So, what was the plan?
I didn’t set myself a budget but I had no intentions to, let’s call it, “overdo” it. Below 6kg was my goal. I prepared a build list with some safety margins and saw that sub 6kg was realistic. But the build wasn’t going to be spectacular since I wasn’t into buying ultralight stuff and/or stuff with big logos on it. Not always easy for me to draw the line where and how much I’m willing to spend. Of course, everything counts but there were some products that contributed a lot in reducing the weight, in my case the crankset and the wheels. And some low hanging fruit like Kalloy Uno stem and Helix seatpost.
It all started with a frame. I did a lot of research and narrowed it down to a shortlist. Some second hand, some open mould. It boilt down to a soon-to-be retro FM066SL. I asked Dengfu if they had one without paint or paint damage since I planned to remove that anyway and to my complete surprise they confirmed. A painted frame with some scratches on the down tube and a fork with unfinished paint. After they showed me some pictures of the frame on the scale I said yes, please send
Why an FM066SL? I like the classic look, the weight is ok plus, most importantly, the geometry suits me well. And I absolutely wanted a BB30 bottom bracket. Because weight
I checked the weight of the frame upon arrival before the fun stuff started. Stripping the frame and fork. Oh baby… That was a royal PITA... But also extremely rewarding when finished!
Bare frame started at 815 gr. I got myself some razor blades and started by using the commonly known 90° scratching technique.
I kept telling myself that every stroke removes 1/1000 of a gram to keep myself motivated
After the scratching sound changed from a high pitch to a deeper tone I decided to give wet sanding paper a try. Soon the white sanding residues changed to black and I knew that I now reached black paint. It was a bit trial and error when to move from razor to sanding paper. At first, I used 180 grit paper but quickly changed to 100 grit to be more efficient. I tried it at an unobtrusive spot and realized it was perfectly OK. That 100 grit paper really nuked that paint! I sanded the whole frame and fork with 100 grit, then 180, 240 and 360 eventually. I added some wax to the surface to give it some protection but frankly this isn´t really necessary. I was happy how things turned out and I really like this raw industrial/grunge look. It contrasts perfectly my glossy bikes. 
But, what did the scale tell me? I was able to remove around 70 gr of the frame (745 gr) but only 10 gr of the fork (358gr uncut, 316gr cut). I expected less on the first and more on the latter and was hoping for a sub 1000 gr frame/fork… But it wasn’t to be. No big deal.
Oh, and I did the same to the handlebar, seatpost (where unclamped) and cranks. All in all around 100 gr for 20 hours of work, that´s 5gr every hour. But whatever you modify or exchange, this weight is not coming back. And that’s a comforting thought.
Build list:
And here it is:
There's lots of pics if anyone's interested
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