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Hey all,
Looking like (subject to positive test-ride) I'll be picking up a new Camber Elite at the end of the week 🙂
Based on my previous new-bike-related behaviour (ok, obsessiveness!), I'll likely end up adding upgrades over coming months as & when funds allow, and would quite like to aim at getting the bike down a little from its standard 29.1Lbs. I was wondering if anyone had tips/experiences in which parts on the bike would offer the best value opportunity in replacing with lighter weight parts, without compromising toughness/reliability?
Can't find any specs/weight for specialized seat posts, bars etc and would ideally like not to have to strip every part down to weigh 'em
Here's standard specs btw - http://www.specialized.com/us/en/bc/SBCProduct.jsp?spid=52770&scid=1000&scname=Mountain
Cheers!
I dont know about much of the stuff, but I had a hg30 cassette on my bike at one point and I removed it and it was dead heavy compared to an SLX cassette.
Wheels....rotating weight.Although the scales won't be able to tell the bike will feel much lighter to ride.
best value opportunity
grips are always the best g/£. change to foam grips.
after that look at tyres.
but having had a look at that spec there is nothing light about it.
I have just replaced the bars & stem on my 2010 Stumpjumper FSR with KCNC ones to make the bike look a bit snazzier. I also wanted wider bars as the original ones are only 660mm. I weighed the bits seeing as I had them off the bike
The KCNC Stem (70mm FlyRide) is nice and light at 103g compared to the Spesh one at 152g (which isn't exactly hefty and includes the shim for angle changes).
The KCNC bars (SC Bone Low Rise) are 710mm compared to 660mm for the standard bars and weigh 235g compared to the standard bars 222g.
So, in that respect I haven't really saved much weight (not that I was particularly aiming too). I am not sure on the shape of the bars either - they are very low rise & don't seem 'flat' enough where the grips are. I think I need to roll them back to flatten them, but this will bring them too far back.
I have also just got a KCNC scandium seat post, but have chopped the original down quite a bit so weighing it seems a bit pointless.
Anyway - all that waffle above says that I don't reckon you will save much by spending loads on fancy bar/stem/post.
Normal places to start are wheels & fork, but I reckon on that bike it will be chipping away at dropping the weight, rather than one or two bits that will see the weight drop off.
Cheers, yup wasn't sure I'd be sticking with the 2.0 width tyres so that may be a good shout.
@Rorschach. Yes, will check out the wheel weights. Though will probably wait until breaking something for that one as I know it can be an expensive hit
@stumpy, think yopre right about the chipping away thing
but having had a look at that spec there is nothing light about it.
@thomthumb How dya mean?
Keep saving, spend more and buy a lighter bike.
Rider?
@thomthumb How dya mean?
How's that confusing? Foam grips generally save 100g+ over lock-ons for less than £10, bargain.
Wheels fo sho. Hope Hoops on Crest rims for a sensible option.
If you're doing finishing kit look at the saddle first, it'll likely weigh a ton, even if it appears to be a reasonable model. Ditto cassette.
The KCNC bars (SC Bone Low Rise) are 710mm compared to 660mm for the standard bars and weigh 235g compared to the standard bars 222g.
I'd look at the Mt Zoom carbon bars - same price as KCNC (admittedly narrower), but far lighter - about 160g, and you get the vibration absorbtion advantages of a carbon bar.
so, a bike you don't own yet, and you know it weighs
... 29.1Lbs ...
29.1?
POINT 1?
just ride it a lot, do some skids, tyre wear will get it down to 28.9lbs in a fortnight.
oh, and start drinking espresso coffee 'tactically' to help you have a poo before every ride.
Buy the next model up, the Camber Expert, in the first place perhaps? You might have to save for it for a couple of weeks longer perhaps, but for the extra dosh you get lighter forks, lighter tyres, better rear shock, seemingly better/lighter finishing kit, a full Shimano 10spd setup (rather than a very low rent 9spd setup on the Elite), better brakes etc.
That's what I'd do anyway, dunno how much less it weighs, but I'd argue in this case it's probably better to outlay the money up front on the better specced bike.
Though if you do get the Elite, change the cassette for an XT one first (HG30's weigh a tonne!) and some lighter tyres will make a decent difference on a relative budget. After that, change the wheels, but by the time you've done that, you might as well have bought the more expensive bike in the first place with a much better spec!
I've got my Camber Pro (bought frame on here) down to 27.1 lbs... not bad!!
Buy the next model up, the Camber Expert, in the first place perhaps?
Ah, yes. This.
Don't know why, but I thought when I first read the post that the OP was getting the bike second hand. But if making a new purchase, I would definitely stretch to the Expert over the Elite, rather than try to lighten up the lower-spec bike.
cynic-al - Member
Keep saving, spend more and buy a lighter bike.
mboy - Buy the next model up, the Camber Expert, in the first place perhaps?
Undoubtedly Wise, but as I'd already upped my budget somewhat, waiting further would mean missing summer!
njee20 How's that confusing?
you took that one out of context, I got the grips/weight thing - but the comment was referring to the quote above 🙂
oh, and start drinking espresso coffee 'tactically' to help you have a poo before every ride.
Ha. Love it. Maybe Costa should be advertising on MTB sites 😉
Anyway... All change.
Well, whilst in my mind - and on paper - I'd decided on the Specialized... that all changed last night when I took test rides of the Spesh and a (lower-spec/cost) Scott Spark 60 back to back. And I ended up buying the Scott.
Just couldn't get on with the Spesh, whether it was weight/geometry or both - The Scott just felt alive, and better balanced for me. Plus with a combination of deals/discounts, worked out cheap enough that if I really did want to trade up forks after a month or two I could do so with change from the original RRP, and still at a lower cost than the next model up.
When we weighed both (XL sized) bikes in the shop, the Spesh elite came up just shy of 33lbs vs the Scott at 30lbs, So I think, even accounting for the framesize difference, the 29.1 weight I'd read on the evens Q&A - posted by SpecializedUK - was a little 'optimistic'!
Weigh it (including pedals) when you actually get it - you'll be surprised, as in dismayed...
And then weigh anything you want to replace before buying/choosing a replacement.
Ideas:
I-Beam seat and post
XT cassette once original worn
Ti skewers
Ashima rotors
Hope Hoops Crests tubeless (always handy to have spare wheels too)
Weigh it (including pedals) when you actually get it - you'll be surprised, as in dismayed
When we weighed both (XL sized) bikes in the shop, the Spesh elite came up just shy of 33lbs vs the Scott at 30lbs
Do bikes get heavier once money's changed hands!? 😉
The first and cheapest place to start would be the tyres. Wire bead Captains aren't light (nor are the kevlar beaded versions TBH), so £50 chucked at a pair of Fast Traks would be a wise investment.
Next up would be the cassette followed by the saddle and seatpost.
Chances are that it's carrying a weighty sub-Deore cassette, if you swap to an SLX 32T then you can save yourself over half a pound. Likewise the saddle and post can gain you an extra half pound if you go for something like an I-Beam as has already been mentioned (I use an I Beam post on one of my bikes and rate it very highly).
After that, you're going to be looking at cranks and pedals. Have a look over at Merlin Cycles for some good deals on SRAM cranksets (the AKA 2.2 isn't bad, it's what I have fitted to my Enduro, but you'll struggle to better SLX) and some lightweight clipless pedals.
As has already been mentioned, a decent set of wheels once the old ones are well worn would help too.
do bikes get heavier once money's changed hands!? 😉
Perhaps this was a universe + natural balance phenomenon, compensating for my wallet as it got lighter
"do bikes get heavier once money's changed hands!"
Don't worry there is a simple method to reverse this, simply repeatedly post pictures and details of the bike on here in response to "show us your" threads and it will get lighter every time.
Tyres are wire bead. Decent lightweight tyres may shave up to a pound!
Handlebars/stem/seatpost/seat will shave another pound in total.
Crankset is a bit cheap'n'heavy, possibly 200-300g to save there.
Wheels are the next largest weight saving but can be expensive. Cassette wil not save a large amount.
I've just picked up an Elite last week, weight doesn't bother me, just get out and ride the wheels off the thing, the better you get the less of a big deal the weight becomes. 🙂
Wheels, wheels & wheels again.
No offence but the camber is never going to be light. your not going to noctice anything from 30lbs to 27lbs unless you change the horrid wheels.
I know what I'd change first.
edit - Or why dont you just get the frameset if you really want a camber?
I think he might have made a decision by now
Errr, do you read threads? He bought a Scott Spark instead. 4 months ago! The thread is an old one.