This forum is the best place for me to ask to lose weight from my 10.7kilo/23.5lbs bike.

I own a Giant Defy 4 2011 which I will pick up on Saturday.

A lot of you may ask "Why didn't you just buy a Defy 1, 2 or 3"

Well, reason is, I am on a budget and I only have a certain amount a month to buy things etc. etc.

Below is the specification sheet (with weights) I took from my bike magazine:



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Yup, can't believe the weight of the wheels that's 3415grams/3.4kilos.. Reduced the weights of the cassette and tyres and the aftermarket wheels come to 2.4kilos/5.3lbs!!

I know which parts I am going to replace, but the question is, what with??

Wheels 3.4KG/7.5lbs

Steel Fork 1.2KG/2.8lbs

Groupset (minus brakes but including chainset) 2.4KG/5.3lbs

1) What wheels on a budget could I buy to shave off weight and how many kilos/pounds minimum would I have to shave off to feel a difference in rotational weight?

2) What carbon fork (apart from an expensive £200 Giant fork) can I replace my steel one with which has 1 ¼-inch bottom/1 1⁄8-inch top tapered steerer-tube?

3) Would mix and match be good in regards to groupset? i.e Ultegra cassette, MicroSHIFT Arsis shifters, Ultegra rear derailler & Dura Ace front derailler.

4) What's a light and decent chainset apart from SRAM Force and will an SRAM chainset work well with Shimano parts?

5) Any other tips on shaving weight off my bike whilst remaining on a budget?

Thanks for reading and I will appreciate any feed back.

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Giant Defy 4 Build

You've got your work cut out for you with this one!

1. Wheels: Bicycle Wheel Warehouse Blackset Race or Williams System 19's would be a nice, rather cheap option. What is your weight? Would help for us to know so we can better give you wheel options.

2. Fork: Wheels Manufacturing makes an adapter that allows you to use a standard fork with the different bearing sizes. Enve would be a good replacement. Check eBay for used Easton EC 90 or 70 fork as another option.

3. Grouppo: I would scour eBay for a second hand SRAM Rival group. 2300 isn't compatible with any worthwhile Shimano group so might as well go for the full replacement.

4. Crankset: If you can get a SRAM Red crank you'll be losing a lot of #'s off that beast that's on there. Also an FSA SLK Light would work too.

5. Those brakes are boat anchors and should be replaced with the rest of the group.

Good luck!!!

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2012 Fuji Altamira SE - 6.42kg

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Thanks for the reply!

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Giant Defy 4 Build

Where you go!

http://wheelsmfg.com/headtube-reducer.html

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2012 Fuji Altamira SE - 6.42kg

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It would also help to know what your budget is for each item. For some members of the forum inexpensive wheels are $1000. One of the best price to weight ratio wheelsets you can do is a custom build from bikehubstore.com. You can build a sub 1500g set for less than 300 dollars. However if you want something pre-built both Mavic and fulcrum have good offerings of aluminum clinchers.

Shows how great this forum is! I've asked on a few forums and this is the first one to tell me about this product!!

Thanks

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Giant Defy 4 Build

Good point.

(Sorry for the £'s but I'm from England after all)

£350 pure maximum for wheels.

£200 for fork.

£400 for groupset.

Thanks.

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Giant Defy 4 Build

Mavic Aksiums are a good bet. Definitely strong and lighter than what you have. Piecing together a groupset second hand on ebay is not a bad idea. Someone mentioned Sram rival also which is a decent weight for the money.

I had Aksiums in mind, but would I feel any difference in rotational weight? With my planned tyres,latex tubes and cassette come to 2553
grams as opposed to the 3415grams on the aftermarket wheels.

Found these weights online:

SRAM Rival = 2305 grams
SRAM Force = 2111 grams
Campagnolo Record = 1990 grams
Campagnolo Chorus = 2200 grams
Shimano Dura Ace = 2180 grams
Shimano Ultegra = 2301 grams

@http://www.bicycle.net/2009/product-review-sram-rival-groupset

Weight:
DoubleTap Levers: 320 grams
Rear Derailleur: 188 grams
Front Derailleur: 88 grams
Crankset: 830 grams
Brakes: 287 grams
PowerGlide Cassette: 229 grams
Chain: 260 grams
Bottom Bracket: 119 grams

Total: 2305 grams

£497

My planned spec:

Arsis Levers: 351grams £179.99
Rear Derailleur: Shimano Ultegra - 190 grams £54.99
Front Derailleur: Ultegra 89grams £35.99
Crankset: SRAM Force GXP Double Chainset 791grams £153.99
Brakes: Planet X Ultra Light Forged - 230 grams £59.99
Cassette: Ultegra 208grams £45.00
Chain: KMC X10SL - 240grams £35.96
Bottom Bracket: SRAM GXP Team Bottom Bracket 119grams £24.99

Total:2218grams

Price: £590

So I might as well pay the extra £9 and get a Foce groupset which weights 2111grams, god this is confusing!

Keep in mind that I'll be buying one or two gruppo parts every month as I have too many bills to pay a month and what not.

I could save up more and go up to an extra £100, but Force seems on the ball for a good weight groupset??

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Giant Defy 4 Build

IMHO you'd be much happier with SRAM or Shimano levers over the Arsis.......better feel and action.

Also, the main difference in weight between Rival and Force is the crankset, so if you could get your hands on a Rival Group and a Force crank the price/weight would be your best value.

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2012 Fuji Altamira SE - 6.42kg

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Thanks . I'll go for Rival with Force cranks in that case then, and I concur with the SRAM lever thing as I've tried double tap before and feels great. Just thought that MS Arsis would feel better than Shimano STi.

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Giant Defy 4 Build

Just added up the weight of my new parts compared to the Rival full groupo (although most weights are factory)

SRAM Rival Groupset parts:

Levers:320g
Rear D:188g
Front D:88g

Other SRAM parts:

SRAM Apex:308g
SRAM Force GXP Chainset:791g
SRAM PG1070:220g
Bottom Bracket: SRAM GXP Team Bottom Bracket:119g

KMC X10SL Chain:240g

Total Weight: 2274grams

SRAM Rival weight: 2305grams

31grams saving but I guess it's better than being heavier. Also, works out £20 cheaper with the parts I've chosen.

Sorry for the lists, just good for me to think out loud.

Thanks guys for the help too. Will work out how much weight I can shave off .

EDIT:

As for wheels:

Mavic Aksium wheelset weight: 1795g
F/Wheel 830g
R/Wheel 965g

PG1070 220g
Pro 3 200g
Pro 3 200g
Michelin latex tube 75g
Michelin latex tube 75g

2553g

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Giant Defy 4 Build

10.7kilos down to 8kilos!!



I must admit, I'm chuffed.

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Giant Defy 4 Build

I believe you can do better than Aksiums (had one set, hated 'em).

Handbuilts? Used Elites if you have to have Mavics...

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Cervelo R3, Campagnolo Chorus/Record mix... pastatrails.blogspot.com
And you can call me Macktastik Honey Pete Kicks, thank you.

I agree......you can do much better. Fulcrum 5 or 3's are good options. Used Ksyrium Elites (2012) would be good also.....those are about 1550 grams. In your price range you can also usually find some second hand Shimano RS80's that are absolutely brilliant.

Also, take a peek at some better fork options. You can do 200 grams better for little money right there.

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2012 Fuji Altamira SE - 6.42kg

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