Will I get used to the weight?

[bluebug32]

How heavy is your fork? Can you lock it out when you climb? This can make a huge difference.

[sundial]

My Rock Shox Tora weighs about 5.3 lbs I believe. I do keep it locked when I climb and it does well. This fork is ok I guess for what I'm riding--mostly trails and nothing really technical.

[ima_bleeder]

I'm going with the wheel upgrade. We shaved a few pounds off my bike here and there, but the difference was most noticeable when I got lighter wheels. As I recall it was pretty expensive, but it was like getting a brand new bike.

[sundial]

Stephanie, I'll give my LBS a call and see what they suggest. I have priced some wheels and some are more than my bike. What kind do you have?

[ima_bleeder]

Mine are the American Classic Disc 350. I can't remember anymore what my top pick was, but we were able to get such a good deal on these that I "compromised". And they've been great! I've had them for about a year and a half now. I've been riding year 'round, in snow and mud and whatever, and they've been fantastic.

I should qualify though ... I'm a XC rider, I don't do a lot of jumps and stuff. And I'm not all that hard on my equipment. If you're more of a freeride or DH person, or you know that you're hard on your bike, I don't know if these would work as well for you. They might, but I was looking specifically for wheels that would work for the way I like to ride.

New wheels are certainly not cheap! You can keep them for years though, transferring them from bike to bike. Most of the women I ride with don't upgrade their wheels though. We're just usually too thrifty, and wheels are so expensive. Mine were my combined birthday and Christmas gifts from my husband one year.

[sundial]

Well, I chatted with my LBS and it seems I'm not going to be upgrading my rims anytime soon. Turns out that if I go tubeless, the rims will be lighter but the weight of the tubeless beasts will put me back to almost where I was with my original equipment--Specialized/Alex RHD rims and Fast Track DC tires.

OK, so maybe I just need to accept I'll be a choo choo train on hills.

[madisongrrl]

Well, I chatted with my LBS and it seems I'm not going to be upgrading my rims anytime soon. Turns out that if I go tubeless, the rims will be lighter but the weight of the tubeless beasts will put me back to almost where I was with my original equipment--Specialized/Alex RHD rims and Fast Track DC tires.

OK, so maybe I just need to accept I'll be a choo choo train on hills.

It might not make your ride lighter but there are some pretty big advantages to going tubeless. Running lower pressure (without worrying about pinch flats) gives you better traction and a little bit of suspension. Add a little bit of stans and you will flat less. At least that has been my experience during racing and training for cross-country events.

[bluebug32]

Well, I chatted with my LBS and it seems I'm not going to be upgrading my rims anytime soon. Turns out that if I go tubeless, the rims will be lighter but the weight of the tubeless beasts will put me back to almost where I was with my original equipment--Specialized/Alex RHD rims and Fast Track DC tires.

OK, so maybe I just need to accept I'll be a choo choo train on hills.

As much as I love to support my LBS, have you looked online? My boyfriend got a set of CrossMax wheels for dirt cheap online, lightly used. Many shops will build up spare hubs and rims and sell them on ebay or through forum classifieds just to get rid of them.

I totally agree that lighter wheels can make all the difference. After I swapped the boat anchors off of my hardtail and had a set of wheels built up, it was like a new bike.