# New Bike - Where to start shaving weight?



## Wimbo

I bought a new Felt AR5 this week. The stock bike is 17.7 lbs, not bad for an aero bike. The total weight with my pedals is 18.14.

If this is your bike, where would you start in an effort to shave off some weight? What is the best place to start, with the idea of getting the best savings per expense?

Here are the stock components:
*
Frame:* Felt Aero Road UHC Advanced MMC Carbon Fiber Frame w/ 3KP Weave, Mechanically Optimized Internal Cable Routing, Carbon Fiber dropouts & Forged replaceable derailleur hanger 

*Fork:* Felt AR UHC Performance 100% Carbon Fiber Fork; Carbon 1.125" Steerer tube, Crown, Blades, and Dropouts 

*Rims/Wheels: *Felt AeroR3 700c 30mm deep Aluminum w/ CNC machined braking surface, 24H Front/28H 

*Spokes: *Bladed butted 1.8/0.9 x 2.3/1.8mm w/ Aluminum nipples 

*Tires: *Vittoria Rubino Pro Slick, 700 x 23c 

*Crankset:* FSA Gossamer compact Mega EXO, 2-pc, cold Forged Aluminum w/ CNC 7075/T6 Aluminum chainrings 

*Chainwheel: *52/36T 

*Chain: *Shimano 10-speed chain 

*Front Derailleur:* 2011 Shimano 105 braze on Front derailleur 

*Rear Derailleur:* 2011 Shimano 105 Rear derailleur 

*Rear Cogs:* Shimano 10-speed 11-25T cassette 

*Shifters:* 2011 Shimano 105 STI 

*Handlebars:* Felt VS Aero 2014 Triple Butted Aluminum w/ Aerodynamic Wing Top Section handlebar 

*Tape/Grips:* Felt Gel Ribbon, cork 

*Stem: * Felt SL 6061 Aluminum 3D Forged stem 

*Brake Levers:* Shimano Ultegra 

*Brakes:* Quartz R741 SuperLight dual pivot brakes w/ Cartridge brake shoes 

*Saddle:* Felt SL Road saddle w/ Carbon injected base, embossed cover & hollow Cr-Mo rails 

*Seat Post: * Felt Aero UHC Advanced Carbon Fiber Standard Offset Bladed Monocoque seatpost 

*Pedals: * Shimano Ultegra


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## skyliner1004

spend the big bucks now (as opposed to later) so you get the weight savings + performance benefits. Whats your budget?
i dropped 3/4 lb off my bike for $500. expensive, but i got a great looking and performing wheelset in addition to the weight loss.

if u dont wanna do $500+ now, you can drop 1/2 lb with lightweight aluminum stem/bars/post for about $200


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## Cni2i

Congrats on the new bike. Very nice looking too. 

To really notice a weight reduction, besides changing the frame (which I'm sure you're not going to do), I'd go with a new wheel/hub set up and maybe the crank/fork. Changing the shifters, derailleurs, brakes, bars etc. will not make much of a difference in terms of weight saving...unless you decide to revamp the entire bike IMO. 

I changed out my Sram rival components to Red and didn't even drop a lb. The biggest weight reduction for me was changing out my stock wheels.

Some here would suggest that if your weight in lbs. is > total height (in inches) x2, then maybe try to shed some body weight first  Just food for thought.


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## spade2you

Start.....riding the bike.


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## tglenn

Saddle and post? It would help if you posted stock weights.


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## tlclee

My 51cm 2010 AR1 with Sram force gruppo w/ Red big chain ring, HED Jet 6, 3T carbon bar, ARX stem, ultegra 6600 pedals is at 16.9lbs with my garmin 500 and one elite water cage. I have been wondering how I can drop some weight too and the only answer is Tubular and some Look carbon blade pedals. I don't think any of the gruppo will make much of a diff.

Tom


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## Mdeth1313

To drop any real weight w/ an upgrade in the derailleurs/shifters you'd have to spend the extra bucks on tuning, or replacing certain parts w/ lighter ones- carbon derailleur pulleys, aluminum bolts, btp carbon shift clamps, etc.

Brakes you can drop by ditching the group's and going kcnc, zero gravity- they can drop upwards of 100g, other cheaper ones will still yield significant savings.

Cranks are piggies, but to get any real savings there you'll have to drop some serious money.

Cables you could go with alligator i-links for brakes and mini i-links for der. cables

if you can deal w/ an all carbon saddle you can really drop some weight

there's more, there's always more


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## config

spade2you said:


> Start.....riding the bike.


How many miles do you have on it? I wouldn't worry about the weight of your bike too much at this point. Add more miles. I think the first time I weighed my bike was about 7 years after I had bought it and that was only because I had a scale to test out - tt weighs 20lbs and still does ;-)


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## dadoflam

Reality is that your build is a very solid reliable one rather than the basis of a light bike. I started with a similar build by tinkering around the edges to lose weight - you know, new brakes, new bars etc - by the time I had finished I had shed 5lbs but also spent a lot of $.

Taking a bit of weight here or there by changing components or even whole groupset is really not going to be noticeable unless you are going the whole hog and aiming to get your bike down to 13lbs or 12lbs (where IMO overall bike weight is quite noticeable) by changing everything.

For maximum bang for your buck my advice is start with a really nice light wheelset - you will notice the difference (principally due where the weight has been lost) AND if you really get bitten by the WW bug you can transfer them to your next bike. It is also nice to have a range of wheels to suit weather conditions, different ride profiles and simply as spares in case of breakage.

Custom wheels are great options though I tend towards production wheels myself. Two really nice sub 1450g options readily available under $700US are the Dura Ace CL24 and the Campy Neutron Ultra. Mind you you can never really spend too much on good wheels 

Have fun!


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## mdmoore99

Wimbo said:


> What is the best place to start, with the idea of getting the best savings per expense?


You !


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## tglenn

dadoflam said:


> Custom wheels are great options though I tend towards production wheels myself. Two really nice sub 1450g options readily available under $700US are the Dura Ace CL24 and the Campy Neutron Ultra. Mind you you can never really spend too much on good wheels
> 
> Have fun!


For the same price you can get some American Classic sprint 350s with cx ray spokes 1,251 grams and mine have been super reliable.


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## natedg200202

This is posted in a forum called "Save Some Weight" and I always assumed this meant the bike - from the comments I guess it means body weight? I am looking forward to all the new threads on dieting. 

Anywho, this is an aero road bike right? The wheels seem heavy and not particularly aero. I say save your pennies for a set of lightweight and as aero as possible wheels. If you can stand the jump to tubular that would be dandy. If you can't do tubular, maybe something like the Reynolds Strike. Might not save much, but you will get some weight savings and an aero improvement.


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## nagatahawk

I recently purchased an ' 09 Wilier Izoard with Ultegra and Mavic Askium wheels. it weighed in at 1700 even. with Zero Ti pedals. I lost 1 lb by swapping out the wheelsets and crankset. Check out Vuelta Super lites 1460 grams for about $400 retail. They come with medium areo rims and flat spokes. I got a deal on a FSA carbon crankset w/ceramic bearings 596 grams. It's down to 1600 even with pedals. Next will be a set of Record Skeleton Brake sets. I just happened to have a set on my steely. From here on it will get expensive to drop grams.


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## skyliner1004

natedg200202 said:


> This is posted in a forum called "Save Some Weight" and I always assumed this meant the bike - from the comments I guess it means body weight? I am looking forward to all the new threads on dieting.
> 
> Anywho, this is an aero road bike right? The wheels seem heavy and not particularly aero. I say save your pennies for a set of lightweight and as aero as possible wheels. If you can stand the jump to tubular that would be dandy. If you can't do tubular, maybe something like the Reynolds Strike. Might not save much, but you will get some weight savings and an aero improvement.


like my thread in the past on this subforum, road bikers aren't as into weight savings on their bikes as much as mountain bikers are. 

pretty boring if you ask me. you should see the activity over at MTBR on the weigh weenies subforum. 

OP to get a drop in weight + performance increase get some $500+ wheels to replace what u have. Check out Dura Ace wheelsets (SL/CL) or if you have Sram check out the Sram S30 race/sprint.

also, the #1 place thats easiest to drop weight is lightweight tubes (best bang/buck) and tires, especially if you are running wire bead. switch to lightweight kevlar/folding tires.

My upgrade list on my bike in order:
Tires: GP4000S
Wheels: Sram S30 Sprint
Stem+Handlebar: Ritchey WCS + Ritchey WCS Logic II

next, probably a seatpost when i get some money or some continental supersonic tubes that are 50g each.


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