Frankenbike - Magnesium Weight Weenie budget build

trek_y

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The return of Frankenbike ...
I want to build this up as a bit of an experiment in finding low(ish) cost lightweight parts from here and other 2nd hand bits and bobs and see if I can get under 20lbs weight without spending lots to do so. My target is £400 and I'll keep a record of all the parts with weights in true WW style so hope may be a bit of useful reference.
It's going to be a single speed to start with as I had one a while back and liked the simplicity and was great fun on the trails and also that keeps the weight down ! :LOL: but might switch to a 1x9 setup later as have an old XTR cassette and chain in the spares box.
So far we have this ....

carrera1_zpsabb07569.jpg


Frame .... Carrera Zelos Magnesium 18" - Halfords special but made by Merida and I rather like it, triangular section main tubes and very GREEN ! Weight inc FSA integrated headset = 1698g
Forks .... Carbon OEM - from a Marin hybrid they are about 400mm A-C so perhaps a little short but the Zelos originally came with an 80mm suspension fork and look good on it. Weight with uncut steerer = 794g
Stem .... Syncros FL 110mm - had this for a while and its pretty chunky which suits the frame but is suprisingly light. Weight = 145g
Seatclamp .... nothing special, came on the frame. Weight 29g.

Total so far = 2666g (5.88lbs)

I think wheels are going to be the tricky part. I was looking along the lines of something like XT hubs and Mavic 717 rims, are these good weight for the money ? Can't really allocate more than £100 for them so any suggestions ?
 
Re: Frankenbike 2 - magnesium Weight Weenie build

Looks great.
That's the exact frame I have but it had merida stickers on it, before I powder coated it in a similar green.
Never found out what model or year it was but its very light and and looks really well made.
Looking forward to this build as I am doing something very similar with mine.
 
Re: Frankenbike 2 - magnesium Weight Weenie build

Looking forward to seeing this one develop.

I would guess that XT hubs and Mavic 717s are going to come in around 1850g to1900g depending on spokes, so think you might need to look elsewherefor a 20lb build. With a bit of patience, your £100 budget should yield something rather nice. Nice project :-D

Regards
 
Re: Frankenbike 2 - magnesium Weight Weenie build

A small update after a visit to a mates over the weekend whom I've been helping build up a bike and a few beers later I got a set of XT M751 cranks which are the original Hollowtech design. They've been well used but should polish up nicely and weigh in at 483g inc the self extracting bolts. I have a 4 bolt 32T single speed chainring from my previous SS build so thats that bit sorted - just got to find me a 73mm octalink BB to go with them. Also found some Raceface Next OS carbon bars for a very good price so hopefully they'll be along soon too. :)
Been looking at wheels on Ebay this weekend too and missed out on some Bontrager Race Lite's by one bid as usual (grrrr!) and these are apparently around the 1800g mark so would be a good bet for the money if I can find another set. Must say I'm surprised that XT / 717 weigh more than I thought ?
 
Re: Frankenbike 2 - magnesium Weight Weenie build

trek_y":1p2cgqxz said:
Been looking at wheels on Ebay this weekend too and missed out on some Bontrager Race Lite's by one bid as usual (grrrr!) and these are apparently around the 1800g mark so would be a good bet for the money if I can find another set. Must say I'm surprised that XT / 717 weigh more than I thought ?
Erm, that might have been me :oops: . Was it these? Only just down the road from me, so I had the benefit of free local collection, and I needed something decent for a new build that I started on Saturday. Sorry mate :oops:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/261171969943? ... 1439.l2649

Regarding the XT / 717 combo, I believe that the XT hubs are a bit heavier than some of the other options. Keep an eye on the spokes too, as some types can cost a bit of weight.

Regards
 
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Re: Frankenbike 2 - magnesium Weight Weenie build

Yes that was them ! Ah well at least they went to someone on here and sorry I bid them up against you. :facepalm:
Be interested to know what they're like as £50 was a good price.
 
Re: Frankenbike 2 - magnesium Weight Weenie build

Yeah, it looked like a fiver less with a couple of seconds to go, but still happy with the price anyway ;)

Picked them up earlier, and they're not too bad. Hubs are DT Swiss labelled as Bontrager. Front is true to about 1mm, and rear to about 1.5mm. Quite a few scratches on the rims, but should look reasonable after some attention from a marker pen.

I've got some 717 rims with LX hubs, and I would say the Bontragers are definitely lighter, but I can't do a direct comparison at the moment. Factor in that the Bontragers are ready to run tubeless, and there's a weight saving there too.

Regards
 
Re: Frankenbike 2 - magnesium Weight Weenie build

Are tubeless lighter ? I had this dilemma before when putting my Scalpel together and the light tubeless UST tyres seem to be around the 600g mark - I have some 2.0 Hutchinson Python Lights on it which are just under that figure - but you also have to add in the weight of a scoop of goop which is at least 50-100g on top. A middle ground inner tube is about 150g and that leaves a lot of choice for a normal tyre at 500g or so.
I was looking in weight weenie fashion for this build at some Conti Supersonic tubes at 100g with Schwalbe Furious Freds at about 330g so theres a tyre and tube combo at just over 400g - may not be very grippy or puncture resistant though !
I suppose you can try the ghetto tubeless tricks to save weight with running non tubeless tyres in a tubeless setup but thats a bit hit and miss in my experience and still involves adding in rim strips and sealant and no guarrantees either. But there no denying the advantages of tubeless just not sure weight is one of them.
Happy to be proved wrong of course !
 
Re: Frankenbike 2 - magnesium Weight Weenie build

Fair enough - I didn't realise that UST tyres were that much heavier. Those Furious Freds are seriously light!

Regards
 
Re: Frankenbike 2 - magnesium Weight Weenie build

Like the sounds of this build mate. I like these challenges on a budget as it makes planning a mare and adds to the excitement!
 
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