Budget MTB project
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- robbosmans
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Hi, my name is Rob and I am 18 years old. I bought this bike a year ago. Since then I fell in love with bikes and decided my bike could use some upgrades since it weighs (hold your breath) ~13,2 kg. My goal is 10kg. Since I am a student I am on a budget.
Here is my bike with some minor upgrades.
I got rid of the brooks cambium because i didnt like it (and was really heavy). I went for a Fabric Line elite instead. In this stage it weighs 12,94kg.
Today my wheels came in and i was looking forward to drop some big numbers. I also put on my summer tires.
The wheels are Stans Crest laced to DT Swiss 350 hubs 36t with 28 spokes front and rear.
605g for the front (with tape)
780g for the rear (with tape). Really happy with this! Got these wheels for €480 and the pair of tires for €60.
Total weight 11,94. Dropped a hole kg. I guess the stock wheels where very heavy.
Really happy with it! I would love to hear some suggestions from you guys what I should tackle next? I was thinking of getting a better fork.
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Here is my bike with some minor upgrades.
I got rid of the brooks cambium because i didnt like it (and was really heavy). I went for a Fabric Line elite instead. In this stage it weighs 12,94kg.
Today my wheels came in and i was looking forward to drop some big numbers. I also put on my summer tires.
The wheels are Stans Crest laced to DT Swiss 350 hubs 36t with 28 spokes front and rear.
605g for the front (with tape)
780g for the rear (with tape). Really happy with this! Got these wheels for €480 and the pair of tires for €60.
Total weight 11,94. Dropped a hole kg. I guess the stock wheels where very heavy.
Really happy with it! I would love to hear some suggestions from you guys what I should tackle next? I was thinking of getting a better fork.
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- onemanpeloton
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Great looking bike Rob! What forks are you using? There could be some good weight savings there
2020 Trek Boone
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2017 Trek Superfly AL
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2017 Trek Superfly AL
- robbosmans
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It is a Rockshox Judy that came with the bike, I cant find the weight of the fork an I gues thats a bad sign?
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search the second hand forums/ebay for the best deals. obviously you'll loose the most weight on the larger parts, stem/handlebar/seatpost/saddle/fork, but they tend to cost the most.
if you dont raise/lower your seatpost a lot, a simple bolt on seat colar will shave some grams for a low cost. if thats your set handlebar height, cutting the fork steerer & loosing some of those ahead spacers is another ounce weight loss for free
having been a student a long time ago. I'd suggest as parts wear out, replace with lighter. for now just enjoy cycling, the funds for lighter parts will come with time
if you dont raise/lower your seatpost a lot, a simple bolt on seat colar will shave some grams for a low cost. if thats your set handlebar height, cutting the fork steerer & loosing some of those ahead spacers is another ounce weight loss for free
having been a student a long time ago. I'd suggest as parts wear out, replace with lighter. for now just enjoy cycling, the funds for lighter parts will come with time
- robbosmans
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I am taking a break from school this year and i work at the bikeshop, that is why i wanted to tackle this project. Thanks for the tips! I will look into lighter finishing kit (I just weight my seatpost and it was almost 400g!).
Also are lighter brake rotors worth it?
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Also are lighter brake rotors worth it?
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Here are my quick thoughts on some easy weight savings:
Post - find a kcnc or ebay carbon post for like $50 which should be <200g
Seatclamp - any "nice" but inexpensive clamp will be around 10g
Handlebar - The mt zoom bar weighs 110g and only costs like $100
kcnc grips are always a good value because you'll save ~40g for $15.
Post - find a kcnc or ebay carbon post for like $50 which should be <200g
Seatclamp - any "nice" but inexpensive clamp will be around 10g
Handlebar - The mt zoom bar weighs 110g and only costs like $100
kcnc grips are always a good value because you'll save ~40g for $15.
- robbosmans
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Big upgrades.
New fork: Rockshox Reba Rl, 1575g (wo thru axle and lockout+cut steerer)
Replacing my Rockshox Judy Silver ~2300g
Forgot to take pics of these.
Also got a sweet deal on some XX1 crank arms
Old Cranks:
New ones:
Wanted to try an oval chainring, got a superstarcomp raptor 32t, i could probably go bigger.
Old one:
New one:
Also got a chinese version of the mismatch matchmaker and some XT rotors.
Total weight:
Pic:
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New fork: Rockshox Reba Rl, 1575g (wo thru axle and lockout+cut steerer)
Replacing my Rockshox Judy Silver ~2300g
Forgot to take pics of these.
Also got a sweet deal on some XX1 crank arms
Old Cranks:
New ones:
Wanted to try an oval chainring, got a superstarcomp raptor 32t, i could probably go bigger.
Old one:
New one:
Also got a chinese version of the mismatch matchmaker and some XT rotors.
Total weight:
Pic:
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- onemanpeloton
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looks great!
2020 Trek Boone
2017 Merida Reacto
2017 Trek Superfly AL
2017 Merida Reacto
2017 Trek Superfly AL
- robbosmans
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Got some more parts
KCNC Seatpost
Old seatpost
Procraft seatclamp
Old seatclamp
And when I installed the seatclamp
I dont know what I did wrong, I made sure it was all the way seated, when I torqued to to 4NM it just snapped, this sucks. I was going to order a procraft stem but now I am not sure about the quality of these parts.
Threw the old seatclamp back on
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KCNC Seatpost
Old seatpost
Procraft seatclamp
Old seatclamp
And when I installed the seatclamp
I dont know what I did wrong, I made sure it was all the way seated, when I torqued to to 4NM it just snapped, this sucks. I was going to order a procraft stem but now I am not sure about the quality of these parts.
Threw the old seatclamp back on
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FWIW it's not uncommon for bike manufacturers to use an OE spec fork with a selection of cheaper parts that aren't listed anywhere, as you can't buy them.robbosmans wrote: ↑Thu Apr 18, 2019 4:04 pmIt is a Rockshox Judy that came with the bike, I cant find the weight of the fork an I gues thats a bad sign?
So the aftermarket fork might have aluminium stanchions and steerer, plus a decent adjustable damper and as a punter you'll pay €500 for it @1900 grams
The original equipment fork might have chromed steel stanchions and steerer and a fixed rate damper, but it'll look like the aftermarket one.
The bike manufacturer might pay under €150 for it @2300 grams. (but they have to commit to buying 20000 of them........)
I've had several through my hands.
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Congratulations on a great looking bike. Others have already suggested several ways to optimise weight and here are a few in addition:
How much sealant are you running in the tires? For comparison I run 2 ounzes / 60ml in each 27.5 wheel on my Scott Scale.
Do you really use the lowest gears on the cassette - otherwise there could be significant weight savings with a more compact cassette depending on the terrain you ride in, of course.
Your bottle cages look like Elite plastic cages and IIRC they are about 55 grams each. Supacaz has some really nice aluminium cages weighing something like 20 grams each which are fairlty inexpensive.
If you are running a lot of seatpost inside the seat tube, you could cut this off. Don't go below 12 cm seatpost inserted into the frame, though.
Oh, and find another seatpost clamp. The current one is really heavy and not very pretty I have used a 9g Tune clamp on several bikes and never had any issues (weighing 77kg)...
How much sealant are you running in the tires? For comparison I run 2 ounzes / 60ml in each 27.5 wheel on my Scott Scale.
Do you really use the lowest gears on the cassette - otherwise there could be significant weight savings with a more compact cassette depending on the terrain you ride in, of course.
Your bottle cages look like Elite plastic cages and IIRC they are about 55 grams each. Supacaz has some really nice aluminium cages weighing something like 20 grams each which are fairlty inexpensive.
If you are running a lot of seatpost inside the seat tube, you could cut this off. Don't go below 12 cm seatpost inserted into the frame, though.
Oh, and find another seatpost clamp. The current one is really heavy and not very pretty I have used a 9g Tune clamp on several bikes and never had any issues (weighing 77kg)...
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- robbosmans
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Thanks, yeah the seatclamp is so ugly I cant stand it, thats why I bought that procraft one that broke , i have contaced r2 bike to see if i can get a replacement.
The supacaz cages are a nice suggestion I will look into it, i am already the least amount of sealant possible
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The supacaz cages are a nice suggestion I will look into it, i am already the least amount of sealant possible
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