Decreasing Weight

[Irulan]

Yep, wheels are where you'll get your most weight savings. Consider the other stuff very carefully: you get to a point where you are better off saving your money for a whole new rig.

[sundial]

I saved weight by going with lighter cranks, lighter rims, and tubeless tires. You can add lighter road type components to your mtb but it may not be as durable, depending on what you use. Seatpost, saddle and handlebar could also be lightened but the savings in the rotational weight will make the biggest difference in handling.

[solobiker]

Yep, wheels are where you'll get your most weight savings. Consider the other stuff very carefully: you get to a point where you are better off saving your money for a whole new rig.

I agree.

[pink monkey]

Thank you!!! everyone for the responses!

pinkbikes, how did you like your kona ht? I am really excited about getting my bike, but a little nervous because i've never ridden a kona and didnt get to try it out beforehand. I've never ridden a full suspension either! I'm hoping for a smoother ride too - where i ride it is super rocky and there are a lot of downhill portions. I feel like i'm getting jerked around a lot. (P.s. i'll def. try riding it first before I make any purchases. I think i just have pre-jitters! haha )

I am looking for major weight differences, like wheels and cranks. I dont really have the money to waste on upgrading small tiny-weight saving things. I think I am most worried about reducing weight because where I ride, there is a portion where it's completely uphill for about 8 miles. This is where I have to work to keep up with the main group. I just dont want to drop to the back! I think with my new bike I will be adding on a couple of pounds of bike weight.

Starting with the wheels would be a good idea. Can anyone recommend a set to get for a reasonable price?

[kenyonchris]

I ride with all men, and struggled on my hardtail. When I went to F/S I did not notice AT ALL the weight difference. I went a lot faster from the get go because it let me tackle some things that I was simply not strong enough to do on the hardtail (I would wind up putting a foot down and pushing off).
I did notice some difference when I went tubeless.
Funny, I spend a lot of time cutting grams on my roadbike, but don't really care on the MTB.

[pinkbikes]

pinkbikes, how did you like your kona ht? I am really excited about getting my bike, but a little nervous because i've never ridden a kona and didnt get to try it out beforehand. I've never ridden a full suspension either! I'm hoping for a smoother ride too - where i ride it is super rocky and there are a lot of downhill portions. I feel like i'm getting jerked around a lot. (P.s. i'll def. try riding it first before I make any purchases. I think i just have pre-jitters! haha )

I am looking for major weight differences, like wheels and cranks. I dont really have the money to waste on upgrading small tiny-weight saving things. I think I am most worried about reducing weight because where I ride, there is a portion where it's completely uphill for about 8 miles. This is where I have to work to keep up with the main group. I just dont want to drop to the back! I think with my new bike I will be adding on a couple of pounds of bike weight.

Starting with the wheels would be a good idea. Can anyone recommend a set to get for a reasonable price?

Hi pink monkey.

I really enjoy my Kona Lisa HT. I had always been a dedicated roadie and didn't see myself enjoying the "inefficiency" of MTB. I think this is because I'd only tried riding my DH's Mongoose dually which was as heavy as lead and like riding a tractor, not to mention way too big for me since he is a neat foot taller than me!

So when I actually decided to try MTB (I watched a 24hour race that looked like just WAY too much fun) I wanted to make sure I got a bike that was of a decent enough standard that I would find out if I really wouldn't like MTB or if it was just the equipment that was putting me off.

I spent time riding a few bikes and kept coming back to the Lisa because it just fitted like a glove (was the first time I'd ever tried a WSD bike) and felt great. But it was really a very "in your face pink!" And I've never been so much a pink kind of girl! So I circled it a fair bit before my head finally overcame my heart and I bought it anyway.

I liked that it had a decent level of components and I just loved the ignitor tyres (not actually why you'd buy a bike but just got lucky with first tyre choice) and I lived with the pink. It was a great bike to learn on and people just rave over the colour. I must say, at the time (almost two years ago now) there was very little pink about bikes and it was really easy to find it when you parked it in a big pile of bikes! Now - not so easy!

Of course since then I have another pink bike (my dually is a 2009 Specialized Era Marathon in anodised pink) so I have turned my Lisa into my commuter bike. I still enjoy using it to ride to work or meetings around town. The only thing that I'm not that fond of is the seat. I used to really like the WTB Speed She but since I have been riding the Spesh with the Ariel I just can't seem to get comfy on it anymore.

You will probably notice the smoother ride a lot since you ride in rough areas. Our area has some rocky descents in particular and I find the rear suspension really gives me a lot more confidence in zipping down them. I did a 24hour race on the Lisa in April last year and then another in June after I bought the Spesh. I did similar number of miles in each race but found there was just no comparison in how my butt felt at the end of each race! Dually wins hands down!

As for which wheels? Not really sure what you can get or what price tag you're going to be looking at for them over there! I DO know anything is expensive by the time you mail them out to us in Oz!

The Spesh came with some nice light DT Swiss XT 4.2D rims and DT Swiss hubs and spokes. I have no idea where they fit in the spectrum of "nice wheels" and no idea of what they sell for retail. All I know is that they are damned light compared with the Sun Black Eyes that came on the Kona (even when I put the tyres from the Kona on them) and I really noticed the difference in how well I could climb on them. Since climbing is definitely going to be where you want your gain - I definitely think the wheels are most worth pursuing.

[pink monkey]

pinkbikes,
a pink specialized era marathon?! that is my DREAM bike!! That bike is so gorgeous!!! I drool everytime i see it either in shop or in a picture. If only I had the skill level to justify its purchase... I'm the complete opposite of you, what attracted me to the kona four lisa was the fact that it was pink. That, and DH got a sweet deal on a new one. I hope it'll increase my confidence in going downhill. I can beat half of the guys uphill but i'm always last down! I get a lot of jokes about having to replace my brakes frequently since I tend to ride them the entire way down.

[bluebug32]

I second all the rim/tire suggestions. Just wanted to say how nice it is to see some Kona love on here. I have 3 Konas and I love 'em!

[pinkbikes]

I second all the rim/tire suggestions. Just wanted to say how nice it is to see some Kona love on here. I have 3 Konas and I love 'em!

Heheh! I had so much "Kona love" last weekend after I washed the pinkie that I took it across the road into the park and took some "glamour photos" of it!

Then I got all excited and took the Spesh over too since it was all nice and clean and freshly bottom-bracket greased (seems slightly rude really) and took pics of it too.

And the tandem. And the roadie. Bit TOO much bike love going on here really!

[pink monkey]

I second all the rim/tire suggestions. Just wanted to say how nice it is to see some Kona love on here. I have 3 Konas and I love 'em!

awesome! I'm glad to hear that other people love Konas! I was getting a little nervous about it because you dont see very many Konas around. Even in the shops that do carry Konas I hardly see very many of them. I hope I love it as much as I think I already do!!

[pinkbikes]

pinkbikes,
a pink specialized era marathon?! that is my DREAM bike!! That bike is so gorgeous!!! I drool everytime i see it either in shop or in a picture. If only I had the skill level to justify its purchase... I'm the complete opposite of you, what attracted me to the kona four lisa was the fact that it was pink. That, and DH got a sweet deal on a new one. I hope it'll increase my confidence in going downhill. I can beat half of the guys uphill but i'm always last down! I get a lot of jokes about having to replace my brakes frequently since I tend to ride them the entire way down.

Skill, schmill! I have precious little of that! When people pass me in races (it happens) and say "Hey - nice bike!" my usual reply is "Yeah but I spent so much on the bike I couldn't afford the legs that match it!" That would be in between all the puffing and panting because it is usually up some rotten hill!

If I bought a bike to match my skill level I might be riding on a Kmart bike! But I did get an absolutely screaming deal on it ($1k off really talks to me) and that opportunity was not going to come again, so I just plunged in and did it. And long after the memory has faded of how it hurt to part with the money, it puts a smile on my face each and every time I ride it! I just grin like an idiot!

And as for the brakes jokes - they won't stop. When I ride with DH he always says "Hey, I'll have a look at those brakes for you when we get home - they must be dragging!" NICE! Ride them all you like - that's what they are FOR!

[pink monkey]

Skill, schmill! I have precious little of that! When people pass me in races (it happens) and say "Hey - nice bike!" my usual reply is "Yeah but I spent so much on the bike I couldn't afford the legs that match it!" That would be in between all the puffing and panting because it is usually up some rotten hill!

If I bought a bike to match my skill level I might be riding on a Kmart bike! But I did get an absolutely screaming deal on it ($1k off really talks to me) and that opportunity was not going to come again, so I just plunged in and did it. And long after the memory has faded of how it hurt to part with the money, it puts a smile on my face each and every time I ride it! I just grin like an idiot!

And as for the brakes jokes - they won't stop. When I ride with DH he always says "Hey, I'll have a look at those brakes for you when we get home - they must be dragging!" NICE! Ride them all you like - that's what they are FOR!

you are so lucky! if i could have gotten a great deal on it, I might not have been able to resist. That's what happened with my road bike... saw it was pink, fit great, and was a killer deal... I just had to have it! DH's face when i got home was priceless... Good thing my old bike sold so fast otherwise I would probably of been in trouble!! I have never been able go to the bike shop again without a warning or my cc taken away. haha! One of these days I hope to find a used era for a killer price... hopefully after my Kona needs to be upgraded, not before i even get it!! DH would be hurt if I asked to trade his present for me!

Glad to hear that i'm not the only one getting the brake jokes! I'm trying to learn to ease up on them, but then the last time i panicked and slammed on them... which sent me up and over my bike. haha, gotta love it...