Added weight to the bike but happy!

Back by popular demand, the general all-things Road forum!

Moderator: robbosmans

Post Reply
dvdslw
Posts: 75
Joined: Sun Nov 03, 2013 3:13 am

by dvdslw

I know we're all here to find the lightest parts out there for our bikes but I just had to confess about cheating on my "bike" diet plan. After finding myself not riding much over the last four months with no real explanation, I decided to upgrade some components on my Caad10 Black Inc to try and reignite the riding flame so to say. I of course started looking at the lightest components out there which included a Hollowgram crank, Dura Ace brakes, and Dura Ace di2 components to upgrade my current FSA SLK-Light crank, Ultegra 6700 brakes, and the rest of my Ultegra 6770 di2 groupset.

After adding it all up, I instantly came to the conclusion that I couldn't afford such things right now so I decided to upgrade the bike with the new Ultegra R8000/R8050 groupset. The new Ultegra stuff looks great, performs extremely well, and is a bargain compared to the DA and Hollowgram stuff. The only issue I have with the new Ultegra is its weight. The new brakes are 70 grams heavier than the previous 6800's and the new R8000 crank in the 52/36 version I chose is 95 grams heavier than the 597 gram FSA crank I'm removing. Plus, I had to get a Wheels mfg bottom bracket conversion kit which added another 40 grams for a total of 205 additional grams.

So far I've only changed out the brakes and the crank because the R8050di2 components haven't been released yet but the brakes have so much more stopping power than my 6700's its almost a night and day difference, the crank performs as it should and looks soooo much better on the bike than the big polished FSA crank I had on there. Although my bike gained some weight and left me feeling guilty, I'm very pleased with the changes so far.

I do have some changes in the right direction to help counter the added weight, I did convert to the internal seatpost battery and bar end junction which helped shed some weight and purchased a Dura Ace 9100 12-28 cassette and DA chain to go with the new R8050 derailleurs when they finally hit the market. After all upgrades I'm going to end up gaining about 85-90 grams so Ill need to carry one less snack to even things out.

User avatar
mpulsiv
Posts: 1384
Joined: Mon Mar 24, 2014 9:17 pm

by mpulsiv

Don't feel guilty for the weight penalty. Though every gram counts, some of us choose functionality over weight. You could have kept FSA SL-K and just bolt on dark grey Ultegra FC-6650 chainrings for stiffness and performance or Praxis chainrings. Ultegra 6700 brakes perform quiet poorly. That's a no brainer upgrade.
Racing is a three-dimensional high-speed chess game, involving hundreds of pieces on the board.

:arrow: CBA = Chronic Bike Addiction
:arrow: OCD = Obsessive Cycling Disorder

by Weenie


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

www.starbike.com



User avatar
mellowJohnny
Posts: 492
Joined: Thu Aug 16, 2012 12:56 am
Location: YYZ

by mellowJohnny

You're not alone! This season I swapped out my Zipp 202 tubulars for a set of Mavic Pro Carbon clinchers. Gained about 600 grams, but I'm tired of fixing the Zipps - I've broken them twice over the last four years. When the shop came back and said $1500 to replace a single *rim* I was done with Zipp.

The weenie in me hates it, the insecure status-seeker in me hates it, but the cyclist in me is happy.

diegogarcia
Posts: 571
Joined: Sat Apr 24, 2010 7:31 pm

by diegogarcia

I hear you - I have an F8 built up with mostly Ultegra, 7900 calipers, Rotor P2M and hand built wheels, and when you do the 'consumer' lift test it is heavy, but boy oh boy it rides like a dream and I love being on it. Bloody stiff bike too.

User avatar
Asteroid
Posts: 222
Joined: Tue Jul 26, 2016 8:43 pm
Location: Los Angeles, California

by Asteroid

Everybody needs to find their happy place. :lol: Mine appears to fall right around 6kg.
It constantly amazes me when others here drop another kilogram or so.
The incredible builds and imagination on this site prompted me to spend some money!
Oldbie

by Weenie


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

www.starbike.com



morganb
Posts: 732
Joined: Wed Mar 15, 2017 5:30 pm

by morganb

I found this going to the Zipp Sprint Stem/SL70 Aero combo. It was an extra 100g or so over my previous set up but so much stiffer that it improved the handling of the bike. I also love the ergonomics of those bars.

Post Reply