4-6 lbs range before you’d feel the difference.

Ronsonic 

There really isn't that much difference in frame weight, not between frames and relative to the overall weight. My previous "modern" mountain bike was an entry level aluminum Schwinn, a Rocket 2, the frame alone weighed 5.5 pounds. That's on a bike I paid $330 for. Out of the box the bike weighed about 30 pounds. That's almost 25 lbs of stuff that isn't frame.

My current bike, decent aluminum FS XCM frame weighs 6.5 with shock. That builds up to a 24 pound bike. A pound or two either way on the frame isn't a big deal. Even if it were three pounds, it's central to the bike and not changing the balance or center of gravity.

LesterOfPuppets

Everything adds up. For a full suspension, fork + shock make a huge difference. Take a look at jensonusa, and they have single crown forks from $125 - $1100. And shocks from $225-1100.

Next big one is probably wheels. $200 wheelset or $2000 wheelset?

CliffordK

I'm not a mountain bike rider, but I would assume the same issues apply to MTBs as Road bikes, perhaps even more so.

So, you might not feel the difference between a 30lb MTB and a 28lb MTB.

But, you will feel the difference between a 30lb MTB and a 19lb MTB.

However, you likely will find a number of subtle differences between the top of the line and the bottom of the line, or even midrange bikes.

Better tires, better hubs, better brakes, better groupset, suspension, shocks, etc.

Unfortunately, once you get down around 20 lbs, they will get really expensive.

CodyDog

Doubtful being that the sum of the whole (all parts together) would diminish and noticeable difference. So I'm guessing I would start noticing a big difference at about 5 lbs or more.

Kapusta

If you are looking for a hard number for what amount of weight makes a difference.... there isn’t one. And if there was such a number, it would likely vary by person.

LesterOfPuppets

Another consideration is that the lighter MTB won't always be faster.

I have a 24 lb hardtail that's faster on smoother trails but my 29lb full suspension is faster in the rough stuff, even on long climbs that are rocky the heavier bike yields my fastest times.

I'd love to have a 24 lb full suspension, but I'm not likely to spend the dough on one anytime soon.

mdcoram

Best advice I've heard in a long long time.

OldsCOOL

Excellent advice throughout. I would add a suggestion to the OP. I am 62 and an avid roadie and weight weenie as my buddy calls me. I love the open road but I like mtb and trailriding for the adrenaline rush on singletracks. So I bough a ‘97 Trek 7000 total rigid which cuts weight to a decent 25lbs. My ‘87 Trek 830 Antelope weighs 27. The 7000 is aluminum. As long as I keep MY weight proper and stay in shape, this bike gets my attention.

qclabrat

I've gotten a FS Pivot to sub 24 pounds and it wasn't cheap. In the end, I really didn't need such an extreme build for my uses and recently sold the frame.
A stock Pivot 429SL is about 28 pounds with XT and aluminum wheels. At the end of the day, I calculated about 4K more in parts to lose about 4 pounds, was it worth it? For me not really, but for someone who is more than a casual racer, maybe.
Since moved the parts to an aluminum frame and it sits at around 28 pounds with some of the light weight parts. No need to be a weight weenie when I won't give up the Hope brakes.

pickettt

How much money have you got?