Wednesday, May 12, 2010

Bikeorexia


I don't think I am being a weight weenie. I feel a little duped being the owner of a 27 lb. mountain bike that did not come from WalMart.

Minus the replaced derailleur my 2008 Gary Fisher Paragon is pretty much out-of-the-box, including running tubes. Here is a link to BikePedia for the specs for the bike.

I do have some new, lighter tires and some rim strips I am planning install. Running tubeless will really help some of that rolling weight.

I have a smidge of cash right now, about $300-400. I was looking at the Bontrager Race X Lites. I would like to ask a question of my faithful, experienced, wise readers: Should I pick a lighter wheelset and shave off a mere 300 grams of rolling weight? Or just save the mulah?

In the future a lighter set of cranks may be in order, and perhaps a cheap buy like a Thomson Masterpiece seatpost may help as well. Any other ideas for a cheap racer?

4 comments:

  1. The funny thing is, the crosser in me wants to save the money for some TRP brakes! But after showing some promise mountain biking I am beginning to get super siked about that as well.

    If money wasn't the limit, I would totally "white out" my Paragon. White bars, stem, seatpost... The opposite of "murdered out."

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  2. White Out Paragon sounds great.

    I was thinking about the same wheelset. But over $400 for 268 grams...not sure it is worth it.

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  3. as a professional weight weiner, I say go tubeless, buy a lighter set of wheels, stan's, DT hubs, rims. Titanium bolts everywhere, carbon chainrings, carbon chain, carbon tires, carbon brakes, oooops, sorry I was dreaming, I say go get some lightweight wheels and go tubeless. I'd bet with some work, you could get rid of 2 lbs. easy. 27 lbs didn't seem to effect your result at Cohutta mr. fast guy!

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  4. 300 grams isn't mear, almost a pound of rolling weight. 1 pound is roughly 450 g. i say do it! going tubless will save more weight.

    i think you're looking at about a gram per dollar spend, really not a bad deal. just save and pick up some bits here and there. i've started on this as well. i'd think you could shave 2-3 lbs pretty easily. but saving the rotating weight sounds pretty cheap and the best investment. i still need to deal with my rear wheel. best of luck.

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