jharpphoto

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 650cc "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 i.e. bars, seat post, pedals etc?

maartendc

You are going to drop major cash on making a bike for an 11 year old lighter? A bike that he / she will outgrow in a couple of years anyway?

Not worth it. Tell him / her to just ride their new bike and enjoy it. Does your 11 year old really care about such things? I guess you could invest in nice finishing kit now, and transfer it over to a bigger frame when he / she outgrows this one.?

If you really want to go through with it, the order of importance / dollars per gram saved are the same as on any bike: Wheels, tires, saddle, handlebars: these will give you the most significant weight savings, saddle, tires, and handlebars at reasonable cost, wheels at big expense.

jharpphoto

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.

mstateglfr 

Sure- spend an absurd amount on some lighter 650 wheels. Thats probably where the most weight will be saved.

Then tires are next. My 12yo got a used Trek 650c road bike last year with 105/Tiagra mix and we changed the tires on her bike pretty quickly as she wanted something wider where we wouldnt have to worry about exact pressure every time she jumped on. Quality 650 tires are pretty limited. Below are 3 quality options. The Conti and Vittoria are obvious quality tires. We got some Panaracer 28mm tires since they were lighter than the tires on the bike and wouldnt need to be checked so often. The Panaracer comes in folding or wire bead. Wire is listed at 250, so the folding would be lighter than that.
Vittoria 23mm - https://www.modernbike.com/vittoria-...ire-full-black
Conti 23mm - https://www.modernbike.com/continent...k-chili-rubber\
Panaracer 28mm - https://www.rodbikes.com/articles/pa...pasela-pt.html https://www.rodbikes.com/store/?prod...a-650cx28-tire

The rest- well the world is your oyster. Its Claris shifting with a no-name sq taper crank so weight could for sure be cut there. How much does the aluminum fork weigh?...would an aftermarket carbon fork with the same rake weigh less? What does the saddle weigh and would your kid fit comfortably on a lighter saddle? Im sure you could find a seat post and stem that are both lighter than what you have, but what different at what cost?


You would need to weigh your current components to know what the savings will be. It seems to me that you should know what you are saving(in grams) to know if what you are losing(in money) is worth it. Wheelsets costs are all over the place- slap a $1000 650c wheelset on your kid's entry road bike if you want.

maartendc

Hmm, well in that case I guess it makes "some kind" of sense.

But realistically, you are going to go from maybe a 9 kg(?) bike to a 8.3 kg bike by spending $1000+. The weight savings are not worth it, unless your State championships involve climbing Alpe D'Huez....

- The weight difference between an entry level wheelset and a mid-range wheelset is maybe 400g: cost $500+; versus ultra-light wheelset, maybe 600g, cost $1000+
- The weight difference between a light and heavy handlebar is max 100g: when buying new: $200-$300
- The weight between a slow wire bead tires and fast folding tires can be 100g+ for both tires cost $100
- The weight difference between a light and heavy saddle is 100g: Cost $250

All this adds up to about 700g of weight savings for WELL over $1000. Not worth it at all in my opinion.

Then there are items like Crankset, cassette, chain, brake calipers, brake levers, derailleurs, which all yield much less weight savings still at exponential cost.

This all comes down again to this: even if you are racing, all these marginal weight gains don't really make a big difference. Unless you are comparing a 9.5kg bike to a sub 7kg bike (which these marginal upgrades won't achieve, would need an entirely new frame for that), and unless you are talking about climbing long distances, there are no significant gains in speed.

The only thing all this will achieve is that your kid will show up with the most "bling" bike at the start line. If that is what you want to achieve, go for it. But don't fool yourself into thinking it will improve performance much if at all.

jharpphoto

thanks to all who replied for their ideas and opinions. Cheers.

Seattle Forrest

I think Enve makes 650 wheels. They cost as much as a used car, but they'll go from one bike to another.

Tires should be the first upgrade on any road bike. Weight only matters on climbs.

Bandera

If the other kids in his age class are on similar equipment call it "parity" and don't start the endless arms race we saw in BMX racing w/ Big $ spent on questionable "gains" that could have gone into a college fund instead. Great that he's interested in bike racing but if the hardware of his competition is roughly equivalent at his age, other than spending on good tires, let 'em race.

There is a BF-subforum "Juniors Racing (All Disciplines)" where current and past Junior parents and riders have the specific experience to address a wide range of topics specific to Junior USAC racing, you might want to post there.

-Bandera