[kaptr1d]

Hi,

Ive been riding strictly downhill for the past 4 years until my Joshua gave out last season. Now im lookin to stay more local to where I live, instead of making trips to Vermont every time i want to ride.

I bought an 05 Hardrock Pro Disc bc i saw it as a compromise between the bulletproof kinda bike id need for my riding style w/o too much overkill considering the trails that are local to me.

If i go back to Killington this summer, I will not be riding this bike on the mountain, Ill get a second bike for downhill/freeride.

With that in mind, the trails near my house are a mix of cross country and steep climbs followed by steep rocky downhills. I want to shave some pounds off the hardrock and maintain the strength i need to prevent snapping stuff off. Thx for ur help.

 

[Westy]

Hard to tell what you have on there but the easiest way to drop weight in a very important area is to get some lighter tires. Not knowing what you have makes it hard to say much more.

 

[ThePriceSeliger]

uuuhhh... fork(I'm surprised it is even still working), stem(those things are big and heavy, try an easton)























Nice legs

 

[kaptr1d]

my bad, i shoulda have listed mods. the bikes 2 weeks old, ive got shimano spd clipless pedals and a front fender for the mud. as far as everything else, its stock.

ive heard bad things about the stock fork, stock crank, front derailer, so im looking for some specific suggestions. not only what to replace, but what to replace it with.

my only previous bike was stock so i dont know anything about aftermarket components.

 

[BikeGeek]

The cheapest and easiest way to shave pounds is on the rider, not the bike. Most upgrades will save you grams and grams don't add up to pounds very quickly.

That being said, what's your current spec? Knowing what you have now will make it easier to suggest swaps.

edit: disregard the spec, I just saw your post

what's your budget? lighter usually = $$$

 

[kaptr1d]

well im 5'10" and 160bs. ive got zero body fat, so i dont think im gonna be able to shave lbs off myself unless i start cutting.

i dont have a real budget persay, i paid $600 for the bike, so id rather spend less then that upgrading it.

 

[BikeGeek]

well im 5'10" and 160bs. ive got zero body fat, so i dont think im gonna be able to shave lbs off myself unless i start cutting.

You'd be surprised at how heavy clothing is.

The Blaze crank (785g) that's spec'd on there is in the "comfort bike" section of the Truvativ site and is over 1/4 lb heavier than the Firex cranks (640g). I'm sure you can even find lighter than that for more money.

As others have said, the stock bars, tires, and seatposts are often a bit chunky and a good place to start, and you can definitely get a lighter 100mm fork.

 

[BikeGeek]

Another option: make it a singlespeed!

 

[sanjuro]

I am very familiar with the 2004/2005 Hardrock line, being the top seller in our shop.

That bike is designed for the lower end "aggro" mtn bike market. The frame is overbuilt, considering it is not designed for big drops, and the parts are mediocre, which does give you room to upgrade.

In terms of weight, you can definitely replace the bars, stem, and seatpost. They are lower quality alloy parts, and a decent replacement set, like Raceface Evolve series will probably drop 2 pounds in the critical cockpit area.

After that, everything is upgradeable on the bike, particularily the wheels. A decent set of XT hubs/Singletrack rims would save weight. A quick fix is getting Kevlar/Aramid bead tires. That would save 100 grams on each wheel without any major replacements. Staying in the Specialized world, Enduro Pros D2 are a good choice.

Finally, this is not a weight issue, but I would also replace the fork. One huge marketing advantage is the Marzocchi front end. What many do not realize it that it is Taiwanese made. An aftermarket Marzocchi (all of which are Italian made) will feel better, although it will not save you much weight.

 

[Yossarian]

I suggest removing the reflectors.

 

[kaptr1d]

ok, so stem, bars, seatpost, wheels, tires i can pretty much figure out.

what about a fork though? what kind of fork can i get of better quality, similar travel, and less weight?

 

[Zaskar Rider]

Fox Float RLC!

Edit: on second thought I guess that fork costs about as much as the bike but man do they rock!

 

[blue]

ok, so stem, bars, seatpost, wheels, tires i can pretty much figure out.

what about a fork though? what kind of fork can i get of better quality, similar travel, and less weight?

Whats your fork budget? Maybe a used Rockshox Psylo would do the trick, they can be had for pretty damned cheap, and would complement the bike well.

 

[kaptr1d]

im open to anything.

i can probably save more weight replacing the fork then replacing the stem, bars, post... so id be willing to spend a bunch of money on a new fork if it meant saving more weight.

also from what ive been readin this stock fork is bound to break on me soon. my riding style isnt very component friendly and ppl have been havin problems with the stock fork bending/bottoming out.

 

[Zaskar Rider]

Well like I said before a fox float will be night and day compared to your current fork. You could get something like a used fox vanilla, zokes Z1, or psylo but you may not save that much weight over the MX comp. They will perform infinitely better than the stock fork though.

 

[blue]

I'm betting the MX comp is somewhere between 4-5 lbs. You most likely won't save an incredible amount of weight by upgrading, as most trail/aggro forks are in that weight range, but your bike will feel a world better than with the crap fork.

 

[kaptr1d]

i didnt realize that the oem mx comp was such a bad fork. what exactly is the difference between my current fork and the fox floats or a rock shox?

my only previous bike was a joshua and im pretty sure the fork on that was crap too so im not sure what im lookin for as far as improvement goes.

 

[sanjuro]

i didnt realize that the oem mx comp was such a bad fork. what exactly is the difference between my current fork and the fox floats or a rock shox?

my only previous bike was a joshua and im pretty sure the fork on that was crap too so im not sure what im lookin for as far as improvement goes.

Any fork on a $600 bike is going to be crap. Every Marz made in Italy will be decent quality (to great).

RockShox varies from crap to decent, although I would never use one because of durability issues. Fox makes only high end forks, and you will only see them on $1300+ bikes.

 

[AustinM]

seems kinda silly to put a fox fork on a 600 dollar bike, go for a used psylo

 

[indieboy]

well im 5'10" and 160bs. ive got zero body fat, so i dont think im gonna be able to shave lbs off myself unless i start cutting.

i dont have a real budget persay, i paid $600 for the bike, so id rather spend less then that upgrading it.

you can cut plenty off you. i'm 6ft 148lbs, you can cut some

 

[blue]

you can cut plenty off you. i'm 6ft 148lbs, you can cut some

Ehhh...160/5"10 isn't bad at all, unless you want to be a twig XC racer (like indieboi here )

 

[sanjuro]

you can cut plenty off you. i'm 6ft 148lbs, you can cut some

Oy!!! Who are you, Iggy Pop?

 

[kaptr1d]

you can cut plenty off you. i'm 6ft 148lbs, you can cut some

eh. i could cut... but only muscle really.

my digital body fat analyzer says im at 17%... thats pretty good i think.

 

[mtnbikej]

For cranks.....Truvativ Stylo Team 600g can be found on ebay for around $100.

BB.....FSA Platinum Plus $45 200g.

Tires.....Panaracer Fire XC kevlar 550g 2.1 about $30 each.

Stem......Lots of cheap stems out there to be had.

Wheels......Depends on how light you wanna go. At your weight XT/717 would fit the bill for about $220.

Seatpost.....Thomson can be found on ebay for about $50 200g.

Fork.......Look for a used '99-02 Marzocchi Z1 Can be found cheap and overhauled for next to nothing.

All this should save you a couple of lbs........maybe.

mtnbikej

 

[GumbaFish]

Just bust your arse and make your legs stronger and you won't need a lighter bike Like people always say light, strong, cheap...pick two

 

[MtnbikeMike]

eh. i could cut... but only muscle really.

my digital body fat analyzer says im at 17%... thats pretty good i think.

17% is pretty high. Shoot for 10 or below.

 

[indieboy]

eh. i could cut... but only muscle really.

my digital body fat analyzer says im at 17%... thats pretty good i think.

17's not bad
but you can still cut some. trust

 

[indieboy]

Oy!!! Who are you, Iggy Pop?

I COULD ONLY WISH

 

[H8R]

Uh, nobody's asked yet.....


What's under the tarp?

And...nice hose.

 

[kaptr1d]

theres a bbq under the tarp... lol.

also, im tryin to get to 170 right now... kinda hard to bulk and cut at the same time.

 

[pixelninja]

eh. i could cut... but only muscle really.

my digital body fat analyzer says im at 17%... thats pretty good i think.

17% is pretty good...for a woman. neaky: Not meant as a slam on women, but women naturally have a higher body fat % than men. 17% on a man is not "zero" body fat. Get it down to around 10% and you're doing well.

A new wheelset and tires is probably going to get you the most bang for your buck when shaving weight off your bike. Check out http://www.oddsandendos.com for some great deals on some lightweight strong handbuilt wheels. As far as tires go, check out Panaracer Fire XC Pros or IRC Mythos. Both are lightweight, hook up great and can be found for fairly cheap.