So I got some e-bay specials and some parts from Bike Authority like the Cannondale Fire stem to lighten my CSK cross bike. What???? An OEM stem thats Weight Weenie?? Yup-the Dale stems are 117 grams on a 110mm and 135 grams on the 120 version I use and cheap. I picked up a new Easton EA70 42cm bar for $28 last week too. About 235 grams, so not too light, but still 30 grams less then what i took off and a better fit for my hands as well. I took off the heavy left Ultegra brifter (circa 1992) and replaced it with a 105 brake lever (circa 1990??). Saved almost an ounce just from replacing the aluminum headset spacers with carbon fiber ones too!! So for a modest expenditure I lost around 200 grams all in the bars!!
Next I will cut the steerer to length (but not till a few more races to make sure I dont want to make some changes). The seat post has at least 6" of post inside the frame so theres 30 or 40 grams to lose there too (like how I bounce from metric to english??). I still sometimes say my months in french too!?!?!??!
Now onto what should matter the most, rotating mass!! I am running Micheline Muds which I am lead to believe are the shit and I have no reason to doubt it, but they are 380 to 400 gram tires. Oink. There are some tires that have aggressive, deep and wide spaced blocks at 280 grams. But they are easily punctured as a loss in weight has to come from somewhere!! So race day only tires!! Now I am also researching converting to Stans No Tube with the goo. My calculations show a theoretical weight savings if I do lighter tires, no tubes and Stans of about 400 grams!! But the great thing is the weight savings is just the frosting, this change would be done for lowering rolling resistance and increased comfort and handling, especially in crappy conditions. Or just go with the Muds and save the weight of the heavy butyl tubes!!
It is important for me to state that no one is approving the use of Stans No Tube with anything but a tubeless tire so beware!!
Whats left? Well if I were to convert my bike to a SRAM Rival and take off the 8 speed ultegra brifter, cassette and derr. I think there would be a further 150 grams. A 750 gram crank and BB set-up would save a further 145 grams.
But for now I'll take my budget 200 gram savings to the start line this Saturday!!
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Nice news on the C'dale stem. Are you using OS handlebars or 26mm?
www.notubes.com doesn't recommend Michelin tires for their setup; but I've never tried tubless. I've been back and forth between Muds, Ritchey Speedmax, and Tufo Elites (tubular clinchers) over the last couple of seasons.
Muds - 340g - 700x30c
Speedmax - 320g - 700x32c
Tufo - 300g - 700x30c
I've been pretty happy with the Ritchey tires. The tread gets it done, but isn't as agressive as the Muds. It's almost like a cross between the Michelin Jet and Mud 2. The cornering on the Tufos seemed too 'weird' to me; I never got used to it.
I've thought about running tubless. My Michelin SpeedCity rims don't need rim strips which would be a plus.
However, the last two years that I've raced at Kirtland, I've had tufts of grass stuck between my front rim and tire bead at the end of the race. I'm thinking that there might have been a significant burp during these races, if I had been running tubeless.
Good luck if you try it! Let us know the results.
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