Gotta get my 14.5 lb. cx bike lighter.

The spirit of Grav-lo-cross. No but seriously, cyclocross and gravel go here!

Moderator: Moderator Team

Post Reply
volkerbicycles
Posts: 15
Joined: Wed Aug 13, 2008 1:54 am
Location: Kansas City, MO
Contact:

by volkerbicycles

I have a blue sl frame I've built up to be 14.5 lbs. with pedals. I'm ready to make it lighter.

Have now, upgrade to
wcs classic bars, 236g zip sl carbon 190g
Apex r. der. 200g red r. der. 145
yokozuna cables gore or powercordz
bontrager carbon stem ritchey 260 stem
antares carbon saddle selle slr saddle
1070 11-26 1090 11-26
s500 left lever s900 carbon left lever
eggbeater sl(ti spindle) 211g eggbeater 11 174g


Any other good places to cut weight? I've got trp mag brakes, 3t ltd. post, red shifter, lizardskin tape, sl kmc chain, fsa carbon 42t guard, bb30 sram red crank, tufo flexus primus tires, ti skewers. 1070 gram wheelset.

Any good left levers that are lighter than the 125g s900 lever?
Britton
volkerbicycles.com

by Weenie


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

www.starbike.com



fastvegan
Posts: 38
Joined: Tue Jan 18, 2011 7:50 pm

by fastvegan

Sounds awesome. I had my BH RX1 down to 14.9 lbs with dugasts until I crashed and broke a set of bontrager rxxxl bars.
I think if you take the brake lever apart and remove the metal post that goes through it you can save some weight. I have a force shifter that I gutted and it is very light. I want to say under 100g w/o the clamp.

What about ti bolts for the stem? What expander do you use?
Attachments
the new golf.jpg

limba
Posts: 956
Joined: Tue Dec 16, 2003 4:24 am

by limba

Yeesh, that's really light. You'll have to be careful if you race this bike with much lighter parts.
You could switch to a lighter seat, post and seat clamp but that's scary for cross. Derailleur pulley wheels? Lighter bolts everywhere? Lighter wheel skewers?

Guymk
Posts: 77
Joined: Sun Oct 17, 2010 1:44 pm

by Guymk

Thats already super light for a cross bike, I don't see much where you can take more weight off without seriously compromising durability.

rockdude
Posts: 180
Joined: Fri Nov 21, 2008 3:23 pm
Location: Boulder, Colorado

by rockdude

If you are serious about racing I would switch out some of the light weight stuff. I race about 50 races a year and break a lot of items. Not good when you are battling for 1st and a seat post (or any part) fails.
2 Serotta's, 1 Spectrum, 1 Van Dessel, 1 Parlee & 1 Carl Strong, & 1 Titus.

volkerbicycles
Posts: 15
Joined: Wed Aug 13, 2008 1:54 am
Location: Kansas City, MO
Contact:

by volkerbicycles

Thanks guys. It has held up for 2 months no problem, plus racing on weeknights too. Just thought I might be missing something. Anyone know of a superlight left brake lever, those s900 levers are 130 grams or so still. I'm planning on installing the powercordz cables, zipp sl bars, red derailleur, s900 lever soon. I did have a 980 gram set of wheels, c-4 hubs to 20/24 reynolds 32mm rims, sold them, wish I hadn't now.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/artasamurd ... 303599233/

Maybe I'll get this thing down below 14 once I get the eggbeater11 pedals and carbonio selle italia saddle.
Britton
volkerbicycles.com

vcnz
Posts: 269
Joined: Thu Jan 11, 2007 3:48 pm
Location: The Netherlands

by vcnz

if your main goal is building a cx bike as light as possible, that's the way to go then, but if this is the bike you'll be racing with I think you're looking for troubles

spandexboy817
Posts: 172
Joined: Fri Apr 18, 2008 12:55 am

by spandexboy817

I like what you are doing here. All of parts look reasonably durable and aren't insanely fragile. Don't listen to all the haters!
Anyways, check out an extralite ultrastem, ritchey wcs or syntace (kinda flexy). Not sure what the 260 is. I would also shy away from the 1090 cassette. It sucks at shedding mud. Check out one of the superlight ones like a recon or KCNC if you are going to use it for a raceday only cassette. They also come in around 100 grams...
Weigh your QRs and compare them with the KCNC ones too. A lot of Ti QRs still weigh like 20-40 grams more than a set of those and I use them for mtn and cross with no issues (so far!).
Check the weight on your seatclamp, expander plug, etc and see if you can shed some weight there. Its a place most people overlook... Make sure to run a full sheath if you do powercordz cause any grit from cross will tear them up if they aren't protected.
Cheers

User avatar
ms6073
Posts: 4288
Joined: Fri Jul 23, 2004 8:24 pm
Location: Houston, Texas

by ms6073

How about racing with a set of tubular Lightweights? Realistically, a set of wheels based on Enve 1.25 tubulars and some light hubs would also bring the weight down, also if your not already running a single-ring setup. Ultimately, settin git up as a single-speed would be the best way to get the weight down. :D
- Michael
"People should stop expecting normal from me... seriously, we all know it's never going to happen"

volkerbicycles
Posts: 15
Joined: Wed Aug 13, 2008 1:54 am
Location: Kansas City, MO
Contact:

by volkerbicycles

Wheels are tubular, already 1070 grams. 320 gram rims to c-4 55g front and zipp 188 rear. I am running a 1x10 with fsa carbon guard and 11-26 1070 cassette.

Right now, I'm thinking I might do the following once the National Championships are over.

eggbeater 11s (40 grams), red derailleru(50 grams), 260 stem (25 grams), zipp sl carbon bars (46 grams), 1090 cassette (45 grams), carbon left brake lever sram (15 grams), powercordz r. brake cable(15 grams), gore lite cable/housing(40 grams)


I just got the new clement pdx tubulars, 356 grams for the tubeless tubular. My flexus weigh 372 rear, 315 front. Not sure why both tires are so far off, they are identical except the 315 front I bought last january and the rear heavier tire I bought in august.

skewers are ti, 54 grams/pair.
Britton
volkerbicycles.com

nigel379
Posts: 117
Joined: Sat Jun 20, 2009 3:23 am

by nigel379

Rethink the 1090 red cassette. Go for a 7900 cassette. Much better mud shedding plus smoother shifting in the muck :wink:

Tallboy
Posts: 198
Joined: Wed May 21, 2008 8:54 am
Contact:

by Tallboy

Cool photos, nice idea using part of a bmx track!
"I want to absorb all of your pop culture"

User avatar
toad
Posts: 14
Joined: Thu Dec 08, 2011 4:08 pm
Location: Mountains of Utah
Contact:

by toad

I agree with Nigel, I tried to go super-light with a 1090 on my Giant. I bought it right before a big climbing race. After the race, went right back to my 7900. The smoothness and quietness is just not worth the few grams. Or wait for Red 2013 if reports on smooth/noise are good.

What kind of Antares exactly do you have. I just bought a Selle Italia SLR Kit Carbonio Flow (claimed 115 grams, 125 on my scale). The height from rails to top is so short (<4cm) my ISP needs a bunch of additional spacers and is near its limit. I actually plan to swap it for a Antares 00, but currently QBP is out of stock in the black.
SkidMap.Com
2011 Cannondale Scalpel
2010 Giant TCR Advanced SL
1943 Sieber Track Bike

by Weenie


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

www.starbike.com



DYG
Posts: 74
Joined: Thu Jun 08, 2006 9:14 am

by DYG

First of all, I hope you have a reliable B bike, because if you are racing such a light A bike without a spare in the pits you are daft.

Don't pick your cross tires solely on weight. Better to have a quiver of race wheels with different tires -- normal tread, mud, and dry/fast -- than one expensive wheelset with only one kind of tire. If you have the cash invest in hand-built tubulars like FMB. Switching to great tires will improve your performance much more than shaving a pound in cross racing.

Your parts list is reasonable.

As others have said, the Red cassette does not work well in muddy conditions. Perhaps wait for the "2013" Red cassette?

I would not run expensive and fragile Powercordz on a cross bike, but give it a try and let us know how it goes.

Get lighter QR skewers like KCNC or AX Lightness, or on race day install slow-release skewers like Control Tech Race SL (26g). As long as you have a pit bike you will never need to do a fast wheel change mid race.

After adjusting your stem, remove your headset expander bung and top cap and wedge a cork plug in the hole.

Post Reply