Yonaise

Hello everyone. Newbie here, just wanted to get some suggestions on taking some wieght off the new, used, Fuji Absolute that I just bought. Really, it's my first road bike and I'm using it primarily for commuting. I bought it on craigslist for $40, have pretty well restored it from the rough condition it was in, and would now like to start upgrading it. I'm really growing pretty fond of it... so, if I'm going to keep it, and not just turn it around, where should I start to make this bike lighter? I know it's not exaclty top of the line, so maybe your advice would be to sell it and get a different bike that's lighter to start with? Or, new wheels seem like the obvious choice, but I'm just not very sure. Links to the original specs and some pics of my own below. Any advice is appreciated.

https://classicfuji.com/1987_20_Absol...Mixte_Page.htm

https://www2.snapfish.com/slideshow/A..._NAME=snapfish

https://www2.snapfish.com/slideshow/A..._NAME=snapfish


Thanks!!

GTPowers

None of your links work.

weavers

your links don't work. so why do you want to shave weight off? is it to go faster? how much does the bike weight? 25, +35lbs. an old steelie is hard to get under 25pounds on the cheap. anyways you can upgrade your wheels, try to get some 700c under 1500grams like williams 19 and get slick tires to go with that, might be able to save from 1-3pounds. next change your crank you can drop a pound or two there, imo go compact 50/34. next is your saddle some stock sadles weight almost 2pounds, you can get a decent saddle under 250grams(~1/2lbs). next make sure the stem and handlebars are alloy and not steel. lastly your fork. replace it with a carbon fiber fork, and you can get them as 1inch threadless that can save 1-3pounds. only other places to save weight would be upgrading the drivetrain and there isn't much in that.

light weight will help you climb and get up a sprint faster. but its very costly. if you want a sub 17lbs bike spend another 2grand on a new carbon fiber bike. honestly just replace things that break or you find uncomfertable like the saddle, wheels/tires and stem.

MNBiker

For me, the cheapest and perhaps best option would be for me to lose five pounds off my own bodyweight (the engine). That's what I am working on right now.

Yonaise

Well, as far as the practical reasons... I do climb a few flights of stairs carrying my bike and, I suppose, faster would be better. Those may not be the best excuses for a commuter, so to be honest, it's really about the fun of upgrading and working on the bike. It weighs in at 29 lbs now... It sounds it may not be worthwhile...

Yonaise

That also sounds like it would be the least fun of the upgrades ... btw, I'll repost the links later today.

bikegeek57

actually loosing the weight was fun. ride more loose more. ;-)

Yonaise

Well, when you put it like that... but the whole 'watching what you eat' isn't for me.

https://classicfuji.com/1987_20_Absol...Mixte_Page.htm

https://www2.snapfish.com/viewsharedp...074CF734AF5E01

lambo_vt

Looking at the specs, I'd first replace the handlebars, seat post, and saddle - those all seem to be steel. Maybe tires, but I personally wouldn't bother with the wheels (if they're in good shape) as they're supposedly aluminum. If you can swing it, you'd probably shave off quite a bit changing the fork to something carbon, but that wouldn't be as cheap.

Yonaise

Yeah, I don't quite understand the deal with the 'alloy center' handlebars...? Just to prove my lack of bike knowledge... Isn't it just a pipe?

lambo_vt

I don't know a lot about older bikes... but just from the description it makes me think they're steel with an aluminum portion in the middle. Not sure why they'd do that; maybe bending aluminum tubes wasn't so advanced back then.

TheatreME

29 lbs is not light for a bike by any means, but it looks like you have a decent commuter platform. I would just replace components to make it an ideal commuting machine versus upgrading for weight alone. If you just want to play, then change out handlebar types, or experiment with shifter placement, add a rear rack to haul stuff etc etc.

if weight is the goal though and the terrain is not terribly hilly, then why not try a SS/fixie. That made my old Falcon San Remo a practical featherweight comparatively...that is until I added a U lock mount

sonatageek

If it were mine, and I wanted to take the weight down a little, I would swap out the seat post and bars. I upgraded and old Fuji that had a lot more steel than yours (cranks/bars/seat post/wheels) and changed all of that out for alloy stuff from my parts bin, and the bike was noticible lighter.

Carrying a heavy bike up stairs is really a drag and a lot more noticeable than when you are rolling down the road.

Mr IGH

Swapping out non-rotating parts isn't going to be very noticiable while riding (or even hauling the bike up stairs). I'd spend the money on a set of lights or a nice rack/panniers for commuting. New bars/levers? New saddle?

Falkon 

The most noticeable change you can make will be to the wheels. Switching from steel to aluminum wheels will make a huge difference.

noglider 

You get the most bang for your buck by upgrading your tires. It's not very expensive, and it makes a huge difference in how the bike rides.

I would not put any money into making the bike lighter in any other way. My commuter bike is heavy, and it doesn't matter, to me, anyway.

Torrilin

It's already lighter than my bike. Mine's 35lbs, and if I carry it correctly I have little trouble with stairs. I'd suggest seeing if you can shoulder the bike using a grip on the downtube near the bottom bracket joint.

It's also geared considerably higher. I'm running about 30-85 gear inches, which is fine given how flat Madison is. Yours goes from about 40-100 gear inches, so it's *much* harder to tackle hills, and using the bike for groceries would be pretty awkward. So even tho my bike really *is* heavier, I'll have an easier time on hills than you do. Probably the biggest bang for buck upgrade is getting a more appropriate compact double or triple crank, so the gearing isn't so stupidly tall. It looks like the stock front derailler handles 10-12 tooth jumps, so going to a 44/34 crank would get you geared more like me. If the stock crank has the right kind of design and the front derailler can handle triples, you can just add a 30 tooth chainring. Dirt cheap, and gets you a lot lower gearing.

A lighter bike is a help on stairs, but it's not a huge deal for hills.

lambo_vt

Huh? I basically notice every extra pound I'm carrying when climbing. My road bike weighs 10 lb less than my commuter and is geared much higher, yet climbs much much easier.

Don't get me wrong, I can climb (slowly) with either, but the weight difference is in fact a huge deal on hills.

Yonaise

Well, I'm not too concerned with hills at the moment, I'm handling them fine with few gear changes... really, Minneapolis tends to be fairly flat, at least where I'll be zippin around. And, I can carry it fine, yes, with a grip above the BB... but, lighter would be nice. To be honest, I'm starting to think more along the line of TheatreME. Maybe not an SS (and I'm not interested in a fixie), but what would be wrong with losing a few gears? (Here's where I prove my Junior Member-ness)Maybe dropping five of the six off the back and having a 2sp. As long as I can get the gearing comfortable for me on the few hills I do have to tackle, and can work out the chain line...? Is that ridiculous and out of the question? I put a new saddle on last night (my old Selle saddle), and will be getting a rear rack soon

lambo_vt

You'd still need to run two derailleurs (or at least a front der and a chain tensioner or something), so I'd personally stick with what's on there already. You could single-speed it if you want though and lose both derailleurs if you've got horizontal dropouts.

Like I said, I'd either swap out the cheap steel components for cheap aluminum or leave it alone entirely.

Yonaise

Myeah, I figured chain tensioner, with the whole SS spacer gig... and there are horizontal dropouts. I had this nagging feeling that there must be something more complicated about it than that though. But, I think you're right, for now I'll probably start swapping out components and see where that gets me.

khamel74

Wow, I think you have my teenage bike... I sold this on CL about 3-4years back in MPLS for $25, and it just keeps gathering value. Sold it since it was too small for me now, but always thought it'd be a good bike for someone. With the dropouts, I figured that it had to be a SS/FG by now, but I guess not yet. I hope you enjoy...

Yonaise

Well, it's a small small world, huh? I bought it from a guy who was selling it out of his display studio for a couple of gals. He didn't seem to really want to sell it to me, and it had a sticker on the stem that said $50... but, ya know, he posted it on CL for $40, so here I am... thanks for taking such good care of it, I guess, if it was yours and all. Any recollection what you bought it for?

khamel74

I think i got it for $200-$300 back in 1987, which of course is like $400-$500 in today's dollars... Mostly just cruised around the neighborhood back down in Prior Lake.

I had forgot about the seat cover that came with it - that blue/white spandex thing...

lucid378

Glad to have found this thread! I just bought a Fuji Absolute on CL a couple of weeks ago (looks like an '88 from classicfuji.com). I've never owned a road bike before and wanted one to take advantage of trails around where I live on my days off... but I've been growing more excited to work on the bike as a project. It's pretty heavy and I had thought to swap some things out to lighten it up, but didn't know where to start (not to mention replacing some components that have obviously seen better days). It sounds like the seat is a good easy place to start. Also, the wheels? I'm assuming it's an angular momentum sort of thing to lighten up the rotating components? I have access to a nice new bike that went through an accident, so I'm looking to scavenge off of that. I'm not trying to spend too much for this, so if I had to decide between upgrading wheels or a fork and handlebar (carbon), what would to suggest??