Originally Posted by RiddleOfSteel

Originally Posted by RiddleOfSteel

Fast forward some more and we have the additions of two more Specialized Ribcage II bottle cages joining the single one I had. Drops 75g over the silver Sunlites. I have long used the Ribcage cages to denote my top-flight bike, so it is more than fitting that a top-flight frame be given these. I picked up a used carbon seatpost (that actually weighs a little more than my old Trek alloy one...) as well as ported over the 3TTT stem and stem conversion from the Medici (for fit setup purposes). Carbon Zipp bars drop a ton of weight (not cheap, naturally) and eliminate a ton of road buzz. The tops angle back slightly a la Nitto Noodle, which I really like. The aforementioned used DT Swiss R23 Spline (what an ugly name!) wheelset buy drops another 300g out of the wheelset weight, and restores some springiness when accelerating and climbing out of the saddle. Tire width bumps to about 39.5mm on these 22.7mm wide (external) rims, edging closer to that nominal 700x42 size labeling. I switch to a 7g heavier but much more comfortable black/white Prologo Scratch Pro saddle as well. Lighter Brooks bar tape (vs the other black tapes I had to choose from), yes really! Changing from bar-ends to DT shifters netted another 159g drop.

So as it sits now, I'm at a hair under 23.5 lbs. Incredible! Yes, I am still a bit heavier than ctak's 24" '85 720, but that's to be expected with a larger and thicker gauge tubeset as a starting point. It's perfect for me, so I'm fine. Buying back my old Dura-Ace WH-7850s (C24 predecessor) would drop another 175g, and a full drivetrain change to a 2x10 (50/34 up front and 11-36 out back) could net me another 200g or more. Latex or light weight inner tubes? Another 70-80g. I know it seems silly to have a large touring bike that weighs closer to 10kg or under 23 lbs, but I'm up for it so long as I don't burn my wallet down (and sell off the other parts to offset the costs). 23.5 lbs feels good, and "light" when I pick it up. I love the aesthetic balance of a 3x10 setup, so I am happy to leave it for now. One step at a time for changes, you know?