shedding some weight - where to start?

[Andrew_ew]

I agree - lose weight on the body and then start on the bike - the best first thing to drop weight on the bike is the wheels - rolling weight is the best to lose - my personal experience with my bike is that with lighter wheels - from wtb speed disc to am classic (tubless conversion) gave me a benefit of 10 sec per k on the same course from one day to the next. I also agree that to get under the 10kg bike will cost you as much as an already light hardtail - I have spent over R10k to lose 2kgs on my bike - cost me R1800 to do a cadence cycling course which helped me lose 1.5kg (and improved my time over the same course by 15 sec per kilometer) - having said that - I don't regret making my bike lighter (on the look out for some good lightweight forks which should drop another 1+kgs from my bike!). If you slowly start getting good lightweight components then in a couple of years time you can buy a lightweight frame and transfer the good components onto the lightweight frame and sell the old frame and old components to finance part of the new frame. That way you get a bike that is specced exactly how you want.

Edited December 22, 2010 by Andrew_ew

[Wyatt Earp]

'cos if you have a heavy bike, you have something to blame your performance on.

i.e. you would do so much better if you had a lighter bike.

Not to mention coffee shop and street cred...

It's easier to spend money than to train hard.

I will have to get me a lighter bike.

[splat]

I will have to get me a lighter bike.

 

You have enough street cred with your latest Niner Air Carbon pile of rolling bike porn.

[manbearpig]

You can get rid of 10kgs of unsightly fat by cutting your head off.

Edited December 22, 2010 by manbearpig

[Brian Fantana]

My first 18 months of mountain biking was done on a 13.8kg Merida Matts TFS 100 V.

 

I did two magalies monster 75km marathons, Aldam Lion man 80km and Forest to Falls 70km on this bike to name a few.

 

The only upgrades I did was to replace the shifters after they broke at Magalies Monster. Replaced them with Deore shifters. I also replaced the one rim after it buckled after a year of riding.

 

If you have Deore level components, your bike is good enough to do very well in races. The only thing I will do is get a tubeless conversion.

 

The money you would have spent on upgrading the bike can be deposited in a 32 day deposit account and after a year or two you will see that you have enough money to buy a complete new bike.

 

You don't need a 10kg bike to do well in races.

[Goodbadugly]

You can get rid of 10kgs of unsightly fat by cutting your head off.

Also consider circumsision, tonsillectomy, appendisectomy, haemoroidectomy, dentectomy, unilateral orchidectomy, clipping your toenails and colonic wash outs as options to reduce weight.

[MattyG]

Also consider circumsision, tonsillectomy, appendisectomy, haemoroidectomy, dentectomy, unilateral orchidectomy, clipping your toenails and colonic wash outs as options to reduce weight.

haha i weigh 59...i take the usual morning and evening dump...cant loose much more weight..

[SL7]

You might want to consider drilling some holes in your frame and rims - as they are over-engineered.

 

Any structural/mechanical engineer wil be able to model the frame with all the loading inlcuding your weight and other forces when cycling - thus informing you which parts may be drilled and how much - Might be a lot of effort though and expensive.

 

If you don't want to drill because your bike will have zero resale value, go for lighter wheels!