[Mr. Hankey]

I finally got a hold of a decent camera to snap some pics of my road racer project. It is a Trek 5200 from 2001. The frame weight is 2.6lbs or 1180g. I figured out how to cut 5.7lbs and get it down to an illegal for UCI events 14.1lbs. Under the limit by over 3/4 pound. I think I am gonna skimp on a few things and just get it to a solid 14.9lbs so I am legal, not that I am a pro racing UCI, but I can be prepared to be, and know that what I was using was legal, and I would be using 1300g aluminum clinchers. I would only use those during a race, and train on my 2015g wheels. I am gonna eventually replace everything, except the frame, fork, headset,seat clamp and seat. Well here are the pics.

 

[dhmike]

nice ride !

 

[ire]

Your bike is lame Like I said before, I dig the colors.

 

[LordOpie]

flip the stem, get lower.

 

[ire]

flip the stem, get lower.

LMAO...

 

[ire]

Low like this:

 

[Mr. Hankey]

flip the stem, get lower.

If I flipped it, it would be higher. It is 6deg neg right now. It is hard to tell from Trek's non sloping top tube, but it is going downward. I do have a 2.5mm spacer I could loose though. That would get it lower, but I am hitting my knees already. I need a 270mm seatpost, and to ditch to 250mm, and put it up a little. I am saving for a USE Alien Carbon 270mm right now. 143g it will get a little off that atrocious weight as well.

 

[LordOpie]

If I flipped it, it would be higher. It is 6deg neg right now. It is hard to tell from Trek's non sloping top tube, but it is going downward. I do have a 2.5mm spacer I could loose though. That would get it lower, but I am hitting my knees already. I need a 270mm seatpost, and to ditch to 250mm, and put it up a little. I am saving for a USE Alien Carbon 270mm right now. 143g it will get a little off that atrocious weight as well.

Teasing you aside...

When fitting the bike, start with the knees. If you're saying that you need 2 MORE CMs higher on your saddle, then I'm surprised that your knees aren't bothering you.

Wait, you're a kid, right? Fvcking young people and their ability to ignore discomfort


PS: If you want to save weight, I think it'd be cheaper than upgrading to just have your appendix removed... probably don't need the little toes either

 

[ire]

...probably don't need the little toes either

I have a friend that races pro XC and I've been telling him this for a while.....maybe take the pinkie fingers too. Here are some pics of my bike.

 

[Mr. Hankey]

Teasing you aside...

When fitting the bike, start with the knees. If you're saying that you need 2 MORE CMs higher on your saddle, then I'm surprised that your knees aren't bothering you.

Wait, you're a kid, right? Fvcking young people and their ability to ignore discomfort


PS: If you want to save weight, I think it'd be cheaper than upgrading to just have your appendix removed... probably don't need the little toes either

I really only need about 1cm, I'm over the min. insertion mark, and only need a little more. I'm not a kid anymore, I'm 26 now. Probably young to some of you though. My knees were recently injured when I was hit by a car. So if they hurt I probably wouldn't notice. I am used to pain now, I guess. I have my seat at the height I need on my other bike, and it is only about 1cm more, and then I would be more comfy and probably make more power. My knees only hit my chest when I get really low on it. Usually it isn't a problem, but when I get real flat with my nose about to touch the computer, then I hit.

 

[ire]

I'm oooold (26 as well)

 

[Mr. Hankey]

I'm oooold (26 as well)

Ah nice. Btw nice rig. I like Scott Bikes not sure why I never owned one. Bar height looks good. I bet you hit your knees on your chest though possibly.

 

[Mr. Hankey]

I got some syntace bars for it, 151g gone. KCNC post on the way too for another 50g or so gone. I'll get pics soon.

 

[Mr. Hankey]

Got some crappy pics of the bars.

 

[ire]

Looks nice! I like the small/tight weave on the Suntace bars

 

[Mr. Hankey]

The weather finally broke, and I took her out yesterday. Got 56miles in, on a beautiful day. The bars are great, light, flex enough to make them more comfy, but yet stiff so they aren't wet noodles in a sprint. My trainer came this morning before I left for work too. I rode it for a few minutes. My training is about to get a big boost. Planning on ridding everyday for atleast 1hr on it. My new job has made me fat, and my target weight for next season is now 15lbs away. Not having time to ride sucks. I got a tailight for my beater now too. So now, weather, and daylight are accounted for. Now I just need to train like a mad man. Top 5 or death first race of next season.

 

[ire]

The weather finally broke, and I took her out yesterday. Got 56miles in, on a beautiful day. The bars are great, light, flex enough to make them more comfy, but yet stiff so they aren't wet noodles in a sprint. My trainer came this morning before I left for work too. I rode it for a few minutes. My training is about to get a big boost. Planning on ridding everyday for atleast 1hr on it. My new job has made me fat, and my target weight for next season is now 15lbs away. Not having time to ride sucks. I got a tailight for my beater now too. So now, weather, and daylight are accounted for. Now I just need to train like a mad man. Top 5 or death first race of next season.

I hate watching my weight....I feel like a teenage girl Every year I have to lose some winter fat. You might try some resistance training if you can manage the time, it can really help in races

 

[JoeRay]

Light road bikes aren't that hard to knock together. This is a topic friends and I have discussed ad-nauseum for years.

Take quality frame, add DA (ultegra if you're on a budget), good wheelset (preferably hand built to hugis or the like). Add any mid to highish range bar and stem, consider a seatpost and a good set of tyres.

Hey presto 14 pound bike. Once you wnat to go beyond that our general rule is not more than $10 per gram to be spent.

My Quantum follows pretty much that philosophy and with 9sp DA, a cheapo seatpost that needs to be replaced and a Cane Creek headset that needs to be King'ed it weighs out to 7.1kg. My maths tells me that 10sp and a thompson alone would shave about 300 grams off it.

Do I care, not really my biggest problem is I'm about 22 pounds over my old racing weight. Until I find enough time to ride more and lose the weight any money spent is a waste of time.

 

[Mr. Hankey]

Light road bikes aren't that hard to knock together. This is a topic friends and I have discussed ad-nauseum for years.

Take quality frame, add DA (ultegra if you're on a budget), good wheelset (preferably hand built to hugis or the like). Add any mid to highish range bar and stem, consider a seatpost and a good set of tyres.

Hey presto 14 pound bike. Once you wnat to go beyond that our general rule is not more than $10 per gram to be spent.

My Quantum follows pretty much that philosophy and with 9sp DA, a cheapo seatpost that needs to be replaced and a Cane Creek headset that needs to be King'ed it weighs out to 7.1kg. My maths tells me that 10sp and a thompson alone would shave about 300 grams off it.

Do I care, not really my biggest problem is I'm about 22 pounds over my old racing weight. Until I find enough time to ride more and lose the weight any money spent is a waste of time.

I hear you. I can feel the pounds coming off already. Trainers are so much more intense of a workout, than actually ridding. I'll definitely be down to my target weight soon. I only weigh 160 right now, and I want to be to 145. The lightest I ever was, was 154 at my last race. You should get a trainer, I bet you would shed some weight then.

According to my spreadsheet, next on my list is gonna be cranks. It is gonna be the biggest gain. My KCNC post should be here any day. After that, SRAM menagerie is going on. Red shifters, Rival rear deraileur, with KCNC ceramic pulleys, and undecided on the cassette. I'm gonna wait for a good deal on some wheels, and build a set for racing only with light tires, and tubes.

 

[ire]

I only weigh 160 right now, and I want to be to 145. The lightest I ever was, was 154 at my last race.

Could always loose an arm j/k....I waited for a long time to upgrade my XC rig (steel hardtail) becuase I needed to lose weight. My theory was that I needed to lose about 20 lbs, so that came first, then losing weight off the 25 lb bike

 

[JoeRay]

According to my spreadsheet, next on my list is gonna be cranks. It is gonna be the biggest gain. My KCNC post should be here any day. After that, SRAM menagerie is going on. Red shifters, Rival rear deraileur, with KCNC ceramic pulleys, and undecided on the cassette. I'm gonna wait for a good deal on some wheels, and build a set for racing only with light tires, and tubes.

Love a good spreadsheet.

The big one for my ride is a DA 10sp crank/bb set up. I think that is good for about 150-200 alone over the DA cranks and ultegra BB I've got now.

I've never really subscribed to the training wheel / race wheel thing. I prefer to feel like I'm riding a responsive bike all the time, but then again I'm riding so little its about the only thing that gets me back on it.

 

[Mr. Hankey]

Love a good spreadsheet.

The big one for my ride is a DA 10sp crank/bb set up. I think that is good for about 150-200 alone over the DA cranks and ultegra BB I've got now.

I've never really subscribed to the training wheel / race wheel thing. I prefer to feel like I'm riding a responsive bike all the time, but then again I'm riding so little its about the only thing that gets me back on it.

I plan to go with the FSA K Force Light Crankset. It will shave approx. 347g off my Ultegra crap. It is the lightest crank I can find for the money. 660g for crank and BB is a hell of a low weight.

The training wheel race wheel is a good idea for several reasons in my opinion. First off the wheels I am buying are uber light. 1300g compared to my 2015g wheels. Also I will have lightweight tires, tubes, and cassette. It will keep wear down on the expensive parts. Not to mention if you practice with heavy stuff, you'll be faster with the light stuff on, right?

Also good news the KCNC post came in today. Awesome post. Very nice quality, and light. 141g on my scale. 59g less than my stock Trek Icon post, and much longer 10cm to be exact. I can make noticeably more power now with the post a little higher. The micro adjust is awesome too. Infinite adjustment is always good.

 

[DirtyMike]

Light road bikes aren't that hard to knock together. This is a topic friends and I have discussed ad-nauseum for years.

Take quality frame, add DA (ultegra if you're on a budget), good wheelset (preferably hand built to hugis or the like). .

They really are not, for example with a wheelseet seat and post my trek 1200 aluminum frame sits at 18.2. just imagine if i went and gopt some ult shifters different bars and stem and derailers. shifters are tiagra now with a 105 rear derailer and a tia front. Hell im still running the old 6.99 bottle cages i stole from the hartail xc bike!!!

 

[Mr. Hankey]

Well I decided not to go with the FSA K Force crankset, per recommendations from other riders. I instead went with a KCNC RD1, and a Token Carbon Ti, ISIS w/ Tiramic bearings. The setup was not as light as the FSA K Force, but I have the assurance of 7075 aluminum over hollow carbon, and no worries of the fastening system coming loose. The setup is noticably more stiff than the old Ultegra cranks. I never knew how much they flexed honestly. Overall gain weight wise was 297g off the old crank. I also saved a few grams here and there with a new saddle a Selle San Marco Aspide, good for 91g, and carbon cages good for another 66g. I did add a few grams with my new computer too, but I love the simplicity, and data logging from it. Also I decided I will not use a computer any longer for racing so that weight will not be there when racing. I went with a Garmin 205, and gained 43g over my sigma. I like not having sensors on the bike anymore.

Well today is the proof for the crankset. The other mods have been in place for awhile. I gained .7mph average over my all time record on my practice route I ride. This also is including an extra mile I threw in for good measure. All this, and it was freezing rain, and decent headwinds. I would like to say the gains are from performance increase in the motor, but I think not. I haven't been ridding like I have been wanting to, an I weighed 162lbs yesterday, and my all time low was 154lbs. The last time I rode the course I was down a full 1mph from my record and I smashed it today. There are many variables that I cannot control, but I would have to say some of this gain, if not all are from the crankset. This could also be because the old one was old Ultegra 6503, and now I am on a .65lbs lighter double, with ceramic bearings. Was it the drop in mass, the reduced rotational mass, extra torque from the additional 2.5mm on the crank arms, increased stiffness, or the reduced friction with the ceramic bearings? I have no idea but I am stoked on the gains.

I'll get some current pics here in a few.

 

[ire]

 

[Mr. Hankey]

Ok, here you go!
From this:

To this:

 

[ire]

nice! I think the black looks better as well

 

[Mr. Hankey]

nice! I think the black looks better as well

Yeah I'm not a chrome/polished fan. Once I get some AX-Lightness brakes, Sram Force/Red Levers, Speedplays in black, and a black Chris King Headset I think it will look even better. Then all I will have shiny will be the dérailleurs really no way around that. Nothing like dumping 2k in a 7 year old bike.

 

[James]

Ditch the long-cage rear derailleur!

Bike looks great, but man, that's one hell of a drop from the saddle to the bars!

 

[ire]

Ditch the long-cage rear derailleur!

Bike looks great, but man, that's one hell of a drop from the saddle to the bars!

Check Ryan Trebon's saddle to bar.....I'm amazed he can pull it off on the cross bike
http://bike-zone.com/cross.php?id=/photos/2007/nov07/bouldercup07/mcbc1230_2007-11-04_17-34-12

 

[MtnbikeMike]

I did add a few grams with my new computer too, but I love the simplicity, and data logging from it. Also I decided I will not use a computer any longer for racing so that weight will not be there when racing. I went with a Garmin 205, and gained 43g over my sigma. I like not having sensors on the bike anymore.

I'd say keep the computer no matter the length of the race. The data it provides during (and after) the race will help you far more than shaving a couple of grams.

 

[Mr. Hankey]

Ditch the long-cage rear derailleur!

Bike looks great, but man, that's one hell of a drop from the saddle to the bars!

Thanks man, no worries, Sram will be my next upgrade. Trying to decide if I should do all Red, or Red shifters, Rival Deraileurs, and no matter what either M5 brakes or AX-Lightness. I just got to figure out how to get that Shimano sticker off the frame, or I might keep it, just for nostalgia. I like to get aero, so the bars are LOW. I have found allot of new bar positions with the Syntaces, and the low height.

I'd say keep the computer no matter the length of the race. The data it provides during (and after) the race will help you far more than shaving a couple of grams.

Yeah I thought about that too, but I would rather log the data while training. The only data I need while racing is how close are the people behind me, and the computer doesn't tell me that. I will probably use it in Crits, but thats about it. It kinda negates all my weight savings to have a damn near extra 90 grams sitting there. Maybe I will keep it I don't know. I really love the setup though. I have 4 bikes, and it is nice to have it easily go on any of them. All of them have different wheel sizes, that I don't have to worry about calibrating for.