On One Pompino owners...

I think he's trolling and I fell for it.

I'd like the bike to be a bit lighter

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I kid you not, some of the BMXers I mentioned earlier started putting this in their tyres. They go flat very quickly apparently.

It's been a staple of track racing for decades, including alleged wind-ups by the Secret Squirrels using cheap Nitrogen labelled as Helium to force the Aussies to spend on Helium.

With all my mates pickin up sub 8kg road bikes, I'm thinkin I might try and shed a bit of weight from the old Pompetamine. Don't get me wrong, I know I'm not going to be able to get anywhere near that kind of figure, even without gears or a rear brake but It'd be nice to get the right side of 9 1/2 kg.

First step will be Kenisis Carbon forks when they're back in stock and I'm still considering my options for chainset/bottom bracket which is made a bit difficult by the 54mm chainline I need when running fixed. but I'm also wondering if I can shed a few grams from the frame. Figured If I just cut out the bottom of the bb shell, the front of the head tube and remove the tops of the seat stays, it'll be a start. Might have to cover the holes with something mind. Anyone tried lighening their pomp fame or know anyone who has? I know it's only a few extra grams on a heavy bike but I'm short of cash and i figured it'd be fun to start chopping it about.

Awaits comments from tester telling me how stupid this is.

Can't comment on hacking up your frame (rather you than me), but I do think you'll struggle to get near 9.5kg without spending serious wedge or ditching parts. I reckon I'll be over 9kg (just) starting from scratch and pretty much waving goodbye to my budget. Current estimate is 9.1kg with a kind of 'one down from best' mentality on parts - ie. the SS equivalent to spec'ing a Shimano Ultegra road bike.

Only place I could lose weight is on wheels - mine are now ZTR Crest on Hopes - and tyres, but the whole point of this bike is NOT to be a road bike. If I want skinny wheels and sub 8kg I'll ride my Felt. If I want to ride something a bit different, that doesn't involve dodging potholes and scraping shit out of my mechs and casette then I'm very much hoping the Pomp is going to be that bike.

Have you checked out the new Cotic forks? Mine are due here Monday, and sound like the bomb. 505g, carbon steerer, disc only, 38mm rake, 40mm tyre clearance. Would save you a chunk of weight even over your Kinesis forks.

I don't know the spec or current weight of your bike, but swapping brakes, wheels and cranks gets pricey very quickly.

Wont that rake make the steering slow?

Do you really think you'll notice? I used to swap from 43mm road fork to 30mm track fork on my Koga without ever being aware of a change in handling

No idea, thats why I asked.

trailerman, you got any moe specific link/info on the cotic fork? how much?

They're £200 direct from Cotic.

Wont that rake make the steering slow?

What a 7mm difference in fork rake? I doubt it. Even if I rode it with factory spec'ed forks and then swapped, and specifically looked for the difference I doubt I'd notice it.

trailerman, you got any moe specific link/info on the cotic fork? how much?

https://www.cotic.co.uk/order/forks/

Bottom of that page. Spoke with them last week. Specs are as outlined in my post above, but I can't confirm as I don't have mine yet.

https://www.cotic.co.uk/order/forks/

£200 but I reckon they look pretty good for the money. Doesn't give any dimensions though.

https://www.cotic.co.uk/order/forks/

£200 but I reckon they look pretty good for the money. Doesn't give any dimensions though.

A-C is 395mm - 1-1/8 steerer - 160mm rotor size max - plain back with carbon weave partly visible through laquer.

thanks a lot. not many pictures though.
looks a wee bit like the quantec, but considerably lighter with carbon steerer.
looking forward to see your build coming together, trailerman. have you hade the frame on the scale? it'd be fun to see the difference between m and l.

They doo lookgood. Think I'm going to stick to the Kenisis though. £100 cheaper and only 120g heavier. They also have built in mudguard mounts which I would prefer to have.

As for my overall setup and loosing some weight, I won't put up a full spec sheet but this is the bike as it was last time I weighed it and it came in at just over 10.5kg Some bits like the wheels (36h Halo Aerowarrior on Hope Pro 2) are pretty heavy but I also want to be able to use them on a 29er, where they will get hammered so that is what it is but there is definitely some weight there to be lost.

Don't know the exact weight of th P2 fork but it's got to be over a kg so I should be able to loose in the region of 500g there. Looking to swap my concor for a concor light which should loose another 100g. If I do start chopping some bits out the fame (it won't be this one I'll be getting another and using this for a different project) I reckon I can loose another 100g. That should have me just under 10kg. Plan then is to start looking at seat post and stem for a few more grams and then chainset and bottom bracket. I'm currently running a stronglight impact chainset on a UN54 (so pretty heavy) as I need a 54mm chainline to run my bolt on fixed cog on the disc mount on my rear hub. Starting to think now about having a seperate fixed rear wheel to allow me the option of a lighter stiffer chainset.

They do look good. Think I'm going to stick to the Kinesis though. £100 cheaper and only 120g heavier. They also have built in mudguard mounts which I would prefer to have.

The DC37s? Where can you get them for £100?

trade price, innit.

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/kinesis-cx-dc37-carbon-road-fork-disc-mount/
I get em a bit cheaper at trade +vat but there's not that much difference. £110 is a pretty good deal imo

Oh but there not in stock anywhere at the moment.

I think you'd gain more road speed by changing the tyres than anything else, although I realise that might not be your sole objective.

Wont that rake make the steering slow?

It's the trail that matters not the rake. 7mm less rake -> 7mm more trail= 10% if your old trail was 70, 14% more if you started at 50mm trail.

I think you'd gain more road speed by changing the tyres than anything else, although I realise that might not be your sole objective.

Just a pic of the setup last time it was weighed. It has also been known to look like this, this and this. Guess with hindsight, the first pic would have been a better one to use for this discussion as this is roughly the setup I want to get down to 9.5kgish

They doo lookgood. Think I'm going to stick to the Kenisis though. £100 cheaper and only 120g heavier.

Errr ... so you want to cut bits off your frame but won't spend £100 to drop 120g, which is £1.20/g???

Yeah, that 's about it. Cutting 100g out of my frame for free is more appealing than paying £100 extra for a fork that is 120g lighter.

I understand why the idea is non everyone's cup of tea but it works for me. The idea is to loose some weight without spending big money.