Kovkov

Classtime 

Yikes! My buddy and I thought we were so cool lightening our UO-8s by removing the reflectors, spoke protectors and plastic brake lever covers. Probably got them close to 28 lbs.

My stock 03? Lemond MJ(carbon/alloy fork) hit 17.0 on a bathroom scale without pedals but with cages.

CliffordK

The Space Shuttle tanks were made with an Aluminum/Lithium alloy.

Pure Lithium (like Sodium) is rather flammable, and probably not appropriate for one's frame.

The shape of bonded lugs tends to be a bit different than brazed lugs.

Clyde1820

R&E Cycles (Rodriguez) has a bike called the Outlaw, which they claim to be 13.8 lbs (without pedals).

Might be worth reviewing their full-build parts list, to get an idea of what they've done to achieve that, above and beyond the gains from their frame+fork.

Rodriguez Outlaw

fietsbob

"Nothing weighs less than a part not installed" ..

crank_addict

Color and bike as whole is a beaut.

Also, couldn't miss that pic while on the scale. I just completed my mongrel build '84 760 with heavy Mavic CXP30 32 hole clinchers, same V-flex Masters, standard SPD pedals / total weight 21.1 lbs..

natterberry 

CliffordK

I'm seeing notes that the pretty paint job weighs somewhere around 100 grams of wasted weight.

xiaoman1 

IMHO it is worth the weight.
Best, Ben

Kovkov

kunsunoke 

A lot of this depends on how much girth you yourself carry and how you ride. Most people are better off cutting carbs and riding more.

Best approaches for dumping weight on a steel C&V while maintaining C&V aesthetics are as follows: (IMO)

- Titanium bottom bracket set (assumes replacement of solid axle CrMo)
- Cold-forged crankset (vs. gravity cast)
- Titanium-railed saddle (ex. Selle Flite or San Marco Ti Rolls)
- heat-treated aluminum handlebars
- carbon fork with aluminum threaded steerer (they are out there)
- Stronglight A9 headset
- Titanium TIG quill stem
- single bottle cage (or no bottle cage)
- forged seatpost
- Aluminum chainring bolts
- Lightweight derailleurs and shifters (Campagnolo NR, Suntour Cyclone or Superbe 1st gen for friction shifting; Dura-Ace with downtube shifters for indexed)
- forged single-pivot brakes (vs. center pull brakes).

A focus on reducing the rotating mass can help.
- Swapping clinchers for tubulars (latex tubes)
- Reducing spoke count (ex. 36/36 to 32rear/28front)
- Reducing cross pattern in the wheel build (3-cross front/rear to 2-cross/radial rear/radial front)
- Butted/forged spokes; thinner gauge overall up-front
- Alloy spoke nipples vs. brass

These are the most cost-effective things you can do. Titanium spokes and chains aren't worth the coin. Neither are aluminum rear cogs (as they don't hold up that well). For city riding, expect to destroy more equipment and spend more money on upkeep, unless you weigh 120 lbs. and ride like a butterfly.

RiddleOfSteel

For a fully lugged steel frame (aka the starting point), this is what has worked for me:

Frame, fork, and headset have an combined weight of 3000-3100g or less. Most high end '80s frames will accomplish this.
If using Shimano components, employ Dura-Ace and nothing else. The weight increase from DA to Ultegra will kill your chances, especially with cranks and shifters.
7800 or 7900 DA for high performance yet not stupid expensive (also, 7800 is the most available).
A BB9000 (DA 9000 generation bottom bracket) will be just 66g and not cost much--7800-era BBs are about 98g. Cranksets don't get much lighter from 7800-onward (even 7700 is not super far behind).
Shimano 7900 10s down tube shifters and a brake lever set that is about 260g/pair (BL0R600 levers etc) will take cable and housing weight away up top.
7900-era 10-speed cassettes are incredibly light, even in 11-28t form. Lighter in 12-25t form but only a little. And actually, 6700-era (Ultegra) aren't bad either.
Vuelta Corsa Lite wheels (1657g or so) or similar. Wouldn't want to go heavier. Vueltas are pretty cheap for their weight, and the rims are sturdy (aluminum freehub body/splines...not as much).
Quill stem conversion to threadless stem - 100%. Stem around 100g and handlebars around 250g or less. Seat post around 200g and a saddle less than 275g.

Obviously a carbon fork will give you a lot of weight 'head room' but I'd only advise that if your frame came with no fork, thus freeing you up to do whatever. It's a fun and winnable challenge with a traditional steel fork!
Vittoria Open Corsa Evo CX 23mm tires are 155g or so each! And the tires are like $30 or just over--crazy deal for a really supple 320 TPI tire. I am a huge fan of these. I run regular tubes as well. Standard Shimano SLR cables and housings (or similar).

CliffordK

Did anybody suggest bottom bracket cutouts?

RiddleOfSteel

I wonder how many grams that saved and if that had any effect on frame rigidity (from those who know!). There certainly is a good bit of metal down there.

jyl

jetboy 

one word: Fixie

jetboy 

I also thought: ride to the top of the highest nearby mountain. gravity is an inverse square- so the further away you are... the less it weighs. Do that every day and you will really start to lose the pounds.

noglider 

xiaoman1 

How about this?

Drill Baby Drill!
Best, Ben

jetboy 

RiddleOfSteel

One day I heard knocking at my door. I opened it and there standing before me was the Reaper.

"Oh. Hello," I stammered, quizzically. "I wasn't expecting to see you."

"I heard you bought a bike, with the express purpose of lightening it extensively. I just thought I'd stop by and look through it..."

bluehills3149

I progressively lightened my old 1986 Fuji Team until it weighted about 19 lbs. I kept scouring local ebay and CL listings buying odd but cheap parts. The results are not pretty - a complete miss-match of brands and eras like Campy 10spd levers (shimergoed) , Durace 9000 rr Der, TRP magnesium brakes (they were cheap), DT swiss hubs (fr "Coda" rr "Specialized). And the paint is cos it was rusting badly and I had a can of gold paint leftover - I didn't build it for looks.

Eventually, the frame was swapped for a trek carbon frame more becoming to its parts but is now built up again as my winter beater, weighing about 21 lbs. Of note, bikes-direct sell an 853 Reynolds framed bike advertised at 16.9 lbs which shows what's ultimately possible if you go all completely modern on parts.

Murukai

I know this is an old thread, but what parts do you have on that bad boy?

krakhaus 

19.4 lbs including pedals.

70sSanO

Since people are obsessed with round numbers, I have found that it is easier and sounds more impressive, at least in the US, to get a bike under 10kg than 20lbs.

John