[kenmtb]

Hi-
I inherited a Jamis dakar sport. The bike is great but it is pretty heavy 35lbs. I would like to get rid of the weigh but I am overwhelmed by all of the options. What are the best weigh saving components I can upgrade to. I have $500 to play with. Ebay is an option.
Thanks!

Fork: RST Gilo Pro TnL
Headset: Aheadset, STS-2K, 1 1/8”
Wheels: Alex TD-25 disc-specific/eyeletted rims, 32H, Formula disc hubs
Tires: Geax Saguaro, 26 x 2.1”
Derailleurs: Shimano Deore Shadow rear and Alivio 31.8mm top pull front
Shiftlevers: Shimano Alivio RapidFire-SL, 24-speed
Crankset: Shimano M361 Octalink, 42/32/22, 170mm (13-15”), 175mm (17-23”)

 

[AndrwSwitch]

I think I dropped a few full pounds upgrading from an RST fork to the XC racing fork I have now. Didn't get the weight on the RST, but it's a boat anchor.

Other major places to save weight are the wheels, crankset, and sometimes handlebars, saddle, seat post.

Are you trying to weight weenie it, or are you interested in a more functional build?

 

[One Pivot]

id go straight for the fork. basically anything would be a huge upgrade. a good air fork would shave off a pound plus.

check out the lx cranksets from jenson for 85 bucks. it'll save some weight and drastically increase reliability. low end cranksets and rings dont last very long. after that maybe wheels/tires/tubes.

how committed to the bike are you? you dont want to buy a bunch of bike-specific upgrades that dont transfer over. if you get a fork, leave the steer tube a bit long. cranks will swap over, as will wheels and other things.

 

[kenmtb]

Thats some great advice there! I am committed to the bike long term and Im trying to get the weight as low as practicle for around $500. So the big savings would be forks,crank then wheelset. I will look at those first. I saw the price on some of the forks :yikes: I have never really upgraded a bike before so I have to ask you experts for some more guidance because Im confused with all the choices. One pivot said get lx crankset. What would you recommend for forks, and wheels??
Thanks so much!

 

[Mount Dora Cycles]

The best weight savings would be the wheels/tires. You can save up to 3 lbs with a nice wheelset and lightweight tires and it is rotational weight. Weight savings should always start with the wheels. You might save 1- 1 1/2 lbs on a fork and it's dead weight. Upgrading a fork is done for performance, not weight savings. The crank/BB can be another small weight savings, up to a pound in some cases. This is also considered rotational weight and another good place to lose. Handlebars are a waste to upgrade until you've run out of places to lose. A lightweight saddle can improve comfort and performance, That would be my third place to save weight. Unfortunately, $500 would probably only buy you wheels.

 

[AndrwSwitch]

There's a massive amount of choice in MTB components out there.

What do you want to do with the bike? There are some incredibly light forks and wheelsets out there, but I think that some of the weight weenie stuff would be quite frustrating for some users. Some particularly lightweight products even have rider weight limits.

 

[One Pivot]

id look for a used reba or recon on ebay. you can also score manitou minutes for CHEAP if you look around for a while, just make sure you get one with either tpc or abs+ damping.

 

[Go! Ninja Go!]

Like Mount Dora said, I'd be looking at wheels first. You'll shave off a bit on the scale, and because it's unsprung weight it'll feel like a bigger loss when you ride it.

 

[bad mechanic]

Wheels and tires first. Always.

You can build light and durable wheels for $300, and for rubber Conti Race King 2.2 Supersonics with Peformance Ultralight tubes are hard to beat - great performance, light weight, and fairly durable.

 

[kenmtb]

Thanks-
Do wheel sets normally come with front and rear hubs?

 

[bad mechanic]

Um...yes.

 

[laurenlex]

1. Fork
2. Tires
3. Wheels
4. Crank