DT Dilemma

Current Build:
Large DT frame
time control z pedals
Nevegal 2.5" Freeride Steel beads
totem coil
DHX Coil
Joplin
Chromag Trailmaster saddle
AM HammerSchmidt
Industry Nine Enduro with 10mm thru
Avid Codes front and rear
X9 shifter and X9 med cage rear
Chromag Ranger Stem
C king HS
DMR wing bar

I think throwing on a Telonix 2.4" front and Excavator 2.3" rear, Ti Coil, and Easton Carbon bars should be a sub-$500 way to drop weight. Maybe going to Forumla The Ones would be good as well, but that's a pricey ass endevor right there and I'd rather save that for a 2010/2011 DT frame.

KRob said:

With almost every one of these components you can make a sensible swap that doesn't sacrifice much in the way of burl but would add up to 5-6 lbs overall.

Totem solo air
Acid 1 pedals
2.4 Rubber Queens or Ardents or Telonix run tubless
Carbon bars
Ti coil
elixer or Formula One brakes

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Yep, although I've heard the Totem air doesn't really drop much weight (claimed weight is off). I don't know how much the "chromag" saddle and stem weigh, but those things sound friggin heavy. Some short stems are reasonably light like my Holzfeller, some are frigging heavy blocks of metal like my DMR, and with such a short stem it can usually be pretty light and not sacrifice anything. I use the Gravity Carbon bars, they are reasonably wide and light, without being stupid-light. Hammerschmidt is pretty heavy, SRAM likes to compare it to a FR shimano setup, but if you get SLX or XT cranks, the "traditional" setup ends up being much lighter, especially if you just run a 32t ring up front like me. Maybe go 28t if you're not a strong climber. Things like the joplin and hammerschmidt are cool, but not completely necessary and they add a lot of weight. That's probably 1.5 extra pounds right there, that's huge. It may be worth it, but then you can't complain about weight. Also an 8" rear code is pretty overkill, to be really weight concious I'd go with a lighter rear brake or a smaller rotor in the rear.

If he gets a new DT frame that is 2lbs lighter, well, his bike is only going to be 2lbs lighter, if it has the same parts it's still going to be pretty heavy.

I was doing my year end stable assessment, what has changed, and what needs to change. The DT has moved from the start of the year and been slowly upgraded/part swapped away from all-purpose AM to Freeride, probably b/c of my willingness to push myself and the bike, not to mention riding it all over the place and seeing something to hit while on the DT makes for conveinent pushing of skills, but I have a Vtach for the purpose of DH and full on freeriding.

In my desire to beef it up I pushed the weight up to where I'm not keen to take it on 3-6 hour pedal and play kind of rides. I'm looking for ideas and places to lighten the load but not lose the durability/burliness, I do appreciate all the feedback.

I'm going to go for Tires, Ti Coil, and Carbon Bar in round one, if I'm not happy with it, I'll probably pull the Codes for The Ones (might do earlier this if I can convince my buddy he needs R1s instead of his current The Ones). The last iteration is to pull the HS and go back to a 32t SLX setup that I had pre-HS. Joplin stays only because it works well enough to not be able to justify buying the KS i950 seatpost, at least till I break it.

thefriar said:

Current Build:
Large DT frame
time control z pedals
Nevegal 2.5" Freeride Steel beads
totem coil
DHX Coil
Joplin
Chromag Trailmaster saddle
AM HammerSchmidt
Industry Nine Enduro with 10mm thru
Avid Codes front and rear
X9 shifter and X9 med cage rear
Chromag Ranger Stem
C king HS
DMR wing bar

I think throwing on a Telonix 2.4" front and Excavator 2.3" rear, Ti Coil, and Easton Carbon bars should be a sub-$500 way to drop weight. Maybe going to Forumla The Ones would be good as well, but that's a pricey ass endevor right there and I'd rather save that for a 2010/2011 DT frame.

Click to expand...

Yeah, that build is pretty overkill for our terrain. If you didn't have the V-Tach and were hitting the DH mountains then I'd stick with most of your parts.

• Consider dropping the Joplin for a Thomson. I used to ride our stuff with an AMP post and it was nice to have but since I removed it I don't miss it at all. Sell it and use the proceeds for your upgrades. I have the Masterpiece which saves even more weight but it's kind of pricey.
• Consider getting a WTB Saddle. I've ridden both the TI and the Chromo models and the Chromo is definitley more comfy. I have snapped the TI one and WTB replaced it. It's now on my XC bike.
• You really don't need DH tires for our trails. Yeah, you'll get flats but not that frequently. I'm running 2.4 Ardents front and back and I've had great luck with them. That would make a huge difference right there.
• TI coil is a no brainer. If you are patient you can get one on Flea-bay for cheap. I picked one up for about $60.
• Those brakes are way overkill for our trails. The Ones will save you the most weight but you might not like how they feel. I'm running the new Hope Tech M4's. They won't save you the most weight but they do feel fantastic. The Elixir's would be cheaper and save you more weight.
• A carbon bar would save you some good weight. I used my carbon bar at Diablo and Highland for the past couple of seasons. I did go back to AL since I saw a buddy break his carbon rocker on a drop at Highland but for AM stuff I wouldn't worry about it.

If your staying clipped in stick with the Time pedals. I tried the CB Acids and they broke on my very first ride. The replacement set took me 2 weeks to break. We have way too many rock gardens for those pedals.

I'd stay way from the Totem Air. I rode one for about 6 months before converting it to coil. It was so bad I was going to put my Float 36 back on. If anything I'd look at that new 66 RC3 TI fork. Dominator claims his saved him close to a pound. When my Totem dies that will be my next fork.

woodyak said:

Yeah, that build is pretty overkill for our terrain. If you didn't have the V-Tach and were hitting the DH mountains then I'd stick with most of your parts...

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If your staying clipped in stick with the Time pedals. I tried the CB Acids and they broke on my very first ride. The replacement set took me 2 weeks to break. We have way too many rock gardens for those pedals.

I'd stay way from the Totem Air. I rode one for about 6 months before converting it to coil. It was so bad I was going to put my Float 36 back on. If anything I'd look at that new 66 RC3 TI fork. Dominator claims his saved him close to a pound. When my Totem dies that will be my next fork.

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Bike sees a bunch of time at Sprain and Trumbull, you can easily go with a much lighter XC bike, or a Vtach at both, but the DT is perfect for both as you can hit all the trails and still push yourself if you feel inclined. I'm probably going to bring it to Highland and then to Kingdom Trails this summer, will definitely swap tires, pedals, and stem between the two.

Interesting on the The Ones, I run them on my Tracer VP, overkill but they match , and my buddy has them on his BMW Big Link (70# DH rig from back in the day), we're both amazingly pleased with performance after a season of use. I have Elixirs on my 29er and am happy there, but not sure I'd put them on this rig.

Roger that on the CB stuff, I sheared a Mallet last season, for saftey sake and peace of mind the Times will stay. I also like the platform nature of the Controls, don't have to worry about missing a clip in if I throw a balancing leg out on skinnies. I hate the Joplin but love the flexibility it provides, I probably could get better with the QR lever on the seat tube.

I love the totem coil, I do the speed lube every other month depending on how often I've been riding and its been sweet to me, takes 5 minutes and seems to keep things super smooth. The 66 RC3 Ti will likely be on my 2011 DT.