[narlus]

well, not sure if that's the true weight differential, but it's probably close.

what am i talking about? the difference between my wife's bike and mine. at jiminy saturday, my monster T stopped getting full travel, suddenly becoming the worlds's heaviest cross country fork. my wife was pretty much knackered and done for the day, so i swapped out her spds for my flat pedals and took 4 or so runs on her bike. damn, what a difference!

it was obviously undersprung (both fork and rear shock) and i bottomed both ends a few times, but i felt a lot faster on it, even though i'd not ridden the thing at all, aside from a few runs in ireland back in '03.

the bikes in question are an '02 Giant DH w/ avy and monster T, 321s and general all around beefiness...the only concessions to weight savings are the stem and post (both thomson).

her bike, on the other hand, is pretty much optimized for minimal weight...Orange 222 frameset, tubeless 721 on the rear, ti sprung 5th element, world cup boxxer w/ ti springs, e13 direct mount stem, thomson post, hope rear hub, CK headset, etc - bling out the wazoo. the tires were probably about the same (i had minions f/r, she has a high roller front and michie comp 24, all 2.5").

i used to think that shaving weight was for racer weenies, but seriously i felt like i had a ton more speed on the same runs, despite the unfamiliarity of the bike.

i think i'm gonna put the '02 boxxer back on my bike and hope the seals last longer than 4 days of riding.

 

[Secret Squirrel]

Ha! Who got the raw end of that deal?!!?

'02 Giant DH vs. bling'd out 222....

Yeah, there's definately something to be said about dropping major poundage. I did it with my tires about halfway through this season. Went for the heavy-heavy Arrow tires (bout 1650g per tire...) down to the "lighter" ones...(bout 1225g per tire...) Made a huge difference in performance.

Good luck with the 02 boxxer.

 

[Erci]

You didn't just feel faster, you WERE faster!
When you were on your Giant, I could at least stay within maybe 100 feet of you. Once you got on the 222, you completely lost me several times!!
Light DH bikes FTW!

 

[RD]

yeah Tim! how the hell have you been? It's been a while no? How's the little one doing?

Ricky

 

[narlus]

hey ricky, kids are doing great. thanks for asking! you still @ NU, or done w/ yr studies?

 

[dhmike]

i used to think that shaving weight was for racer weenies, but seriously i felt like i had a ton more speed on the same runs
good to know another one has joined the dark side with us race weenies !

 

[jvnixon]

 

[rosenamedpoop]

10 pounds? Yeah, that'll make a little difference.

Always get a chuckle out of comments like "weight weeny" or "racer boy". I've never met a DH rider who didn't want to go faster. Ever. But, the guys who truly dedicate themselves to going faster, training, dropping bike and body weight get silly nicknames. So it goes...

 

[DirtyMike]

Truth be said, it all depends on were you drop the weight, is it active weight, static weight, and so on so on.

Lighter forks make a big diference, you can manuver the bike better, less nose dive effect. Lighter wheels probably make the biggest difference of anything, same goes with the tires, more the total combination, get that rotational weight down, faster acceleration, deceleration and beter overall feel ion the corners. I mean i Dropped 3.5 lbs by going with Stans over DH tubes with slime in them. Mostly i did it for the pichflat elimination, but soon realized the overall benefit. SIngle ply tires, no 1.3 lb tubes. Major difference. But other than the fork and tire/wheel combo. Dropping weight from there is just being a weenie.

 

[rosenamedpoop]

Truth be said, it all depends on were you drop the weight, is it active weight, static weight, and so on so on...

But other than the fork and tire/wheel combo. Dropping weight from there is just being a weenie.

What does that even mean "being a weenie"? Honestly, rhetoric aside, do you mean anything besides "I don't personally feel it's necessary"?

It's just an idea borne of ignorance and perpetuated by laziness. Like calling something gay. So it goes...

 

[1soulrider]

Truth be said, it all depends on were you drop the weight, is it active weight, static weight, and so on so on.
But other than the fork and tire/wheel combo. Dropping weight from there is just being a weenie.

 

[vitox]

i think i'm gonna put the '02 boxxer back on my bike and hope the seals last longer than 4 days of riding.

put marzocchi seals in there and voila.

 

[rosenamedpoop]

put marzocchi seals in there and voila.

You can do that? What about new Boxxers? Which Marzocchi seals?

 

[JRogers]

10 lbs will definitely make a difference. I dropped some weight off my bike this year (Shiver to 66SL, Mag 30s to RhynoLiteXL/Singletrack and a few other things) and definitely noticed the difference. I think the bike lost some stability in rough sections, but that could be due more to suspension and geometry changes. Jumping and moving the bike in the air seemed to get considerably easier as well.

I feel like once you get the bike down close to 40 lbs you get diminishing returns for more weight lost, though- in money, race times, etc.

 

[DirtyMike]

You can do that? What about new Boxxers? Which Marzocchi seals?

Any 32mm seals

 

[DirtyMike]

What does that even mean "being a weenie"? Honestly, rhetoric aside, do you mean anything besides "I don't personally feel it's necessary"?

It's just an idea borne of ignorance and perpetuated by laziness. Like calling something gay. So it goes...

Just saying that ther are certain parts youll drop weight out of and never notice it if you didnt know, such as lighter bars and stem, its inactive weight, If i put a set of bars on your bike that were exactly the same as you have now, but put a weight in the middle and never told you, you would never know. But if i weighted your wheel/tire, you would feel it instantly. Active vs Inactive, same reason why on the road bike i did not go with Ksyrium wheels, while the overall weight was less, My mavic open pro's have a much lower rotational weight, better feel to the ride, faster reation in turns and so on. And before anyone says anything, yes, i have ridden both, and currently i am demo'ing the brand new design from Ksyrium. Cool idea, still feels heavy in a turn. When there is something to post about them i will By the way, just no info yet

 

[rosenamedpoop]

^Ok, claws retracted.

I understand what you're saying about the greater importance of reducing both unsprung and rotational weight, and I completely agree.

In addition I would argue that the overall weight of a bike has great impact on DH riding/racing. The fact that we accelerate and de-accelerate so much and so often, coupled with the reality of our very small power output, means that every gram counts, bike and body. And it will be more noticeable than on a road bike.

 

[blue]

Just saying that ther are certain parts youll drop weight out of and never notice it if you didnt know, such as lighter bars and stem, its inactive weight, If i put a set of bars on your bike that were exactly the same as you have now, but put a weight in the middle and never told you, you would never know. But if i weighted your wheel/tire, you would feel it instantly. Active vs Inactive, same reason why on the road bike i did not go with Ksyrium wheels, while the overall weight was less, My mavic open pro's have a much lower rotational weight, better feel to the ride, faster reation in turns and so on. And before anyone says anything, yes, i have ridden both, and currently i am demo'ing the brand new design from Ksyrium. Cool idea, still feels heavy in a turn. When there is something to post about them i will By the way, just no info yet

I (well, girlfriend) have Open Pros that ride like piss compared to Ksyriums. Are you sure you're riding Ksyriums?

It's true that dropping weight in some areas (ala wheels, fork, frame) makes a sensory difference, however, the cumulative effect of a bunch of lighter parts will also make a big difference. Not to mention light cranks/pedals/cassete...

 

[DirtyMike]

Thats just what i am saying, The active weight is far more important, once you have gotten the active weight low, then your usually good, but from there. Somethings are better light some are better strong. Ill take stiffer cranks over a set that is a little lighter,


And yes i am sure they are Ksyrium's and yes i am sure they are openpros. If the Open pros your riding are riding like crap, bring them to me, let me retention from scratch and youll liek them alot better.

By the way the new Ksyrium are going to be using a 0 tension spoke idea, Its a pretty cool idea, and you just have to see the wheel to understand what exactly there doing, but the rep Tells me i can break three spokes and the wheel will still be straight.

I will see if i can find something really quick

 

[DirtyMike]

Cant find anything online as of yet, If i could i would detail some pics, Soon as i do see something i will post it

 

[vitox]

You can do that? What about new Boxxers? Which Marzocchi seals?

any boxxer, use the 32mm seal from zocchi, you only have to trim a little part of the underside of the dust seal on the boxxer to make it fit, zocchi dust seal no fit, really, try it, very good trick.

 

[rosenamedpoop]

any boxxer, use the 32mm seal from zocchi, you only have to trim a little part of the underside of the dust seal on the boxxer to make it fit, zocchi dust seal no fit, really, try it, very good trick.

Sweet, thanks. Marzocchi seals are the best out there. I've wondered about doing this for a long time, but I've only seen Fox seals used on Boxxers.

 

[DirtyMike]

Try the Enduro seals too, there really nice too