wally I think using ... analogy is a bit strong and out of context. We are after all only talking about bikes and bits of carbon etc etc . There have been a lot of tuning posts already . I have enjoyed this thread very much but not everyone has the means and skill to tune to some of the levels on this sight and don't forget there will be a lot of ww who will read your posts but may not post anything . I think you and everyone else who contributes keeps this sight going and show what can be achieved.
It's always best not to expect to much and any words of admiration you recieve should be accepted with grace. Keep doing and keep posting

http://weightweenies.starbike.com/forum/download/file.php?id=50751&mode=view
Surprised you didn't loose more weight after such radical surgery.
This DA7800 31.8 ended up at around ~65gms, with much less material removed.

I know that the comparison was a bit on the strong side.
If it offended/offends anyone, I apologize. It was the only thing
that came to mind, when I was trying to make the point.

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AEROLITUS-defender of the faith

@lechat, agreed. The Srams are heavy to start with. I run a campy on the front now. Way better. Thankfully I took a whole lot more out of the rear derailleur which I've done thousands of kms on to date. No issues.

@wally, yes it was potentially not the best analogy but it is in my opinion somewhat true. It's disappointing to see the number of true weenies on the decline.

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http://weightweenies.starbike.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=10&t=100739

I don't think ww are on the decline . It seems you are not happy with the amount of response to your thread. If you hit the search button you will see that these tunings have been covered before ,theres pages of red rd tuning for instance. A lot of ww have seen a lot of this before and it is not a diss on the great work and great ideas that you guys are coming up with . Your skills are being enjoyed and not going unnoticed.
keep up the good work

This is one of the best threads on this board as far as I can say. Certainly better then any thread about the newest and lightest cranks set for 1000+ $/€.
Hopefully I will soon be able to add my own mods to this thread.
Keep it up!

There's room for both. I especially like the guys who are willing to mod their $1000 cranks.

I walked past the Dremel stand at my local hardware shop yesterday and sighed. I was with my wife and we had to buy an electric sander for sanding and repainting our house. Priorities

If i was after responses to my thread, i would have asked how to "Spend $500" or "Who Still Likes Lance"... The genuine point of this thread was to see, and appreciate, those in the WW community who still do the true weenie builds and tunes.




+1, there is room for both, definately! Ilike these people too though i've only seen Gumgardener do a paint strip on a Clavicula?

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http://weightweenies.starbike.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=10&t=100739

weenie, whatever

Hi,



About five to seven years ago when weightweenies was in its early years we had to be inventive tuning with aluminium bolts, ti bolts, sanding this and that and so on. In those days few manufacturers really cared about how much their stuff weighed.

A few years later they started caring (we made them do so) and weights were listed, often quite optimistic ones so there was still plenty of room for some tuning.

Lately, lets say over the past three years or thereabouts, all kinds of finely crafted stuff have become available. Stuff that's so light and occasionally not even that expensive, that it is often easier and wiser just to buy those little bits, install them and be done with it.
Lots of shops carry alu and ti bolts nowadays. It didn't used to be like that. Handcrafted carbon seatclamps, quick releases weighing less than 40g, sub 1000g frames, saddle you can blow away, etc., etc?
Pretty common now but it was way different some years ago.

Nowadays we come to the point that whenever you try to modify an already light part you may quite likely screw it up or at best make it unreliable.
I think it was Keith Bontrager who once said: "Light, strong, cheap: pick two"...

So, yes, it's not that surprising that the response is a bit underwhelming really but by all means keep up the good work and let no one discourage you. Especially not me.

Ciao,

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Being a snob is an expensive hobby.

OK, so there was mention of tuning 1000.00 cranks. Well I've done a few.
Not quite to 1000.00 but well on the way. One you've see pics of and the others,
Sorry I don't have any pics. This goes back a ways before my digital camera days.
So I guess I have to sing you a tune.
Sorry I couldn't pass that up. I'll have to do it with a word picture.
1st. one was on a gen.1 Zipp crankset. The aero spider version. After
consulting w/engineer @Zippto see how much metal was in the crankarms at
spindle interface I installedthe spindle,held spindle perpedicular in a 3 jaw chuck
bolted to mill table.Bored out the carbon fiber, removed the heavy steel encapsulated
allen bolt.Then bored the hole open bigger, boring down into the aluminum. Then used
a large diam. tap to thread for a crank puller. Threads had to be an oddball size
so, had to make a custom crank extractor. Used aluminum crank bolts/washer.
Made polished aluminum dustcaps that were contoured to blend in w/ arm shape
when pressed in. Weight savings wasn't huge maybe 30 grams.
But I didn't like the idea of hunks of steel inside carbon arms, and I liked the idea of the
polished dust caps. I also got some .010" carbon sheet from the contactor that
made the carbon disc wheel covers for CH Aero. I aeroized the single 50T chainring
before bolting on, with the carbon sheet and the center filled with balsa wood.

The other crank was a sweet wings MTB. I bought a set near the infancy of my hill
climb bike project. About a year later I heard that sweet was coming out w/ titanium
version. Cambria took back the unused set as deposit on a ti one. Well months and months
passed and no ti forthcoming. Carbon was coming on, but still too heavy. So decided
to find another Sweet crank but only one could get was 58 bcd not original 74.
So after looking into the ring situation for a 32 or 34T in 58 bcd was non available.
Cycle dynamics would make me a 32T ti blank, and I would have to mill the spider etc.
Didn't really want to go that route so after searching found a chunk of 1/8" 7075
plate and decided to make my own ring. In still have it, see pic.
So I decided to take the crank. Big dissapointment. new one weighed 43 grams more
that old 74 bcd version. So after extensive measure ments and comparing to road
Sweet crank I had, concluded all the changes were in the wall thickness of the arm.
So I concluded that if I were to carefully sand/grind about .006" off the wall thickness
I could reclaim most of the gained weight. So first spun the cranks in the lathe and
turned off extra material at the pedal eyes. Next I started sanding/belt grinding with a
small 1/2" wide belt sander and carefully taking checks on dimensions to stay within
predetermined limits. But I never finished that part. 1/2 done 1 arm, other untouched.
Between getting distracted with other projects and time/technology advancing as well
as financial changes it's just as fdgrove said there wasn't any point, at least in this area
to waste a lot of time that it would have taken, but better to start with something
that had more potential with tuning. So now Troy Watson has the crank.

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AEROLITUS-defender of the faith

WW as a forum has changed significantly. Especially the road cycling sections. The amount of off the shelf equipment is depressing, but there are still a few gems, such as this thread and all the tuners.

I rarely take the dremel to things, as I'm less inclined towards the superlight these days, but I modify almost everything. I have shaved 5g off an alloy bottlecage. I also plan on tuning the bodies and cleats of a set of speedplays soon. I'm inspired to do some material removal of my SRAM levers now, thanks to these threads.



Saved a big chunk of weight and it functioned 100% as normal for the time I used it. Started life as a deore front D.

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BMC SLC01

Visiting South West Australia? Visit Crank n' Cycles!

Not sure what you implying artray... But I found that rude.

@BobbyOCR, that's a nice little saving! The thing about tuning is that you can save weight while saving money. Whatever spec level you have can be made lighter. So keep it up, be it on Deore or Red!

@Wally318, like usual Wally your talents in tuning are amazing. Thank you for making this thread a pleasure to read! It seems like this thread is unwanted by some users who have expressed their desire for it to be ignored as such. So Wally I lift my hat to you, your tuning and your riding.

If anyone has the wish to post some drilling, dremelling or sanding feel free. For now have a Merry Christmas wherever in the world you are. (29 degrees for Xmas day tomorrow here) ill try throw up more pics of the tuning I've done in the new year.

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http://weightweenies.starbike.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=10&t=100739

weenie just thought your little response was not needed i.e. "If i was after responses to my thread, i would have asked how to "Spend $500" or "Who Still Likes Lance"... The genuine point of this thread was to see, and appreciate, those in the WW community who still do the true weenie builds and tunes."
If you read my post and took it in the good and positive way it was meant then there was no need for your little tirade.