# Oh Great Sages of Weight Weenieness



## Marcos_E (Dec 16, 2007)

I come to the asking for help. My bike does weigh a burdensome 19.3 pounds. I ask you all, any ideas for dropping some weight off of the thing?


Frame
Kona Zing Supreme (52cm)

Fork
Fetish Cycleworks Carbon Lite

Wheelset
Mavic Ksyrium SSC SL

Groupo
Full 2006 Campagnolo Centaur, save for the shifters which are '09 Veloce Ultrashift

Handlebars
FSA Wing Alloy 44cm

Saddle
Fizik Arione

Seatpost
Ritchey WCS Alloy 31.6

Stem
ITM Mantis Superover (120mm)

Pedals
Shimano 105

Any ideas folks? Kona lists the frame's weight at 3lbs even on the website and the fork makes the weight right around 3.9 for the frameset.

Bearing those numbers in mind, it seems like my planned upgrade to a carbon frame (Likely a Cannondale SuperSix or SystemSix, Cervelo S2) won't do all that much for me!

Any and all help will be greatly appreciated.:thumbsup:


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## Camilo (Jun 23, 2007)

If you could list the actual weights of those components - and also include the tires and tubes you're using - there might be better advice forthcoming because we might not know which pieces you have are really "heavy" For stuff you can't weigh, check weightweenies.starbike.com - I've found those weights to be pretty accurate.

When I went all weight weenie on my Cannondale, I saved the most on the wheels and tires (you already have decent wheels though, I didn't), about 3 pounds total right there. I then lost another pound at an ounce here and there on seat post, saddle, pedals, bars, stem, bottle cages. But I didn't go super high end, and cost was really pretty modest - mostly close out or deep discount sales of good alloy stuff and/or "new old stock" carbon parts. I got from ~21 lbs to ~17 lbs. I was probably at a similar starting point to you, except your wheels are the reason your starting point is lower.

The 17 pound bike seems very lively to me, but a lot of that has to do with the fact that many/most of the cockpit changes I made were for fit first and weight second. Just feels so much better and the weight loss is a bonus.


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## jmlapoint (Sep 4, 2008)

Thomson Seatpost
SpeedPlay Pedals
Latex Tubes
Lighter Tires in the 195g range: Conti/Vittoria


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## Marcos_E (Dec 16, 2007)

Camilo said:


> If you could list the actual weights of those components - and also include the tires and tubes you're using - there might be better advice forthcoming because we might not know which pieces you have are really "heavy".


Handlebars - 305g
Stem - 225g
Seatpost - 235g (Likely higher, since that is the listed weight for the 27.2 dia model)
Tires - Continental GP 4-season 23mm 220g each
Tubes - Specialized Long Stem

Thanks for the help everyone. I was looking at swapping my handlebars and stem over to a Deda 215 (220g) and Ritchey 4-Axis (111g), for a savings of approximately 220g.


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## Camilo (Jun 23, 2007)

Marcos_E said:


> Handlebars - 305g
> Stem - 225g
> Seatpost - 235g (Likely higher, since that is the listed weight for the 27.2 dia model)
> Tires - Continental GP 4-season 23mm 220g each
> ...


Easy, fairly cheap loss of 1/2+ pound:

handlebars - like you said, Deda 215s (26.0) or Newtons (31.8 ) at ~ 230-235 (My 215 shallow 42's weigh 230) $50-75

stem - The Ritchey you mentioned or Syntace F99 (26.0) or F119 (31.8) at 100-110 $50-75 (my 105mm F99 weighs right about 100 gm)

Seatpost - Forte Precision Carbon at 150-175 $80 (or many alloy options for ~200g)

Tires - you're not going to lose much weight there
Tubes ? I've begun using "lightweight" tubes at about 70 gm each without any issues at all. I might try ligher next time, just for fun, but I'm not that serious of a ww, being the 17+ lbs I have is about what I'm willing to pay for and losing an ounce in the tubes doesn't mean anything to me.

I think your 105 pedals come in at about 350g? You can get to 250g with basic level Time RXS pedals (~ $75-100 online) or Look Sprints (about the same price). In Shimano, you'd have to go big bucks to get that weight with Dura Ace unless you found some good used ones.

From there you will get expensive: basic group changes, crank, lighter wheels. The Mavics you have aren't exactly boat anchors (1500-1600?), but you could lose 2-300 grams for $4-500 or so if you looked at Neuvation, Flit, Soul, Reynolds, Williams, etc. alloy wheels.


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## tom_h (May 6, 2008)

You correctly identify your bars & stem as being rather porky...

For reference, here are some of my _measured_ weights, you can decide how much weight is worth to you. I did not go 'ultra weight weenie-ish', but did choose higher performance with (reputed) good durability.

KCNC wheel skewers : 45g pair (original Campy pair was 118g).
Michelin A1 ultralight butyl tubes: 71g each.
Michelin Pro3Race, 700x23 tires: 207g each.
pedals - Look Carbon Ti : 194g pair. [_Shimano all-metal pedals are pretty heavy, around 300g_]
Saddle - Specialized Team Toupe 143mm : 165g.
handlebars- 3T Ergosum Team carbon 42 cm: 205g [_note that Deda bars are often substantially heavier than claimed_].
stem - 3T ARX Team alloy, 100mm: 120g.
wheels - Campy Shamal Ultra alloy clincher w/o skewers: 617 front, 832 rear, 1449 Total ... was a bit disappointed, as claimed = 1395g [_I'd expect Fulcrum Racing Zero are very similar_].
Entire Chorus11 groupset (incl cables, chain, everything) : 2328g

Frame, Fork, and Headset bearings - Specialized 56cm Sworks Tarmac SL2, white: 1510g (3.33 lbs).

You say "_upgrade to a carbon frame ... won't do all that much for me_" .
But your smaller 52cm Kona frame at estimated 3.9 lbs, is about 0.6 lbs heavier than a modern CF frameset. 

Were you expecting more? There is no one 'magic bullet' that will shave 4 lbs off ... it's all a "little here and a little there".

Supposedly 'raw' or 'nude' carbon finishes save 50-100g over a painted frame, but the cosmetics of a painted frame was my priority.


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## Marcos_E (Dec 16, 2007)

tom_h said:


> Were you expecting more?


Actually, 16or 17 was what I was shooting for. Thanks everyone for the great advice! I'll definitely have to start looking into some new componentry.


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## Squidward (Dec 18, 2005)

Aren't Ksyriums kind of heavy? I had just read recently that they claim 1550 grams for the set but are typically heavier than that, around 1625 grams. Am I wrong on this?


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## Juanmoretime (Nov 24, 2001)

If your going to do anything get lighter wheels. Rotating parts are more critical than static parts. So tires, tubes and wheels make the biggest impact.


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## Camilo (Jun 23, 2007)

Juanmoretime said:


> If your going to do anything get lighter wheels. Rotating parts are more critical than static parts. So tires, tubes and wheels make the biggest impact.



Yea, maybe, but maybe weight is just weight: 
http://weightweenies.starbike.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=57554


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