Is it uncool to worry about weight of your all mountain bike?

ronster44

ronster44

Likes Dirt
As we all know as all mountain riders we deliberate distance our self from the xc crowd,with the clothes we wear,the bikes we ride,and the way we ride them, but we still have to pedal them up that dam hill to pin it on the way down! So the weight to an extent does play a part as does the the fitness of the rider. For the record my bike weights 13kgs which is not that heavy I hear you say!But I often do all day rides with up to 1500 meters of climbing. and yes it hurts but man it is fun!
So what do you think fellow all mountain riders should I spend uber dollars on that Carbon frame wonder bike our just drink more beer and suffer? :)
 
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M

mumbleman

Likes Dirt
Just for fun

just ride and have fun. If you get tired stop have a banana some water an listen to the birds or your mates crap on. We are not racing so who really cares about weight. and after a couple of days and the legs have recovered you feel great and you know you are proud of your effort..

My thoughts anyway.
 
Ivan

Ivan

Eats Squid
Stop worrying about what others think and do what you want.*


If a carbon frame will make you happy, buy it.












*this excludes wearing white lycra shorts.
 
harmonix1234

harmonix1234

Eats Squid
As long as your'e not spending $1,500 on a Schmolke seatpost 'just because it's 90 grams' I reckon you don't have anything to worry about.

Some people are so worried about weight they lose the valve caps off their wheels, or take the stickers off their wheels to reduce rotating mass. Really? Pfft!

Make it light, but make it strong, that's the ideal build every mountain biker wants.
I think it's good to make a bike light, as long as it's for the right reasons, and dosn't dramatically compromise strength and safety.
 
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Craftworks

Craftworks

Craftworks
The "cool" weight of a bike is when it is strong enough to consistently deal with your preferred riding style and budget..
 
cluster

cluster

Likes Dirt
Cool is in the... erm... fitness... of the rider.:eek:
But yeah, like the 1st (?) response said, if you get tired just chill out - there's no point wearing yourself out on the uphill stuff because A: it'll make your ride less enjoyable when it comes to the fun, flowy, downhill stuff, and B: there's no race anyway!
 
crank1979

crank1979

Likes Bikes and Dirt
ronster44 said:
So what do you think fellow all mountain riders should I spend uber dollars on that Carbon frame wonder bike our just drink more beer and suffer? :)
Click to expand...
Save the money for carbon rims! Once you've got nice, light, strong carbon rims you can make up the weight difference you saved from regular aluminium rims with beer.
 
Nerf Herder

Nerf Herder

Wheel size expert
I've heard 2 chain ring bolts and 3 rotor bolts is the in thing with weight weenies ... am I behind the times :confused:

I reckon all Cranks would cope with a quad set of linear 6mm holes down the centre line of each arm ... evenly spaced of course ... hmmmmm or was it a sixpack of 4mm speed holes (TM pending)

BOT:
I regularly go into weight weenie wonderings ... but the tight arse in me holds it all in check.
 
crank1979

crank1979

Likes Bikes and Dirt
Nerf Herder said:
I reckon all Cranks would cope with a quad set of linear 6mm holes down the centre line of each arm ... evenly spaced of course ... hmmmmm or was it a sixpack of 4mm speed holes (TM pending)
Click to expand...
You could weld together two Carumba Double Barrel crank arms. Extra strength square taper is the next big thing for AM.

I've heard those crank bolts have to be gold anodised aluminium if you only want to run two as well.:p
 
S

sammydog

NSWMTB, Hunter MTB Association
Ron, you should be worrying about weight.

Buy that new carbon frame. No one will want your old one due to the weight, so send it to me and I will dispose of it thoughtfully.

Seriously, you get along pretty well on your current bike, why obsess over lighter. That just leads you down the path to a short travel XC bike and ultimately you'll be riding around in white lycra on a carbon hardtail.

Don't start down the path because you will never return. Beer is cool, weight weenie isn't.
 
harmonix1234

harmonix1234

Eats Squid
crank1979 said:
You could weld together two Carumba Double Barrel crank arms. Extra strength square taper is the next big thing for AM.

I've heard those crank bolts have to be gold anodised aluminium if you only want to run two as well.:p
Click to expand...
haha!
*I just saved 6 grams taking out my brake pads. The pistons seem to work fine straight on the rotors. And don't forget to take out your stem/headset cap and starnut once youv'e got your stem locked on. And lose the bidon bolts. It dosn't matter if you get cramps and weak from dehydration, it's all about the grams!
No donuts on your cables either. Thought about cutting one in three of the knobs off your rear tyre?

Also, running shimano hubs? Who needs 9 bearings a side? 8 works just fine.

* harmonix does not recommend doing any of these things, and takes no responsibility if you do. And if you do, just out of curiosity can you weigh your bike and let us know how much you saved?
 
S

sammydog

NSWMTB, Hunter MTB Association
Got to be carefull loosing the bidon bolts. Initial weight savings, long term weight gain through water and crap entering the holes.

Drill a few drainage holes at the BB to save further weight and prevent the accumulation of crap.
 
Wiffle

Wiffle

Likes Dirt
Actually, it's highly uncool to worry about being cool...;)

BUT, FWIW, you should only accept WW parts on your AM bike if there will be no loss of functionality. A few extra grams may slow you down ever so slightly, but not as much as
a snapped seatpost or potato-chipped wheel. Function before weight before fashion is my motto.

If you do want to loose weight, there is an old saying that 1gm off your rim/outer wheel is like 5gm off your frame, so spend your money where it will make the most difference. At the end of the day, as others have said, AM riding is about having fun, not racing.
 
C

cramhobart

Likes Dirt
Its a lot cheaper to drop a kilo of the rider than the bike:):):)
Im always amazed at the number of people who are prepared to spend big
dollars on uber-light bikes while carrying a "spare tyre" themselves.
Carbon frame dollars buy a lot of personal training/coaching:)
 
S

sammydog

NSWMTB, Hunter MTB Association
I'd be more willing to spend on bike weight loss, than curb my calorie and liquid carb intake.
 
digitalhippie

digitalhippie

Likes Dirt
This seems to be the 'Is it uncool...' thread:

Is it uncool to wear a hoody when you're over 40?

I used to think so. Maybe I'm just a silly old man but I'm a recent convert :cool:

Must kneel before wife and thank her for camera work today... thank you master :eek:

silly-old-man-ibis-580.jpg
 
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ronster44

ronster44

Likes Dirt
I think it`s uncool to post on forums when under the influence of mind altering subsistences like I did last night !!! :)
 
indica

indica

Serial flasher
I used to ride "all mountain" on my 2005 19.5kg Stinky and had a ball.
All I'd be worried about is ... will it withhold a had thrash down a hill? That is the purpose of All-Mountain in my opinion... Ride up so you can ride down...
 
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