You don't need to be an 'investor' to invest in Singletrack: 6 days left: 95% of target - Find out more
In the process of building a sort of a downcountry to have some fun in the relatively boring trails around my area and to cover ground efficiently. However, every time I look at my Bird AM9 I wonder how would it be with a set of Hunt Trail Wide wheels, a Dissector up front and a Rekon in the back. The suspension kinematics make for an efficient pedaling platform, wonder how further into the trail side of things it could go.
So, who has the lightest AM9 build around? Eager to hear the experiences
Can't answer your question re: weight, but the Dissector / Rekon combo came fitted to my Spur and its a great combo for XC / Trail / Downcountry riding. Plenty of grip and rolls nice and fast.
I was going to fit my usual Nobby Nic / Racing Ralph XC combo but I'm enjoying the extra grip on the Dissector.
How is the AM9 currently built up?
There is a lot to be said for 2 sets of wheels, one traily and one smashy smashy.
I reckon you could hit 30lbs with a Pike / carbon wheels / decent groupset / some carbon parts like cranks / bars / tyres that aren’t too heavy a casing.
My sentinel has a really quite heavy frame and weighs in at 34lbs with a smattering of carbon bits (bars and cranks), but fairly heavy Hope hubs / codes / lyriks etc. With lighter wheels / Pikes I could shave off 1 lb I reckon - and my Bird Aether frame felt comfortably lighter than the sentinel - must be a lb or 2 lbs lighter.
Yes, the build on mine is fairly heavy:
- 160mm Lyriks
- Super Deluxe coil
- Code brakes
- E532 and E512 rims on DT350 hubs
- Michelin Wild Enduro front and Aggressor DD with Rimpact on the back
It used to be even heavier with dual DH34s and a 170mm Lyrik
Assuming you don’t want to spend a fortune if you wanted a lighter setup then build some XM481’s onto Bitex hubs and lighten the tyres up I reckon.
Specialized Butcher T9 grid trail 2.3” up front and something not DD casing on the rear - exo or something along those lines.
But that’s assuming you aren’t then riding the same stuff as usual and it’s for mellower trails. If it’s not you’ll just blow up the new tyres.
Air shock can save a chunk - the super deluxe with the Rockshox steel spring is pretty heavy even for a coil.
Keep the Lyriks and the Codes obvs as they’re both decent and you don’t want something unrideable.
Just continue with the downcountry build mate.
I have a 110mm / 130mm trail bike that I ride most of my time now, it's a glorious thing.
I tried an AM9 trail spec build, soaked up a lot of the fun even on trail centre reds so wouldn't expect it to be any fun on you local boring trails.
Before you spend a fortune dropping 3 pounds, strap 3 pounds of weight to your bike and do a lap of your local ride and see what difference it makes to your times and handling and enjoyment.
I used to be a weigh weenie, now I just watch my weight.
For me, I never found it made that much difference to my times or handling. The thing that made me quicker was riding more and riding in summer when it was drier and I was fitter. I like picking up a light bike but in reality, at my level it wasn't the secret formula to make me quicker.
Some of my weight weenie mods made the bike worse, I'd get more punctures etc.
Now I just make sensible choices.
If you say that the pedalling efficiency is not an issue, then I would just swap the tyres to dissector/rekon or even rekon/rekon for a start. I am sure that swapping tyres will already make huge difference, especially that you come from michelin/DD combo.
Tyres and then wheels will make the biggest difference, both in rolling resistance and how much inertia they have, heavy wheels and tyres take more effort to get up to speed.
Not directly answering the question i know but as SirHC said, tires and wheels make a massive difference. I put some new tires on my Orange Four a month or so ago, slightly bigger and more tread than the ones they replaced. Ruined the bike, handled like a barge and really sluggish to get going.
Swapped back to lighter tires this week and weighed them on the kitchen scales just out of interest: took a Butcher/Eliminator off and put a Nobby Nic/rocket Ron back on, saved 996g from the bike in the worse possible place!
Got to be worth a try with lighter/faster wheels and tires.
Indeed the OP could get lighter wheels & tyres, which he could then use on a short-travel build when he realises it's still sub-optimal.
😉
Snap! In the exact same boat. Mr Bontrager has the best advice
1) Get fit
2) Get fitter
3) Get even fitter.
Sadly i have to agree. The biggest change i made previously was getting fit. BUT After surgery, 3 months off and gasping like I’ve COPD i’m teetering with the bike diet again!
Problem is there arent many single big bang bits you can save a lot of weight easily. Tis all marginal gains.
The bikes a beast however you cut it. Bars, chainring, mech, seat Post is all grams so at best 500g and a shed load of cash. Fork maybe 300- 500g at best for shorter travel but pricey. Wheels n tyres - Running hope pro4 on halo rims with WTB vigilantes. Tubeless. Measured them against my silt wheels with Conti’s and the hope setup is 600g heavier. If i got some more trail or xc orientated tyres and dropped from 11-50 to say 11-42 or 11-46 i could probably shed 1kg tops. Here so the only real big bang change.
A mates carbon canyon with xt build and Fox forks was similar if not heavier to my current build but horrible to ride. Absolutely awful so i’d take the AM9 and slightly heavier build any day.
So £500 min for a fork, same again on groupset bits for ultra light similar on wheels & tyres, plus a few anciliary bits I might blow £1500 to save 1-1.5kg absolute tops. Fok that! I’m resigned to going with Mr Bontrager philosophy and suffering the pain of geting fit again!
It pedals great, climbs well and when fit I can easily pedal it 25-30ml XC before i start to feel it. Thats enough for me to enjoy.
Only thing I’m toying with is maybe a set of silt wheels or hunt wheels for the AM9 as both wheelsets are really light for Ally. In the region of carbon for half the price and would make a big handling change too. But not so sure it’s worth it. Especially as i just had to replace the bearings on my silt rear hub after 45mls. Completely siezed.
I think my AM9 is currently a shade under 15kg. If you want lighter, best bet sell the AM9 and get a bike that's light to start with.
For info:
Hope hubs / halo rims
Wtb rubber
Lyrik ultimate
RS Piggyback shock. Cant remember the model
Nukeproof ally bars and stem
Sram GX
11-50 Sunrace
Brand-x dropper
Race face 30T ring on race face turbine cranks
Wheels 30mm BB
Formula Cura 2’s
And a frame thats about 2.5kg before you even start!!!
Just as an update, ended up building the downcountry bike, a hardtail nonetheless.
Shortly after creating this thread I destroyed the rear wheel on the AM9 while landing a whip. I already had the Rekon Race/Rekon tyres and Hunt Trail Wide wheels for the downcountry build, so decided to throw them in the AM9. The bike obviously became way, way faster, to the point I could keep up with my XC friends, but:
- it would still suck on accelerations or out of the saddle efforts
- it felt terribly unbalanced. You could feel the tyres/wheels reaching the limit way before the frame and fork
After a handful of rides I placed an order for a Cotic Solarismax
I kinda went with a Pike on my AM9 to keep a little weight off the front end for longer rides. But then last minute (as in it was in build) I rang about changing the shock to a Super Deluxe air and was recommended that it's best with coil, so went that weighty route instead. Rides brilliantly though so no regrets.