For the weightie winnies - shaving off grams from your bike

Wheels of Happiness

I stopped doing this years ago.  I all ready had my bike lightened.   (How I wish I could have years shaved off from my age.  )  Hahaha.

You can shave a lot of weight on tubes and tires.   

Military diet to lose weight

Wheels of Happiness

Try this

Work out to reduce fats and weight fast

Wheels of Happiness

Can you lose 10 pounds in 10 days?.  Some people want to lose weight fast

You can ride faster if you lose weight

Weight reduction in MTBs

Wheels of Happiness

Rizal Philippines

4.07.2021

Making your MTBs lighter.

In the interest of safety, age, and convenience, this post has gradually shifted his attention from RB to MTB.   There are more interesting technology in MTB.

The MTB is generally seen as no place for weight reduction.  But champion MTB riders have carbon and generally ligher bikes.   As in RB, and motorracing, light is always might.

There are generally 3 high priority areas that are subject to weight reduction

1.  Fork

2.  Wheelset and tires

3.   Drive train.

FORK -  you can shift to rigid forks which tip the scales at 700 gm max for alum and 500 g for carbon fiber.   That would save you about 2.5 kg from 3 kg fork.    Or you can halve the weight to 1.7 kg by shifting to much lighter albeit more expensive fork

WHEELSET and tires.   Maybe you can lose 500 gm on lighter tires, and  kg on carbon fiber wheelset.   But that is expensive.

DRIVE TRAIN 

      1. Converting to one by -  saves you about 300 - 600 grams

     2.  Hollow chains  - about 20 to 30 grams.

If you follow all the three weight reduction can be 2.5 kg from fork, 2.  tires 500 gm and 3. one by 0.5 kg.  Thats a total of 3.5 kg.    If you have a 15 kg bike, you will end up with 11.5 kg bike.  That'light.  If you have a 11.7 kg carbon fiber bike (as what I have ordered) the final weight will be less than 10 kg.  or 8.2 kg.   x 2.2 18.04 lbs.  Just almost the weight of an rb.

/

Which is better for long ride - road bike or MTB?

Wheels of Happiness

Rizal Philippines

3.28.2021.  

Which is better for long ride:   MTB or road bike based on 3 factors:

                                             Road bike                            Mt bike

1.   Weight                                   /                                       x

2.   Tires                                      x                                        /

                                            MTB tires safer at night and for rutted roads

3.    Riding position                    x                                       /

                                            MTB at upright comfortable position especially for endurance rides

Saving dynamic weight from your wheelset

Wheels of Happiness

Rizal Philippines
February 14, 2018

If you really want to upgrade your bike and ride, one of the investments you can make is on wheelset.  And after the wheelset, you must invest in tires and tubes.

Now may be you have a 1.4 carbon wheelset and you invest in cheap tires that weigh 400 grams each  x 2 =  800 grams) and tubes that weigh 150 grams each (x 2 = 300 grams) and you end up with heavy rotating mass:    1.4 +  .8 + .3 kg =  2.5 kg wheels.  Your tires and tubes could easily weigh your light
wheelset by more than 1 kg.  Rotating mass is x 3.  That is additional 3 kg when you accelerate or climb.  That is a lot x number of rotations.  It could be as much 5 tons in a ride.

But let us say you buy  Conti Supersonic  at 180 grams x 2 =  360 and lightweight butyl tubes at 90 grams x 2 =   180, your additional weight to your carbon fiber wheelset is only 540 grams and your total weight for the wheels is only 540 + 1400 =  1,940.  You save about 500 grams the same weight you save in buying:   the carbon wheel set, or the carbon frame.

Kenda too sells lightweight Kenda Kaliente wheels (200 grams or less) and superlight tubes (90 grams) Meron sa Missing Link

Butyl tubes are recommended to make your wheels light.  Now you have Silca butyl tubes  (made in Thailand in collaboration with Vittoria)

Lightweight Maxxis tubes only 90 grams and P239.00 php each PUNCTURE RESISTANT PA!!

Investing in carbon fiber frame may not be the only or best way to have a fast light bike

Wheels of Happiness

Rizal Philippines
January 23,2018

Buying an expensive carbon fiber bike frame may not be the only and the best way to make your bike lighter and consequently go faster.  There are other ways.  A bike frame investment could be as little as P20t if you buy unbranded from Lazada. or on the average P30t if you buy second hand, from OEM importers from Cebu, CDO Antipolo City (P39k doon)

1.  Carbon fiber frame may not be  the lightest.  Carbon fiber bike frame does not necessarily mean lighter bike. Some older models may be heavier than alum or your  existing bike.    Like in the  current sale, their cheapest weighs 1.2 kg.  Same as some Giant, or Caad 8 frames. You may actually be going higher in  cost and weight.   The high end frame may be in the vicinity of P70k and that means they weigh under 1 kg.

  Carbon fiber or alum frame?

2. Carbon fiber wheelset  may not also be the lightest.   Rim height of 3.5 cm or more require more materials and hence contribute to more weight.  Aero has another purpose -  to cut through the wind resistance and thus save you watts and increase your speed.   Aero also works if your speed is beyond 30kph.  Now if you ride at 20 kph.... Some alum bikes are lighter than carbon fiber wheelsets.  And wheelsets with carbon fiber brake line become ugly and dirty over time and suffer degradation in wet conditions.  Should you stick to your alum wheelsets?

AmCla wheelsets are known to be light and sub 1.5 kg.  I got a wheelset that is only 1,435 grams.  A fulcrum quattro weighs 1.7kg.  Some name brands are heavy .   The Colnago Bora 2 which will save you additional 200 grams costs more than P100K.  That is P500.00/gram. That is stiff.  P50.00/gram is an acceptable investment

3.  The other parts:    seat post, stem, saddle,  drop bar.  Say they total:

                         Seat post           -   350 grams
                         Saddle                    400 grams
                         Alum drop bar         500 grams
                         Stem                       300 grams
                        Total                       1,550 grams

     You can buy China parts from Lazada with substantial savings:  (who cares if they come from China? Mura naman at gagaan bike.

                       Seat post                240 grams
                       Saddle                    150 grams
                       Alum drop bar        250 grams
                       Stem                       200 grams
                       New total                840 grams

                      Weight reduced        710 grams

                       Estimated cost   P5,200/710                    P7.32 /gram a very cost effective method.
                       If you buy from a bike shop, the entire investment may be  P30,000 or morel. An alum drop
                       would cost P15,000 or more, a seat post maybe of an even amount.  A medium priced
                       saddle would cost about P8,000.

4.  Tires and tubes.

       Many readings recommend that this items be given first priority because the  rotating mass is the one being pushed by the rider. It is best to be lightweight and efficient in this area

       Buy lightweight tires and tubes.  You may invest the following:
                                                                                                   Weight reduced
                  Carbon frame                        -  P35,000                      300 grams
                  Carbon wheelset                         30,000                      200 grams
                  High end GS                               30,000                      200 grams

                                                     Total        95,000                     700 grams

        And yet at the end of the day, your bike still feels heavy and sluggish.  Why, because of your tires.  They are heavy.

                Invest in light weight tires and tubes.

                                     Ordinary tires weight                   Lightweight tires              Weight savings

             Tires                       300 grams                                190, 154                              110,  l46

              Tubes                    110                                                   60                                  50

                                                                                              Total                                  160 x 2 = 320

             Imagine that  320 grams saved for let us say investment for

                                    Tires 2,000 x 2                           =   P4,000
                                     Tubes  280 x 2                                     560
                                         Total                                            4,560/320                         14.25/gram

           Cheap and cost effective. How much more if your favorite tire is CST or Panaracer

            Some lightweight  tires from Weight Weenies


             Continental GP    Supersonic                                    -      140 grams

             Kenda Kaliente light                                                         165 grans

            Maxxis Xenith Equipe Legere                                            160 grams

            Panaracer Stradius TT                                                       170 grams

           Schwalbe Ultremo                                                              180 grams

           Veloflex Record Kevlar                                                     140 grams

           Vittoria Diamante Pro light                                                175 grams
                  

                                   

Some of the investment for weight slash of my old bike

Wheels of Happiness

Rizal Philippines
January 23, 2018

A number of investments have been made by this office to reduce  bicycle weight

1.  Importation of OEM carbon fiber frame and fork.  It was estimated that the bike frame would be  985 grams +  400 grams fork; -  1,385

2. Novatec  Jetfly wheel set       1,435 grams

3.  Supelight tube at  98 grams

4.  Conti GP 4000 tires at 220 grams  Let us repeat that the investment in tires, is worth the PHP, since substantial weight loss can be achieved.  Even more than the investment in carbon fiber wheelset and fork, and even wheel set.   Invest now.

5.  Salsa cork gel bartape

I hope to get the SRAM red second hand group set.

                                     Complete cable end accessories, last copy with Celeste
                                                  Green outer (di ako sinagot ng Celeste sa text ko)

                                                   Superlight, est 50 grams lighter vs ordinary

                                                  Light cork gel  baka  lighter by almost 100 grams

Am starting to implement weight slashing measures to lighten up my bike

Wheels of Happiness

Rizal Philippines
January 22, 2018

As I accompanied Vhen to  Missing Link bike shop in Eastwood, I saw lightweight parts that are parts of my recent post to reduce bike weight:

1.  Superlite tubes by Kenda  @ P280.00 each (They discounted mine to P240.00 dahil bumili ng Ridley frame kasama ko.
2 Salsa Gel Cork tape  (baka mga 50 grams lang ito)   P700.00 discounted price.
3.   Jagwire Road Pro Kit (Celeste green ang color)   30% lighter daw cable outer, Teflon coated ang cables @ P1,100.  {{1.350) listed price)

There was a Kenda Kaliente tire priced at P2,000 that weighs only 190 grams, lighter than GP 4000.  Later na lang 23C kasi   Kenda Kaliente Superpro  (maproblema?)

So how much can you save with light tires:

                Tires    Ordinary tires 400 grams -   190  -   210 grams  x 2   =  420 grams
                Tubes   Ordinary        150 grams       90         60 grams x 2   =  120 grams

                                                                  Thats                                       540 grams

 Thats about the same weight you chop off a Shimano Durace   vs 105;   or a carbon frameset

I also found out that the weight of SRAM red is lesser than Durace;   less than 2 kg (1,900) the latest which cost P100,000+ is 200 grams lighter.  I am looking at 2nd hand that is affordable

Total cycling component weights

SRAM red for sale by Bjay
                                             

Building a lighter bike (lighten up your bike)

Wheels of Happiness

Rizal Philippines
January 18, 2018

                                                       Light frame:   alum or carbon?  Some alum
                                                       frames are lighter than carbon.

Parts that make most impact on weight;

After being in the bikers world for more than a decade, more or less I now know how to have a lighter bike. Some measures are cost effective. Some are not.  The biggest weight contributors, they more or less make up 25% of the bike weight are:

       1. Frame and fork -  from 1.5 kg to 2.5 kg

       2. Group set:    from         2.00 to 3 kg

       3.  Wheel set   from          1.3 to 2 kg+

With regards to other parts:   stem, head set, bars, gains can be minimal.  So for you to aspire for lighter bike, think again....

     1. Frame and fork:

        Alum frame +  alum fork       1.4 kg say Mosso and fork   .5 =                  1.9 kg

        Alum frame +  carbon fork    1.4 kg say Mosso  and carbon fork  .4 =      1.8 kg

                                                   1.1 kg   say  CAD 12  and carbon fork .280  =  1.380 kg

With the new CAAD12, Cannondale seems to be throwing down the gauntlet to the competition in high-grade alloy. The numbers are compelling: the frame weighs just 1098g, which is 52g lighter than the CAAD10, while the fork – based on Cannondale's new EVO design – weighs a mere 300g. More expensive CAAD12 models get the HM fork, a scarily light 280g.

      Carbon frame + carbon fork   1.1 kg    +   .4 kg                                     =  1.5 kg

      Superlite  carbon frame + carbon fork         900 gms.   + 400 kg            =  1.3 kg

       Take note:

       1.  That carbon is not necessarily lighter or sturdier;  some alum are lighter than carbon and lasts longer and dont disintegrate on impact. Such is the strength of brands like Cannondale.  Alum frame that is lighter than carbon

     2. Carbon fork gain is limited to only 100 grams.  It has something to do with the steerer

                                                    Fulcrum Racing Quattro Alum wheelset
  2. Wheel set:

       Generic wheel set  local                                                                       -    2.2 kg

       RS   10                                                                                               -   1.845

      RS    11                                                                                               -   1.750

      Fulcrum 7                                                                                            -   1.845

      Fulcrum Quattro   350 mm                                                                   -   1,700

     Zipp                                                                                                     -   1,300

     Campagnolo Bora 2                                                                             -   1,300

     1.  Most of the entry level wheel set are from 1.8 kg to 2.2 kg. The 1.5 kg weight is in the territory of carbon fiber.

     2. Sometimes the wheel sets are heavier for being aero say 500 mm. But experts say that at 35 to 40 kph aero counts. Being slick can save you  up to 50 watts of power and that means a lot in racing.  Weight give you momentum and inertia to move forward.  For a 200 grams difference the price difference is staggering P30 up to 150t.  Only millionaires and riders with sponsors can afford it.

3. Group sets:

                                    Durace is the most expensive P68,000 now but the lightest
                                    at mere 2,000 grams same as Campy Rekord and SRAM red

   The lightest group sets are SRAM red, Campagnolo Rekord and Durace.  Around 2.000 kg total weight

          SRAM and Campy would cost just about even P120 to P130t (may nagbebenta sa Toyota Shaw P80t only  paluugi) at sa Sabak  P30t only for SRAM red)

          Ultegra 6800 and 8000 weigh about 2,550 grams,  6800 is sells for P17 k,   8000 for P30k

          Shimano 105 is 2,700 grams is availablefor P13,000 only.  For 4,000 difference the difference in weight is 200 grams.  Ultegra 6800 is value for money and is slightly lighter than  8000 GS.

The  value for money:

1. Cannondale frame say CAAD 10 to 12 with carbon frame

2.  GS Ultegra 6800

3.  Wheelset -  fulcrum quattro (lalabas daw si Christy ng tig P15,000 soon)

How to save up to 74 watts on tire tech

Wheels of Happiness

Rizal Philippines
April 14, 2017

Wheels and tires make a lot of difference in biking (as in Formula car racing)  Here are some tips from a video and may be if we want to ride faster, we can implement some of the tips and suggestions

There is not much advantage/loss/gain on the following:

      1.  Tire weight
      2.  Tire width (which is better 23 mm or 25 mm?)   From competitive cyclist
      3.  Clincher vs tubular?
   

But much can be gained from:

     1.  Tire pressure  (if you are riding on rough roads inflate your tire to only 60 psi, on smooth concrete or asphalt only 100 to 120 psi.  Wrong tire pressure can make you lose power.  This was aptly demonstrated by a rider in Paris Roubaix race who just inflated his tire to 60 psi on cobble stones and was way way ahead of his competitor

     2.  Tire compounds  you can save as much as 27 watts on modern tires with graphene compounds or cotton  inside.  (the graphs show even more)

     3.  Tire rim combination  (it is better to have wider tires and narrow rims)  They are more aerodynamic

     Observance of science and physics can make you go faster.

 From Velo News - Specialized S Works Turbo Tubeless and Continental GP 4000 S.  (Ano bilihan ba ulit ng bagong tires?)
   

Watch video on next page

Light bike or lighter biker affect climbing?

Wheels of Happiness

Rizal Philippines
December 24, 2015

Merry Christmas tomorrow.














The video that you are about to watch explains why we need to:   1.  lighten our bike (buy a bike whose parts:  wheel sets, frame, tires, BB, fork, headset must be light.  2. why we should exercise some more, diet etc. to lose weight.  We spend about $2/gram that we say (about $2,000 for every kg.  That is lot.  It should be easier and cheaper to lose weight of the engine (the biker)

VM Jun Vic mentions this findings very often.  This justifies why he opts for lighter bikes and wheel sets/tires always

There was an experiment conducted.  One bike was used and rode up 8% gradient, for a minute and the power was measured.  Two rides were made:  the basic bike (about 16 lbs) and for the second ride, 2.6 kg water bottle was added.  Two rides were made:  one at 8 kph, and second at 16 kph  The second rider who was bulkier repeated the ride.

What were the findings?

1. For the first rider, riding at 8 kph and 16 kph, doubling the speed added  output of about 40 watts.   The heavier bike (or the water bottles) increased the power output by 9 watts. That is huge

2. For the second rider who was heavier results were the same for the heavier and lighter bike. However, his heavier mass caused an increase of 40 watts. Hence, if you are overweight, or not lean, you tend to tire out faster because you have to have higher output.

3. We should rid our bikes of unnecessary weight and excess baggage. You now know why TDF riders dispose of most of their water bottles prior to a climb.  For TT riders, the advice is not to bring tools or spares or even a water bottle.  That is to conserve energy

Advice

1.  Work on the engine, reduce body weight by eating healthy foods, going to the gym, cross exercise, push ups, crunches  or doing cross exercises:  swimming, jogging etc

2.  Lighten your bike.  But lighter interior, wheelsets, chain, pedals, shoes.  On a slow staggered basis.  Unti unti.   EVERYDAY WE MUST IMPROVE