The bike weight thread

[Trekchick]

You haven't ridden out here, have you? Our rides are usually a mix, and my bike seems to do it all pretty well.

No, I haven't ridden out there, and I understand what you're talking about.
When we ride pathways, I can have fun on any one of my bikes, but, some parts could be better on the FS and some on the SS, yet they all do it pretty well. Ya know?

 

[Greg]

No, I haven't ridden out there, and I understand what you're talking about.
When we ride pathways, I can have fun on any one of my bikes, but, some parts could be better on the FS and some on the SS, yet they all do it pretty well. Ya know?

I hear ya. Kinda like a specialty ski like a bump ski, right? Still, I'm kinda a one ski/now bike quiver guy. It took me 14 years of skiing before I decided to buy a specialty ski. Also remember, I'm a pathetic MTB newb (I don't really count my short stint in the mid 90's anymore). I'm still building the skill set and probably couldn't fully appreciate a diverse bike quiver yet. Plus you just want to validate your gear whoring tendencies....

 

[Trekchick]

Plus you just want to validate your gear whoring tendencies....

Dang! You figured me out!!

 

[o3jeff]

However, I rode Jeff's low 20's loaner and that thing is amazing at acceleration. You can drop it into a higher gear than normal and it just flies. I only rode it for about 60 seconds though on some flat and non technical terrain. I don't know how it rides on some of the sketchy stuff or when climbing.

Now that we figured out the suspension it climbs pretty good, only thing is the front of the bike likes to come up if you aren't leaning a bit forward. Only other thing I noticed on it is on a fast downhill that has some small rocks/bumps is that the rear likes to flex, almost gives you the feeling the rear tire is loose.

 

[MR. evil]

6 inches of travel now? I thought that frame was only built for 5 inches?

And about tires, even though it is rotational mass and hence it feels extra heavy I really think it is worth it. Any extra contact area is well worth the weigh penalty, IMO.

I pushed the rear to 140mm (5.5") and the font is now at 145mm (5.7"). The bike is built for 130mm but there was extra clearance in the swing arm to push the travel a little. Don't confuse smaller tires and lighter tires as the same thing. You can find large high volume tires that are really light. Check out the WTM Manuto Raptors 2.4. They are crazy light! LIke 500g each. Continental also make some really like high volume tires.

 

[MR. evil]

Now that we figured out the suspension it climbs pretty good, only thing is the front of the bike likes to come up if you aren't leaning a bit forward. Only other thing I noticed on it is on a fast downhill that has some small rocks/bumps is that the rear likes to flex, almost gives you the feeling the rear tire is loose.

That bike just feels too light to take any real abuse IMO. When I took it for a spin last weekend I could feel the rear swing arm flexing while hitting some rocks on the side of the road, and the front end felt really twitchy to me. I don't care what your LBS told you, there is no way a bike with that much carbon can take 8' drops.

 

[Trekchick]

That bike just feels too light to take any real abuse IMO. When I took it for a spin last weekend I could feel the rear swing arm flexing while hitting some rocks on the side of the road, and the front end felt really twitchy to me. I don't care what your LBS told you, there is no way a bike with that much carbon can take 8' drops.

That would be fine for me because I don't plan on taking any 8' Drops

 

[marcski]

Not quite sure the exact weights. I'm riding a Kona Dawg Dee-Lux FS with 5" front and back. I have some beefier sun rims, because I was blowing spokes like a kid blows bubbles with his gum. I also ride Kenda Nevegal 2.35"s and LOVE them. They are great on the slick rock, which we have a lot of down here in Westchester County. Gregg, I feel that this bike is very well-balanced and can do a lot of things very well. It climbs great and has enough travel for the techy downhills.

My road ride is a Giant TCR which probably comes in at 19 and change right now. I am planning on upgrading my wheels which should shed at least a pound. I love this bike. I feel that by far its the best bike out there for the money!

 

[Philpug]

I am running the 2.35 Kenda's too. Nice rubber.

 

[eatskisleep]

I think my hardtail is around 45lbs or so.

 

[MR. evil]

I think my hardtail is around 45lbs or so.

:-o

 

[SundayRiver Yeti]

My Yeti AS-X is 42lbs, and my Tomac 204 Magnum is 48.5lbs.

 

[Gremf]

My bike (Iron Horse MKIII Comp) is 31.5 pounds.

When did you get your MKIII? I got mine last year and love it!

My 'Horse weighs in around 30 lbs give or take. I am running 2.35 Maxxis upfront and a 2.1 in the back. I heard there were some issues with running 2.35s in the rear - any troubles?

My 29er, Qball, is around 30 lbs, too.

My 69er, Fetish Fixation, which I ride rigid and off road fixie, is 25 or 26 lbs.

 

[awf170]

When did you get your MKIII? I got mine last year and love it!

My 'Horse weighs in around 30 lbs give or take. I am running 2.35 Maxxis upfront and a 2.1 in the back. I heard there were some issues with running 2.35s in the rear - any troubles?

I got mine about a month and a half ago. I really like it, but don't really have much to compare it to since I just started riding this season. Though I'll probably be upgrading to a beefier bike sometime next season because I'm not sure how much more of the beating a light AM bike like this can take. Right now I'm actually running the rear shock at about 10% sag (verses the recommended 30%) since I constantly bottomed it out at anything higher.

The 2.35 high roller (the tire you probably have in the front) fits just fine in the back. The 2.5 in the front is a wicked tight fit though. If I corner really hard I can sometimes hear it rub against the fork. If I actually trued my rim, I wouldn't be having this problem...

 

[Gremf]

I got mine about a month and a half ago. I really like it, but don't really have much to compare it to since I just started riding this season. Though I'll probably be upgrading to a beefier bike sometime next season because I'm not sure how much more of the beating a light AM bike like this can take. Right now I'm actually running the rear shock at about 10% sag (verses the recommended 30%) since I constantly bottomed it out at anything higher.

Yeah, it's not really an AM bike, more like a cross between AM and XC, what they are calling a Trail Bike. I love mine because it allows me to do everything that I feel comfortable doing, and then some, while still light enough to climb like a goat. My first AM was such a pig that I actually went SS and Rigid for about a year before coming back to FS. Now, I ride the FS bike more than all my other bikes.

 

[MR. evil]

I got mine about a month and a half ago. I really like it, but don't really have much to compare it to since I just started riding this season. Though I'll probably be upgrading to a beefier bike sometime next season because I'm not sure how much more of the beating a light AM bike like this can take. Right now I'm actually running the rear shock at about 10% sag (verses the recommended 30%) since I constantly bottomed it out at anything higher.

...

Austin,
That frame should be able to handle a good amount of abuse. Iron Hourse frames are really well built. You could make that bike more AM / FR worthy by upgrading to a new fork with a 20mm thru axle and ditch that air shock for a coil shock. I highly recomend a Fox DHX coil.

Do you know what size you rear shock is? I am pretty sure the smallest a DXH (and most coils) comes in is 7.5 x 2.0

 

[awf170]

Austin,
That frame should be able to handle a good amount of abuse. Iron Hourse frames are really well built. You could make that bike more AM / FR worthy by upgrading to a new fork with a 20mm thru axle and ditch that air shock for a coil shock. I highly recomend a Fox DHX coil.

Do you know what size you rear shock is? I am pretty sure the smallest a DXH (and most coils) comes in is 7.5 x 2.0

Yeah, I was actually thinking the first thing I would do on this bike in get a new front shock if I didn't end up getting a whole new bike. I was thinking about getting a 160mm shock with 115mm option for climbs. 160mm will make the bike wicked slacker, but that's definitely not a bad thing in Lynn Woods. I just hope that it will still climb decently when I'm at 160mm of travel since lots of the hills here are so short that stopping to lock the fork down would be a huge waste of time.


And my rear shock is 7.5 x 2.0. What exactly do those numbers mean? Is there anyway I could fit something bigger in?

 

[MR. evil]

Yeah, I was actually thinking the first thing I would do on this bike in get a new front shock if I didn't end up getting a whole new bike. I was thinking about getting a 160mm shock with 115mm option for climbs. 160mm will make the bike wicked slacker, but that's definitely not a bad thing in Lynn Woods. I just hope that it will still climb decently when I'm at 160mm of travel since lots of the hills here are so short that stopping to lock the fork down would be a huge waste of time.


And my rear shock is 7.5 x 2.0. What exactly do those numbers mean? Is there anyway I could fit something bigger in?

I wouldn't recomend getting a 160mm fork. I don't think you frame could handle it. Come on, aren't you an engineering student? Bike frames are designed to for handle a range of forks. I would guess that your could handle up to a 145mm. Anything over that and it would void your frame warrenty.

 

[eatskisleep]

Better email Ironhorse to find out exactly what size fork would be covered under the warranty.

As for the rear shock, it is 7.5 inches eye to eye (total lenght) and it has a 2 inch stroke. So if it has say 5 inches of travel, it would average going through one inch of its stroke for every 2.5 inches of travel. 2.5:1... So, this is called the leverage ratio. Although most leverage ratios are not constant and they actually vary through the course of travel, such as the Santa Cruz VP Free. Higher ratios will put more stress on the rear shock. As a basis for comparision, most downhill bikes have a 3:1 leverage ratio.

 

[gorgonzola]

jamis xam1 weighs in at 32.5 on the digi bathroom scale - if i was a weight weenie i'd be more concerned with the extra lbs around my middle more than the bikes...