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"lighter" wheels + carbon bars for freeriding

2638 Views 26 Replies 18 Participants Last post by rockcrusher, Jul 27, 2004

freeriderB

Discussion Starter · Jul 23, 2004

I know I can't go too light (being 195 pounds), but what is a decent priced wheelset that's not built for a DH tank? Most drops are < 6 feet, but many to flat.

Also...I want to try a carbon riser bar but heard many horror stories years ago. Are the carbon bars made today really as strong as the aluminum? I'm considering because I don't race DH, and rarely do I wipe where the bike sails off and crashes.

I'm looking at the Easton and Azonic carbon risers.

Let me know what you think...

1 - 20 of 27 Posts

VIA

· #2 · Jul 23, 2004

The facts :
You are a 195lbs guy
Doing drops 6fts.,"but many to flat".
And you don't race.

My opinion...

Don't waste your time and money on carbon parts and get a heavy and strong wheelset and a DH aluminium bar...

Oh..whatafack

zedro

· #3 · Jul 23, 2004

i find it curious that people consider dropping to flat to be easier on parts than flowy DH racing that stays glued to the trail.

anyways, wouldnt get wimpier than Mavic EX721s....

Jm.

· #4 · Jul 23, 2004

supposedly maxms MX6 bar is for freeriding and downhilling, but i dont know how many people are really doing hardcore DH and freeride on it.

The stem is usually a good place to loose a little weight too, when you are running 100 or 90mm, you don't need a huge CNCed stem for most riding IMO. The new thomson looks pretty beefy still, but drops the weight to 178 grams, it is definitely not a "weight weenies" stem (those are around 100g to 140g) but it drops some off the fairly chunky 200+g thomson. Especially if you are using a shorter 75-80mm, you can save a good amount of weight with a shorter thomson...

dbabuser

· #5 · Jul 23, 2004

I'm a barely sub-clyde too

freeriderB said:
I know I can't go too light (being 195 pounds), but what is a decent priced wheelset that's not built for a DH tank? Most drops are < 6 feet, but many to flat.

Also...I want to try a carbon riser bar but heard many horror stories years ago. Are the carbon bars made today really as strong as the aluminum? I'm considering because I don't race DH, and rarely do I wipe where the bike sails off and crashes.

I'm looking at the Easton and Azonic carbon risers.

Let me know what you think...

at 190 lbs, and I ride downhill and urban and don't have many explosive crashes. I've had good luck so far w/ the Easton Monkeylites and Sun Singletrack rims. I am looking for a lighter wheel, cause the XT rear hub is a boat anchor, but I think that's about as light as I'm gonna go for the rims (580g). There are a few lightweight hubs that will take some abuse, but they aren't cheap.

Evel Knievel

· #6 · Jul 23, 2004

Strong DH hoops are what you need. Lighten them up with Chris King hubs.

Carbon bars are a bad idea.

BJ-

· #7 · Jul 23, 2004

ok...

if ur gunna whip out on the weight of ur bars then...get the newer...TruVativ...Team carbon riser bar speced for DH...its tough and light as all hell...and as for wheels try tubes that dont weigh as much or tubless...instead of getting newer and weaker wheels...

Banshee Rider

· #8 · Jul 23, 2004

Dont be to quick to judge the carbon bars, the easton monkeylite DH carbon bars a strong as hell, i havent heard of a single one of them breaking. Id trust that bar just as much as any other, however because i still have that "what if" mindset id probably replace the bar every 2 seasons. You'll save some weight for sure with that bar, the sram X-0 derailer is carbon and ti, very nice, you could save some weight there, you could also convert to stans no tubes to save rotation weight and a ton of pinch flats, as for the rims, mavic deemax are fairly light and defenitly strong.

VIA

· #9 · Jul 23, 2004

Carbon bar,carbon del,carbon stem...don't forget carbon spacers..

Yeah.... great combination for a 190lbs guy doing 6fts. drops to flat...good luck man..

PS.. if you wanna save some weight joing a gym

Banshee Rider

· #10 · Jul 23, 2004

VIA how many carbon bars have you snapped?

I ride with a guy who hits 6ft to flat all the time and is just about 190, hes been riding the same monkeylite carbon bar for almost 2 years now, im sure he'll be replacing it soon which is a smart safety percaution (which i do with any bar) but really, id call easton and ask them for the low down on their carbon DH bar.

And for carbon spacers, i have them on both my bikes, when i figure out a way to break a spacer, let alone a carbon on, i'll be sure to return to mtbr immediatly and inform you all.

VIA

· #11 · Jul 23, 2004

What I don't get is the desire to save weight with carbon parts for a DH bike...and if you're 190lbs guy what diference is gonna make a few grams...?

Banshee Rider

· #12 · Jul 23, 2004

LMAO i have no idea, thats the riders decision, it costs alot of money to save weight on bikes.

KomodoRider

· #13 · Jul 23, 2004

why worry???

a freaking half pound dosnt make a difference, if you start worring about your freeride bike being heavy then sell it and go cross county, freeride=heavy

ride red

· #14 · Jul 23, 2004

KomodoRider said:
a freaking half pound dosnt make a difference, if you start worring about your freeride bike being heavy then sell it and go cross county, freeride=heavy

Actually thats not true, in the MX world they have weight limits, for example, a 125cc bike cant weigh less than 195 pounds or a 250cc cant weigh less than 215. I dont know if those are actual figures, I just tossed them out as examples, but never less the limits are there to keep the highend factory teams honest. If several pounds makes a difference on a 50hp, 250cc race bike that will rip the helmet off your head, shouldnt a pound or two make a noticable difference on a human powered bicycle?

I think it does, I can feel a big difference between my 33lb FR bike compared to my 30lb trail bike. A few grams here and there add up. Look at Honda's factory DH bike, claimed to weigh 38lbs, Minar seems to be liking the light weight DH bike quite well.

Master_Jako

· #15 · Jul 23, 2004

hmmm, 38 pounds was my 2003 bighit comp before i fixed a monster T on it

now its a good 46 pounds. im a light rider---150 pounds...so sun single tracks suit me. great rims i think but then again im off topic.

VIA

· #16 · Jul 23, 2004

ride red said:
Actually thats not true, in the MX world they have weight limits, for example, a 125cc bike cant weigh less than 195 pounds or a 250cc cant weigh less than 215. I dont know if those are actual figures, I just tossed them out as examples, but never less the limits are there to keep the highend factory teams honest. If several pounds makes a difference on a 50hp, 250cc race bike that will rip the helmet off your head, shouldnt a pound or two make a noticable difference on a human powered bicycle?

I think it does, I can feel a big difference between my 33lb FR bike compared to my 30lb trail bike. A few grams here and there add up. Look at Honda's factory DH bike, claimed to weigh 38lbs, Minar seems to be liking the light weight DH bike quite well.

Yeah... but saveing weight on a carbon bar , carbon rear del. ,carbon spacers !!? come on now.. get an air shock too and you'll have a nice XC bike

zedro

· #17 · Jul 23, 2004

VIA said:
Yeah... but saveing weight on a carbon bar , carbon rear del. ,carbon spacers !!? come on now.. get an air shock too and you'll have a nice XC bike

cheaper to actually drill out your aluminum spacers, they dont actually provide much structural support at all.

But these things can add up, but that would be the last things to change IMO. You can save much more elsewhere than the bars.

dhracer1067

· #18 · Jul 23, 2004

i think hubs, and going tubeless would make alot of difference. and if you havea really crappy cassette you can loose some good weight there. maybe ti spring if you want to drop the dough for one.

gonzostrike

· #19 · Jul 23, 2004 (Edited)

thoughts from a thin man who's easy on his bike...

I'm only 165 lbs at 5'10" so I don't do much damage to my bikes unless they're not well-made (hear that, Tony Ellsworth?). my burliest bike is a Banshee Scream '04 model in 8" mode with 888R 8" fork. It weighs only about 43 lbs. how do I keep it light?

yes, with wheel/tire selection, but NOT with handlebar selection.

handlebar MUST be stiff or it will reduce steering accuracy. the only stiffish light handlebar I'd trust for DH/FR is the Answer ProTaper. after that, there are many bars around 300g that are quite good. I like the Truvativ Hussefelt 31.8mm bar, super burly and not an anchor.

wheelset: Hadley 150mm rear, Marzocchi 20mm front hubs. 14ga spokes. Arrow Freeride rims. DH tubes (but not the ultra-heavy Intense tubes). Maxxis High Roller 2.5 60D DH rear, Minion 2.7 60D DH front.

I wouldn't go much lighter than an Arrow Freeride rim unless my courses/trails were pretty danged smooth.

lightness at rolling/rotating points is critical for a bike that "feels" lighter than it weighs.

where to keep it light: tires, tubes, rims

where heaviness doesn't matter much, or even can help: hubs, crankset/bb

if I wanted my FR/DH rig to be light, I'd use XT Hollowtech cranks & BB and the wheels I describe above.

also, I'd check out the nice Hadley wheelsets that Universal Cycles is offering. I bought a set for my trail rig. very nice build, holding up extremely well. you should be able to choose a good rim... the Atomlab Trailpimp set is only $480 -- http://www.universalcycles.com/shopping/product_details.php?id=1960

NO, I do not work for Universal Cycles. This isn't a spamming message. I'm just glad I got those wheels at that price.

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JOSH130

· #20 · Jul 23, 2004

The Honda bike mentioned before actually used carbon bars, so they can't be too unreliable.

Also does a drop to flat really work your bar that much? Commonly it is done with weight even between the two wheels. Or is the trails tradition with weight almost all the way back. I don't know for sure but when I land like that I don't feel much force going through the front of the bike at all.

Never the less wheels tires and tubes are where it is at for weight. Often those parts and the suspension are what make a bike heavy or light. I've been thinking of carbon bars for my urban bike, but I don't even think the weight savings is worth the money, because I probalby won't notice it much.

On the other hand when building a bike from scratch paying attention to weight on every part will make a huge difference. I just can't justify switching a perfectly good bar for an expensive one that won't be much of an improvement. Just my two cents.

JOSH

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