[pceby]

Hey guys,
Long time lurker here on the ww thread. Trying to drop some weight on my 2012 Giant Talon 2. Currently it is sitting right around 28.2 pounds. I upgraded the whole drivetrain to a 1X10 in December so am not gonna change anything on that until its ready to be replaced. I will post some general specs of the bike and then post the weights of parts that I want to replace to lose weight on.

Some specs:
RF Ride crankset with RF N/W Ring and RF Bashguard
SLX medium cage RD
xt shifter
Deore 10 speed cassette and chain
Hayes Stroker Trail Brakes (hoses are being trimmed this weekend)
Suntour Raidon xc lo r fork
DT Swiss Skewers
stock Giant wheelset

Items I am currently willing to replace with weights from park ds-2:

odi rogue grips 132g
710mm specialized bar 273g
Giant top cap 16g
70mm specialized stem 125g
stock 30.9mm giant seatpost 379g
stock qr seatpost clamp 40g
stock 160mm front and back tektro rotors 135g each
rotor bolts 2g each, 12 total
bottle cage 50g
bottle cage bolts X4 16g


I am 16 currently and am planning to buy another bike around late summer-fall so am on a bit of a budget. I also plan on upgrading the wheelset and going tubeless in about a month. I would really appreciate some suggestion on parts to get. Some price limits I have are, no more than $100 for the bar, $60 for the stem, and $40 for the seatpost.

I would like to have a wider bar possibly carbon around the 720-740mm range and would like my stem lengthened a bit to 75mm with 0 or close to 0 degree rise. I am not sure what size seatpost clamp my bike has, I am assuming I can lose 20 grams or so by changing to a non qr type. I am unsure of what wheelset I am going to buy yet but am planning on spending $350-$500. If I were to upgrade my current rotors (6 bolt) would they most likely be compatible with the new wheelset? or are most hubs now center locking?

Thanks in advance for your suggestions!

 

[Acko]

If you're planning on buying a new bike then I wouldn't upgrade anything else on this one

 

[RS VR6]

^^This...buuut...if the parts will work with the new bike...then there is nothing wrong with getting a few upgrades along the way.

You can drop a decent amount of weight by swapping out the stock bar, seatpost, and seat clamp.

I saw a Niner RDO bar (175gr) go for $100 (199 retail) bucks new on eBay yesterday! Lightweight seatclamps are about 10gr and can be had for $20. If you trust the China carbon seatposts...you can also get the ones eBay for under or around $100 and are about or under 150gr.

If you're riding mostly XC...you can run the Ashima Ai2 rotors. They are lightweight and very reasonably priced.

 

[pceby]

New bike is not gonna be replacement for this bike. Gonna keep this for xc, its really not bad bike despite it being cheap to begin with, ive came in top 3 in a few local 18 and under races on it. Im either gonna get a Commencal Meta AM v4, trek remedy or 2016 Stumpjumper FSR Elite.

 

[pceby]

Thanks for reply, i found a seatpost clamp that will drop 29 grams so that will start it off. Im kind of unsure of the ebay carbon stuff. I definitely like the price but on the other hand I have seen other people say that you can get some alloy stuff that is very similar or even less in weight than some of the chinese carbon stuff. Performance wise how are the ashima rotors? Ive gotten the feeling that they arent the best performance but really light like you said from other threads.

 

[RS VR6]

The Ashima rotors have been working great for me. Not as good as the Ice Tech on my other bike...but for what they are...they do a good job. I'm 140lbs before gear.

The other thing that you have that is on the heavy side is your crank. I have the ride crank sitting my garage...and it weighs 730gr with no chainring. By going to an SLX crank (about 598gr no rings) and taking the bash ring off...you can drop close to 200gr depending on how heavy your bash guard is. Don't really need a bash ring for XC, do you?

 

[tehllama]

IFF the plan is to buy another bike, and that next bike happens to be a 29" bike.... buy the wheelset you want to use for that bike. You'll notice that weight, and none of it will be lost/wasted money on a new bike. The StumpyFSR (or RM Instinct, or Trek Remedy, or Scott Genius 9) would pair really well with a nice fat wheelset (Roval Traverse Fattie, or building a DT350/Spank295 wheelset) would be where I'd look on really effective weight savings.

Anything else is liable to be a dead end for parts upgrades - you'll be tons happier moving to 750-760mm bars, and just some generally lighter stuff (SLX-XT is a really ideal price point where you're getting performance AND weight savings without massive diminishing returns),

Basically, in the price ranges you're looking at, the marginal improvements aren't going to be massive - better wheels are generally within reach, and if there's a chance of using that wheelset towards a new bike (or at least compensating by parting off or rendering spare the wheelset that comes with a complete new bike) ends up being better value than replacing old parts that are still worth $40-$70 with parts that now cost $60-$100 - the marginal performance gains over what you have now are going to be tiny.

 

[phlegm]

Thought I'd throw out a few random points:

• I was about to mention the bashguard, same as RS VR6. Doesn't necessarily jive with XC, and is counter to WW (weight-weenieism, losing weight off a bike).
• You didn't mention a saddle. You can try a 110g full carbon saddle from eBay.
• Most hubs are not center lockring. If you go with a Shimano centrelock hub, that will limit your rotor options.
• KCNC are also light, and cheap from eBay. I'd say they are more or less equivalent to the Ashimas mentioned. (Don't be fooled by the latest, more expensive Ashimas - they are heavier.)
• Just FYI, a wider bar, by definition takes away from losing weight. It's a personal preference thing too, but generally on XC bikes the bars aren't super-wide. Depends on a lot of factors though, like your riding style, and the actual trails you're on. (I would clip bars all the time with anything wide.)
• I wouldn't bother with the seatpost clamp. Strange for me to say it, but targeting weight savings of <50g is very expensive, and probably can't be noticed (unless you do 10 of them).
• You didn't mention tires. This is where the big tradeoffs come, but I've been happy with Thunder Burts, and if you don't need a lot of sidewall protection I'm guessing you can shed up to a pound over stock tires, depending on trails, and conditions.

Be prepped though that currently your frame, fork, and wheelset are going to be the real killers on weight, so most of our recommendations are going to be incremental weight loss.

 

[pceby]

Thanks for the info,

I didn't bother mentioning tires as im gonna be getting some tlr tires along with the new wheelset. Right now i have Maxxis Crossmarks on and am not gonna bother changing them right now.

The bashguard i am tempted to remove although it has come in handy and protected my chain on quite a few occasions. Gonna pull it off after my ride today and see how much it weighs.

Right now I would define my use of it as an xc/trail bike. Also forgot to mention that i'm 6' currently and 175lbs.

I think i am going to get an ebay carbon saddle and drop 150 grams off my current charge spoon. So far i'm gonna be getting either the ashima or kcnc rotors (gonna look into both options more), carbon ebay saddle, carbon bar (found a renthal fatbar carbon lite on here for 110 bucks that i might snatch up), and then a 75-80mm stem. For me my current 710mm bars are too narrow. Im deciding between different stem options in $50-$90 price range from ritchey and truvative. Also gonna look into some lighter grips than my odi rogues. Any suggestion for lightweight lock-ons?

Thanks
Paul

 

[phlegm]

... Any suggestion for lightweight lock-ons?

That's a bit of an oxymoron. I did try some from Crank Bros, but found the inner grip still rotated. Even so, weren't even close to non-lockons in terms of weight.

Let's face it - the ODIs and their replaceable/interchangeable grips are fantastic, probably best in class, but they aren't WW. You'd be looking at ESI silicon or Lizardskin DSP for best weight savings, but neither are lock-ons. That said, they are cheap enough to give a try.

 

[tehllama]

Grips and seat clamps aren't great places to save weight on a budget, I wholeheartedly agree with that. The Lizardskin DSP's are really good grips, as are the silicone ones - I wouldn't be in a hurry to change those out, but when you do make sure they are comfortable more than light.

Definitely ditch the bashguard, and really start looking at tire weights to see where you can trim large amounts of weight. The seat isn't a bad place to start looking.

Rotating Weight >> Unsprung Weight >> High Up Weight >> Other Weight
Good tires are always a good thing, so something that fits your XC/Trail application should be killer - Vittoria Saguaros, Maxxis Ikon, Schwalbe Nobby Nic (2015), Specialized Ground Control are all remarkably solid tires for their weight in that area. Crossmarks, especially the OEM ones really aren't bad on weight, but being able to run sans tubes is a significant weight savings AND performance gain.

Smarter, and more future-proof hubs on a new wheelset are a big consideration - DT350 are the arguable best value, and the modular design means you can keep those hubs current. The value is impressive too; that said if you can get a screaming deal on XT or Formula front hubs, there's a lot of money to be saved. Mid-range double butted spokes are again the best way to gain durability, weight savings, and give up very little else for the rest of the wheelbuild.

A saddle, and good wide carbon bar are solid choices for right now - if you're gaining width on the bar at the same time, that's great news all around. It's hard to find a bad stem, so anything name brand is going to be great. Again, those are really portable to a new bike too.

 

[nbwallace]

Weight loss cheap

The serration rotors at Pricepoint are light and really inexpensive. I've been running them on most of my bikes.Alligator Serration Disc Brake Rotor | dissipates heat

I've used the Chinese carbon bars and they're pretty good and can be had for under $50.

I think the SLX cranks are an excellent option. If you really want to go for it, light bikes carbon rims with hubs and spokes from bike hub store. Maybe Maxxis Ikons.

 

[watts888]

can't go wrong with carbon rims and lighter tires. reducing rotating mass is king. And go tubeless now, even if it's ghetto tubeless with gorilla tape. I still go with lighter handlebar/stem over seat post. And if you're questioning what grips to use, ask yourself if you weigh your gloves. Do you remove your watch when you ride? Incremental weight improvements are OK, but there is definately a point where it gets to be too much.

recently saw a guy with an ebay china carbon bar where it broke on a jump. It looked like it broke about 2-3" off the stem, so it was a manufacturing defect. sometimes, worth it to get a name brand handlebar.

 

[phlegm]

Oh, forgot to mention, I wouldn't sweat the stem either - not typically a huge source of weight loss. Now, if you're spending $$$, then of course all components are potential targets.

I agree with Watts in that grips are only minor weight loss, but at least it is an inexpensive change. The $/g is pretty good for grips.

 

[goodmojo]

Look on craigslist, people are always looking to dump bars and seatposts for cheap. Wheelsets are often forsale at a big discount too.

bluesky has ec70 carbon bars/seatposts for around $50

Easton EC70 XC Carbon Handlebar 2012 - BlueSkyCycling.com

Easton EC70 Carbon Seatpost 2012 - BlueSkyCycling.com

The seatpost and bar would save about 275g. Not bad for $100+shipping

Im riding a tioga spyder seat from danscomp which weighs 158g and is $40. It is just a plastic shell so I wear bike shorts with it, but it is perfectly comfortable even for 3-4 hours rides. You need to know how to sit with your sit bones in the right place and then you dont actually need your seat to have padding.

The wheelset probably weighs around 2000g-2100g. A crest wheelset weighs in the 1500g range. So you could probably save about a pound

You can find crest wheelsets on pinkbike for not a ton of $ (maybe $300)

 

[goodmojo]

Oh, forgot to mention, I wouldn't sweat the stem either - not typically a huge source of weight loss. Now, if you're spending $$$, then of course all components are potential targets.

I agree with Watts in that grips are only minor weight loss, but at least it is an inexpensive change. The $/g is pretty good for grips.

If the stem is really 120g it is already pretty light.

 

[phlegm]

If the stem is really 120g it is already pretty light.

True, but it's all relative.

 

[watts888]

and do not fall for the cheap carbon stems on ebay/amazon. Just alloy stems wrapped in carbon, for the wananana be racer.

 

[goodmojo]

True, but it's all relative.

View attachment 993357

hah nice.. Also I doubt the stem is really 123g. it is probably more like 180

 

[pceby]

Thanks for all the suggestions. Just got back from ride and am pretty beat so gonna be up shopping around for a while.