# LeMond Carbom Weight



## lamazion (Sep 11, 2004)

Ok, I just finished test riding several very nice bikes (Cervelo Soloist, 2008 Madone 5.2, LeMond Tet de Course, and Zurich). Of all these bikes, I liked the smooth ride of the Zurich. I would, however, like to trim the weight some. I'm not looking to get super light, just close to the 16.6 lb Madone. I've heard claims on this site of getting the Zurich to mid 16, but I'm having a hard time figuring out how. At the shop, the stock Zurich came in at about 18.25 lbs. The fork is 580 gms, so lets say I could trim a 1/2 lb at best with a new fork. The wheels are 1790 gms, so I should be able to trim another 1/2 lb. This will get me to about 17.25. What can easily be done (without spending a ton) to trim another 0.25 to 0.50 lb?


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## rkb (Apr 4, 2007)

What can easily be done (without spending a ton) to trim another 0.25 to 0.50 lb?[/QUOTE said:


> Thats the 20 million dollar question isn't it? At 455 grams in a lb you want to lose 110 to 227 grams to reach that magical number. After replacing the fork and the wheelset it will be hard to find a single low cost source of weight loss at a reasonable price. With that said you could look a couple of things where your money would buy you more than lower weight. First- look into a different saddle. I ride the Fizik Aliante braided carbon which weighs around 199 grams, this would be about a 40-50 gram savings and you can find last years model on Ebay for under two bills. The Fiz saddle is very comfy add if it fits your can, it would be a win win. Second- As you have looked into lighter wheels, look into other sources of rolling weight loss, such as your pedals, and tires. Pedals can get expensive, but 85 bucks on ebay will get you a set of Schwalbe Ultremo tires that weigh around 195 grams (on my LeMond , one Ultremo weighed 196 grams, the other 186grams). The Zurich comes with Race X lite tires that weigh 220 grams, so with 85 dollars spent you can drop at least 50 grams. Now I have you up to around 100 gram loss for around 270 bucks. At retail prices, if you buy a fork-$400, a wheelset that is light enough to make a difference $800, tires and saddle $270 bucks, you are up to 1470 dollars. Let say you sell what you take off and get- 175 for the wheels, 40 for the tires, maybe 70 for the fork, and if you are lucky get 35 for the saddle your net cost of upgrades would be $1150ish. The new Zurich with Ultegra Sl is around 2800 plus your 1150 and you are up to about 3970, the cost of the Victoire is 4300 which is very light and has all the fancy Dura-ace bits for 330 clams more than what you would have in your modified Zurich.


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## lamazion (Sep 11, 2004)

I ended up going a completely different route. I rode a Specialized Tarmac Team and felt it's ride was equal to the LeMond. The Tarmac was on sale for $2600 and weighed in a 17.5 lbs. I have the option of dropping some weight by repalcing the wheels, but to be honest, I'm quite happy with the ride as is. It's definately cheaper to buy down the weight when you get the bike rather than through upgrades ... but upgrading can be fun!


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## hclignett (Dec 18, 2006)

I have an 07 BA same frame as the Zurich. I went with the Soul 2.0 wheelset, claimed at 1300 grams actually 1400 grams. Bought a Deda Blackmagic fork from Chucks bike for $120.00, it weighted 345 grams after I cut it. The rest is Dura-Ace with R700 compact crank. All loaded with empty water bottle, computer, and Time Impact pedals comes in at 16.62 lbs.


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## davidka (Dec 12, 2001)

I have a 61cm Zurich frame built with D/A, X-lite wheels, alloy bars, stem, and seatpost. With Speedplay pedals it weighs 16.5lbs. It's not hard to get a 1000gm frame built down to that kind of weight but think about where you are starting. If your goal is to get to 16.5, don't start with the Zurich, start with the Victoire and finish there. It's built out of the box with all the parts I listed above and the same frame (07 model).


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## wasfast (Feb 3, 2004)

Unless it's the wheels, I seriously doubt you can tell any riding difference over 1.5-2lbs. The cost/benefit ratio isn't too good here other than mental.


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## Tlaloc (May 12, 2005)

Spend more $$$ for a higher zuit Madonne and cut back on the hamburgers.


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## stevecaz (Feb 25, 2005)

This is just another example where someone finds out just how hard and how much $$$ it takes to drop weight. It also shows that buying a lower priced bike to begin with doesn't always make much sense in the long run. I started with a bare spine Tete de Course frame and carefully built it up piece by piece, spending money where it was needed and going cheaper where it was not. I ended up with a bike that I've had sub-16 for a while, and up to 16.5lbs while trying different stuff. A lot of weight comes from the small details, which quickly add up. If a steel spine frame is 2-300 grams more, than I can see making 16.5 lbs. 
If I substituted the Triomphe carbon Tete frame for mine, it would be a full pound lighter.


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