carbon price per gram

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

Moderator: robbosmans

Post Reply
Boshk
Posts: 462
Joined: Wed Jul 19, 2017 2:59 am

by Boshk

I was wondering if anyone ever did a cost comparison of how much it is to 'upgrade' in the pursuit of lightweight.

I did the slightly non-standard way of building a bike....purchased a full bike then sold components to upgrade.

I'll do a build later with weights but for the moment, here is my bike:

Frame: Bianchi Oltre XR3 - 53cm
Top cap: FSA
Headset: FSA Orbit C-40-ACB
Seatpost: Bianchi Oltre Full Carbon Aero
Seat: Fizik Antares VS (transferred from old bike 209g)
Stem: Reparto Corse 100mm (171g)
Bar: Reparto Corse Compact Flat Top (308g)
Bottle cages: Elite (47g)
Groupset: Full Chorus 170mm, 50/34, 12-28
Wheels: Campagnolo Zonda (1596g)
Tires: Continental GP 4000s II 25mm with Continental Race 28 inner tubes.
Pedals: Look Keo 2 Max

Don't want to change my groupset again, I sold the Ultegra R8000 for the Chorus.

My thoughts:
Switch Front Derailleur to SR....some suggest it is stiffer therefore shifts even better
Stem=Deda Superleggero 100mm...103g (save 70g for $80, $1.1/g)
Bar option 1=Deda Black Zero 100 40cm 258g (50g for $38, $0.8/g)
Bar option 2=Deda Black Superleggera 40cm 180g (save 128g for $170, $1.3/g)
Cage=Elite Vico Carbon 23g (24g/$25, $1/g)
Saddle=Selle Italia SLR Flow Carbonio 120g (save 89g for $140, $1.6/g)
Wheels=I like my Zonda atm so at a much later date....Bora Ultra or Roval or LW Mein but they are ridiculously priced...Roval 50s for example are around $2500 for saving 221g ($11/g)

Saddle is still under consideration because I can't get a test SLR saddle to see if it 'fits'
Comments and suggestions welcome
Can I actually do anything to the Headset, spacers and cap??

JScycle
Posts: 260
Joined: Wed Mar 08, 2017 11:41 pm

by JScycle

You could purchase a lighter expander, top cap and bolt. An example is the eeNut and eeCap from Cane Creek. I think the 3 of them are under 10g total

by Weenie


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

www.starbike.com



User avatar
wheelsONfire
Posts: 6283
Joined: Mon Jul 07, 2014 8:15 am
Location: NorthEU

by wheelsONfire

Going weight weenie is not about keeping sanity intact.
Go mental and don't ask what tomorrow brings, says or propose.
Bikes:

Ax Lightness Vial EVO Race (2019.01.03)
Open *UP* (2016.04.14)
Paduano Racing Fidia (kind of shelved)


Ex bike; Vial EVO D, Vial EVO Ultra, Scott Foil, Paduano ti bike.

AJS914
Posts: 5397
Joined: Tue Jan 28, 2014 6:52 pm

by AJS914

Switch Front Derailleur to SR


People usually install a steel Chorus front derailleur when the non-replaceable carbon cage on their Record or SR derailleur breaks. It's not worth a handful of gram savings.
Last edited by AJS914 on Sun Nov 05, 2017 5:33 am, edited 1 time in total.

Boshk
Posts: 462
Joined: Wed Jul 19, 2017 2:59 am

by Boshk

JScycle wrote:You could purchase a lighter expander, top cap and bolt. An example is the eeNut and eeCap from Cane Creek. I think the 3 of them are under 10g total


thanks, I'll look into that. The FSA and Deda just doesn't go together

AJS914 wrote:
Switch Front Derailleur to SR


People usually install a steel Chorus front derailleur when the non-replaceable carbon carbon cage on their Record or SR derailleur breaks. It's not worth a handful of gram savings.


Thanks, sticking with Chorus then.

by Weenie


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

www.starbike.com



User avatar
zappafile123
Posts: 655
Joined: Sun Jun 01, 2014 8:24 am

by zappafile123

AJS914 wrote:
Switch Front Derailleur to SR


People usually install a steel Chorus front derailleur when the non-replaceable carbon carbon cage on their Record or SR derailleur breaks. It's not worth a handful of gram savings.


+1

You've got it the wrong way round mate, chrous FD is stiffer than SR.

Weight differences only really matter in the kilo range. There's no point spending hundreds of dollars on functionally identical components to save 150g (unless you like how it looks or whatever). Work out how you can cut at least a kilo off your bike, then spend the money.

Best way to get half a kilo off easy is to just to buy tubs... but the trade off is tubs are a PIA - your bike will feel snappier, but you'll have to lug a tire around in your jersey which kinda mitigates the weight savings you just attempted to make... then you have the fun times of trying to remove a properly glued tire on the side of the road and gingerly rolling home on an unglued tire... followed by the 24hr minimum process of re-gluing a new $60-120 tire (which, according to Murphy's law you'll flat on the second ride because you didnt age it, properly pre-stretch it and take your time letting it settle on the rim because you got frustrated by doing it properly the last time)...
FactorOne|SartoSeta|StorckF.3|Enigma EliteHSS|SworksSL6|ColnagoC60/V3Rs|DeRosa Protos|BianchiXR4/2|BMCSLR01 16|Cdale EvoHM|Focus IzMax|RidleyHe SL/SLX|BH Ulight|BassoDiamante|Scapin DyseysS8|TimeRXRS/ZXRS|TCR SL|RidleyNoah|Look585|CerveloS5/S3

Post Reply