How much would you pay to save weight?

Ozkaban
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How much would you pay to save weight?

Postby Ozkaban » Wed Jun 05, 2013 8:26 am

I noticed a nice 3T fork for sale on wiggle, which would shave about 350g off my bike at the cost of about $220. I didn't buy them and now they're sold out (wrong colour anyway!).

But it got me thinking - what's a gram of weight worth? How much would you spend per gram to knock weight off. Obviously some bits are easier than others but at some point you decide it's worth it. I had thought about $1/g would be ok, and the above example was comfortably better than that. I'm not a real weight weenie by any stretch. My bike weighs about 8kg bare and about 9.5kg once all of the crud is added (like a 600g saddle bag!).

I know plenty of people here aren't interested in this at all and think anyone who is are just suckers for marketing and would happily fill their steed's frame with lead shot if it improved the ride quality. That's fine, go for it and enjoy. I'm more interested in those that want a lighter bike and are happy to swap components/customise their bike to achieve it

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Re: How much would you pay to save weight?

Postby Nobody » Wed Jun 05, 2013 9:07 am

http://weightweenies.starbike.com/forum/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Ozkaban
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Re: How much would you pay to save weight?

Postby Ozkaban » Wed Jun 05, 2013 10:11 am

I know about the weight weenies forum, but this question was more about what people here thought was a reasonable dollar value to save weight. Not that I expect or even want a concensus - I'm just interested in what people think. Plenty of people here are interested in light weight. I care about it but am not nearly serious enough about it to really get into it. My bike is a tenth of the value of some floating around here and several kilos heavier.

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cyclotaur
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Re: How much would you pay to save weight?

Postby cyclotaur » Wed Jun 05, 2013 11:25 am

I spent about $350 (ok $400 inc new tyres) for a lighter wheelset which saves 0.75kg from the heavy OEM CX setup when I'm just road riding. The 'lighter' ones are still fairly hefty by road-wheel standards but hey, it's a CX bike.

It takes the base bike weight from about 9.3 down to about 8.6 kgs. So I spent about $0.50/g. Good return on investment, considering I do about 40% of my riding on them.

I'm not sure I would spend any money on other components just to save weight though. Wheels are easiest, and make the most difference I think.
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The 2nd Womble
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Re: How much would you pay to save weight?

Postby The 2nd Womble » Wed Jun 05, 2013 12:24 pm

Wife: 55(?)kg, pay anyone $1,000. *Concrete guarantee of no issues.










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Re: How much would you pay to save weight?

Postby cyclotaur » Wed Jun 05, 2013 12:39 pm

^^ That'll get back ....
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Re: How much would you pay to save weight?

Postby Uncle Just » Wed Jun 05, 2013 1:17 pm

Not looking for trouble so I'll pass on such a fantastic offer... :lol:

I think once many riders get into serious riding or racing, weight can become an obsession. I've read of people spending huge amounts for really light equipment. Eg saw an incredibly light stem on a Euro site recently for over 700 Euros. :shock:

Personally strength and reliability are more important to me with some light weight components thrown in here and there. Such as the seat, pedals, stem, bars and some DA parts. Not stupid light but still strong for my purposes. My steel roadie with its lighter wheels fitted is the lightest I've ever had in 45+ years of riding at 8.3 kgs. Not light at all but it works very well for me. (I'm still susceptible to a bit of bling too.) Besides I'm not getting any younger and any weight loss via lighter componentry is not going to make much difference anymore. :wink:

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Re: How much would you pay to save weight?

Postby thelittlebattler » Wed Jun 05, 2013 6:11 pm

After a bit of a hiatus from the forum I don't know if I'm qualified to "weigh in" on the debate... but i agree with cyclotaur on the wheels. I would happily spend $1000 on wheels if they were significantly lighter and/or more aero than the current ones.

I would struggle to justify going nuts on anything else that doesn't spin... As upgrades were needed I would probably only splurge a bit extra on each stem/seatpost/other component though to get a lighter set-up (unless it was too sexy not to have!)
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Alex Simmons/RST
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Re: How much would you pay to save weight?

Postby Alex Simmons/RST » Wed Jun 05, 2013 10:37 pm

At the moment the weight savings I need would save me money, not cost.

How much you are willing to spend on such things is a matter of personal value choice, but also in context of why you want to shave the grams. If it's for a performance benefit, then it might be that there are better ways to spend your resources for an improvement in performance of your equipment (e.g. more aerodynamic forks, over lighter forks).

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Re: How much would you pay to save weight?

Postby Mulger bill » Wed Jun 05, 2013 11:28 pm

The 2nd Womble wrote:Wife: 55(?)kg, pay anyone $1,000. *Concrete guarantee of no issues.










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flex5150
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Re: How much would you pay to save weight?

Postby flex5150 » Thu Jun 06, 2013 1:18 pm

I agree with Alex. Money/ Value is such a personal thing.

After buying a bike off the shelf and then upgrading it after the fact, throwing a lot of money at it and then realising it wasnt what I wanted, I decided to do a ground up build.

My charter was hand selected, lightweight, quality components and find them at the right price. I think i succeeded! However what I spent may impress some and horrify others. (see my opening statement)

Without going into individual pricing my build cost me $5000 on the nose with Farsport 38mm CC. (including labour).
Is that a lot of money for 6.1kg? I dont know but im happy with the bike and I consider all the components top end (wheels excluded but I still rate them)

Happy to hear peoples thoughts on this ...

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Re: How much would you pay to save weight?

Postby pawnii » Fri Jun 07, 2013 6:40 pm

^ would look better with some debadged 303 beyond black firecrests :twisted:

I've spent a tonne of money over years with my weightweenie addiction. More than i'd like to admit.
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Pravda
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Re: How much would you pay to save weight?

Postby Pravda » Fri Jun 07, 2013 6:52 pm

Ive got at least another 5kg I could lose off myself before I started sinking cash into proper weight weenie stuff. Money can't buy that much weight off your gear.
That's not to say I don't have a serious case of upgraditis.

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Ross
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Re: How much would you pay to save weight?

Postby Ross » Sat Jun 08, 2013 10:17 am

flex5150 wrote:
Happy to hear peoples thoughts on this ...

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flex5150
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Re: How much would you pay to save weight?

Postby flex5150 » Sat Jun 08, 2013 4:48 pm

File photo! Tyre brand is now on valve, bike is resting on bar tape. Dearailleur 50mm from bricks...Ive read the rules and now obey them. I would put the Velominati stickers on but they weigh too much..

Pawnii..correct 303 are the go. Know anyone with a cheap set? Having said that these wheels keep the bike at 6.1kg.
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Re: How much would you pay to save weight?

Postby ValleyForge » Mon Jun 10, 2013 8:07 pm

Back to the OP....

I love my Brooks leather saddles - at least an extra 250g but my butt's worth it.
I love integrated Carbon bars esp WR Composti & Deda, but they are cost about 50% extra for a small weight saving but big comfort gain.

My take on it is: If I enjoy my ride more, I'll get it. Weight isn't the thing that keeps me riding all these years.
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Re: How much would you pay to save weight?

Postby durianrider » Wed Jun 12, 2013 12:17 pm

I got an off the shelf Giant for 5400AUD with power meter at 6.97kg with my XTR 980 pedals. Alloy bars for better stiffness and safety.

You save around 10seconds per kg over a 10 minute climb. Most cyclists out there riding 7kg bikes could afford to drop 10-50kg off their bodies. Would also improve their health.

I would be embarrassed to be focusing on a lightweight bike if my BMI was over 21. Thats just me.

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MattyK
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Re: How much would you pay to save weight?

Postby MattyK » Sun Jun 23, 2013 3:05 pm

Back in my car modding days, dollars per kw was a good way to compare different mods. Dollars per gram is a good equivalent t in the bike world but only as a comparison of two competing alternatives for your own machine. For example spending $100 to save 20 g off a stem is $5/g. Spending $500 to save 100g off your forks is $5/g. Spending $500 to save 500g off your wheels is $1/g. Spending $100 to save 200g off your tyres is $0.50/g
Last edited by MattyK on Sun Jun 23, 2013 3:16 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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Re: How much would you pay to save weight?

Postby MattyK » Sun Jun 23, 2013 3:06 pm

But for each individual it depends on what your starting point is

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Re: How much would you pay to save weight?

Postby ColinOldnCranky » Sun Jun 23, 2013 6:09 pm

Take 350g off the body - most of us, even fit cyclists, could still do with it.

That way you save $220 AND in all liklihood, performance improves in so many ways.

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Re: How much would you pay to save weight?

Postby Nobody » Sun Jun 23, 2013 6:22 pm

Ozkaban wrote:But it got me thinking - what's a gram of weight worth? How much would you spend per gram to knock weight off.
About $0 per gram. Like some, I'll add weight if I can better functionality, durability, comfort or performance.
Last edited by Nobody on Mon Jun 24, 2013 10:23 am, edited 1 time in total.

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Re: How much would you pay to save weight?

Postby pawnii » Sun Jun 23, 2013 10:46 pm

when u get under 5.5kg it starts to get expensive.
yes, I'm an overweight weight weenie
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Dimis
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Re: How much would you pay to save weight?

Postby Dimis » Mon Jun 24, 2013 10:11 am

While I agree enjoying the ride is more important than saving a few grams... I enjoy the hunt of looking for and investigating lighter upgraded part options. That to me is part of the fun also.
I'll outline here that I probably have more scope to lose weight than my bike, but hey... I'm having fun.

FWIW - I was reading a cycling mag that said "market research suggest consumers will average a spend of about $10 per gram, in their quest to save weight."
Not sure that's true for me though.
Just saying.

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MattyK
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Re: How much would you pay to save weight?

Postby MattyK » Mon Jun 24, 2013 10:25 am

Dimis wrote:FWIW - I was reading a cycling mag that said "market research suggest consumers will average a spend of about $10 per gram, in their quest to save weight."
Not sure that's true for me though.
Just saying.
As I said above, the value proposition depends on your starting point. Going from a 2000g wheelset to a 1500g wheelset won't be too expensive. Going from a 1500g set to a 1200g set will be much more so.

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Re: How much would you pay to save weight?

Postby Nobody » Mon Jun 24, 2013 10:32 am

Dimis wrote:FWIW - I was reading a cycling mag that said "market research suggest consumers will average a spend of about $10 per gram, in their quest to save weight."
$10 a gram! :shock: That's $10,000 to save 1Kg. They must have started with 6Kg bikes. My bike is 11.6Kg and therefore would cost me $48,000 to get it down to 6.8Kg. Somehow I think the bike mag might be a bit off on what the average consumer will spend.

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