Bike Weight Loss

SG wrote:

Hi all,
I bought my MTB some years ago although it has an aluminium frame it
still seems to weigh a lot compared with the stuff around now. As the
bike cost about over £1000 I am a bit reluctant to let it go without
relooking at the weight problem it seems to have.
Its been suggested that one area to look at are the wheels – I
currently have Mavic 221's – are they known to be heavy? Or should I
just take the loss and get a lighter bike?

Cheers
Sam

I know it's very cool to have the lightest bike possible but that
doesn't necessarily give you the performance benefit that the
manufacturers claim you'll get. It depends.

Total weight of bicycle plus rider is useful to take into consideration
if you're doing a *lot* of climbing.

Weight on the wheels ought to be shed if you want very quick
acceleration, and then we're talking about tyres and rims only
(rotational mass).

But we're talking about very marginal improvements in the above cases.
Say you reduce the weight of you bike by a whopping 400 g, by spending
another £300 on it. That's half a water bottle difference. OK, this is
not related to the question you're asking, but the weight trap is often
costly to get out of, and it's sometimes in the head.

One thing - you may get more joy by using tyres of lesser rolling
resistance, e.g. slicks. If you're not out in the woods so much then the
usual knobbly tyres slow you down a fair bit.

Have you figured out *why* you want to reduce weight on the bike? As
pointed out earlier,it doesn't matter as much as some would claim . . .
/Robert

(SG) wrote:
I bought my MTB some years ago although it has an aluminium frame it
still seems to weigh a lot compared with the stuff around now. As the
bike cost about over £1000 I am a bit reluctant to let it go without
relooking at the weight problem it seems to have.
Its been suggested that one area to look at are the wheels – I
currently have Mavic 221's – are they known to be heavy? Or should I
just take the loss and get a lighter bike?


I just went through a sort of bike rebuilding project. I didn't really set out
to lighten my bike. I have a Cannondale and wanted to get rid of the headshox
and the crack-prone swingarm. Lightening was a secondary benefit. I'm not a
heavy rider and it's nice to have a lighter bike that can be thrown around on
tight trails a bit easier. Ideally I'd like to have an even lighter bike but
functionality is more important than lightness for the sake of lightness.
If you generally like your bike, a tire and wheel upgrade might be nice but
talk to someone knowledgeable about what your goals are and how much you want
to spend. What type of bike do you have, how do you use it and how much does it
weigh?

(SG) wrote:
I bought my MTB some years ago although it has an aluminium frame it
still seems to weigh a lot compared with the stuff around now. As the
bike cost about over £1000 I am a bit reluctant to let it go without
relooking at the weight problem it seems to have.
Its been suggested that one area to look at are the wheels – I
currently have Mavic 221's – are they known to be heavy? Or should I
just take the loss and get a lighter bike?


I just went through a sort of bike rebuilding project. I didn't really set out
to lighten my bike. I have a Cannondale and wanted to get rid of the headshox
and the crack-prone swingarm. Lightening was a secondary benefit. I'm not a
heavy rider and it's nice to have a lighter bike that can be thrown around on
tight trails a bit easier. Ideally I'd like to have an even lighter bike but
functionality is more important than lightness for the sake of lightness.
If you generally like your bike, a tire and wheel upgrade might be nice but
talk to someone knowledgeable about what your goals are and how much you want
to spend. What type of bike do you have, how do you use it and how much does it
weigh?

"SG" wrote in message
m...
Hi all,
I bought my MTB some years ago although it has an aluminium frame it
still seems to weigh a lot compared with the stuff around now. As the
bike cost about over £1000 I am a bit reluctant to let it go without
relooking at the weight problem it seems to have.
Its been suggested that one area to look at are the wheels – I
currently have Mavic 221's – are they known to be heavy? Or should I
just take the loss and get a lighter bike?

If you really want a lighter bike (& who doesn't, esp. MTB), just sell that
one & put the money towards a new bike -- that's the only cost-effective way
to go.

"SG" wrote in message
m...
Hi all,
I bought my MTB some years ago although it has an aluminium frame it
still seems to weigh a lot compared with the stuff around now. As the
bike cost about over £1000 I am a bit reluctant to let it go without
relooking at the weight problem it seems to have.
Its been suggested that one area to look at are the wheels – I
currently have Mavic 221's – are they known to be heavy? Or should I
just take the loss and get a lighter bike?

If you really want a lighter bike (& who doesn't, esp. MTB), just sell that
one & put the money towards a new bike -- that's the only cost-effective way
to go.