[Closed] Cheap wins to make my bike lighter...

Stop eating pies.

Lol, although slightly heavier than most I can't save much more weight from me. I've already lost 6 stone!

Tyres, OEM tyres tend to be bob. Looks like s decent spec to me, use it until it's nacked, then replace with lighter.

Go through your Camelbak and chuck out all the crap in it, then stop wearing baggy clothes. These two tips will make you faster than buying expensive stuff for your bike.

😆 Fair enough!

Can you go 1x10? Loose FDerailleur, cable, shifter and chainrings. That must be a fair amount of weight. Although your legs my suffer, depending on length of rides!

Go tubeless. That will save weight at the most critical point on the bike, rotating mass at the wheels. Weight loss here is more noticeable than a lighter static component like a seatpost.

[i]That will save weight at the most critical point on the bike, rotating mass at the wheels.[/i]

Oh, I can't be bothered with all that again...

Not sure if the 317's will do tubeless 🙁

Would people say some Pro 2's on stans rims and some dual air forks would save about 2 kg?

Rims aren't that light, maybe go Stans Crest and Tubeless. Carbon post/bars will help too.

Take it to bits and weigh it all, you can't properly weight weenie without knowing what you're weenying. OEM parts can be amazingly heavy, or surprisingly light. I'd be suspicious of the tyres and (if they're original) tubes, and the bars and seatpost, personally.

317s on XCs is not a particularily light wheelset but it'll be pretty expensive to improve that drastically.

what grips you got on ? if you are using lock on grips chuck em off and get some ESI ones,cheap way to loose a fair chunk of weight.

my p7 has similar spec , The chearest fix to reduce its weight was to change the frame so my p7 will be wearing a cotic soul frame next weekend, posibly the only p7 with a cotic frame! 😯

I'd say wheels, tyres, tubes (or tubeless) and fork.

Lol, funnily enough I'm running ESI grips already 🙂

Changing rims will save me about 300 gram and going by the weights on chainreaction a dual air fork will save me about 450 gram. But it is a big outlay. I think when the bike is stripped down for it's next proper rebuild I'll get the scales out and weight it all so I can see where I can save weight.

Thanks for the ideas so far!

on a more serious note, cheap grams are to be gained in innertubes. my bonty ones where 65 grams each lighter, and they have stayed up.

Foam grips....Ritchey foam grips are ~30g a pair. Cheapo rubber grips are ~80g+ per pair. Lock on grips will be 100g+.

So you could save nearly 0.2lb for about £8!

No cheap way to save weight on that:

New forks (look at sids if you're serious)
Lace some lighter rims on, plus you can go tubeless (tubeless isn't normally a weight saving for an XC bike BTW, but it's better in other ways).

Carbon bars.

What pedals? E.g. XT/540s are a reasonable saving over 520s and work better.

Might be easier to save weight on shoes though, and as others say think about what you're wearing/carrying.

E.g. if you wear a camelback, consider pump on frame, bottle, tube/multi-tool/snack in back pockets and no bag. Makes more of a difference than a few lbs off the bike and riding without a bag is much nicer.

Of course, if you're the "kitchen sink" sort this might not be for you...but worth thinking about it. Would investing in better kit for you (not the bike) mean you could carry less/dress more sensibly?

Cheap wins to make my bike lighter...

Paint it white?
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IGMC

OE Recons can be a bit weighty.

Dunno what vintage/travel your Stumpy is but a nice Reba or Revelation might lose 1lb.

Carbon bar and seatpost.

Older Shimano brakes are heavy, some new XTs or something light like Formulas can generally be bought for decent money.

and seatpost.

Probably only save about 40-50g unlikely to be worth it.

Stans Crest on Pro2's will give you about 300g saving instantly, more when you go tubeless.

Going 1x10 would save you 200-250g

Swap the bars for Easton Carbon Monkeylites and save about 125g

Ritchey comp post is quite heavy, can save 100g or so switching to a better seatpost

Charge Spoon is a lot heavier than they claim, I've weighed 3 and all were 285-290g. Get a Specialized Romin, lighter and much comfier.

And finally, rather expensive but some dual air Rev's or Reba's will save 200-250g over the Solo air Recons.

You could tubeless the 317's with a Stans rim strip, but it won't save you much weight (strip = 50g, latex=50g vs tube).

SDG I-Beam saddle and seatpost
On-One CNC stem and Fat Bob foam lock-ons
Middleburn rings (when they wear)
XTR front mech
Ti skewers (from ebay)
Eggbeaters or Candy's plus Ti axles (from ebay)
Hope Pro 2 SP's cw Crests

Don't bother with 1x9 unless very fit, or living in the Fens.

If you buy a new fork, ensure its a bolt thru.

But weigh everything before spending.

Singlespeed it?

Seriously though, there are great savings to be made in the rider part of the bike/rider combination.
As people have stated above, using a bottle and small saddlebag is not only lighter than a camelbak, but it's much more comfortable. On rides of around two hours, I usually opt for the saddlebag.

Tubeless is definitely worth considering too.

I grind my brake pads down so there's just enough left on them for the ride i'm doing. That saves a bit.
Not putting any oil on the chain will save you a bit more and worn out tyres also weigh a fair bit less.

Stu don't you cut all the strands out of the cables bar 1? Way lighter.

I didn't want to give [b]all[/b] my tips away.

I actually strip my bikes and dip them in acid. Removes a thin layer of metal from everything, and the total weight loss is quite high.

3 rotor bolts, no stem cap, no bar end plugs, no dust caps

(TIC)

That sounds like a great idea.Can you recommend an acid that works on Ti?

I also drain out all the brake fluid from my hoses and replace it with compressed air. Much lighter.

I'd say it's the frame. Although I dont know what year yours is you have pretty much the same spec as my 2007 Stumpy FSR in their M5 tubeset. My mate had a very similar spec to me on his Yeti ASR and his bike was nearly 2kg lighter. I have mirroered the same spec on my HT, a 2005 S-Works again in M5 and the Hardtail is way lighter but that obvious isn't it?!?

Tyres are the only cheap win, after that it's always the big expensive things like the wheela and the frame.

I run around the trails, holding just a set of bars. Obviously carbon bars, & the grips are not lock-ons. I'd be mad to stick a wopping 80g's on there man. I run in a mankini, as Humvees weigh a ton.

My mate had a very similar spec to me on his Yeti ASR and his bike was nearly 2kg lighter

Then it wasn't a similar spec... You're not giving away 4lbs in the frame, not a cat in hell's chance! An ASR-SL frame was about 4.8lbs IIRC, I guarantee your Stumpy is not 9lbs!

Ignore the rims, the hubs are heavy, don't rebuild on what you have, just replace!

There's nothing light, but no stupidly heavy parts. I'd not worry too much about the tyres, OEM tyres can be heavy, but as that didn't come with Nics that's not relevant here!

I'd do the wheels. Hope Hoops on Crests are a good bet. There are lighter options around though, check out some of the Funworks builds on ActionSports.de.

Buy lighter wheelset and just ride the bike, saddle is a bit heavy but most stuff you'll be spending a fair amount of money for not great weight savings.
Sdg I beam saddle and post often available on offer at crc.

They get even lighter when they snap too!

aye sell the wheels and just get something lighter.

People are saying tyres but you have NNs so I assume they are going to be pretty light?

I'd go:

1. Wheels (tubless ready ones) - eg Arch Ex or Crest
2. Fork - sell yours and get a decent used Reba or similar (depending on travel)
3. Carbon bars (although the Race Face aren't that heavy)

Hope pro 3 xc6's or xc3's run tubeless with lighter skewers will save about half that weight maybe more depends on your current spokes. if you sell you current wheels you should be able to do this for about £200
But getting these wheels depend how heavy you are and on your riding style.
Pro 2 Evo SP crests are cheaper and stronger but about 150g? heavier.

ive cut my bars down to 230mm wide and run them with no grips

There's no easy answer to this. You're already using light-ish tyres on light-ish rims with a light-ish crankset. There is a threshold when it becomes a matter of throwing a lot of £££s at the bike for a diminishing return in grammes.

Hope XC hubs aren't the lightest and are an obvious candidate for upgrade here. A set of Pro2s on Mavic 717s can be had from Merlin for a reasonable price, or you could go for something more exotic. You might even find some deals on a Roval wheelset, but it won't be cheap.

Next up as you've already noted are the forks. You'll save a bundle of weight by fitting a set of Rebas or similar, they don't necessarily have to be brand new - if you want a new bargain then check out Merlin.

What is the weight saving going from Shimano SLX triple ring cranks to Shimano XT triple ring cranks?

1x9 or 1x10 will take off about 430 grams in my experence, but you'll put on some with a chain device / bash / jump stop, but it is still an almost free upgrade. Worth it IMHO, loose the front derailleur, much nicer.

Other than that, ride the bike till something breaks, then replace it with a lighter bit. Either that, or buy a new bike...

Swap the frame for a carbon 456, and maybe singlespeed it. Some carbon forks would save a load of weight but might not be a good match for the bike.

My own personal answer to myself when this question arises is lose more weight and get fitter. This still carries even though I'm not overweight and I'm reasonably fit.

Pro 2 Evo SP crests are cheaper and stronger but about 150g? heavier.

I'd not have thought so, my standard Pro 2s (not SP) on Crests were 1585g, even the SP-XC6s aren't particularly light.

Personally I'd not bother with any of the Pro 3 wheelsets, they're a fair bit more expensive than the Pro 2s, and still not particularly light.

Swap the frame for a carbon 456, and maybe singlespeed it. Some carbon forks would save a load of weight but might not be a good match for the bike.

Gotta love singletrack:
- "I'd like to make my 5" travel XC FS bike lighter"
- "buy a rigid carbon SS"

🙄

[i]You'll save a bundle of weight by fitting a set of Rebas or similar, they don't necessarily have to be brand new [/i]

But may not..., the 120mm Recon's (327 Solo Air) I got for my son weighed 1700g with a cut steerer.

Weigh everything before you start spending as otherwise you risk wasting your money. I bought some cheapy ebay scales that weigh 0-2000grams - as all the weighing you're doing is relative, rather than absolute, accuracy is not that important (although mine seem to pretty close to actual weights)

Then, work out what gives the best £/lb and go from there.

I have, over the past year, spent a lot of time taking my Stumpjumper hardtail down from 24 lb to about 21 ish, and mostly through 2nd hand stuff:
MT Zoom bars, KCNC stem (new) - £100
DT Swiss forks (only saved 100g, but have lockout and only cost £150)
Roval control SL wheels - £250
XT Brakes - £75
KCNC Foam grips - £10
KCNC seatpost clamp - £10
Ti bolts - only done a few so far, but once all are done, will save 50-60grams!!

Next on the list - XTR cranks (2nd hand only), XTR pedals, Woodman seatpost (170g), XTR cassette (2nd hand), Rocket Ron tyres.

I started on the big saves first, then am working through the smaller but cheap saves ( like a seatpost clamp - only saved 40grams, but only cost £10 or so). Foam grips save 70grams, but only cost £10. Removing shifter windows saves 25grams, but is free. The weight is in the details, but you need to be meticulous.

Good luck with it - and try to get out before it gets addictive!

@njee, he said he wanted to make the bike lighter. No other criteria given. 😉

Ti bolts - only done a few so far, but once all are done, will save 50-60grams!!

People obsess over things like that, but it's far more sensible to do what you can with alu (mechs, shifters, brake levers, bottle cages). You'll save more weight and it'll cost pence. Look at little bits too like the Mt Zoom integrated top cap and bolt, costs a few quid and saves 10g or so.

XTR pedals, Woodman seatpost (170g), XTR cassette (2nd hand), Rocket Ron tyres.

Good pedals as they are, XTR aren't light. Woodman do a lighter seatpost than that too, think it's the EL, same as a New Ultimate, really nice seatposts.

If you're looking for a lightweight cassette look at XX, a lot lighter than XTR. Not sure about second hand cassettes though, I'd have a new XT over a used XTR!

Your bike is fine. Theres no point trying to save weight on a budget, its only really worth doing if you have the cash to do it properly. Lose some weight off your body, that'll make you faster than saving a few hundred grams on bike components.

Fill the tubes with helium. Seal the frame and fill with helium. light as a feather.

I've noticed my bike feels very light with the wheels, cranks and chain off, as it's currently inverted in my kitchen.

Theres no point trying to save weight on a budget, its only really worth doing if you have the cash to do it properly. Lose some weight off your body, that'll make you faster than saving a few hundred grams on bike components.

Pretty sound advice that to be honest!

Your bike is fine. Theres no point trying to save weight on a budget, its only really worth doing if you have the cash to do it properly. Lose some weight off your body, that'll make you faster than saving a few hundred grams on bike components.

If you read the OP's 2nd post, he states he's already lost 6 stone and can't really lose any more. Usually I'd say your point is very valid, but in this case it sounds like the OP has already gone as far as he can trimming himself down. Given that, I don't think it's unreasonable to want to save a couple of pounds off his bike now too.

Lol, although slightly heavier than most I can't save much more weight from me.

Slightly heavier than most?

Spokes weigh a tonne, so remove a few. Start with 12 from each wheel.

[i]Your bike is fine. Theres no point trying to save weight on a budget, its only really worth doing if you have the cash to do it properly. Lose some weight off your body, that'll make you faster than saving a few hundred grams on bike components. [/i]

There is always a point to saving weight on both you and the bike, either and/or both will make it easier to get up hills.

And good components can always be moved onto a new frame.

going back to one of the earlier questions,' What is the weight saving going from Shimano SLX triple ring cranks to Shimano XT triple ring cranks?' , I think its about 40 grams, aproximately a packet of crisps

I'm about 70Kg kitted up for a ride and the bike adds another 11Kg. To lug 1% less weight up hills I'd need to shed 810g from the bike. Not a cheap thing to do and I wonder how much I'd notice it. Can't say that when I'm stopping for a coffee and I take a lock with me I'm suddenly struggling.
If your a competitive racer then go for it but your bike says your not.
And yes I do weight stuff and spend silly money shaving a few grams but I question my sanity in doing so. 😀

+1 for a few bits from KCNC...

KCNC Scandium Wing Stem 90g for about £60
KCNC Scandium Bone bar 115g for £45
KCNC grips are about £10 and only 20g !

and a nice new saddle - how about a Selle Italia Fibra SLR ... Comfy(ish) and 135g

Start weighing stuff but recognise it is a slippery slope!

No one wants a heavy bike though. If there are a few simple things you can do to save a few grams and make your bike feel more special then I say fair enough. The only problem is the unfortunate law of diminishing returns for your dollah - and if you're sacrificing function for weight then it's time to take a long hard look.

My new favourite component is a Flite SLR seat I bought in the classifieds from here. £15 and it's half the weight of my old seat (SDG Bel Air) and just as comfy.

2x10, lighter stem, ti skewers, lighter tyres. Then methodically swap out the steel bolts for ti.

Or sell your frame and get a carbon whippet.

How much weight can you save with ti bolts? I'd imagine it's not a good $/weight saving investment?

what about your brake rotors. Could save 100grams each rotor by going ashima, kcnc etc for £15 each.

cables. Are your cables right length, weight savings in there as well

21lbs is a good weight for a bike, there's no noticeable difference between that and say a 19.5/20lb bike

buy a turbo trainer and do one of those sufferfest interval vids.

Think you will have to throw a lot of money at the bike to make it any lighter. Buy sometghing like a Zesty 714 - 914 and you wil have about as light a bike as you can get. As said above turbo and gym get fitter not too loose weight but get stronger. The bike isnt holding you back for example I run tubeless 2.4 HRII up front and HR2.35 on the back for winter. Large tyres maybe but I can power them and I can use the traction.

Only 2 things stand out but niether cheap.

SIDs would save you close to 500g and could be picked up second hand £200-£300

And new wheels should be abe to save you 300g no problem.

Tubless wont really save much.

Other than that dont bother

If your Recons have a steel steerer then pretty much any similar fork with an alloy steerer will be a chunk lighter.

Have a look at weight weenies website for pointers on weight saving - but carbon bars stem and seat post never hurts.

Although the cheapest way to make your bike feel light is to ride it with 2.7 inch dual ply tyres in a soft compound and then swap back to the nobby nics and it'll feel like lightning.

Could be worse, my Pitch is ~34lb, and there's nothing on it that 'needs' replaceing, 34lb and I'm already att he marginal gains stage!

Current plan;
Ritchey foam grips (tried them before hated them, got them on the Swift and they're ace, not sure whats changed).

Aries disk rotors.

1x10

Saddle, possibly charge spoon Ti, or possibly some lighterweight cast off from my road bikes.

XTR chainset off the singlespeed to replace the current XT.

Magnesium (or at least sensibly light alumnium) pedals

New stem (Easton Vice is stiff but hevy, OEM spesh is light but flexy)

And I realy need to work on making it a little more colour co-ordinated rather than the current mishh mash of old kit!

A saddle is a luxury you can ill afford, stand up all the time and you can ditch the saddle, seatpost and collar, plus with no saddle you won't need a liner in your shorts...win win win

Everyone wants a light bike... I don't know why, and I've spent loads making my bike better/lighter.

Save the money and go on a skills course with Jedi, best money you will ever spend. 😉

How much weight can you save with ti bolts? I'd imagine it's not a good $/weight saving investment?

Not a lot, as I said previously it makes more sense to replace what you can with alu, rather than everything with ti! It should be a proper 'last resort' for weight saving!

A saddle is a luxury you can ill afford, stand up all the time and you can ditch the saddle, seatpost and collar, plus with no saddle you won't need a liner in your shorts...win win win

Not necessarily true: the massive thighs the OP would develop would surely limit the possible gains, everyone knows muscle weighs more.

There's some rubbish spoken on this forum

Don't bother with 1x9 unless very fit, or living in the Fens.

I did W2 yesterday on 1x9 (32t ring) on a 30lb Orange 5, in the snow, slop and muck. It was fine.

You'll need a chain device but an E13 XCX will do the job and be much lighter than the front mech with all its gubbins. Or just wind the adjuster screws out on the front mech. See if it works for you by using only the middle ring for the next few rides. If its ok, get shut of the shifter, two redundant rings and cables. That's a fair old chunk of weight gone and if using the front mech for chain retention, free...

If you're going to spend money anywhere, I'd say wheels and tyres are the place to do it. A nice light set of wheels will make more of a difference than anything else. Go tubeless if you can, its a bit of a faff and there isn't much weight saving but they're so much nicer to ride. Out of all the stuff you change, you'll notice the wheels the most

Youve got a good spec on your bike as it is, i dont think it can be improved much. Id get some 2nd hand Rebas or even better Fox RL's, have a look around flea bay im sure some will come up soon. That would save about 1/2 lb

The frame is fine, if its the M5 you wont do much better, the carbon frame isnt much lighter anyway.

I managed to get my Stumpy down to 25.5lb but it cost a mint (XTR etc etc) i gave up in the end im not sure its possible to get this type of bike much below that

Youve got a good spec on your bike as it is, i dont think it can be improved much [i]on the cheap[/i]

Plenty of room for improvement, but the budget is key.

I'm not sure its possible to get this type of bike much below that

Of course it is, just depends how much you want to spend and whether you actually want to make it light!

[i]I did W2 yesterday on 1x9 (32t ring) on a 30lb Orange 5, in the snow, slop and muck. It was fine. [/i]

So you should, the Skyline climb is middle-ring for most.

Like others, I would say a cheap win is changing the inner tubes to supersonic or the Schwalbe equiv. That will probably save you upto 250gms for less than £20. beyond that I think I managed £1 = 1gm and mostly not new kit.

Milkie - Member

Everyone wants a light bike... I don't know why, and I've spent loads making my bike better/lighter.

Save the money and go on a skills course with Jedi, best money you will ever spend

cheers milkie! 🙂

So you should, the Skyline climb is middle-ring for most.

Considering the state of the trails yesterday, is the OP really going to ride anywhere steeper than that? 1x9/10 is fine, do it!

singlespeedstu - Member
That sounds like a great idea.Can you recommend an acid that works on Ti?

I also drain out all the brake fluid from my hoses and replace it with compressed air. Much lighter.

Posted 17 hours ago # Report-Post

I cut the outer two fingers off from each hand,don't need em for shifting and that bone was heavy.

Weight off a bike really makes a difference to me, but also the tyres (not necessarily weight but rolling resistance).

My Ardents roll a lot faster than my Advantages and it makes a big difference. (Similarly, my bike feels like a downhill sled as soon as I put 2.5 super tacky HRs on).

I have nobby nics too and they are great at rolling (I think because of the soft compound). But you might find it a really win win, by trying something like Racing Ralphs, or Crossmarks. Cheapish to try and there'll always be times they come in handy.

I'm not too up on the weight/£ info, but some of those KCNC, MT Zoom, Ashima bits mentioned above sound great.