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Bike needs to go on a diet

Its got to that stage where my bike is starting to be a bit limiting. I've been weighing the various components and well, there is a bit of flab that needs to go, here is the inventory;

Weight%ageComponent
1.921.8Powertap Rear Wheel (incl. tyre + skewer)
1.213.8Front Wheel (Bontrager Race X Lite)
0.55.7Saddle Bag (tools, pump, tube)
4.754.0

Frame (incl. pedals. groupset)

0.44.6Saddle + Seatpost + Clamp
8.7100Total Bike Weight

So, it doesn't take a genius to work out where there is the best scope for saving weight. After me of course. I'm not planning on ditching my frame and groupset, certainly a triple is not on the cards - it weighs more and a lot more to go wrong on the day.The saddle and seatpost are relatively lightweight, so we can discount those.

Wheels and Tyres

So the wheels are gonna have to skinny up. The powertap will not be climbing Alpe D'Huez - the stock Race X Lite wheel it replaces, including cassette and tyres is 1.4kg - a whopping half a kilo less.

And those tyres. According to weight weenies the Specialized Armadillo's are a whopping 450g each. I couldn't buy a heavier tyre. By switching to a pair of something like the Maxxis Xenith at 170g each I could save another 560g ... that's over half a kilo, in tyres!

The Support car on my back

The saddlebag just blows my mind - if I puncture on the Alpe I'll just have to walk the rest of the way cause the tubes will be back in the hotel room - thats another half kilo. My water bottles weigh 0.8kg each when full - so I'll be drinking at the top, but not on the way up.

Me

Which just leaves me - I'm sitting at 76kg today and if I lose some weight before the 3rd then great, but I'm not gunning for it - the last thing I need right now is to lose power. So - 7.1kg for bike, 76kg for rider. I'll still need to sustain 290 watts for an hour to break the hour. Unless I adopt the superman position, then, apparently, its 285 watts (!!) ;-)

Better go out and ride....

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