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Given the choice, where would people save weight in a new bike? A lighter frame with standard wheels that come with the bike, for example a carbon Bronson or 5010 or a heavier frame, say Bird Aeris 145/120 with lighter wheels? Bikes are just examples of the sort of bikes I’ve been looking at. Riding trail centres, natural Lakes and Torridon etc. and the occasional Alps or Pyrenees trip.
Interested in your thoughts, cheers.
Better frame every time. Much harder to upgrade later on
It would depend whether I'm going uphill or downhill at any point in time....
However you can always get another set of wheels and keep the first pair as DH day wheels with tyres to match... I'm guessing liquid funds puts a ££££ limit but you can just wait until you get some good, light wheels on sale
(Obviously you CAN can a frame but...not so simple as keeping a 2nd set of wheels you are not too fussed about )
I'd say lighter wheels would affect the ride more, but as mentioned above, you can't upgrade the frame really.
I would personally get the better frame, then when funds allow, a second set of wheels. Having a second pair set up as muds/DH/xc or whatever is great.
In my opinion & experience a well made frame with good geometry & a decent shock will feel good regardless of weight, but bad wheels can be horrible. Often the wheels supplied OE by a bike manufacturer can be made to feel miles better with a decent truing. Slack spokes (my personal bête noir) often make a bike feel terrible and is not very obviously the spokes (can present as shock, linkage probs, flexy frame etc.) Tyres also make a big difference. My advice would be buy as a good a frame as you can and then have the OE wheels trued before even riding them and have a decent set of tyres fitted.
Having a second pair set up as muds/DH/xc or whatever is great.
Yep, I find this really useful.... it wasn't the plan at the time TBH but it really makes switching the bike between different places and conditions really simple and I worry less about my light wheels on uplift days but don't drag the heavier wheels and tyres up big climbs or need to mess about reseating and getting sealant everywhere.
Go for the better frame, especially if you’re planning to keep it a long time, other bits can be upgraded later.
oe wheels are usually budget conscious, especially tyres, and can have a surprising effect on the ride feel.
ime.
If you don't think youll be upgrading later, get the heavier frame with lighter wheels, especially if going 29, you'll get more benefit, quicker acceleration & less fatigue on long days out ime
Some interesting opinions on carbon Vs alloy here
https://nsmb.com/articles/duelling-knolly-wardens-final-verdicts/
Lighter wheels, cheaper to break rims unless they are carbon.
It depends on if you plan to upgrade the wheels. If not, and assuming that both frames are comparably well performing, then you'll notice far more difference in riding light/good wheels than you will with a lighter frame. But as above, if you do plan to upgrade the wheels, then the better frame is the better bet.
If the frame/wheels are a current standard (Boost) I'd go wheels everytime. The difference in feel when riding lighter or even stronger wheels is noticeable.
I dont see as much of an issue for upgrading frames at a later date, I know some of the standards dont play, but wheels in Boost would be able to port to more than most frames for the next few years easily.
n+1
In my opinion & experience a well made frame with good geometry & a decent shock will feel good regardless of weight, but bad wheels can be horrible. Often the wheels supplied OE by a bike manufacturer can be made to feel miles better with a decent truing. Slack spokes (my personal bête noir) often make a bike feel terrible and is not very obviously the spokes (can present as shock, linkage probs, flexy frame etc.) Tyres also make a big difference. My advice would be buy as a good a frame as you can and then have the OE wheels trued before even riding them and have a decent set of tyres fitted.
True though my replacement wheels needed completely retensioning ... I stuck the front on in haste... went for a 10 mile ride and had a good 5mm of wobble... got home and completely slackened off spokes on both wheels and refinished them and they are good a year later.
The OE wheels that came with my base model T-130 are just horrible though. The wheels I replaced them with cost me £100 for the pair... when I do a lot of climbing I have some carbon wheels (which get shared with my XC bike)
The surprising thing (for me) is the £100 (reduced from overpriced £350 or so are WAY nicer than the OE.. ) If I scored the OE wheels at 1 and the carbon at 10 the £100 wheels are probably 7/10... they are certainly closer to the (retail £1500 wheels) than the OE wheels.
However the carbon wheels have seen 3 years and ...."can present as shock, linkage probs, flexy frame etc." definitely need a tune up....
Both matter, but...
I have found if you put shite wheels on a good frame you end up with a shite bike.
If you put good wheels on a shite frame, you have a chance of it being a reasonable bike.
In a theoretical world, where the frames were identical bar weight, then what Daffy said.
But it's not as simple as that, is it...
Lighter frame for me because the frame'll last for years whereas I can build new wheels in a nice chill afternoon. Also, bought/built wheels are often stinky value.
But I do love the feeling of light wheels, something about the instant response just makes me want to pedal more.
Wheels every time- I'd rather have a slightly porky frame than slightly porky wheels. Chances are you won't really notice 500g or so on the frame but you'd feel it on the wheels 🙂 Nice wheels are nice.
A really nice pair of wheels makes a bike it's a major component,not unlike a crankshaft in an engine you wouldn't run a cheap one in an performance bike or car !
For years I've owned countless hope hubbed wheel sets,I've built my own but easier to get my wheel builder friend to do it while I'm out working. I can't stand machine built rubbish they always come loose over time,because the stress has never been relieved during build.
I own two fatbikes seeing most of the weight is in the wheels, I own 2 pairs of fat carbon & a pair of Nextie 29+ carbon wheels for them. When you have fat wheels a similar weight as normal mtb ones boy is it noticeable !