Regarding process, I get immense enjoyment out of builds, but I'm such a good mechanic now that my builds happen too quickly. Like, I'll pick up a new frame at 11AM and by 2PM that afternoon I'm riding the bike around the block. To extend the enjoyment I plan it out, and that comes in the form of a spreadsheet. On the spreadsheet I'll plan out every single part and enter a weight for every single part. I'll use published weights when I don't have it on hand, but I weigh every single piece before they go on the bike.
The key to a light build is to consider every single part. Because of that, trying to make a heavy bike light is usually a waste of money, unless you can repurpose the stuff that comes off in a way that funds the work. Otherwise you end up replacing EVERYTHING. Starting from scratch, when you consider every single part, then there are grams to shave pretty much everywhere. There are things one can do to drop a lot of grams for not very much money, and as one knocks off the low-hanging fruit, it gets gradually more expensive to drop the next gram. For me the pain-point threshold is at $1 per gram. Once I'm to the point where it costs more than $1 per gram I start to say "OK, this is dumb". Rene Herse Ti water bottle bolts are an example. They cost $12 for a pair and will drop 3 grams from steel bolts. That's $4 a gram, or roughly $1800 per pound. That's expensive. For all the bolts threaded into your frame, I like to take them ALL off and weigh them as a bundle. For some of these Rivendells it's a lot of bolts. When you go to put them back on the frame, consider this: 1. the lightest possible option is AIR, or No Bolt. Also, Air is free. Does this bolt have to go into that threaded boss? Or can you leave it empty? 2. If you want to plug the hole, but don't need to carry any load, consider plastic. Nylon metric bolts are cheap and weigh basically nothing 3. If you need to carry something, but it's a very light load, consider aluminum. Basically every high end contemporary bike is using aluminum water bottle bolts. They weigh 1/3 of steel, cost 1/2 of titanium, and they don't break if you don't over tighten them. Rear cantilever bolts are a great place for M6 aluminum, and saves ~10 grams. 4. Titanium if you have a lot of spare money 5. If you want to plug the hole, don't need to carry any load, and hate the look of plastic, consider a stubby set screw. I use set screws to plug unused fender holes for a clean look. Grams add up to pounds. Bill Lindsay El Cerrito, CA On Friday, November 22, 2024 at 9:14:01 AM UTC-8 Erik Wright wrote: > Great question! I'd love to build on it by asking about process as well. > When you (Bill and others) sketch out a lightweight build, how do you go > about it? Are there big ticket items that you know will save major weight, > and go from there? Do you plan to include things like Titanium Rene Herse > M5 Bolts > <https://www.renehersecycles.com/shop/equipment/bottlescages/rene-herse-m5-bolts-titanium/> > or > are those a little goofy? What do you focus on when thinking holistically > about a sub-20lb, steel, reasonably spec'd (subjective term I guess) bike? > > I lightened up my Sam Hillborne a couple years ago and a few components > that brought major weight savings were swapping the Sugino crank for a VO > 50.4; Rene Herse EL tires; and having my LBS build me a 32h Pacenti Brevet > dynamo wheel set (replacing a Velocity Atlas). I actually asked about > wheels here > <https://groups.google.com/g/rbw-owners-bunch/c/h_M96a8UWng/m/pLwYoYMeAgAJ>, > and wound up taking Bill's advice to find a M737 rear hub on ebay for the > rear wheel. I've never weighed the bike, but it's light enough that when > people move it or pick it up they often say "wow, light for a Riv" > > Erik, Philly > On Friday, November 22, 2024 at 11:52:52 AM UTC-5 Bill Lindsay wrote: > >> I've sketched out a sub-20 pound Gallop build, employing zero carbon >> components. I had a lightish Leo Roadini a few years back, but it was not >> sub-20 pounds. Is anybody else out there scoping out a light Gallop or a >> light Roadini build? >> >> Bill Lindsay >> El Cerrito, CA >> > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/5108558a-c5a7-4223-9a93-8421aed993f8n%40googlegroups.com.
