What I can really reccoment are the ridenow tpu tubes (36g for the normal 24g for the light version) and also spoke hole plugs (veloplugs for example) instead of rim tape. They are around 5g for the whole rim I think and tubeless ready rim tape is around 30g from my experience. But you can not run tubeless with these. I love them in combination with my tpu tubes, reduced the weight by nearly 250g right on the outside of the wheel, so great for acceleration!
Same - 96kg rider to 77kg rider makes a bit more difference than 35g on an inner tube! 😃 Remember it's the system weight as a whole. Also, I think I am more aero on a standard bike since losing some mass
I did everything within reason to lighten my Look 785 Huez RS including an Enve SES 3.4 wheelset, Vittoria TPU tubes, Specialized Turbo Cotton clinchers, Dura Ace SPD-SL pedals, Extralight stem, Darimo seatpost, Specialized S-Works Power with Mirror saddle, and Arundel carbon fiber bottle cages. All combined, these changes made me 0% faster. 😂
But I’m sure that made the writing, much more pleasurable even if part of that is just placebo effect, right? The more pleasurable it is to get out on the bike, the more people are going to do it. That’s got value.
At 193cm and 110kg I've accepted that I'm going to be slow at climbs regardless of the bike's weight. on the descents is where I shine since gravity is my friend 😂
My steel road bike with aluminium wheels was transformed by TPU tubes and Panaracer D Evo tyres. Rolling resistance also much improved. There are lighter tyres out there but I’m hoping to get a lot of miles out of them on less-than-perfect roads
I can't understand why everyone is so concerned with bike weight. 1kg is equivalent to just 5W on an 8% climb and on the flat the difference is negligible. 1kg is a hell of a lot to remove from a bike and as this video shows will cost a hell of a lot to achieve as well. You could easily achieve the same 5W with better fitting clothing and a better position on the bike. Most riders could probably do with losing at least 1kg from their body as well which would actually save money!
It isn’t even about saving a watt. Each time you sprint, each time you climb, every stop-start en getting out of the saddle, pushing hard after a corner; the bike weight plays a role. On both flat and climbs. The first few suggestions (tpu, tyres etc) aren’t that expensive, and you’ll be replacing those in due time anyway; why not get the lighter versions. You can even save weight on bidons (when you have two the difference is in my case 80 grams ) without extra costs; it’s quickly 500 grams or more for not that much money to replace few items. Agree with you on body weight; that’s the easiest weight saving possible, and you’ll save loads of money which you then can spend on bike gear instead.
Couldn’t agree more. I’m 185cm and 83kg so 1kg of bike weight is such a waste for me. I could lose a bit of weight and be faster. Bike weight is makes sense when you have optimised everything else. Every other gain is SO MUCH cheaper to do. Position, clothing fit etc etc etc can make so much more of a difference than buying a 61g seat post.
I agree with your comment but how do you arrive at 5W for 1kg at 8% ? I would have thought that the required additional power depends on your climbing speed.
Hi David, the wahoo pedals are light, but their cleats are heavier than the Shimano. Though the cleats are separate to the bike it is the system weight you should consider as you need both parts when riding. So the difference in the 2 systems might not be as much as you hinted at. BY the way, watch regularly, enjoy & appreciate your videos.
Definitely. No point weighing the pedals and not the cleats. Shimano SPD cleats probably weigh less than any of those mentioned because there is almost nothing to them. I guess the pedals weigh more because of the extra springs and being double-sided
It's possible to build extremely light aluminum wheels. I built a set using Kinlin XR200 rims, CXrays and Bitex hubs and the wheelset came in under 1200g. Cost about 400 bucks too.
Yep. Over a decade ago I had some wheels from a brand called FLIT (think they're gone now.). Was maybe 1200 or 1300 grams for around the same price. Wonderful cheap option for climbing wheels.
I have a giant contend 3 the stock weight is 10.2kg for size small. Then i changed the fork, saddle, dropbar and stem to carbon. Then i changed the crankset to a very light alloy, then i changed the tires to folding tires, then inner tubes to tpu, then a smaller 8 speed cassette 13-26, then full alloy sealed bearing hubs, Now my bike weights 8.1kg. Very satisfied!
I feel what was missing from the discussion here, was the longevity of the product you are replacing. Inner tubes, wheels, and cassettes may be an easy and a cheaper place to save weight, but you will need to replace these items regularly. Whereas, a seatpost, handlebar, seat or set of wheels are examples of things you will pay allot more for a marginal saving in weight, but likely once. Also some of the wheel sets you showed at the end, cost as much as the SL8. To save 848g on the wheels would require a serious investment, as even cheap wheels will not be more than 2kg. I think it would be reasonable to save 400g, though. Lastly, do plastic inner tubes really give you the same savings as latex? I would have thought that from a performance perspective that the40grams extra weight from latex would be worth it for substantially lower rolling resistance.
According to my local bike shop owner, Dura Ace cassettes (and chains!) last longer than the cheaper options. The top chain only saves 10g or so, but the cost increase is small, so it’s a good bang for the buck.
The biggest weight savings is on the powerplant, which is currently 74.8kg. I think there's at least 3kg to save off of that, and best of all, it's free
Switched from a 970g RS FC510 crank (non hollowtech) to a R7100 new 105 crank 730g (ish). payed 90 euros and saved almost 250g! The same as going from 105 full groupset to ultegra full groupset and the same with ultegra and dura ace
China special, weight saving shopping list. Uno kalloy stem £15, 110g Elita one carbon seatpost £20, 130g Ride now tubes x2 £15, 70g Kinlin XR200 wheelset £200, 1300g ZTTO lightweight cassette £40, 200g Used them all myself and no issues.
You forgot the cheap handlebars make sure they're from a trusted brand. Also cheap crankset, zitto I believe but those are to long for me so will be going with praxis
What an absolutely superb video David. You can buy a cheaper bike and with some not too expensive upgrades you can save some serious weight. Making the bike lighter than bikes costing thousands more.😎👍🏻
Few points worth mentioning: Yes speedplay pedals are light but that weight saving is mostly negated by the much heavier cleat assembly. Higher end cassettes are indeed cheaper but that comes at the cost of longevity. They are typically manufactured using increasingly larger quantities of softer metals such as aluminium and magnesium which wear out faster than steel. So yes you save some grams but you also spend a lot more money both because the cassette is more expensive and because you have replace it more frequently. When you’re looking to make some upgrades to your bike, I’d recommend setting yourself a max price in terms of $ per gram (e.g. no more than $1/g works for me) and look at all components through that lens. A decent set of wheels for a good price over the set of OEM wheels should hit that spot. Spending $300 on a carbon seatpost doesn’t.
I’ll add a couple things I’ve found make a noticeable difference. Bar tape. Can be a relatively big and extremely cheap weight saver. 100-150g in some cases. Also simply wrapping it tighter and neater can shave some weight off. Cable housing/cable lengths. Minimising these also helps more than you’d think.
So here’s my thought on the weight issue. Dropping weight on the bike just makes it more fun and pleasurable to ride even if some of that has placebo effect. But the ability to crisply accelerate and throw the bike around definitely makes riding more fun and rewarding. And the more fun it is to get out there and ride the more people will do it. That definitely has value.
From health (mental and physical) and the enthusiast perspective, this is absolutely true. Anything that gets you excited to ride is worth it if you can afford it.
For me the opposite. I have actually added weight to my bike to make riding more enjoyable. Last year I replaced my 28 mm Conti Gatorskins with 35 mm Schwalbe Marathons for more grip, comfort and puncture resistance. This week I will swap out my stem and seatpost for Redshift suspension ones. There are hundreds of reviews and comments on YT and Amazon saying how adding suspension and wider tyres has made cycling, not only enjoyable, but possible in some cases. I can throw my CX bike around rough country lanes and gravel tracks more than ever I could with light gear.
Interesting video. I have 2 road bikes; 1) Scott Solace - 10 years old and 2) Specialized Tarmac SL6 - 2 years old. The older Scott is over 1kg lighter than the newer Tarmac…not sure how much of this due to the rim v disc brakes…?
I still have 5kg to loose (from 90 to 85kg, which is my ideal weight) before I allow myself something fancy like a dura ace cassette and chain or some carbon cockpit. I have latex tubes (great improvement in suppleness and some in acceleration), carbon wheels (great for speeds above 30km/hr and acceleration).
@@davidarthur Exactly. To those who say the easiest way to cut weight is to cut body weight, I have to express my doubts. Except for people making the transition from couch potato to regular cyclist, losing body weight is quit difficult. Our bodies have a natural tendency to resist weight loss. For example, the more you train, the more calories your body needs.
@@Dr.SchlitzPlus, I’m already (genetically) super shinny. Can anyone out there that can afford to lose a few pound and therefore complains about videos like this one, leave it be for people like me 😅
There’s hardly a worry about lighter bikes anymore what with the shift to endurance and gravel bikes. Who’s concerned about light if they’ve voluntarily shifted to 28, 32 or larger tires? Lights (on the Cannondale Synapse)? That little handlebar bag? All the latest fads added weight.
Best thing to reduce weight is to reduce the riders weight🚴🏻🚴🏻👍😊 skewers are can also be a big saving to add to your list.. another option is pick up an older rim brake bike just opinions.. Pete
I took about 400g off the wheels some time ago by going to HED Ardennes+ on my 2007 Cannondale Synapse, with huge benefits in handling and comfort with the wider wheel stance and lower tire pressure. The compelling thing I see on this list is the inner tubes and tires; that's a lot of rotating mass deleted for not all that much money or work. Other than that, the weight has to come off the power plant.
Saved 215g by replacing 750g FSA crankset with 535g sram red crankset on C2W scheme so nobly £200. Works fine with shimano groupset and was easy because I have BB30 bottom bracket so easy swap. Also looks fantastic!
Cheapest way to reduce weight on the bike for most cyclists? No pizza No beer No burgers No chips No ice cream You get the picture Stop eating bad food and too much food. You’ll lose more body weight than you could ever lose from very expensive bike parts and you’ll actually save money.
I managed to save a lot of weight via a new saddle and actually dramatically increase comfort. The SQLab 612 Carbon is a "secret saddle" known to endurance riders that weighs nearly nothing yet offers more comfort than any saddle I've ever had (and I've had a lot of them!)
Seldom do I change parts just for the sake of weight savings, however most std components are heavier anyway than the aftermarket components I choose to use for other reasons, such as saddles, bars, stems, wheels, tires, even changing to my preferred shorter cranks saves a little weight. I've changed out the aluminum seat posts several times as well for carbon options, yes it saves weight but more so looking for that little bit of extra comfort these items provide. Pretty happy with the weight of my bikes without spending excess money looking for weight savings. On a few of my bikes I may have added weight by going with a Redshift stem, extra bar tape and padding, even sometimes heavier handlebars to get the fit I want, weight savings are nice but not the be all and end all in some instances.
Innertubes we don't use we go tubless Grand Sport Race TR 330g Continental Grand Prix 5000 S TR 280g Selle Italia SLR Tekno Flow S3 Carbon Saddle 110g Selle Italia SLR TM Superflow L3 203g SPEEDPLAY NANO 165g + cleat 142g 307g Shimano 105 pedal 320g + cleat 72g 392g DURA-ACE R9200 Series 11-34T is 253g SHIMANO 105 R7100 Series 11-34T is 361g Zipp 353 NSW Tubeless Disc 1308g
1) Ride a lot. 99% of riders aren’t near peak fitness, and just riding your damn bike will result in huge performance gains. 2) Lose weight. Will happen as you do #1. 3) Fix your bike fit and riding posture. 4) Wear more aero gear: helmet, tight-fitting bibs/jerseys, slippery socks, etc. 5) Only once you’ve done all of the above, and never before, get some aero carbon wheels. 6) At this point you should be a top-tier rider based on your power and weight being dialed in. Now you can try to gain 1% more efficiency by shaving grams here and there … but you’ll still likely be better served by riding even more, and being more mindful of your riding posture. Sincerely, -A guy who rode once a week and was 15 lbs overweight, but still bought carbon wheels ‘for aero’. #dumb
Saving rotational weight makes a bigger difference compared to the non-rotating items. And the further from the center of rotation, the bigger the difference. Thus, savings from tires, tibes, and wheel rims make way more difference in performance per gram of reduction than the other options. The rotational difference does only matter when accelerating (and braking).. so it helps a ton in riding or racing where you slow and accelerate often - like criteriums and perhaps cyclocross.. but aren't as big of a deal for a flat time trial. Another that is sort of part of the bike - is shoes. These are also rotational weight, and a change in shoes might be able to save 100 or even 200 grams
I was expecting mention re speedplay pedals as a weightsaving on the bike, but being something of a false economy given the weight cost implied by their frankenstein cleats? What do you think? 🤔 ~50g extra per cleat vs shimano.
Can't agree with the recommendation of tubular tires. My vintage bike with tubular wheels is the biggest headache and really not for the feint of heart. It's a huge commitment-whether that be time or money at your local bike shop.
I think speedplay pedals are a poor weight saving suggestion. Sure, the pedals themselves might be lighter, but they have the largest (and probably heaviest) cleats out there. And, unless you bought special speedplay compatible shoes, you have to have an adapter plate in order to use them in the first place. I am not convinced (though I admittedly don’t know for sure) that speedplay pedals are actually lighter as a system with the same shoes being used.
I gave a try twice those chinese tpu inner tubes and: 1st time were fine, yes they feel stupidly light and the rolling resistance also quite impressive but are kind of a pain to pump them (the valve doesn't like to touched that much, very fragile). 2nd time bought some other ones and were absolutely garbage when pumped the obus was propelled out of the cheap plastic valve those could go further than 40psi and collapsed, trash bin directly. P.s I would buy again the 1st ones or other ones as long as the valve is metal and not plastic since the rolling resistance is noticeable though
I could stop riding a handbuilt Modern steel frame to save weight but enjoy the ride to much. ! I love the ride of steel. I use a few carbon parts on there, i am down to 9kgs. I just ride my 20kg Touring bike for a few days, then switch back to my Condor fratello disc DI2. I gain speed then. I know some pro Crit riders still use steel frames. TBH i just enjoy riding these days. Cutting your legs off is a great way to save weight :-}. I don't have a team car behind me when i ride. So its important to get home. 500 grams mean nothing if i am having to get the train home due to flats because of light weight items. Those light weight tubes have a bad rep!
Can we get a calculation of how much all those upgrades would cost? 2kg seems crazy for what probably costs more than most people's bikes cost in total
The biggest problem with saddle shopping is getting them to list the rail size. 7x9mm is the most common, but 7x7mm is a little lighter for those who don't weigh as much.
If you're still running tubes, there's no reason not to switch to TPU tubes. Now, they've come down in cost, and they're the same price as a buytl tubes.
You featured a photo of the continental 5000 with three colors, Black, Brown and a light tan. I’ve never seen the light tan. What is it called? Or what’s the part number for it?
Many lightweight saddles have 90 - 100 kilogram weight limits on them ruling out many riders . I have seen heavy people break the rails fitted to these saddles .
I upgraded first time ever my butyl inner tube to a Vittoria competition 30/30-622 latex inner tube (running 32mm Panaracer Gravelking tyres), to be honest other than they loosing air in a snap (within 40km it looses 1,5 Bar) I couldn't feel any difference nor improvement on speed/ride quality. What is your experience, guys? I am riding a Decathlon RC520 on stock wheels.
That's the big downside to latex inner tubes, they are very porous and need regular inflating. TPU plastic inner tubes have the advantage here but are a lot more expensive
Thank youf for your answer @@davidarthur , with all do respect - in a different video, reading it off from the package of the Vittorio latex inner tube, it tells that it is more resistant against puncture due its elastic material. So supposed to be better against punctures then plastic innertubes
@@andras.89 Completely anecdotal, but I've yet to have a puncture on latex for the last 2 years. First ride on TPU, i got a puncture, actually a pinch puncture!
Ridenows cost 5 bucks, buy them in bulk. I've had one puncture in a year, and it was complmy fault. Besides punctures come from the tire. I suggest Victoria Corsa next 26 199g.
Woah! Be really careful about changing your cassette, there’s a good reason why dura ace cassette are so light, they do not last. You’ll be replacing the cassette every 6 months!
It's not weight saving. The tubeless tyres weigh more than std clincher tyres, and sufficient sealant is getting on for the weight of an inner tube. Also wider tyres weigh more, and wide tyres are required for tubeless to make any sense. GP 5000 25mm is 221g, latex tube is 75g. GP 5000 TR 28mm is 281g, sealant will be at least 60g on top of that.
