Loose weight from Carve SL

Discuss light weight issues concerning mountain bikes & parts.

Moderator: Moderator Team

Post Reply
yz_387
Posts: 22
Joined: Sat Feb 12, 2005 9:21 pm
Location: US

by yz_387

Picked up a carve SL last spring to try out single speed and got hooked (I hardly touched my geared bike all summer). Now I'm looking to shed some weight. Currently it is stock with the exception of Mavic Crossmax SL wheels, specialized fast track s-works tires and xpedo ti/ti pedals. I know the stock saddle/post would be good bang for the buck, so I will probably swap those but I am considering where else I could save some weight. One thought is to replace the stock Deore brakes. I like them a lot, but I have a fat bike with brakes that I hate, so I am thinking the Deores could be swapped over to the fatty and something lighter could go on the crave. Also thinking maybe a different crank with a direct mount ring would be a way to save some weight over the stock sram 1255. Any suggestions?

FRAMESpecialized M4 Premium Aluminum, XC 29er Geometry, fully butted w/ smooth welds, tapered headtube and seat tube, forged post-mount 160mm disc dropouts, replaceable alloy derailleur hanger
FORKSpecialized Chisel carbon, monocoque, tapered carbon steerer, alloy dropouts, disc mount, OS28 hub compatible
HEADSET1-1/8" upper, 1-1/2" lower, Campy style, integrated sealed cartridge bearings
STEMSpecialized, 3D forged alloy, 4-bolt, 6-degree rise, anti-corrosion hardware
HANDLEBARSSpecialized flat, 6061 double butted alloy, 9-degree backsweep, 31.8mm
GRIPSSpecialized Body Geometry XC Contour, Kraton w/ gel, lock-on, closed end
FRONT BRAKEShimano BR-M506, hydraulic disc, dual piston, resin pads
REAR BRAKEShimano BR-M506, hydraulic disc, dual piston, resin pads
BRAKE LEVERSShimano BL-M506, hydraulic, w/ reach adjust
CASSETTE Singlespeed conversion kit, 20T Cr-Mo 3/32" cog, alloy spacers, lock ring
CHAINKMC X8, 8-speed, reusable Missing Link
CRANKSETCustom SRAM S-1255, singlespeed specific, GXP, 104mm BCD spider
BOTTOM BRACKET SRAM GXP, 73mm
SADDLEBody Geometry mountain, hollow Cr-Mo rails, 143mm
SEATPOSTAlloy, 2-bolt, 12.5mm offset, 27.2mm, anti-corrosion hardware
SEAT BINDERAlloy, 31.8mm

DanW
Posts: 1243
Joined: Fri May 02, 2008 5:39 pm
Location: Here, there and everywhere

by DanW

Sorry to say but the answer is "pretty much everything"!

Best thing you can do is strip the bike and weigh everything and then think about the lightest, functional alternatives you can afford (and would be happy with!) to know where the best bang for your buck may come from as the parts are a little uncommon and what someone here might suggest to swap for something might actually yield very little weight loss.

I am hoping to build a Santa Cruz Highball rigid SS at the weekend so hopefully I'll get some weight on the forum of general, non flashy SS parts. Total weight is estimated around 18lbs so fairly hefty by WW standards but intended to be pretty durable for travelling etc.

Bike sounds like great fun by the way and I'm looking forward to going SS again :D

by Weenie


Visit starbike.com Online Retailer for HighEnd cycling components
Great Prices ✓    Broad Selection ✓    Worldwide Delivery ✓

www.starbike.com



User avatar
Getter
Posts: 848
Joined: Sat Nov 14, 2009 6:30 am
Location: So Cal

by Getter

The stock crank is pretty heavy. You can go with a XX1/X0 crank. Save a bit of weight there. The brakes...you can always try going with a set of Formula R1's.

I had a medium geared Carve. The frame alone is 4lbs.

TheRookie
Posts: 926
Joined: Wed Jan 18, 2012 4:23 pm
Location: Midlands, United Kingdom

by TheRookie

As Dan says, pretty much every part, I'd be looking at the best bang for the buck parts, also consider looking at getting some moderately light used parts (much cheaper and you don't lose much if you sell them on) as well.

Instant thoughts
1/ Brakes, move the Deores on to the fatty and get something lighter, SLX/XT or RX's or R1's to budget, all lighter although SLX won't save much.
2/ Cranks is a pricey way to save weight on a g/$ basis, a lightweight ring may be a better option.
3/ Brake discs - Ashima or alligator will save you over 50g an end
4/ A 9 or 10 speed chain is lighter than an 8 when change time comes around
5/ Kalloy Uno stem off ebay is fairly cheap and excellent weight saving, just fitted one to mine 94g as it was (£15 - about $21) and 88g with a set of Ti bolts (£10 - $15), I paired mine with a set of ebay carbon bars for £16 ($25) - 680mm and 122g.
6/ Foam grips are a huge saving for the price, over 100g and you can get Ritchey WCS (My current favourite) for circa £6/$10.
7/ Seatpost and clamp can be a cost effective way to loose a lot of weight, also easy to check the weights of the current parts!
Impoverished weight weenie wanna-be!
Budget 26" HT build viewtopic.php?f=10&t=110956

yz_387
Posts: 22
Joined: Sat Feb 12, 2005 9:21 pm
Location: US

by yz_387

Thanks for the suggestions. I hope to start stripping some parts off this weekend for weighing.

DanW
Posts: 1243
Joined: Fri May 02, 2008 5:39 pm
Location: Here, there and everywhere

by DanW

How is this going? Do you have weights yet?

Here are some average, non flashy parts on my new build for comparison. I built it to take a few knocks while travelling and not see a great deal of maintenance so it is on the robust rather than light side (eg heavy alu bars, fairly heavy tyres, etc)

Santa Cruz Highball rigid SS. Pretty much bang on 19lbs

Image

Santa Cruz Highball, Large (includes Cane Creek 40) 1930
Single speed dropouts 168
Kinesis XI fork 697

BBB UltraSpace headset spacers 5
Carbon Ti Expander 14
Carbon top cap and alu bolts 11

Renthal 32t 36
Rotor 3D cranks 561
Aluminium chainring bolts 6
Shimano XTR BB 66
Surly 20t 77
CTBM Alu spacers 19
CTBM Lockring 6
KMC Z610 HX 315

Shimano XT brakes w/ Ti Lever bolts 583
Ti rotor bolts 14
6 Ti Caliper Bolts 19
KCNC adapter 13
KCNC Razor 147

American Classic/ American Classic 101/ Sapim D-Light (QR) 1482
Bontrager XR3, Bontrager XR2 1360
American Classic Valves 7
Stans sealant 144
KCNC Ti QR's 44

Kalloy Uno w/ Ti bolts 90
Easton EA 70 242
ESI-CR Contour 60
Hylix Carbon seatpost 176
KCNC seatclamp 12
Tune Speedneedle 100
Xpedo M-Force 8 CR 265

Garmin mount 7
Garmin Edge 800 111
SMUD carbon bottle cage and pair extra alu bolts 14

FriscoNiteRider
Posts: 1
Joined: Fri Jan 29, 2016 4:11 am

by FriscoNiteRider

Looking forward to seeing what mods you make to you Crave SL... The first suggestion I would make is to get a Specialized CG-R Seat Post. Makes a world of difference on the longer (100k +) rides and probably helps with the overall weight. I am running 1X11 road (Shimano DA) configuration and weighing around 21 lbs. Personally, I avoided carbon cranks (cause I beat them up to much) and went with a direct mount Race Face turbine. I am sure the carbon bars help with weight reduction.

Regards!

yz_387
Posts: 22
Joined: Sat Feb 12, 2005 9:21 pm
Location: US

by yz_387

Sorry for the delay. Life got in the way and this project was put on hold. I finally got around to doing some dis-assembly and weighing.

Starting total weight is 19.75 pounds; goal weight 18 pounds

Crankarms 665g
36t FSA Ring 56g
Chainring bosts 18g
Total Crankset Weight 739g

Front brake 280g
Rear brake 295g
180 mm front rotor 150g
160 mm rear rotor 132g

Seatpost 340g
Saddle 268g

Handlebar 305g
Stem 128g
grips 100g

8 speed chain 265g
Mavic Skewers 111g

So the best bang for the buck mods look to be the seat post and handlebar. I am thinking
Thomson Masterpiece 193g for a savings of 147g
S-Works flat XC bar 160g for a savings of 145g

I also have a set of 160mm TRP rotors (110g) lying around so that is a free mod
Replace both rotors for a savings of 60g
Shorter bolts and no spacer on front caliper for a savings of 20g

I think the next best $/gram mod is the crankset. I am thinking
Sram XX1 crankset with 36t raceface direct mount ring 545g for a savings of 194g

These mods save a total of 566g (1.25 lbs) so that would bring the total bike weight down to 18.5 pounds without too much cost.

I could replace the deore brakes as I had originally planned with XTR 9000 for a savings of 180g but that is approaching $2/gram so I am not sure it is worth it.

AdyM
Posts: 127
Joined: Sat Jan 18, 2014 4:12 am

by AdyM

Some foam/silicone grips can be 10-60g pair, so a good chunk of weight off their very cheaply. Saddle, could easily drop to below 200g usually without sacrificing too much comfort. So that's easy another 100g. Ti wheel skewers, around 44g pair, so that's another 70g off.

Is the steerer trimmed to length? carbon headset spacers? replace unused bottle cage bolts with nylon ones?

mikewadley
Posts: 1
Joined: Thu May 05, 2016 4:49 pm

by mikewadley

What wheels are you using? I had them weight the stock Stout Pro wheels and they were just over 1900 grams.

I just got mine yesterday (Large) and had them weight it after set up: XT Trail pedals, 2.3 purgatory grid front, 2.3 ground control grid rear, carbon bar, 2 light specialized bottle cages. The total weight was just over 22 lbs. I'd love to get it too below 20 pounds but it looks like I would have to spend more than I did on the bike to get it there.

by Weenie


Visit starbike.com Online Retailer for HighEnd cycling components
Great Prices ✓    Broad Selection ✓    Worldwide Delivery ✓

www.starbike.com



Post Reply