Upgrade / Weight Saving Tips wanted

jShort

2018 Fantasy Football Toilet Bowl Lead Technician
Team MTBNJ Halter's
So I just got into riding. I'm digging it big time. I make it out 3- 4 times a week and would go more if it weren't for the damn rain..
Anyway, I have an Trek Fuel Ex 6.

Its not exactly a featherweight though.

After a little research Ive found the most common upgrades to save a few pounds include tires, seat/post, and pedals.

Any other suggestions? Or recommendations about the above listed components?
 

walter

Fourth Party
What kinda loot are you looking to spend? Do you want to drop alot of cash or just some small change? I ask because sometimes its cheaper in the long run to buy a new bike rather than dumping a boat load into a current bike.

If your looking for some basic upgrades to get you by, then yes tires, post, stem, bars, cassette could help a bit.
 
F

FallGirl1430

Guest
Weights ...

Tommy and I have gone to extremes to save a few grams. We actually had a weight wennie war going between us. My Epic full suspension weighs in at 25.4 lbs. This bike was bulit from the ground up. My Epic is full XTR, but for the money XT, I think is a better choice. Tommy's Giant Anthem weighs 24.8 lbs, the shop just gave him a new set of Specialized Roval wheel set, which got him under 25 lbs. Light weight tubes will also save grams. The XTR cassettes is one of lightest out there, check out www. extralight.com, they have expensive goodies but fun to visit. Our Hardtail bikes are in the 21.5 to 22.0 lb range. I see some riders with a light weight bikes, but yet they have a suitcase of stuff in their bag under the saddle.

Christina ... :)
 

warcricket

Like a Jerk
up until three weeks ago i was riding a 45 pound bike up hills; makes you stronger. weight weenieing is expensive...
 

NJ-XC-Justin

KY-DH-Freddy
"a few pounds" will cost serious money. but lets say your current wheelset is fairly low-to-mid-end OEM set, so probably around 2100-2200 grams. you could snag an FSA XC-300 wheelset for around $300 which are under 1800 grams, and then go tubeless with lighter sub-400g tires and therefore you've dropped around a pound from your wheels, which is the best place to lose weight (outside of your ass).

i was going to say a good crankset would save a good number of grams but cost a pretty penny but then I found the raceface deus for a steal here:
http://www.treefortbikes.com/93_333222337271__Deus-Crankset-2008.html
if you haven't gone clipless, now's the time.
 

hardtale70

She's Gone From Suck to Blow
Shop Keep
The Fuel isn't the best platform to going throwin $ at to lighten. Anything that NEEDS to be replaced due to wear or something like a seat that can be put on another bike are good starting points. Worry about building fitness and lowering your personal bodyweight first(unless u already got the heroin addict look goin on)and always remember that the XTR line exists solely to seperate fools from their money.
 

MST.ESQ

New Member
...the XTR line exists solely to seperate fools from their money.

Is there any real difference between Deore XT and XTR other then weight? I am currently shopping around and the same bike with Deore XT v. XTR can be $3,500 v. $5,000. The way I bash my cranks on rocks, if the Deore XT is more durable at only slightly more weight it seems that my mind is made up and that I should shed weight by making small upgrades to tires, seatpost, etc as I go along!
 

hardtale70

She's Gone From Suck to Blow
Shop Keep
Is there any real difference between Deore XT and XTR other then weight? I am currently shopping around and the same bike with Deore XT v. XTR can be $3,500 v. $5,000. The way I bash my cranks on rocks, if the Deore XT is more durable at only slightly more weight it seems that my mind is made up and that I should shed weight by making small upgrades to tires, seatpost, etc as I go along!

For most of the last 13 yrs I've been able to pick up a QBP catalog and get anything i want at cost and i do not ride XTR. If you are an uber weight/tech weenie w/ an endless pot of cash go for it. You'll notice having $1500 extra way more than you'll ever notice any performance gain.The stuffs good, just not that good.
 

stb222

Love Drunk
Jerk Squad
XT is now being geared towards All MTN / Trail and XTR will be less durable. I ride an XT drivetrain and love it. Go XT.
 

cyclocrossfool

New Member
at least you noted "fool" in your screen name.:D

i was pointing out to the starter of this thread and to the others who wrote in this thread that i thought in my personal op. that XTR is a great group. one that shouldnt be overlooked because of its high price or your riding ability . to call be a fool is a personal attack. you want to roll on the ground a while, thats fine by me. we can lace em'up or whatever you choose.
 

stb222

Love Drunk
Jerk Squad
. to call be a fool is a personal attack..

I was using the ":D" to show that it was in jest. Calm down, it just seems silly to me to suggest any XTR as an intial upgrade to the stock bike mentioned. So in an attempt to not derail this thread completely.

XT will give you more bang for your buck. If you are looking to upgrade and have a set budget, XT will be a good option as you can upgrade more things for the money and they will be more durable. While XTR is no doubt an excellent group, you will be spending alot of $$$ for one part. If have an unlimited budget, go for XTR.

The biggest difference, as others have noted, will be in a good wheelset. You will notice the stiffness right away and keep in mind that rotational weight is one of a bikes biggest enemies, so losing weight in the wheels will make a huge difference.
 

bonefishjake

Strong like bull, smart like tractor
Team MTBNJ Halter's
take it easy tommy, that's why we have little emotionthingys. b/c teh interweb sucks with da inflexshun. :D see, smiley, joke. haha. anywhoo..

buy what you can when you can. wheels are great b/c they can travel from bike to bike. until carbon wheelsets come WAY down in price, the grams to cost ratio just ain't worth it. one could argue the same for XTR v. XT. when i actually had disposable income that could go towards bikes and not house/wife/kids, and could buy XTR i didn't. why? i wasn't racing, didn't need to save the grams and cost/benefit just wasn't there for me. i found the XT stuff to be just peachy and my LBS steered me away from it. again, the cost.

if you want to get all glitzy, buy a bunch of carbon stuff and call it a day. or spend your money on crack. whatever. :D
 
F

FallGirl1430

Guest
Getting out of control ...

The original posting was ... "saving weight"
I feel that if one has the money XTR componets are superior over anything else on the market at this time. The durability and smoothness of operation is top notch. My favorite component on my full XTR Epic are the brakes. The ergo's of the levers have a perfect bend and are super smooth. The shifting with XTR is more fluid than the X0 by Sram (I had full Sram and junked it for XTR). The weight savings from XT to XTR was considerable. XTR will cost almost 2/3 more than XT. Now for my ability level do I really need XTR? Hell NO! But when I can get XTR for less than what most will pay for XT
(cost plus employee discount, thank you honey) :D why not go for the best. XTR is National Pro level components, XT Expert/sport, LX beginner.
One member had written ... Save your money, get in shape and loose the belly, for me that makes the most sense.

Christina ... :)
 

MST.ESQ

New Member
The biggest difference, as others have noted, will be in a good wheelset. You will notice the stiffness right away and keep in mind that rotational weight is one of a bikes biggest enemies, so losing weight in the wheels will make a huge difference.

Yes. From what I read everywhere from these forums to the bike mags is that a strong but light wheelset is very important. This must be why Pivot Cycles offers a "wheelset upgrade" in its XT build offering. It would be nice if other manufacturers also offered an upgrade option for wheels with XT builds. Though I don't think it is worth 1,500 clams (at least for me personally) to go with XTR for a trail/all mtn bike (though Cyclocrossfool, I do have to admit a nagging temptation to go top-o-the-line like you suggest), I would probably put down a few extra clams for a wheelset upgrade instead of feeling guilty about pulling apart a set that I just paid for with the new bike:(!

Now, if just everyone on this forum would meet me at the trailhead on Saturday to let me demo all of the bike options out there:hmmm:
 
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