# Worth it to lighten Al bike with rack?



## lawrence (May 17, 2005)

My bike is HEAVY and I'm wondering if it's worth spending the money to lighten it with carbon handlebars and seat post (I would buy off eBay) or would that be so minimal a weight savings it's not worth the expense. I don't want to buy a carbon crank for that type of bike to lighten it. How much would you spend on carbon handlebars to lighten it? I have a carbon stem that weighs 1 oz less than my current al stem, I weighed each of them.

This is my only bike right now, this summer soon to have a Ti bike, I use it for all my rides and commuting, shopping, etc. and I use it to lead 3 slow rides a week for my bike club. I ride between 35-80 miles a day on the bike, all winter long, last year I put 5,500 miles on this bike, it probably has about 11,000 miles right now being 2 1/2 years old. It's an al frame road bike with Tiagra shifters, al seat post, cranks, handlebar, & stem, with a very heavy saddle bag that includes the heavy Topeak Alien II multi tool, a rear al rack with bungee cords that I use for shopping, and I have 700x26 kevlar tires with heavy duty tubes, 2 cyclometers (1 w. cadence), my HRM, 2 stainless steel water bottle cages, and my frame pump.


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## superflychief (Mar 25, 2008)

To be honest with you the weight savings from changing out your handlebar/stem/seatpost will only be a few hundred grams at best. You likely wont even take off a pound let alone half a pound. You'd be better off to take all the crap off of your bike to lighten it. You'd feel the most difference by just replacing your tires and tubes with something lighter as that is rotational mass. Dont dump any money into a bike that old. Just buy another bike.


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## Pablo (Jul 7, 2004)

It doesn't sound like your bike is really worth dropping money into. 

When you get a new bike, why not have the old one as a commuter (wher weight really isn't very important) and have a snappier one for rides?


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## lawrence (May 17, 2005)

*2nd bike will be lighter*

That is what I expect to do. I'm going to build up a Ti frame bike and keep that bike light, only minimal accessory components, use that for long rides and when I ride with faster groups. I have a set of carbon handlebars and stem for that bike. For that bike, I have a double crank and a compact double to try. When I decide which I want to ride with, I'll buy a carbon of that on eBay.

I want the bike to be lighter but I'll use the aluminum bike when I'm not in a hurry, not going far, in the winter, and for slower club group rides.


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