# Loosing Weight By the Numbers



## MTBMaven (Dec 17, 2005)

Just like on NPR's Marketplace with Kai Ryssdal, it time to do the numbers. I wanted to approach a weight lose plan in a sensible method. I put all the parts for my new bike, now due in mid-February, into a spreadsheet and rank them by weight. Then focus on the highest weight items and those that can return the biggest bang for my buck. For those interested I used the following formula 
$/gram: =if(Price>0,Price/Alt. Item (g),0)
$/g Diff. field: =if(Price>0,Price/Difference,0)
The formulas help show bang for buck.










I tried to focus on rotational weight first. With a new wheelset, tubes, and tires I shaved a full pound. Granted a rim strip will be a few grams but the OEM wheels will have rim strips as well, so that seems like a wash. The Bontrager Race fork is a tank and the Reynolds fork is on a pretty good sale. It also seems to have a good reputation on the boards? I should be able to recoup most of my costs by selling the OEM parts on eBay or Craig's List. 

The second heaviest items is the crankset (including BB) next to the wheelset. Without spending a good deal of money (>$400) it seems hard to find anything that will save that much weight (>100g). Thoughts are welcome here. Items like a stem, handlebars, seatpost, etc. don't really save that much weight with out spending a lot of money. A switch to a Ritchey stem will likely happen in the future though.


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## estone2 (Sep 25, 2005)

check out sites like 11spd, they can give you stuff cheaper.
saddlewise - get a Selle Italia SLR, that's 100 bucks, 130g, so 120g saved, and miles more comfrotable. Or go the less weight-weenie route and get a Fizike Arione, save 40g, and get the most comfortable saddle in existence.
-estone2


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## laffeaux (Dec 12, 2001)

One criteria that you need to factor in also is: is there any value in the item that you're taking off your bike? i.e. Can you resell it or use it on another bike that you own?

Often you can recoup a good portion of your "upgrade." Some items will have value, others will not. That needs to be part of your $/g calculation.


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## MTBMaven (Dec 17, 2005)

estone2: I will check out the SLR. I have seen it for years on light mountain bikes but have shied away from it because it looks uncomfortable. I expect the OEM seat to suck, just not sure what to replace it with.

Laffeaux, I expect to sell the wheelset and fork for close to their MSRP on eBay or Craig's List but until I sell them I did not incorporate that into my formula. Though that would really increase the bang for the buck factor seeing how cheap some of the parts are.


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## stevesbike (Jun 3, 2002)

I'm surprised their in-house components (fork, stem, post, saddle, etc) are so heavy-seems to undo the light frame and ends up with a 17lb bike; what's their price on the bike? Does the crank include BB weight?


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## MTBMaven (Dec 17, 2005)

stevesbike said:


> I'm surprised their in-house components (fork, stem, post, saddle, etc) are so heavy-seems to undo the light frame and ends up with a 17lb bike; what's their price on the bike? Does the crank include BB weight?


I learned from the Trek/Lemond/Klein board about the heavy fork. I guess the lighter Race Lite X and Race Lite XXX forks are not being speced for some reason. The bike retails for $2,700, though I am not paying that. The crank weight does include BB weight.


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## stevesbike (Jun 3, 2002)

$2700 is a pretty good price-point for a bike built around such a nice frame-looks like a smart idea to customize this model. Some of the easier things to swap would be the dura-ace components, selling the ultegra on ebay and picking up dura-ace-most weight savings would be shifters (about 70 grams) and crank (about 100). I agree with other post re the saddle. Not sure about intended use, but I wouldn't run supersonics for training. After that it gets more exotic and decreasing returns for money


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## MTBMaven (Dec 17, 2005)

stevesbike said:


> Not sure about intended use, but I wouldn't run supersonics for training. After that it gets more exotic and decreasing returns for money


The intended use is for mountain ride/hill climbs and centuries along the ocean in SoCal. Hope to also ride in the Sierra as well. I am not a racer and will likely never race. But I also don't want to be pedaling around unnecessary weight.

I am really ignorant about road tires. Seeing as this is the Save Some Weight forum can you or other recommend a good light weight tire that weighs less than the OEM Bontrager Race X Lite at 440 for 2 tires that will be good for my intended use.


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## estone2 (Sep 25, 2005)

MTBMaven said:


> The intended use is for mountain ride/hill climbs and centuries along the ocean in SoCal. Hope to also ride in the Sierra as well. I am not a racer and will likely never race. But I also don't want to be pedaling around unnecessary weight.
> 
> I am really ignorant about road tires. Seeing as this is the Save Some Weight forum can you or other recommend a good light weight tire that weighs less than the OEM Bontrager Race X Lite at 440 for 2 tires that will be good for my intended use.


Kenda Iron Cloaks.
195g each, 30 bucks, and they LAST. I've got 1500 miles on my rear and it looks brand new, no joke. I'm expecting 1500 more, minimum.

They're extremely grippy, very low rolling resistance, and they're supple. They're like Continental GP4000's at half the price. They do not have a tread, but it's impossible to hydroplane a bike anyways, so a tread doesn't really do anything. The slick look is kinda cool.
-estone2


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## laffeaux (Dec 12, 2001)

estone2 said:


> They do not have a tread, but it's impossible to hydroplane a bike anyways, so a tread doesn't really do anything


Sure it does. The tread wear can tell you when it's time to get new tires.


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## jhenry4 (Feb 4, 2006)

*more lightweight parts*

i've built a similar spreadsheet for both my road and mountain bike. you're definatly spot on with the bang for the buck column.

you can find a good lightweight stem (~100g) for about 100$, i'm thinking of KCNC scandium stems here.

on a road bike you can run a lightweight cassette without too much hassle as long as you keep the drivetrain clean. kcnc again has a nice lightweight option.

KMC superlight chains (X10SL) generally weigh about 240g.

save some more rotating weight with lightweight pedals too. the most readily available option are the keo's from look (230g w/steel spindle, even less with Ti) but you can go even lighter with some M2 orbs...if you can find them.


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## stevecaz (Feb 25, 2005)

Nice spreadsheet, I have something similar. 

I don't see: skewers, rim tape/veloplugs, cables/housing, cable ends and o-rings, fork expansion cap, headset spacers, handlebar plugs, and bottle cages (although many don't include those in build weight). These items including cages on my Lemond come to 366.7 grams. Cables and housing are the biggest item, with my Campy stuff at 0.39 g/cm of derailleur housing, 0.59 g/cm of brake housing, 0.073 g/cm derailleur cable, and 0.13 g/cm of brake cable (weighed on a calibrated lab scale). The whole set on most bikes is about the same and runs around 150 grams total. cable ends and o-rings are essentially nothing at around 1 gram. A typical stack of carbon headset spacers are ~9 g, and two standard plastic bar plugs are 5 to 7 g, but the Buzz-kills are certainly more. I use a star nut in my XXX fork, so I don't know what the Reynolds expansion cap is. My 36 veloplugs weigh 6 grams.


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## estone2 (Sep 25, 2005)

jhenry4 said:


> i've built a similar spreadsheet for both my road and mountain bike. you're definatly spot on with the bang for the buck column.
> 
> you can find a good lightweight stem (~100g) for about 100$, i'm thinking of KCNC scandium stems here.
> 
> ...


M2 Orbs are freaking expensive.

Anyways, your reference to KCNC et al reminded me of their (I think it's their) "Ti Lite" seatpost. It's Titanium bolts and stuff, on a scandium shaft. ~90 bucks if I remember well, and it's 150g. Maybe sub.
www.fairwheelbikes.com
www.starbike.com
Lightweight bike parts 
-estone2


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## MTBMaven (Dec 17, 2005)

The KCNC stuff looks really nice. The cassette is beautiful and could save at least 100g. I didn't see prices on the site nor where to purchase their products. I will look again but am I missing something? Where can one get their stuff?


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## estone2 (Sep 25, 2005)

MTBMaven said:


> The KCNC stuff looks really nice. The cassette is beautiful and could save at least 100g. I didn't see prices on the site nor where to purchase their products. I will look again but am I missing something? Where can one get their stuff?


www.fairwheelbikes.com will sell ya it.
However, the cassette is known to wear quickly, just a warning. i also heard about someone taking it into a race for its first ride, and chipping a couple teeth. Apparently it looked like it had 2000 miles on it after that - it's delicate.


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## footballcat (Jul 8, 2004)

XXX light forks are hard to get, my 5.9sl project 1 did not get one


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