00:00We all want to save more weight from our bikes, right? Well, after building up my new Émonda,
00:04I thought I would share five ways that I'm planning on shedding a few grams, but
00:10they might not be in the way that you would expect. First off, I'm going to start at the seat post.
00:16The first thing that we can all do is mark where our seat post height is, pull out the seat post
00:21from the frame, measure the minimum insertion and then add that to the bottom of your marked
00:26seat post height because what you may end up with is a section of seat post that can be cut off.
00:33I've already done this myself and I ended up being able to take off about 10 centimeters
00:37worth of seat post, which saved me a fairly decent 30 grams. For what is essentially a free win,
00:45I don't think that's bad at all. But it doesn't just stop there because I have found a solution
00:51to my fairly unattractive seat clamp collar. Instead of the original unit, I found this
00:56pro performance seat clamp, which isn't actually going to provide any sort of weight saving,
01:02but it does just look a whole lot better. And if you want one for yourself,
01:06then I have left a link down in the description below. Before we move on to a different area of
01:11the bike, I do want to share one more recommendation, which I myself won't be doing,
01:15but it could be ideal for one of you lovely viewers. And that is to look at a specialist
01:21seat post manufacturer like Durimo. Now, Durimo is a Spanish brand and they make some incredibly
01:28lightweight components. For example, they make a 350 mil, 27.2 post, which comes in at a claimed
01:3580 grams, which is seriously light. They also make, though, proprietary posts for the likes
01:42of the Tarmac SLA. So this gain isn't just reserved for those with standard components.
01:48Wheels are often seen as the place to drop weight. But what if you already have a set
01:54of swanky lightweight wheels? Well, you can't forget all of the things that are attached
01:59to your wheels. Firstly, the tires are a pretty large component and they obviously sit right at
02:05the very edge of the rotational mass. So weight saved here can return much larger gains in ride
02:11and acceleration feel. So if you're running some all season tires like I am in the form of the
02:17Specialized S-Works Mondos, then consider opting for some summer specific jobbies like these GP5000
02:25TTTRs. These are going to save me about 200 grams compared to the Mondos, which is great.
02:32Of course, this is a change that I'll be making when the roads get a little bit drier,
02:37but the savings don't stop there. Cassettes actually carry a fair bit of mass to them since
02:42there is a lot of metal work going on there. So if you do have the funds, it could be worth looking
02:48further up the range and getting a cassette which adopts a more advanced construction method and
02:53makes use of fancier materials. For example, the difference between this Ultegra cassette and this
02:59Dura-Ace cassette is 62 grams. Yes, it's not cheap, but as a way to drop a fair bit of weight
03:06without needing to adopt a whole Dura-Ace groupset, this in my eyes is money well spent.
03:11I have also done some digging and found a pretty decent price on a Dura-Ace cassette,
03:16which I've linked down in the description. The other component to consider on the wheels
03:20are your rotors, and this is where you could end up spending a lot of money,
03:25but for a much smaller gain. Again, I won't be doing this one myself, but if you do want to be
03:31as cool as Taddy Pogacar, then you could opt for some carbon tie rotors. Compared to Ultegra spec
03:37rotors, they'll save you about 16 grams per wheel for a total saving of just over 30 grams, which
03:44is obviously very small, but maybe this one is more about the bling factor. Saving money and weight
03:52don't always go hand in hand, but when we look at the cockpit of the bike, there is an opportunity
03:57to do just that. I've been running the Garmin Edge 1040 Solar for nearly a year and a half now,
04:03but despite the vast amount of functionality that this thing provides, you just cannot escape the
04:09size of it. So, downsizing to a 540 or an 840 will not only be a cheaper option, but it reduces the
04:17weight by nearly 46 grams, and that's not bad at all. If you shop around, then you can often find
04:24really good deals on head units, and I've linked a really good one down in the description.
04:30That's not the only thing that can be done in the cockpit area, because much like how I was able to
04:35save weight by removing excess seat post length, I can also do the same at my head tube by removing
04:41excess steerer tube length. I can also replace these alloy spacers with carbon ones for an
04:47albeit very small saving, but these carbon spacers only cost a few pounds. For those of you running
04:54integrated computer mounts, like the one that comes with the Roval handlebars, it could be worth
04:59investing in a 3D printed option instead. For the real weight weenies out there, some aluminium
05:05mounts can actually weigh significantly more than a 3D printed equivalent. If we take the Roval one
05:11as an example, the standard unit weighs 53.3 grams, while a 3D printed alternative comes in at 26.1
05:19grams. That is certainly an easy win, and again, can often be cheaper. There are other things that
05:25most of us can do to help shave weight off our bikes, like adopting a carbon bottle cage.
05:31Thankfully, these no longer have to be super expensive. For example, if we compare a fairly
05:37standard bottle cage with a carbon one, there's a potential saving of about 20 grams per cage. Now,
05:43for an upgrade that doesn't need to cost the earth anymore, I think this is one well worth going for.
05:48One which certainly is not for the masses and is reserved for those true weight weenies with
05:54money to burn are carbon tie chain rings. They are eye-wateringly expensive, but after seeing
06:02them on Tani Pogacar's bike, I really can't stop thinking about them. However, these rings will
06:07never be going anywhere near my bike. For me, they just cost too much money to justify putting them on
06:13an aluminium bike, but I think we can all take a second to just admire
06:18quite how pretty they are. In total then, across all these little changes,
06:23I think I'm going to be able to save a not insignificant 300 to 400 grams. Most of these
06:29savings have either been free or only cost sub 50 quid. It's the big ticket items like the cassette,
06:35head unit, and tires which will up the price, but as mentioned, deals can always be found on
06:41these things. I've done my best to link all of those down below.
Comments