Aluminium Hardtail

[Australia]

Perhaps I could slip this question in without too drammatic a thread jacking

What is the lightest off the rack Aluminium Hardtail under AU$2500 (i.e. the average joes upper end of budget)

The Giant XTC2 springs to mind, but would be keen to hear other suggestions - from memory the Specialized Equivilant is not very light at all... (which is a pitty because I do love the big S, almost as much as the small s)

 

[C Dunlop]

I imagine that you could easily put together a light $2.5k alloy hardtail, getting most of it online. Depends if you want to buy locally or not, I guess.

XTC frame from wiggle - $450
SID race fork - $550
$400 crc custom wheels
XT/X.9 gripshift drivetrain
KCNC controls

Most stock bikes at that price point are not particularly light.

You can save a lot of weight in areas like tyres, 12-28 cassettes, gripshift, getting rid of the granny ring, etc. Just a question of what you want to do. For example, I can sit on an SLR with the padding removed (just the shell) all day. It weighs 98g, about 130g less than a typical fizik saddle. Most people can't sit on it for more than 10 mins. The difference between shimano skewers and, say KCNC ones is about 70g, but do you trust them? Are you light enough to run revo spokes on your rear wheel? If so, you'll save 60g a wheel.

 

[Australia]

I imagine that you could easily put together a light $2.5k alloy hardtail, getting most of it online. Depends if you want to buy locally or not, I guess.

XTC frame from wiggle - $450
SID race fork - $550
$400 crc custom wheels
XT/X.9 gripshift drivetrain
KCNC controls

Most stock bikes at that price point are not particularly light.

You can save a lot of weight in areas like tyres, 12-28 cassettes, gripshift, getting rid of the granny ring, etc. Just a question of what you want to do. For example, I can sit on an SLR with the padding removed (just the shell) all day. It weighs 98g, about 130g less than a typical fizik saddle. Most people can't sit on it for more than 10 mins. The difference between shimano skewers and, say KCNC ones is about 70g, but do you trust them? Are you light enough to run revo spokes on your rear wheel? If so, you'll save 60g a wheel.

Oh oh... I can see a project coming on!

 

[Napalm73]

Perhaps I could slip this question in without too drammatic a thread jacking

What is the lightest off the rack Aluminium Hardtail under AU$2500 (i.e. the average joes upper end of budget)

The Giant XTC2 springs to mind, but would be keen to hear other suggestions - from memory the Specialized Equivilant is not very light at all... (which is a pitty because I do love the big S, almost as much as the small s)

Some shops are running out XTC1 for $2000 (as I have been looking at alloy hardtails on special).

Scott Scale Scale 35 about 10.25kg and $2300 at the moment (with a mix of carbon and alloy).

Cheers,