That's weird, I thought there's weight to be saved on the rims and maybe hubs.
I guess there's no magic
I mean, there's potential weight to be saved. But there comes a point where you're going to start spending quite a lot more for it without sacrificing capability.
On my bike, outside of the frame itself, which is a pretty stout steel frame (which I like, anyway, so not planning to change it), tires and rims are the main possible spots I could save weight. For most of my riding, changing the tires would sacrifice capability, though, and I'm not willing to do that. I could change tires situationally and put lighter treads on for xc rides (also hanging up the insert for lighter duty rides), but doing so is kinda onerous.
What's left would be the rims. Also given where I ride, how I ride, and how much I weigh, I went with a 32t wheel build for durability. It's holding up great. Maybe I could get away with a 28h wheel build, at least up front, but that actually wouldn't save all that much weight given I'm using good double-butted spokes. The rims themselves are aluminum DT Swiss XM481 29er rims (525g/ea). Yeah, I could save some weight there. I could get narrower rims (and narrower tires) and drop some weight. But then I'd lose some capability that I like. I could switch to a quality carbon rim (a much less expensive carbon rim won't save the same weight for the same capability), but then the expense starts shooting up. I put good hubs on it already (I9 Hydra), so while I could probably find lighter hubs, it's not going to be huge.
I could save a little weight with a carbon cockpit, but again, getting into extra expense. Could probably have found a lighter 140mm fork than an MRP Ribbon. But I made that particular choice based on price. Could have installed lighter brakes than the Dominion A4's I have, but that would have reduced braking performance some. And I'm quite liking the Dominions, tbh. Could have installed lighter cranks than the RF Turbines I chose. But I chose those based on reliability (and cost, as going much lighter there starts to cost a good bit more as it gets into carbon and Ti options). For an alu crank, the turbines are reasonably lightweight. I could have saved a bit of weight on my drivetrain (mostly the cassette) if I'd gone SRAM instead of Shimano XTR. But I have a slight preference for Shimano there. I could have adapted to SRAM, but I also would have spent more for it (those lightweight SRAM cassettes are kinda spensive), though spreading the cost out over the life of the cassette probably would be less. I probably could have chosen a lighter dropper, too, instead of the 150mm OneUp V1 dropper I chose. But I chose that post specifically to maximize drop for the space I had. I also like that it's easy to service on my own. So that choice was a functionality choice.
Weight was a consideration for me, but it was never the top consideration in my component choices. I was considering other factors, too. Sure, I could have built a hardtail with similar specs at a lower weight. The bike as it sits weighs about 32lbs and I'm sure I could find 5lbs to cut from it without too much trouble. But it would be a totally different bike from what I actually got (and a much more expensive one), even though on paper, the spec sheets would make the bikes look very similar to each other. And I like what I got.
This bike isn't built to be fast on the climbs. It's maybe a little faster than my previous one, but it actually weighs a pound or two more, so it's not faster because of weight. If I wanted a bike that helped me be fast on climbs, I definitely would have chosen something else entirely. This bike's purpose is to be solid, reliable, and fun. And yes, I sacrificed some weight for that.
And reliability is exactly why bike weights have crept upwards in general over the past 10-15yrs. I remember the 90's when my riding buddies were breaking all their lightweight stuff. Some guys I knew in the midwest gave up on the typical xc gear and started using downhill parts because they broke stuff so often. And it's not because they rode in the gnar. I was a beginner back then, so I wasn't riding any of the super light xc race parts.
For me, what's interesting is that my bike weights haven't changed much at all over that time. My beginner bikes (if I weighed them) were probably around 30lbs. The first bike I know I weighed was about 17yrs ago, and it was about 30-31lbs. I've spent more on all my successive bikes, and yet they all have weighed about the same. Probably within a pound or two. Yet those bikes have been able to handle more and more, and helped me feel more confident along the way. That's pretty rad, IMO.
