biketampa

I have a 2017 Raleight Tamland 1. The changes I've made to it have been adding a redshift sports shockstop stem, a shimano 105 crankset (as I had a left-arm stages PM for the 105), and recently upgraded the wheels which are much lighter than the stock wheels. The wheels obviously made the largest weight savings. At this point, without spending a bunch of money I don't see how I could reduce the weight that much any more. I could upgrade the groupset, add carbon fiber handlebars, and swap out the pedals for eggbeaters. all that would save me a bit. The groupset upgrade is probably more than I want to spend. anything I'm missing? I like the bike. it's a bit heavy but it's a nice ride.

tdilf

I would guess that the frame is not light. Maybe look at cranks.

DrIsotope

The easiest and cheapest method is to just not worry about it. You could spend a couple hundred bucks to drop a pound off the bike, and honestly never notice a difference. In my experience, a bike doesn't start to get unwieldy until it's north of 30lbs.

Weight weenies are usually okay with $1 per gram of reduction, and as someone who once upon a time worried about bike weight, you usually end up lightening your wallet more than the actual bike.

Not to sound like a typical N+1 guy, but If you want a lighter bike, buy a lighter bike. I have two bikes that are ~7lbs apart. The lighter one is a little easier to ride faster. But I ride the heavy one more often-- almost twice as often. Weight isn't everything.

shoota 

I went weight weenie on a Tamland (like I weighed EVERY single piece). It was fine but it's just not a lightweight bike, and never will be.

mstateglfr 

- That Redshift stem would be an easy place to cut weight. A 100mm Redshift weighs 274g and costs $150, while an Uno7 UL stem costs $26 and weighs 108g. It doesnt have that elastomer suspension/absorbtion tech though. Anyways, thats where you could drop almost 6oz.

- Tires are another place where noticeable weight can be cut. There is a wide range of weight for similar sized/style gravel tires, and the lighter dont necessarily offer less realized protection. Popular tires vary in weight, even in comparable size. Conti Terra Speed 40mm is 420g, WTB Resolute 42mm is 460g, Vittoria Terrero Dry 40mm is 490g, Panaracer GravelKink SK 43mm is 497g, and Donnelly MSO 40mm is 532g. These are 5 popular quality gravel tires that are all tubeless ready and vary in weight by 110g.
Going from MSOs to Resolutes will save a combined 5oz and give you tires that are about 3mm wider. And they cost half as much as the MSO tires.

- A full carbon fork would drop some weight since the stock fork has an aluminum steerer. Not cheap though.




As for where I would cut weight on my bike- I just built a new one a couple months ago, so I dont think I would really cut weight anywhere since what I chose was what I wanted within the cost I wanted. Most was reused from my old gravel bike.
- I could cut 100g if i bought a new crank(currently a Shimano CX50 with 46/34 rings), but I dont want to spend the money. Though if I got a smaller crank ratio like 46/30, that would weigh less and I could get a slightly smaller cassette which would drop a few grams too. But thats chasing grams for too much $ for me.
- My frame is where obvious weight could be cut, but I would need a different frame entirely and dont want that. The current one is 853 main tubes and shaped 4130 stays. It isnt the lightest, but its really well finished and half brazed which I like. So the biggest place to drop weight is a place I am not interested in dropping weight.
- My saddle is a Brooks C17 and that is anything but lightweight. No interest in changing there either since comfort is more important than weight for a saddle to me. If I ever find an alternative saddle that feels the same over 50mi of gravel and either weighs or costs less, I will for sure buy it.





My two examples on where to cut weight on your bike would save 11oz and also save you $185. It isnt often that you can save weight AND money! Slap on 3mm wider tires, run em at 5psi lower pressure, and there is the increased comfort to offset the lack of elastomer stem.

chas58

Gotta agree with Isotope.

just for education, here is how to get your bike down to 17.4lbs.
(Spoiler - He started with your frame, but in carbon).
https://gravelcyclist.com/training-r...n-gravel-bike/

rando_couche

Often you can save upwards of a pound on rotating weight by upgrading your wheels and tires without spending a fortune. Can't speak for anyone else, but I REALLY notice reduced rotating weight. And a pound off the wheels and tires is huge!

shoota 

He already did that.

Rje58

I would look to cut weight directly above the saddle - unless that part is already anorexic or malnourished.

biketampa

ha! true. I'm sure by fast guy cycling standards I could lose a few lbs. I'm 6' 2" just a bit under 170lbs which is sort of where I'm comfortable.

biketampa

definitely agree. it is what it is. can try to cut elsewhere but that frame itself is obviously not light

biketampa

thanks. that is helpful. I hadn't thought of some of those things.

Metieval

I would buy a different bike, before upgrading the components on that one!

rando_couche

I hate you. I'm 1" taller and 30lb heavier, and seem to be stuck there.

rando_couche

D'oh! That's what I get for reading BF when I'm supposed to be working!

biketampa

lol I've heard that before. Honestly a large part of it is genetics for me. don't get me wrong. I work to stay at this weight but even if I didn't do triathlons and bike a lot it would take me longer than most to gain that weight back. but in the endurance sport world there are a lot of people our height that are much lighter than I am.

Metieval

get a lighter bike, you won't work as hard and then you'll gain weight.

biketampa

it's a thought for sure. anything I buy I keep in mind the idea of transferring over to a new frameset. the wheels and saddle are ones I'd be happy transferring over. The crankset didn't cost much. I could always buy a Lynskey gravel bike on sale or buy a lauf true grit frame + fork and transfer most others over. not for maybe another year or so though. If I bought a new gravel bike I might switch over to a 1x setup though.

Metieval

This post might just push me over the edge on a Bikesdirect 1x bike. It's an inexpensive way to try out grx1x for not a huge investment. In which Wolftooth already has chainrings out for the GRX cranks now. Up to a 46t

biketampa

I don't disagree with you. I was fine buying a new set of wheels that I like and were a reasonable price. But the tamland frameset is steel and fairly heavy. the stock wheels were heavy so I replaced those. in theory that will save me ~1.5 lbs. I'll have to see once I put them on and weigh the bike if it ends up being that much. all else is small potatoes.

shoota 

I got mine down to 22lbs. Curious to see where you land.

csrpenfab

My Niner is right under 20lbs and I don't obsess over the weight. I'm cycling for excercise, so dropping 50 grams here and there means nothing. I have a buddy who obsesses over grams and it cracks me up. Ride the damn bike! Heck, I have two strong cups of coffee and a big bowl of steel cut oats an hour before I ride, and if I time it right I drop about 5 lbs right before I leave!

biketampa

If my bike was 20 lbs, I wouldn’t worry about it. My bike is 26+ lbs. So it’s a noticeable weight difference between my gravel bike and road bike.

Koyote

I'm the same height, and I can get down to the low 160s during racing season, but it's tough. And I think I am actually a bit stronger and faster in the high 160s.

If you like the bike, and you are comfortable on it, don't sweat its weight.