New bile and need some help.

[RubenJ]

Hello everyone, my kids gave me a nice (I think so) MTB for X-mas, it’s a Mongoose 26in. I know it not up to the class of bikes you own, but it my first big bike, I ride a 20in BMX, I still don’t know if I could give it up, they jump so nice and they are so easy to do tricks on. I raced them for years, I guess it was time for me to get a mans bike. Well any way, I would like to lighten it up a bit, I see the cranks are steel and so are the handle bars, and seat post, also the forks are steel to, but they do hold the front disk brake, so I don’t know if I can replace them or can I? I do plan on replacing the front and rear derailleurs soon. Well any ideas remember I don’t want to brake the bank, I will be going trail riding this week end. wish me luck. I should be a taking a picture of it soon.

[Esben]

The handle bar and seat post would be cheap ways to lighten it up, and there must be a lot grams to save if yours are made of steel.

Esben

[yoko]

another cheap way to lighten up is to change your tires/tubes to extra light ones like schwalbe fast fred. if you check on ebay you can get these tires for around $20/pair.

[Tivoli]

In my experience, the greatest dollar spent to performance gained upgrade is the wheels. Rather than replacing several components (like seatpost and bars), I'd recommend you save up and replace the wheels. As the previous poster said, tubes and tires are a good place to start because you can shave a lot of weight for relatively cheap.

You probably know this, but rotating weight feels "heavier" than fixed weight. Heavy wheels basically act as gyroscopes that resist changes in direction. Try holding your front wheel by the quick release and have somebody give it a quick spin. Now move the wheel around. Feel that pull? That's what makes your bike feel sluggish!

I upgraded my heavy stock disk wheels with a set of custom wheels with WTB LazerLite hubs laced to Velocity VXC rims. This isn't the absolute lightest option (~1570g, $350), but it's a good compromise of weight, durability, and cost. I normally don't recommend specific builders or suppliers, but I got them from Mike Garcia at Odds and Endos (on the web and in FL) and Mike has gone WAY above and beyond what constitutes good service to make sure that I'm happy and that the wheels continue operating like new!

Good luck and enjoy your ride!
-Tivoli

[RubenJ]

Thanks for all of your suggestions; I will start looking into new tires and tubes. I bought a Specialized XC6066 handle bar today, boy is it light. I may buy some new cranks tomorrow, after I get back from riding. I’m going to try to keep myself from going to crazy on this bike, I have to save up and buy a real nice bike if I plan on racing. the frame is steel too it says it's HI 10 Steel what the hell type of still if that.