Weight Loss!

spyderski

I have a Planet X SL Pro Carbon. Weighed it tonight & it's 7.35KG. Would love to get it to 6.8KG (not to be quicker, just to have a bike at UCI minimum), but am a bit stuck as to where the weight can be saved.
Spec is :
PX SL Pro carbon F&F (large)
Full Dura-Ace 7900 Gruppo
Zipp SL2 Bars
Selle Italia SLR Fibra Saddle (135g)
PX Alloy Seatpost & Stem
Zipp 404 Clinchers
PX Carbon Bottle Cages

Would like to change seatpost & stem, but dunno how much weight is to be saved here. Would like to avoid buying tubular wheels also. Any ideas??

Junior

Speedplay pedals, Carbon Fibre Saddle and maybe CF Seatpost.

spyderski

Have Look Keo carbon blades w/ti axles, and cant imagine any practical carbon saddle to be much less than 135g. CF seatpost a definite maybe!

Quigs Snr

Well lose those fat ass Zipp 404 Clinchers for a start. Swap them for a set of Zipp tubs or better yet a set of 202's and you are there straight away.

IM0

take out the motor from inside the frame.

Lumen

I wonder whether your "UCI limit" requirement is sane. Yes you'll have a bike that weighs the same as a pro, but it'll still be a Planet-X
on clinchers.

Most of your components are top end already, so further weight savings will bring compromises (and/or massive expense).

Wouldn't you be better off spending the money on a frame upgrade?

ballyharpat

I tend to agree with Lumen, it would be a cheaper option to upgrade your frame, also, your Zipps are over 1600g, that's quite a heavy wheelset, you could get AC sprint 350's pretty cheap, or a set of Soul wheels can be light and good bang for the buck, or a set of Spider? wheels, these are all relatively lightweight clinchers without breaking the bank. I would prob get a set of 303 tubies though if I were in your situation-but you say you don't want tubies. 303's are the best of both worlds, light 1100g and more durable than the featherlight 202's.

Also what tires and tubes are you running? you may be able to save some weight there? What rim tape are you using? you can lose a few grams there.

ryan_sherlock

spyderski wrote: »

I have a Planet X SL Pro Carbon. Weighed it tonight & it's 7.35KG. Would love to get it to 6.8KG (not to be quicker, just to have a bike at UCI minimum), but am a bit stuck as to where the weight can be saved.
Spec is :
PX SL Pro carbon F&F (large)
Full Dura-Ace 7900 Gruppo
Zipp SL2 Bars
Selle Italia SLR Fibra Saddle (135g)
PX Alloy Seatpost & Stem
Zipp 404 Clinchers
PX Carbon Bottle Cages

Would like to change seatpost & stem, but dunno how much weight is to be saved here. Would like to avoid buying tubular wheels also. Any ideas??

(Supported by KCNC - but buying their stuff way before I was)

The KCNC Seatpost (156g) and road Stem (100-110g) as well as their skewers (43grams) can drop a lot. I assume you are using the Zipp Skewers - they are about 115g as far as I remember.

Also the brakes - KCNC have new ones called K7 that are 170g for the pair - that is half the weight of the durace ones. Plenty enough stopping power for me on carbon wheels at 74kg.

Clee-Cycles sell all of the above: http://clee-cycles.co.uk/cc/catalog/

Very highend setup already - if you want a pair of 'mountain clinchers' NoTubes (of MTB fame) are just bringing out new road wheels that will also be tubeless compatabile. (http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/notubes-ztr-alpha-340-road-wheels-and-rims) The ones built onto AC hubs are around the 1.2kg mark. Price is much less than €1,000 too. I'll be getting a couple of sets come cross season. (Tubs are amazing for cross, but a whole lot of pain too) If you are interested in a set, let me know - I might order some sooner (save on postage).

Upgrading a frame is usually very expensive in the gram/euro ratio - the skewers, post, stem are much more affordable.

Another one - the Alligator i-Link Minis for the cable housing - I have been using them on/off road for a year and love them. Drops another 30-50g over standard housing, functions really well and looks bling.

tunney

Lumen wrote: »

I wonder whether your "UCI limit" requirement is sane. Yes you'll have a bike that weighs the same as a pro, but it'll still be a Planet-X
on clinchers.

Most of your components are top end already, so further weight savings will bring compromises (and/or massive expense).

Wouldn't you be better off spending the money on a frame upgrade?

HAHAHAHAHAHAHA - excellent

spyderski

Thanks guys! I was thinking frame upgrade too, but I honestly am very happy with the PX. I could afford to spend more on a frame, but am afraid any improvement would be marginal - am I right? That said the new PX Nano looks nice, 200gm or so lighter than my current frame - anyone on here got one yet?
Tubulars are an obvious option, had them years ago, but am a little worried about their practicality for everyday use. In terms of clincher tyres, any recommendations on a light but fairly practical set?

ballyharpat

Sorry Ryan, but I have to disagree with you about some of the upgrades. The Zipp Skewers weigh about 80g, the savings on the brakes would be about 120g, the stem maybe 30-40g, the seatposts can definitely vary a lot, so I can't say anything about that.
You can get American Classic Sprint 350's for about e600 and with Sapim cx ray spokes will weigh about 1320g. Or get a set of Nimble spiders http://www.nimble.net/ they will be a real cheap clincher set if you can get them over there.

I am not a fan of "tubeless rims as they generally can only use the tyre that is sold by the manufacturer and if you use another tyre, then you have to use a tube, negating any weight difference.

ryan_sherlock

ballyharpat wrote: »

Sorry Ryan, but I have to disagree with you about some of the upgrades.

I am not a fan of "tubeless rims as they generally can only use the tyre that is sold by the manufacturer and if you use another tyre, then you have to use a tube, negating any weight difference.

hehe, I think you misunderstood my post - the weight I had in brackets is the actual weight of the parts - not weight saved. I weigh everything I get and seemed to remember 108g for the zipp skewers, I guess I was wrong. I have no idea of the weight of the bits already on his bike but could safely assume that the KCNC stuff was lighter.

Tubeless rims from stans - the rim is 350g and is very competitive tubeless are not - for road, it is probably not mature enough yet (I have not tried them tubeless on the road) to put them forward but tubeless or not, they make a great wheelset at a good price.

On a side note, I'll hopefully get a pair for using on my CX bike later in the year. My experience with them on the MTB has been second to none.

Frame upgrades... If you like the frame already, upgrading a frame is one of the worst value upgrades out there. Good wheels/tires etc... give a much better performance/euro ratio.

ballyharpat

ryan_sherlock wrote: »

hehe, I think you misunderstood my post - the weight I had in brackets is the actual weight of the parts - not weight saved. I weigh everything I get and seemed to remember 108g for the zipp skewers, I guess I was wrong. I have no idea of the weight of the bits already on his bike but could safely assume that the KCNC stuff was lighter.

Tubeless rims from stans - the rim is 350g and is very competitive tubeless are not - for road, it is probably not mature enough yet (I have not tried them tubeless on the road) to put them forward but tubeless or not, they make a great wheelset at a good price.

On a side note, I'll hopefully get a pair for using on my CX bike later in the year. My experience with them on the MTB has been second to none.

Frame upgrades... If you like the frame already, upgrading a frame is one of the worst value upgrades out there. Good wheels/tires etc... give a much better performance/euro ratio.

Hey Ryan, I stand corrected.
If the frame were of lower quality I would say upgrade it, but definitely the wheels/tires first.
I know most people here swear by tubies or tubeless in the Cx racing, it allows you to run a lower pressure and reduces the risk of rolling a tire and/or pinch flatting. The weight of those rims is definitely a winner, they would be the same weight as the AC Sprint 350's so, I believe.