# Suggestions for further weight loss?



## zender (Jun 20, 2009)

I've made a half-hearted (or so it appears) effort to shed some weight off my Litespeed over the past year but it still sits at 16lb. It surprises me when I read posts of people essentially throwing together bikes with parts lying around and coming in in the 13-14 lb range. I can write some of those posts off to "I think it weighs about 14lb" type of stuff, but not all of it. I wanted to run the build by this forum to see if I've done about all I can with the following compromises:

Need to keep saddle for comfort
Want to stay clincher

Parts:
Litespeed Vortex Ti frame (2003 model, 3.0 lb)
Litespeed LiteTec carbon fork, carbon steerer (0.84 lb)
Reynolds MV32UL wheels with factory rimstrips
Michelin PRO3 Race
Dura Ace 7900 brifters, crank, F/R derailleurs, brakes, chain, cables, housings
Dura Ace 7800 pedals
Ultegra cassettes (11-23, 11-28 depending)
KCNC Ti skewers
KCNC Pro Lite 8000 post
FSA OS-99 carbon stem
3T Ergonova team 42cm carbon bar
Fizik Alliante Carbon Kium saddle
Cane Creek Integrated headset
Carbon spacers
ebay carbon bottle cages
Ti bottle cage bolts


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## Camilo (Jun 23, 2007)

I think you'll have to find a 1kg or lighter frame and change to a full Sram Red groupset to drop "pounds" rather than just a few ounces. I don't know how light those wheels are, but I'll assume they're decently light? That's the other possible major factor.

The other stuff you didn't list weights for, so it's tough to advise, but I don't see any huge red flags other than the frame itself. And, it's not a red flag except that it's going to be the main factor if you just simply want to lose weight. The fork isn't bad at all, but theoretically, you could lose a couple ounces if you really, really wanted to. 

Places you might save another few (very few) ounces are stem, bars, rimstrips (velo plugs), tubes. Maybe (big maybe) an ounce or so each. But just off hand, I doubt if any of the stuff you have can be significantly lightened and it would cost a lot to whittle down.

The thing about weight is that it's fairly easy and cheap to go from 20 lbs to where you are. After that, especially with the very nice stuff you have already, it's really expensive to lose another pound, let alone two.


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## Mdeth1313 (Nov 1, 2001)

aftermarket brakes- kcnc c7 or several other brands people have mentioned on various forums. Of course, I'm not sure how well they work w/ the d/a shifters. 
Sram red was mentioned but that's a lot of money. You can find lighter tires- maybe veloflex or schwalbe utremos- not sure about your tubes, but ultralight doesn't tend to mean ultrastrong. 
A sram red cassette is lighter than a dura ace cassette as well. Unfortunately, most of these upgrades aren't cheap. One cheap one, but only a few grams savings would be using nylon or aluminum bottle cage bolts, but the frame/fork are biggies, unless you opt for tubulars in the 1000g range.


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## PBrooks (Apr 9, 2010)

brakes, cable and housings, brifter clamps and hoods, ti cassette. Over a pound savings. Add Seatpost and clamp, tubes, tires, headset, top cap, cages and bolts. Main thing is don't believe anything claimed, get a scale and check yourself.


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## Camilo (Jun 23, 2007)

PBrooks said:


> ...Main thing is don't believe anything claimed, get a scale and check yourself.


weightweenies.starbike.com is a good source for actual weights. They have an old archive of listings that anyone can view. The current listings are in the form of (IIRC) a google spreadsheet, but you can only access the forum which has a link to that spreadsheet by registering and logging in. It's a great site if you're a weight-related hobbiest.


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## onespeedbiker (May 28, 2007)

Found this, a Vortex apparently weighing less than 11 lbs. http://www.light-bikes.com/bikegallery/BikeListing.asp?id=1135


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## Mdeth1313 (Nov 1, 2001)

onespeedbiker said:


> Found this, a Vortex apparently weighing less than 11 lbs. http://www.light-bikes.com/bikegallery/BikeListing.asp?id=1135



Completely doable, but will cost a small fortune- the clavicula crankset will set you back 1000-1200 alone, also used a lot of ax-lightness parts which are crazy light, but their seatpost have a habit of failing and their customer service falls somewhere between lousy and outright crap.

It's all how much you want to spend- the fork being used is also close to (if not over) $1000.


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## zender (Jun 20, 2009)

Thanks for the tips. This bike is definitely a compromise between utility (seat, clinchers, pedals to match all my other bikes) and weight.

I'll think about swapping out the fork/headset and topcap at some point. That seems to be a place to shave a hundred grams or so.

Any issues with SRAM red cassettes and DA chain/shifters?


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## slegros (Sep 22, 2009)

zender said:


> Thanks for the tips. This bike is definitely a compromise between utility (seat, clinchers, pedals to match all my other bikes) and weight.
> 
> I'll think about swapping out the fork/headset and topcap at some point. That seems to be a place to shave a hundred grams or so.
> 
> Any issues with SRAM red cassettes and DA chain/shifters?


No issues at all with SRAM Red cassettes and the DA CN-7801 chains. Astana ran that setup for years using 7801 chains instead of Sram. I run 7801 chains with Force/Rival cassettes and they work great.


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