Weight Weenies

hi there, first time poster, but a long time lurker (by the way, disregard any bad written english, as i'm brazilian )

To the business: i'm stuck on bikes, waiting for a 2013 Caad 10 wich never arrives. I got a old Giant T-Mobile wich i bought locally, but always raised some questions to me:

first, it is ALL aluminum. I always find those with the carbon stays. Second, you can see the raised sections in the lacquer, as in aplied over stickers. I believe a factory built one would have a flat coat of lacquer...

Since i would not use that anymore, and I could NEVER sell it again (lots of history) I decided to weight it (why not?) and maybe rebuild it as a kind of "underdog" bike. Stripped AL, carbon parts unbranded. And to my surprise the 56 frame weighted (is that a word?) 1390g, with FR mount and RD hanger.

The paint was in bad shape, so I started to remove it Lots of loud poping from the striper, and the metal underneat is yellowish. It's natural for aluminum, and once cleaned it would get a nice shine? I was thinking of leaving it raw and brushe, but the metal seens so smooth that it would polish nice. Maybe some giant logos again!

It's common for a bike that old to have this weight? Seens that my brand new Caad in 58 weight 1300ish.

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To your last question, yes.

Giant had a run of aluminum frames that were quite light. There is one in the Intro/Gallery (you'll have to search for it) that was stripped and built up to an ultra-lite rig... a very light build, actually!

Bianchi had a model (San Lorenzo?) that ran in the 1050g range for a 53/54.

Scott had a a model (RC Team?) that was also in the 1050g range for a 53 (or 52... something like that)

Other brands/mfgs had similar frames available, but I just mentioned Scott, Bianchi and Giant to start with.

Anyway, CAADs are great, stiff frames and very nicely done. They are not the lightest, and older frames can be found that are lighter. 1300g for a 58 isn't too bad.

Here's one of this old Giants: viewtopic.php?f=10&t=27640
Searching for the other...
edit, here you go: viewtopic.php?f=10&t=86242

Also, welcome to Weight Weenies.

prendrefeu wrote:Here's one of this old Giants: viewtopic.php?f=10&t=27640" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Searching for the other...
edit, here you go: viewtopic.php?f=10&t=86242" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Also, welcome to Weight Weenies.

thanks man. That's what i like about this place. Lots of knowledgeable people (had to google that one by the way! )

hmm...

now that looks bad Removing the paint, I found LOTS of filler, all around the joints. Ok, so a smooth looking weld with a not so smooth soldering job. I can live with that. BUT, thera was two DENTS in the frame, covered in filler and painted over. A round one by the downtube and a big dent at the chain stay. It was suposed to leave the factory like this, or it was painted and repaired after? (i bought the frame used).

Disregarding those parts, the frame looks almost good. But there is some pitting in the AL (normal for what i know). Can I just sand those tubes over until those pits disappear? Would it leave the AL weak at some points. I believe not, but better safe than sorry

In the end, i believe i would end with a brushed AL frame with some "battle scars". With my unbranded, raw carbon parts, would look nice, I think

The pits in the aluminum are already weak at those spots. If anything, sanding down those areas would remove the stress riser, so go ahead.

The filler around the joints is a common practice among some frame makers/models in order to make welds look smother. It's less labour and risky than having someone grind down the welds manually.

Post pictures of your process, folks on WW love this sort of thing. It's like porn to us. Really - process porn.

ok, so i got some pictures, and would like some opinions.

since the frame got lots of messes, I came with an idea to mask those, and still finish with a nice paint scheme (I think). So, with the caveman photoshop I gave you this



It was just tape over the frame, since it was at hand. As you can see, i already did some better finish on the TT, and the plan would be to paint the blue parts (already got the wash primer - how they call here in Brazil the base for painting over AL - and all the other stuff needed - compressor and lacquer). I think it looks nice, in a inverted Cannondale six 13 kind of way

So, what color can i paint that would look nice, working well with the natural AL (lacquered over, so all shiny), and with the bare carbon parts I intend to use (cranks, seat post, saddle, bars)? I know you guys love the stealth look, but i like some color in my rides

In this layout, I really could use some opinions. The plan B would be to paint the masked parts in the frame white, and use white parts. But I think a darker color with the carbon and alu would look nice.

Share your opinions, please. Even if you think my idea sucks and I should just paint the frame matte black. Ah, proper Giant logos would be aplied, regardless of the painting scheme, in the same color of the paint, of course.

Thanks in advance.

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