Lighter mountain bike wheels

[Nicomrs]

Hi all,

Currently running dt swiss m1900 wheels on my canyon neuron and i want to loose some weight on my bike.

Considering carbon wheels but how much will i gain? Will it be worth it?

[Steady Spin]

Great place to save weight is on the wheels. The M1900 weights around 1790g I think and dropping weight below that is going to start getting expensive. 

What is your budget for wheels?

PS. Which Neuron do you have?

[Nicomrs]

I have the cf 8 2020, great bike but when im going uphill im getting behind and think weight is the big thing, i dont have a budget at the moment but considering talking to my bank manager

Edited June 13, 2021 by Nicomrs

[Steady Spin]

14kg bike from the looks of it. Quite “light” for what it is. 

Dropping weight is going to be expensive I think. 

Losing weight yourself is normally a good place to start ???? and a lot cheaper. 

[Nicomrs]

In its class, compared to a giant trance, merida 120, stumpjumper st etc it was definately the lightes bike, ive changed the tyres to vittoria barzos and had 1 or 2 face plants,no back to maxiss ardent 2.4 up front and 2.4 aspen in the rear. All my mates ride the new titans an epics so im left behind alot but only on the climbs.

Im now the fittest ive been in years and the lightest that i ever will be so im at that point where i cant blame myself alot anymore.

[Sid the Sloth]

Some easy ways to save some weight could also be in saddle (as long as it's still comfy), bars, and grips. You might find a more affordable gram/rand saving there.

[Jewbacca]

1790g for wheels is not heavy.

BUT weight isn't everything. A set of carbon hoops will be more 'responsive' and the power transfer better. If you save 200g on the wheels you will be doing well. Probably then negated by the 2.4 tire though.

IMHO keep getting fitter and stronger. 14kg for a trail bike isn't heaps. My Titan cypher 120 weighs in at a chunky 12.8kg but has a Cane Creek Helm fork on, 4 pot brakes and big trail wheels/tires.

If budget isn't an issue, get some South Enduro on Tune hubs. The South Option is rad, light and local.

[100Tours]

Agree with Jewbacca - carbon hoops will be a lot more responsive, you'll accelerate faster. Good Alu wheels can also make a difference, and sometimes new hubs can help.

But if you're struggling with climbing speed then I wonder if there's not something else going on - you might want to look at your geometry too? So see if you can borrow a pair of wheels to taste the difference, and then ask about position on the bike. My heavy f/s trail bike climbs very well, and it's pushing 15kgs.

[stevenml]

Tyres are the cheapest place to save weight. So start there while looking for a decent secondhand set of carbon wheels. 

[Steady Spin]

12 hours ago, Nicomrs said:

All my mates ride the new titans an epics so im left behind alot but only on the climbs.

Something I've noticed as well now that I read your post again. 

When I ride with a specific group of friends I get dropped on the climbs as well. They are all on XC bikes with skinnier tyres and a more racy geometry. 

On the flats I keep up perfectly well and I leave them behind on the downhills with my slacker geometry and 2.4" tyres. 

Not sure if there is a big difference in weight between our bikes. Maybe 12kg xc bikes vs my 13.5kg trail bike. I think the type of bike plays a part as well. How big? Will be interesting to know. 

[Jbr]

In my opinion carbon wheels is one of the things you feel the most on a MTB, the acceleration can't compare. But I wouldn't ride carbon wheels on a trail/enduro type bike though I'd be too scared of destroying them...especially considering how expensive they are.

As Steady Spin says, you're not riding the same type of bike as your mates, on a XC bike I think carbon wheels are a must have, even more so than on a road bike, but not necessarily for the climbs, more for the the acceleration between technical features.

You can try and save weight on various different things on a bike, drivetrain is usually very expensive like the wheels. But you can maybe find a second hand carbon crank, buy yourself nice carbon handlebars/light grips etc and find maybe 300-500g. Trail/enduro pedals can also be quite heavy.

For the carbon wheels it is going to cost you at least 15k, I believe you will definitely feel it, but I don't think it's going to make a difference weather if you get dropped or not on the climbs, but I might be wrong.

Edited June 14, 2021 by Jbr

[Eddy Gordo]

Weight cutting is an expensive practice.

There are lots to look at.

Tyre weight - I did this recently I went from 1.2 and 1.4 kg tyres to 900 and 800 gram tyres front and back. I went from very aggressive knobs 2.5 f and 2.4 b to 2.6  more trail style tyres front and back. The newer tyres have thicker sidewalls, rolls faster and are not as aggressive as my previous pair. Some downhill/enduro tyres are just way too aggressive for most of our trails (my opinion).

Carbon rims brings a diff aspect to your riding as it is a much stiffer rim so no flex through the berms for one, means you can corner alot faster.

You can also save one cranks and derailleurs as well as cassette. The higher end stuff tends to be lighter but also expensive.

These are examples, weight is in grams

01 solar pro rims 27.5	579		South Indus	430
Sram NX 11sp Derailleur	340		x01	276
Sram GX Crank	632		x01	520
guide r	780		trp quadiem	650

 

Cassette

SUNRACE MX8 11 SPEED 11-46T	485
SHIMANO XT CASSETTE (11- 46)	434
SRAM XX1	260
SRAM X01	275
Garbaruk (11-48t)	308

Edited June 14, 2021 by Eddy Gordo

[gummibear]

It’s not just the wheels.

The neuron is a trail bike and not a race bike so it’s  the beefier frame,fork and the geometry of the bike.

your friends are on 100mm race bikes that are made for speed.If that’s  what you are wanting then sell the frame and fork and buy something lighter or swop the bike.

I love my neuron as a all round bike but I’m  not a race snake and just enjoy the riding.

ps mines at 12kg at the moment????????

 

 

Edited June 14, 2021 by gummibear

[stefmeister]

13 hours ago, Nicomrs said:

In its class, compared to a giant trance, merida 120, stumpjumper st etc it was definately the lightes bike, ive changed the tyres to vittoria barzos and had 1 or 2 face plants,no back to maxiss ardent 2.4 up front and 2.4 aspen in the rear. All my mates ride the new titans an epics so im left behind alot but only on the climbs.

Im now the fittest ive been in years and the lightest that i ever will be so im at that point where i cant blame myself alot anymore.

Make peace with if, your mates are just stronger climbers than you. If you had the legs, carrying an extra 500 g of weight and beafier tyres would not hold you back (besides you're already running the slickest rear tyre) - you'd just have to work a little bit harder to maintain that pace. Your level of fitness is most likely not at the same level as your friend's.

Go the upgrade path if it's going to give you new motivation to ride harder.

 

[Darko]

I would also assume that the XC oriented bikes of your friends have different groupsets too? Perhaps that's also the difference going uphill. 

[Nicomrs]

2 hours ago, gummibear said:

It’s not just the wheels.

The neuron is a trail bike and not a race bike so it’s  the beefier frame,fork and the geometry of the bike.

your friends are on 100mm race bikes that are made for speed.If that’s  what you are wanting then sell the frame and fork and buy something lighter or swop the bike.

I love my neuron as a all round bike but I’m  not a race snake and just enjoy the riding.

ps mines at 12kg at the moment????????

 

 

How did you get to 12kg thats very light and all i want