what is making my bike heavy?

[hobie]

just curious. i am not going to get a new bike, but i am just trying to get educated.

my bike is a hardtail cannondale F5co2

i have read in magazines that 28lbs is considered heavy. so it makes me wonder what is so heavy? the frame? wheels? how much lighter could it be?

here are the specs:


Frame CO2 SL Alloy HeadShok
Fork Rock Shox Dart 3 w/ Turn Key Lock Out , 100 mm
Rims WTB Speed Disc All Mountain, 32 hole
Hubs Shimano RM65 disc
Spokes Stainless Steel
Tires CST Caballero, 26 x 2.1"
Pedals Wellgo alloy platform
Crank TruVativ ISO-Flow
Chain KMC 9-speed
Rear Cogs SRAM PG-950, 11-34
Bottom Bracket FSA TH-7420ST
Front Derailleur SRAM X-7
Rear Derailleur SRAM X-5
Shifters SRAM X-5 Trigger 9-speed
Handlebars Cannondale C3, 20 mm rise
Stem Cannondale XC3 1 1/8", 31.8 mm
Headset Cannondale Converter
Brakeset Shimano BR-M415 Mechanical Disc
Brakelevers Cannondale XC
Saddle Cannondale XC
Seat Post Kalloy SP-359
Sizes S, M, L, X
Extras Cannondale V-Tech Grip, Montague "Clix" Front QR
Weight* 28.7 lbs

[Pho'dUp]

First of all don't follow everything those rags tell you.

28lbs. is hardly heavy. Unless your an expert or pro class racer.

Going down the weight weenie road can get really expensive.

But the quick cheap way to lose some weight is in tires and tubes.

[hobie]

Originally Posted by Pho'dUp

But the quick cheap way to lose some weight is in tires and tubes.

and i was thinking of getting some heavy walled tubed and thick tires to prevent flats...is this a what people are doing to prevent flats? or i am too worried about it?

[xhuskr]

Originally Posted by hobie

and i was thinking of getting some heavy walled tubed and thick tires to prevent flats...is this a what people are doing to prevent flats? or i am too worried about it?

personally, I keep a spare tube in the cambelback and just ride. losing rotating weight should make your bike feel faster as well as lighter. Start with the tires and go from there. For any future upgrades, rims seem to be the first for most people. Enjoy your ride!

[TCB]

Go with a lighter frame
pbpic1852435.jpg

[hobie]

i am not a weight freak or worried about it. i was just wondering.


i have the CST Caballero 2" tires. are they considered heavy or a crummy tire? and i have the WTB speeddisc wheels. are these considred heavy as well?

[station]

I would break that frame in a week. I think 28lbs is good for a bike. Road 4lbs is good, but that's a different story. That shock might be a bit heavy. Try riding with weights in your pac for a week, then take them out.

[hobie]

Originally Posted by station

I would break that frame in a week. I think 28lbs is good for a bike. Road 4lbs is good, but that's a different story. That shock might be a bit heavy. Try riding with weights in your pac for a week, then take them out.

good deal.

i have replaced the shock with a Marzocchi MX pro

[el_d00der1n0]

Originally Posted by hobie

and i was thinking of getting some heavy walled tubed and thick tires to prevent flats...is this a what people are doing to prevent flats? or i am too worried about it?

I went for a long time without a single flat. Then, I changed tires and somehow picked up some pieces of cable off the floor. After I found that (by stabbing it in the end of my finger ), I haven't had a flat since.

A thicker tube would have flattened anyway, and it would have weighed a lot more.

[BrahMa]

It's basically all of the parts on the bike that make it heavy. For every single part on your bike, there is something lighter out there. Add up 2 oz here, .5 oz there, and it adds up. The parts that really stand out that are pretty heavy, and you could lose some good weight if you replace them are the hubs, brakes, cranks and pedals. Never heard of those tires, so tough to call on those. And of course, replacing the hubs requires a whole new wheel rebuild, which ain't cheap.

[Kaboom]

Originally Posted by hobie

and i was thinking of getting some heavy walled tubed and thick tires to prevent flats...is this a what people are doing to prevent flats? or i am too worried about it?

I went with tubeless tires, and it helped with weight and flats

[SnookDawg]

Originally Posted by hobie

i have read in magazines that 28lbs is considered heavy.

Let me guess - you read this in MBA? I think mtb mags in general do a good job at fueling the market for upgrading and continually buying more stuff in a lot of ways, and declaring things like "go above 27 lbs and the magic is gone" to paraphrase one of the recent editorials is way oversimplifying the issue.

Case in point, I went from a sub-27 lb hardtail to a 30 lb FS 29er and am climbing faster than before on the trail.

To answer the question in your post - what makes bikes heavy - it depends on what you mean by "heavy". If total weight then it's everything, but if you mean "heavy climbing" or "heavy steering" then it's different. In general you will have a bike that feels and rides lighter than it measures on the scale if you spend your money on light wheels and tires.

[el_d00der1n0]

F = ma

Your bike is traveling toward the center of the earth at a rate of 9.8 m/s^2

[sdyeti]

If you want to shed weight that will have the most impact, you would want to consider anything that rotates (wheels being the most important of those).

[Keith B]

....but if you're looking to save cash dont consider brake discs and cassette as rotating mass as it acts at too smaller radius to really count. Rims, tubes, tyres.

[denmother]

Wow, that's a lot for a hardtail. I actually won a HT a while back and it was heavier than my AM bike (which is 32 lbs). I gave it to my nephew who needed a bike. I thought it would make me climb better but it was too heavy.

My Full Suspension 2003 Spyder with full XTR weighs in at a svelte 23lbs. I am not a weight wienie, I just got lucky buying a used bike.

[PacMan]

Originally Posted by mechmann

weight weenies don't always win the race though! unless you are below 8% body fat, it is always better to lose the weight off yourself!

Excellent point. The biggest thing weighing my bike down is the fat @$$ riding it.

Does your bike FEEL heavy, or is it just the article that has you concerned? If you never thought about it before you read the article, I wouldn't worry about it.

As others have said, cut rotating weight and you will notice that the most. Try filling your tubes with 2 ounces of Stan's and that will basically eliminate flats. I know it's adding a 4 whopping ounces, but it's better than heavy tubes and tires.

That being said, you could probably shave a pound if you went to an air sprung fork like a Reba or Fox F100, but that's a lot of dough to cut a pound. You can shave weight everywhere, but it adds up.

[dirtvert]

i used to buy lightweight tubes (thinking about the rotating weight), but it wasn't worth the hassle of frequent flats. lighter wheels will be my next upgrade.

[ApexMan]

I guess my bike would be considered heavy at 46 pounds, 47 with waterbottle.

I also have a 2001 Uzzi SLX that I changed a lot... I replaced the Rohloff I had in the back with a Hadley and SRAM XO, I had Ringle Rhino Lites which I switched to Double Tracks (I think I got heavier there), then I traded the Shiver fork for a PIKE and then replaced that with a FOX 36 Van, 2.35 Kujo's to 2.25 Maxxis with regular tubes as opposed to thorn proof (but since have gone to Specialized Pros because Moab tore up the Maxxis tires), also a lighter crank assembly. The first time I rode this bike the accelration out of the turns was a big improvement, but overall I went slower because I had to keep backing off when I got into rough stretches. Didn't want to pop a tire and the bike just didn't seem settled under me.

I don't like to trade weight for worry.

[northshore]

Don't forget about you! Work out, lose weight....feel better...feel faster!