aliasfox

I don't actually have any recommendations, as the one RideNow TPU tube that I bought hasn't yet been installed. That said, one of the ways they get the weight down is to use a plastic valve stem. No particular positive/negative views on that, just that it's different. One thing I've read about TPU is that they're better on the wheel, rather than as a spare, as the freezing CO2 temperatures could potentially crack the TPU plastic (or valve). They're much more likely to be inflated by a floor pump at home, which doesn't cause the same kind of stress.

I'm 5'10", and while I'm weight conscious when I'm selecting parts, but I'm not especially weight weenie. I was able to fluctuate between upper 170s and low 180s for a while, but any time I got too close to 170lbs, I'd invariably get sick. These days I'm floating in the mid 190s, and definitely need to lay off the pie once the holidays are done.

I'd be happy to be able to hold 170-175!

Jrasero

I ride RideNow Ultralights and I can confirm doesn't use CO2, mostly because they use plastic valves. I got one of those micro electric pumps that fit into your saddlebag or back pocket, but a handpump would work fine too

aliasfox

Today I learned that there are micro electric pumps that take up about as much space as a tube. Neat.

Camilo

Sorry, I missed where you listed all the specific the parts on your bike, definitely missed the wheels. I was making a generic comment. But in general, I stick to the comment that it often is not a good "bang for buck" to go to CF wheels compared to nice alloy ones (which you say you already have... but I didn't catch the weight. Also, in general, if a person is serious about getting to a goal weight (BTDT), they would look at the group that is lightest that fits their budget. There might be lighter options than Ultegra since you're looking at investing in a lighter overall bike. No offense intended.

ridethecliche

Yeah, that's totally true re being lighter groupsets. I picked this bike up used with an ultegra groupset so I think that's what will stay. It's not a no expense spared weenie build since I'd have started with a totally different frameset if doing that, likely an older rim brake supersix evo hi mod or the like. I've actually debated picking up one of those framesets and moving parts over from the CAAD13 and selling the frameset. The stack on the supersix is a bit too low for me but I think I can make it work with some bars I like that have a slight rise to them.

Besides, the PO of this caad13 cut the steerer way too short. He apparently worked at a shop and I believe he did it incorrectly as well so that ends with my having much less steerer than I'd anticipated having. Womp.

Camilo

I have a friend, an "active senior" like myself who is a life long rider and former racer. His back became creakier the past few years. He has a Super 6 which he finally decided just didn't have enough stack for his current riding. So, he bit the bullet, and got a higer angled stem. It hurt his pride and caused some personal embarrassment (in his own mind, probably not from any of the folks we ride with). But he soon forgot it when he realized it didn't slow him down and made the bike much more comfortable.

Me? I had a CAAD 7 or 8 frame with Ultegra back in the day and loved the frame, state of the art for aluminum frames and of course the group worked flawlessly. The fit was never great as I got older, even though the steerer wasn't cut so I could max out the spacers under the stem. So I decided to get a frame that was both lighter weight and also had a taller head tube - a Felt CF Z frameset (many other similar options). Probably could have gotten the same with an angled stem, although the Z also has a slightly longer wheel base which I like for my riding. I've used it as the benchmark for selecting and equipping three more frames since. But, in terms of weight, I'll have to say, that old aluminum CAAD frameset with a CF fork wasn't an anchor by any means, I'll assume it's still the case with CAAD frames. Plus, I personally never felt the aluminum ride was inherently harsher in any meaningful way than my CF, steel or titanium frames - other than what can be accounted for by geometry and tires. I bet I only saved less than 1/2 pound, maybe 1/4 (<300 gm?) pound going to the CF frame with a similar fork. More weight can probably be saved nowadays. Back then, a 1,000 gm frame was pretty good.

Since I was building it up from the frame with mostly closeout and some lightly used parts, I went with Sram Red (10 speed rim brake era). I then found that, for me, the ergonomics of the Sram shifting worked better for me personally, so it was a double benefit - a few ounces of weight and more comfortable hoods and shifting. I've stuck with Sram since because of the ergonomics, not the weight. Again, minor stuff, a few ounces here and there, but for similar cost of some components, you can save those ounces without breaking the bank. Did the same with pedals (Time) bars, seat post, stem, tires and tubes, even bottle cages, again bargain hunting along the way. I have been very fortunate to find my favorite saddle (E3 Form, AKA Kontact) which works for me but is also decently light. A weight weenie hobby at the time; it was fun but irrelevant for "performance" and I got it out of my system.

ridethecliche

Lighting was hard for the pictures but here it is!

Longest ride on this thing so far at 60 miles. It felt really really good to the point that I'm really surprised.

The fit is very aggressive for me since the PO cut off way too much steerer but I'm making do in spite of that. I have some Ritchey bars coming that have a bit of rise to them so that should help, though I'm tempted to just keep these ones on since they're a bit lighter 🙃

ridethecliche

Got a reasonable scale.

Current weight is 17.9 lbs with pedals, cages, and mounts. I'd love to get it down to the 16s.

So far I have TPU tubes ordered but the carbon wheels I have are actually heavier than my light weight alloys though they're much more aero at 50mm.

I have a lighter stem on hand and I'm still considering the bontrager light weight direct mount brakes since that's another like 100g compared to my ultegra ones.

​​​I could put the TPU tubes in the alloy wheels as well since Im currently running heavy butyl tubes.

I think all that might shed most of a pound right?
Tubes, brakes, and stem.

Tires are all gp5k 28s.
​
How much lighter are the bonty speed stop pro brakes than the r8000 direct mounts anyway?

aliasfox

Unless your current stem is really heavy and your new stem is really light, I wouldn't expect there to be more than 10-15g between them.

TPU tubes should definitely help to the tune of 100g a piece (unless you're already running Continental Race Lights, in which case you'll likely only save ~50-60g a piece). Just be aware that TPU is perhaps a bit more sensitive to heat than butyl - the plastic valves aren't happy with CO2, so I'd avoid using one as a spare if you intend to fill with CO2. Also, supposedly they're not very happy with heat either, so if this bike has any long bombing runs in its future (say, 3mi @ -7% or bigger?), may want to switch back to butyl for those.

This will likely impact performance, but you could probably get some skinny time trial oriented tires which might trim 30g a piece from the GP5k. Don't expect them to last long though, neither from a tread nor a puncture resistance perspective.

Your bar is wrapped all the way to the tops. If you don't ride on the bar-tops, inboard of the hoods, you can trim off that bit.

It might make sense to keep the carbon wheels, GP5k, and butyl tubes for a more 'all purpose' configuration, and swap that out for the shallow alloys, TPU, and super light tires for weight weenie/hill climb.

ridethecliche

Ended up buying the bonty brakes.

At some point I'll install them and the TPU tubes and recheck weight to see where I'm at. I think I should be right around the 16.9 ish pound range.

I'd love to get even lower but 16s is the goal and it really feels silly to spend much more money on a rim brake bike.

ridethecliche

Just weighed the ultegra direct mount brakes vs the bontrager speed stop pro.

Bonty brakes weigh about 150g less with pads.

​​​​​​I bought a cadex saddle I wanted to try that should cut off another approximately 80-100 grams from my current saddle.

I also have a new stem and bars that should also reduce weight by about 100 grams together. I'm a bit worried about this part since my current bars have a bit of rise to them since the steerer is cut short. The aero bars don't have that.

All together that should be about a lb. And I might wait to get a final weight before swapping the bars over because fit is kinda important 🙃

I think the heavier carbon wheels with the tpu tubes are likely about 100-150g lighter than what I have on the bike now... But as someone suggested, I might try to swap the tubes on my lighter alloy wheels to the TPU to make the target weight... If that happens, I might honestly consider just selling the carbon rim brake wheels and waiting for something much lighter in carbon to pop up.

In any event... The quest to 16.x lbs is underway!

This bike is probably going to be my go fast bike for a while. I love new aero disc brake bikes but I ride on the trainer a lot and have a heavier disc road bike for outside rides. The entire point of this bike build is to have a light bike with aero nods for the good weather go fast rides!

base2 

The big danger of doing the weight-weenie drug is the next fix is always a lighter component and it's only a few dollars more. Only then will the bike be light enough.

Here are a few things I've picked up along the way:
Hunt has 1300 gram rim brake wheels.
Darimo has the seatpost you need.
Ax-Lightness has your next saddle and handlebars.
Extralite has hubs, chainrings, stem, headset.
Edco has monoblock cassettes.
YBN has a beautiful titanium chain.
THM has 120 gram brake set and a 300 gram crank set.

All this is nice stuff and none of it is unreasonably priced if you are laser focused on a goal and patient enough to save discretionary income over a long enough time period. But honestly, 16 pounds is a respectable weight.

I offer you kudos to your efforts.

ridethecliche

I honestly don't trust half those parts. If I was building a weenie disc bike then maybe, but I honestly don't see most of that stuff happening. If my weight goals are much better met and served with my current rim brake wheels then I'd consider selling the carbon clinchers. I think the Al wheels I have set up the same way as the carbon clinchers would likely be 150-200 grams lighter. Nothing to really scoff at... Though I really don't know if I want to use TPU tubes on daily wheels!

The price for all the parts you listed would have bought me a really nice disc brake bike. I'm keeping my steel disc brake bike reasonable with a goal weight of sub 20lbs (which might actually be hard) and the caad13 is going to be the reasonable weenie. Besides, a light used carbon frame would have been a better starter at a similar price.

I swear I'm trying to be content with all this for a fair bit. I'll probably be able to afford a much nicer bike soon but the caad13 has really impressed me and I didn't feel like dealing with the weight penalty of disc for my fast bike given what I want to spend.

If anything, I should sell the steel disc frame im building and get something better. The only reason I'm not doing that is because I want to pull that steel bike into commuter duty once I buy a better disc brake bike. The frame is a Genesis equilibrium. Should be a cool build honestly. I just wish that the fork was full carbon since that would be a fair bit lighter!

ridethecliche

Honestly, what would probably make sense longer term if I keep this is to find better bb30 cranks and a different power meter solution than the Shimano stages/4iiii I use.

But I also like reliability which is why I swapped to a thread together bb with Shimano cranks!

base2 

Trust is a funny thing. When it comes to weight-weenie or niche, specialty components specifically, I'm inclined to trust any EU component made moreso than an Asian equivalent simply because I believe they have robust regulatory controls and enforcement that is likely to drive honest business behaviour and acceptable risk averse safety margins. The EU is an expensive place to do business. In my mind that means a product/company must be compellingly "better" in it's specialty to survive because of how the global playing field is tilted. The term "integrity" comes to mind.

That is not to say that I have any problem with Asian made components whatsoever. It's just that when it comes to the bleeding edge of what is possible, Europe has the generations of school education to make experienced engineers and the capital to invest in new tooling and the worker wages to ensure a part is made correct. I believe the cost of getting it "wrong" in EU, especially in the research, development and prototyping to be much higher than Asia ergo the parts must be "better" or else there is no case to make an original in the first place. To illustrate my intent: Great Britain based Absolute Black with Poland manufactured oval chainrings v/s Amazonian based Chinesium knock-offs, for example. For me, I'll choose the original over the copy.

That being said, there are lots of interesting Asian companies who are becoming really good at what they do. LightPro, KCNC spring immediately to mind. Real competition is a great thing.

All the stuff I listed is suitable for a rim brake bike because you have a rim brake bike. I just listed it for consideration. I've been working on acquiring this stuff for years and years and years. I've bought all of that stuff many times over for a few grams here & a few grams there. Boxes of seatposts and handlebars litter my garage. I gave you a shortcut to the top of the mountain.

There is no reason the 1300 gram Hunt's couldn't be set up with the same TPU tubes, for example. The question there though is why? Tubeless just isn't prone to punctures and 35 grams of sealant weighs the same as 35 grams of tube...and still has better rolling resistance.

The price of just the THM crank set alone would've bought a really nice bike. But, yeah. A carbon frame would've been a better starting point. In all honesty though frame weight merely sets the handicap for the game. My Rodriguez steel disc is 16 pounds 3 ounces with fresh sealant. The total cost was $14k A similarly equipped Specialized Aethos would've come out a full kilo lighter. But my goal was never to have the lightest bike possible. My goal was to have the lightest steel disc tubeless bike I could come up with. I think the thing here is to clearly define your goals from the outset. Really decide on what it is exactly that you want to do.

This is the drug I am talking about. I still fantasize about how my Rodriguez or my Cervelo could be lighter or changed in someway every time I ride it even though I know no lighter component exists on the market save a single gram here or there. There is no recovery other than to just be satisfied with the end result. That's a you (me) thing, not a bike thing.

Horses for courses. I have a Dutch style commuter. Also a continent crossing all-road touring. A Monster-Cross drop bar mountain bike. As well as others. If anything, cool components on a commuter with no brand caché would be a lesser theft target. My wife has a full 6800 Ultrgra 1972 Schwinn Varsity with Hed Belgium rims. People see the tall oval white/black Schwinn Head badge & keep on walkin'. There is no wrong way to do bikes.

ridethecliche

I should clarify...

When I say that I don't trust them I mean I don't trust them to last. Not because the cranks will fall but because things like weenie chain rings and cassettes wear out way faster. The caad13 is likely going to spend a lot of time on a trainer, which is another reason I'm probably not going to go tubeless even though my carbon rims are tubeless.

The steel disc bike will be what I ride outside primarily. Those tires, as well as the ones on my gravel bike, are already set up tubeless. Which reminds me that I need to deal with them soon since I haven't ridden either of the wheels much over the winter. Ugh. The one draw back of tubeless haha.

Robert A

CAAD12 owner here. I don't know the difference in the frame weights with the CAAD13, but mine weighs about 16-1/2 pounds with pedals (Sppedpay). It's an Ultegra 11sp mechanical build with upgraded aluminum wheels that weigh a little under 1500 grams. If you can still get Ultegra 11sp mech, it's a lovely system, reliable and the shifting is smooth.

ridethecliche

Mine is also ultegra 11 speed mech.

Are you running a bb30 cannondale crank? I swapped to Shimano with a thread together token bb which likely added some weight as well.

I'm curious what the weight penalty was switching to the Shimano cranks and token bb. I had the cannondale one crank so I think it was probably a net even swap since they're pretty heavy to begin with.

Robert A

I have the original Hollogram Spridering crank and chainrings with the BB30a bottom bracket. I think that setup saves a bit of weight.

ridethecliche

Is yours the cannondale one version or a better one?

Robert A

There is a higher level setup than mine, but mine is described as follows:

Cannondale HollowGram Si, BB30a w/ OPI SpideRing

I think the top of the line has the SiSl cranks, but I don't know what else.

ridethecliche

Ah yes, mine came with the one even lower down than that one. Ugh.

If I can find a good used bb30 setup in the future I'll consider it. I'm guessing your crankset including the bb is probably half a pound lighter than mine!