Current Projects chat and miscellany

If you find BMXed(?)'s giant TCR on WW, he's got a very cheap stem that's light.
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His is just a Kalloy with Ti bolts. But I don't think they make it anymore..

Yeah, it is different, but I see no need for it to be as heavy as it is.

I've changed the cassette for a 105 11t-28t, and the crap Micro Shift front mech for a SRAM Force version, and will probably change the rear mech and maybe chainset at some point later.

But apart from that, it came with FSA Wing bars in 44cm from previous owner, and BB7s instead of the stock BB5s.

As for tyres, have got Conti Grand Prix 4 Season's on for the mo, then gonna see if Hutchinson release their 28mm Intensive Tubeless tyres like they said they would this autumn.

Amusingly, after checking out the Rose stem, I realised that it looks almost identical to the Boardman own brand stem that came with it!

Think maybe I should find out how much it weighs first and not assuming that as its their own brand that it's crap

good call. always weigh the components you're thinking about swapping. then consider the options and finally you realize just how expensive a 20g saving on a stem can be.
then go use the saved money on something nice for yourself.

like what? expensive stem?..

yeah. exactly or seatpost.

Point taken, on areas where the weight loss is minimal compared to the cost, its simply not worth it.

But if the Rose stem is lighter... well, £27 ain't a lot.

Greater gains will be from the wheels and new chainset, as the FSA Gossamer set and BB30 is not light, hopefully lose couple of hundred grams and get a stiffer set to boot.

I kinda want this to be a bit of a weight weenie project, without costing much more than £500 including what I've already done.

This will then be my winter/tourer/CX/training/shopping bike, and will be saving up for something nice I can enjoy for next year, hopefully fixed.

Dammit still nowhere to be seen

Lol!

I'm not gonna use Thomson gear again, something a bit lighter and hopefully stiffer than the X2 stem would be nice.

kinda want this to be a bit of a weight weenie project, without costing much

Dream on. Either commit properly to a WW project (which probably starts with a new frame) or leave alone anything on the Boardman which isn't actually broken. The middle course is a recipe for spending more than you intended on something which will be less you hoped.

I was going to say, for your budget the most logical thing would be orient express carbon cx frame... But I love the ride of my Boardman, I think there is more to a bike than it's weight.... Riding my 30lb mountain over the last week and soon forgot about the weight chucking it about.

just sayin...

The paint job is pretty thick on the Boardman, why not strip and polish it? could save you 2-300 grams? (or more?)

I'm not going overboard on reducing weight, just trying to reduce weight where possible in components I'm replacing anyway without laying down tons of cash.

Think the basic weight of a Boardman CX is a tad over 10kg, I'm aiming to bring it down to just under 9.5kg (or lower).

I recognise that trying to get this down to a race weight of 7kg is never gonna happen, but that doesn't mean it can't lose a bit off.

So far, I quite like how it rides too, actually quite fun and a good ride.

If I'd had the money at the time, I would have bought the Boardman CX Pro that is now available from other retailers than Halfords and is actually the same weight, if for no other reason than the component spec (BB7s and Force), which is what I'm aiming for in this basically.

Ben Berdens 8kg Raleigh race bike

Dream on. Either commit properly to a WW project (which probably starts with a new frame) or leave alone anything on the Boardman which isn't actually broken.

He's probably right.

There are plenty of budget DIY WW things you can do. I think someone on WW started a thread dedicate to "true" weight weenieism (as opposed to just buying expensive light parts.

You'll notice wheels, but everything else I think you're better off just changing as you need.

disc brakes are heavy too. actually, have a look at the rotors themselves. kcnc and alligator aries are both sub 80g and not that expensive.

I want a bike that I can really cane, without having to worry about damaging the carbon if crashed.

Will check on the rotors though, cheers.

If you look at Ben's bike at 8kg and then yours now - take off the weight from the wheels (and tubes/tyres) seatpost, stem, handlebars - I'd be suprised if you hadn't dropped into sub 9kg or very close.

If I get to the point where I think I might not destroy a carbon CX frame, I have thought of the getting one, but happy with this for moment.

^^ Thats what I was aiming for Tenderloin.

Got too many puncture on rear due to tyre getting too thin, not looking forward to forking out a lots for the same pair of tyres, went for 28c Gatorskins.

Bike look a lots better with it, still felt the same despite tyres being smaller.

how do you find this bike? i am looking at getting one in the new year.

spending more than you intended on something which will be less you hoped.

Tester summed up my 2p .. Don't take this rudely but if you're limited on budget you need to plan £/gram. I see you saying you need to make the group set Force. What's the £/gram? The Apex rear mech + shifters are quoted at 534g and the same Force combination is quoted 481g .. That depending where you buy is £7/g saved! and not any performance gain.

^ Actually, the only Force bits I wanted are a Force short cage rear mech as I'm using a 11t-28t cassette, and not a 11t-34t anymore,

The chainset is part because I want slightly shorter cranks, part cause the force ones are 130g+ lighter, and part cause I think they look better and they seem pretty good from what I've heard!

But I am not replacing the shifters, not a chance, they stay till they die, they is bloody expensive to replace and there really isn't any point that I can see to change them.

Seems like pointless expenditure. Why not get a cheaper SRAM mech?
What TM said about stripping the paint is valid too

I'll see how the FSA cranks work for a while before buying anything else, the uninspiring shifting might well have more to do with the finicky setup than the cranks themselves.

Do have to wonder how much of the smooth welds and seamless finish might be down to filler though...