Aweight weenie is a rider obsessed with reducing the rolling weight of his bike and body. Weight weenies are creative, ingenious and extremely annoying people. They suffer from a sickness that requires them to constantly examine and reexamine every component in terms of grams, ounces and pounds. Their tools (other than the coveted Ohaus scale) include rattail files, pipe cutters, airdryers, X-acto knifes, sandpaper, scissors and cable cutters. Hey, we told you they were sick.
This is why we are warning you up front. Reading the following weight-weenie tips and actually using them might prove the disease to be contagious. Yes, you might become a weight weenie yourself. Proceed at your own risk.
KEEPING SCORE
You need a scale to get into the weight weenie business. Ohaus scales can be found used for between $40 and $70. A digital postal scale from a store like Office Depot is a cheaper alternative. These modern little scales will measure in both grams and ounces, but may not be able to weigh heavy items like downhill tires, shocks and forks. We use the Digital Alpine Scale from Ultimate Support, (800) 525-5628. While the Digital Alpine Scale can weigh small components, we
favor it because it weighs the entire bike.
THE WHOLE ENCHILADA
A lot of weight weenies measure their conquests one component at a time. There is a more effective and accurate way to keep score. Weigh your bike, apply the weight-saving tips
and weigh the bike again. Sometimes by shaving weight in one area, you add weight in another, so the net weight loss is negligible. The whole bike weight doesn’t lie.
WHERE TO SAVE
Start with components that rotate. You can break this down further by concentrating on the parts farthest from the center of the rotating mass. Wheels are an important component for shaving weight (they rotate) and tires are more important than hubs for saving weight (tires are further away from the center than the hubs). The next area to concentrate on is unsprung weight. These are components that move during their operation (like suspension links, shocks, fork sliders and swingarms).
INTOLERABLE TOLERANCES
There can be as much as a five percent weight difference between two of the same tires. This is due to manufacturing tolerances. You can save weight by weighing every tire you buy. Same goes for tubes. Weenies have been known to weigh 20 tubes (same brand, same model) before making a purchase. Aside from angering a bike shop employee, this practice can save you a few tenths of an ounce. Is the hassle worth it? To a true weight weenie it is. And weight reduction of the tire
and tube is a great place to reduce weight on your bike.
STRIP THE STRIPS
Scrap the rubber rim strips and replace them with rim tape from Velox or Maxxis. Cut the tape so there is no extra material. This may be the smallest weight savings in the wheel department, but
it is worth it because of the location where the weight is saved.
UNSTICK THE STICKERS
Frames, forks, stems, seatposts, rims, hubs, bars and even saddles come plastered with stickers. The stickers may be the brand name of the product or actual graphics (like racing stripes). They gotta go. Warm them with a hairdryer and peel them off. The racing stripes and logos peeled off a set of wheels can reduce the rotating weight by over half an ounce! Some bike companies apply a clear coat over the stickers on their frames. That’s a bummer because you won’t be able to
peel the stickers off and the clear coat adds vanity weight to your frame. That drives weight weenies crazy.
PAINT REMOVAL
That thick coat of paint on your frame is vanity weight. A true weight weenie will break a bike down to its frame, strip the paint off and then polish it. One 18-inch Cannondale 800 frame lost four ounces with the paint removal and polishing treatment. The frame weighed just over three pounds before the treatment. That’s a lot of work for four ounces—to everyone except a weight weenie.
FOAM AT THE HAND
Trash-can rubber grips in favor of foam grips. The weight savings can be as high as six ounces. Don’t like the feel of foam? A true weight weenie is willing to sacrifice comfort for lighter weight.
GO TO BED
Weigh the foot beds in your shoes and replace them with lighter beds, trim them, or, if the shoe is well-made, pull them out and ride without them.
TRIM THE WEIGHT
Cables and cable housing are sometimes too long. You can save ounces by trimming them to an adequate length. Your chain is another weight reduction target. Why pedal extra weight if you can remove a few links and still have a drivetrain that performs properly? One friend even removes the cable end caps and applies a few drops of Super Glue to keep the cables from unraveling.
QUICK TIPS
• Shorten the straps on your hydration pack.
• Use an old hydration pack bladder. They are lighter than the new ones.
• Remove water bottle cages.
• Remove bottle cage screws. Plug hole with a small amount of glue.
• Cut off any threads that protrude through a nut.
• Take the caps off the presta valves of your tubes.
• Cut off excess seatpost.
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