GrandPaBrogan
⚡ eGeezer ⚡
Cake is better... then we can all eat it too. ?
Lightening up an ebike
- Thread starter Mteam
- Start date
Olof Bike Adventures
Active member
You are right, the strength of the tyres is what adds weight the most. I was a bit quick to write there. But surely you would survive with something else than "downhill" tyres?
Sounds to me like you’re not prepared to sacrifice anything, so you’re not going to be able to drop weight.
Unfortunately there is no magic way of shedding a kg, other than spending a fortune and sacrificing the bike.
I’ve got a Levo SL, and tried to get the bike to a spec I wanted, whilst making an effort to reduce the weight.
Some components added weight (better forks / shock / AXS dropper, tyres), and some removed (CF saddle, CF bars / Stem, CF cranks, CF brake levers, lighter cassette and lightweight pedals).
Overall the bike performs much better than stock, and is 800g lighter than it was.
at starting weight of 17.9kg, 800g is a big difference. Trying to shave 1kg off 24kg wont be nearly as noticeable.
All the suggestions above will shed weight - carbon rims, removing dropper (not practical IMO), lighter tyres, swapping drivetrain etc... however none of these are avenues you want to explore.
If that’s the case, then go out and enjoy the bike as is... or buy a lighter bike!
Unfortunately there is no magic way of shedding a kg, other than spending a fortune and sacrificing the bike.
I’ve got a Levo SL, and tried to get the bike to a spec I wanted, whilst making an effort to reduce the weight.
Some components added weight (better forks / shock / AXS dropper, tyres), and some removed (CF saddle, CF bars / Stem, CF cranks, CF brake levers, lighter cassette and lightweight pedals).
Overall the bike performs much better than stock, and is 800g lighter than it was.
at starting weight of 17.9kg, 800g is a big difference. Trying to shave 1kg off 24kg wont be nearly as noticeable.
All the suggestions above will shed weight - carbon rims, removing dropper (not practical IMO), lighter tyres, swapping drivetrain etc... however none of these are avenues you want to explore.
If that’s the case, then go out and enjoy the bike as is... or buy a lighter bike!
Olof Bike Adventures
Active member
Unfortunately for @Mteam I think you are right. The bike will never be a lightweight and it sounds like good advice to enjoy the bike as it is.
With full fat emtbs's there is shedding weight and then there's actually making the bike feel lighter to ride. Where the weight is placed on the bike has a big effect on how it feels to ride.
I am lucky enough to have ridden quite a few different EMTB's, and a good example of this would be the Whyte's - now these are not lite bikes, around 24kg IIRC, however since the weight is all low down and centred they actually feel a lot lighter to ride than some other bikes within around the same, because the front end is a lot easier to pop up and manoeuvre, and due to the weight being low down and a relatively low BB height they feel easy to tip from one side to another when changing direction quickly.
I don't like a lot of the latest full power bikes because whilst on paper they are not that much heavier than my OG E-Sommet, they all feel a lot heavier, because they have big batteries that extend pretty far up the downtube, placing the weight closer to the head tube.
So I think what you really want to do is focus on getting weight down at the front of the bike - this will make the bike ride lighter even if the scales dont show a huge saving.
I am lucky enough to have ridden quite a few different EMTB's, and a good example of this would be the Whyte's - now these are not lite bikes, around 24kg IIRC, however since the weight is all low down and centred they actually feel a lot lighter to ride than some other bikes within around the same, because the front end is a lot easier to pop up and manoeuvre, and due to the weight being low down and a relatively low BB height they feel easy to tip from one side to another when changing direction quickly.
I don't like a lot of the latest full power bikes because whilst on paper they are not that much heavier than my OG E-Sommet, they all feel a lot heavier, because they have big batteries that extend pretty far up the downtube, placing the weight closer to the head tube.
So I think what you really want to do is focus on getting weight down at the front of the bike - this will make the bike ride lighter even if the scales dont show a huge saving.
Banktramp
Well-known member
I didn’t know I had joined a road bike forum, talking about saving grams on a bike, it’s a mountain bike for gods sake. It’s pedal assisted I don’t know how heavy my levo is, if I find it hard to pedal I just stick it in turbo ?.
Olof Bike Adventures
Active member
If you've ever tried a Levo SL you would know what we're talking about.
Try Covid ..its the brilliant new weightloss program sweeping the nation ..just shy of two weeks in and I've lost about 6lbs..thing is though with this particular strain there has been no loss of smell or indeed appetite and I've been eating like a right porker with enough drink to sink a fish ..another win is the fact that you will be feeling so lethargic after your isolation period you won't be arsed to even look at your bike never mind ride it thereby extending the life of your motor ..
PM me for further details...????
PM me for further details...????
steve_sordy
Wedding Crasher
@The Hodge Get well soon!
One morning, the sun will shine, the sky will be blue and suddenly your biking mojo will return.
One morning, the sun will shine, the sky will be blue and suddenly your biking mojo will return.
Cheers..I know mate ..?
At the moment the brain wants ( would love to ..) but the body is not quite there yet ..?
At the moment the brain wants ( would love to ..) but the body is not quite there yet ..?
- Thread starter
- #41
Yeah, I'd come to the same conclusion myself in the first post, but just wanted to get the panels opinion in case I missed anything, I've tried most of the suggestions (carbon rims, light tyres) on previous bikes and come to the conclusions that for me, they are not worth the compromise.
- Thread starter
- #42
They're not actually downhill tyres, the front is the exo plus casing, and the rear is the doubledown casing, maxxis also do an even heavier dh casing, which is overkill for my needs.
Ive tried lighter tyres and whilst I haven't tried every tyre out there, the ones I have tried get punctured very quickly.
Did a quick calculation.
Your weight saving 4.47% , 1kg of 24kg is 4.17% so very similar.
Also, hate to think how much that little lot cost you. Can’t think you got very much value out of some of the upgrades. CF bars yes and also the cassette but how much weight did the stem or brake levers really save? Not slagging you off, just interested. I understand lots of small changes all add up but at what cost?
I also agree that where the weight is matters. I have a Whyte, which I admit is one of the heavier new bikes on the market but it handles amazingly for its weight. I’m sure it’s down to the way they’ve managed to get the majority of the weight as centralised as possible. My mate’s Merida is noticeably lighter in the gate lift test, but doesn’t handle as well. We rode the same loop back to back on each other’s bikes and even he agreed that the Whyte handled better. His was a year of two old with a smaller lighter removable battery but it’s mounted a lot further up the down tube and I think that’s what made the difference.
The handling comparison is also interesting compared to my old fat bike. The e bike is 10kg heavier than that was but handles so much better. The wider tyres on the fat bike obviously a factor but so is that so much of it’s weight is concentrated in the wheels.
Have looked at my spec to see where to save weight. Carbon bars are obvious choice, easy 100g but on its own not much. Cassette is another biggie, currently NX eagle. X01 would chop 250g but £200 more than NX and would need XD freehub, although this would also save a massive 20g
Standard fit rear tyre is a 2.5 HR2 doubledown, have a spare DHR2 2.4 in exo casing from another bike which I’m going to try once the HR2 wears out. Should save 200g but worried it might feel a bit flimsy. Don’t trust CF saddles, seen my mate snap his leaving lots of jaggy bits flapping about in an area I wouldn’t want kebab’d. Looked at Santa Cruz website and even their carbon rims are only 70g lighter each than my standard ones. No way worth the outlay for the weight saving.I know that Gary has ridden more different ebikes than I have, but I do wonder if his weight cut off of 22kg is based on older designs rather than the newer breed of designs?
I’ve got a whole thread on it if you’re interested!
Levo SL Gen 1 - Levo SL Expert - my build thread.
I’ve got a test ride thread out here somewhere that has details of my build in it - but here’s the info in an easier to read format rather than spanning over loads of posts... My Bike: Specialized Levo SL Expert - Size XL What’s changed: Full Invisiframe kit SRAM XX1 AXS derailleur SRAM XX1...
www.emtbforums.com
My goal wasn’t all about weight saving - it was to get the bike to the spec I wanted. The bars and stem are off my previous bike, so didn’t cost anything at this time.
Although the brake levers are lighter than the stock ones, they were bought specifically for my Raynauds Syndrome (cold fingers / toes) as carbon doesn’t feel as cold on your fingers in cold temperatures.
If I wanted, I could easily get my bike to ~16kg by putting on lightweight tyres, swapping the dropper for a carbon post and a few other tweaks... but then the bike would be no use for where I ride it!
I could knock 500g off by putting back on the stock dropper / fork / shock... but that wasn’t the aim of the game.
I can't believe no one stated the obvious drill holes in everything, strip all the paint and hollow Ti fasteners for everything..... worked fine for porsche
I think the fact of the matter is the majority of the weight in your bike is in parts that cant be easily modified (frame/motor/battery) better to sell the bike and buy one design with lightness in mind. If there was a cost effective way to drop weight with parts bike companies would do it.
I think the fact of the matter is the majority of the weight in your bike is in parts that cant be easily modified (frame/motor/battery) better to sell the bike and buy one design with lightness in mind. If there was a cost effective way to drop weight with parts bike companies would do it.
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I have always been of the opinion that if you want a light bike, get one thats lite in the first place. I also think an MTB can be too light, at least for me, I like the solidity a bit of heft gives you, I once road an S-Works stumpy that had been fully weight weenied and it felt very skittish to me.
I actually think that the Rise/SL weights are bang on for aggressive trail riding, as they are basically analogue bikes with a few kg added and can be ridden as such.
I actually think that the Rise/SL weights are bang on for aggressive trail riding, as they are basically analogue bikes with a few kg added and can be ridden as such.
I’ve got a whole thread on it if you’re interested!
Levo SL Gen 1 - Levo SL Expert - my build thread.
I’ve got a test ride thread out here somewhere that has details of my build in it - but here’s the info in an easier to read format rather than spanning over loads of posts... My Bike: Specialized Levo SL Expert - Size XL What’s changed: Full Invisiframe kit SRAM XX1 AXS derailleur SRAM XX1...
My goal wasn’t all about weight saving - it was to get the bike to the spec I wanted. The bars and stem are off my previous bike, so didn’t cost anything at this time.
Although the brake levers are lighter than the stock ones, they were bought specifically for my Raynauds Syndrome (cold fingers / toes) as carbon doesn’t feel as cold on your fingers in cold temperatures.
If I wanted, I could easily get my bike to ~16kg by putting on lightweight tyres, swapping the dropper for a carbon post and a few other tweaks... but then the bike would be no use for where I ride it!
I could knock 500g off by putting back on the stock dropper / fork / shock... but that wasn’t the aim of the game.
Stem saved more weight than I thought, plus a no brainier if you had it already.
Damn you though, those carbon cranks are gorgeous. Must resist.
Totally agree on the AXS kit, amazing stuff. Well worth any weight penalty.
I’m down in Angus, maybe meet sometime for a loop of Heartbreak Ridge once lockdown lifts.
Maybe see you in 2026 with the way things are going!! Never ridden at Ballater before, but just watched a couple of videos of Heartbreak Ridge and it looks good!
Did Heartbreak Ridge in 2018 after a prolonged period of rain and it was crap..so disappointed as my mates had been the previous year when it was dry as sticks and rated it as one of the best trails they had ridden ..
I guess the weather makes or breaks it ..and I would love to go back in a dry spell..
I guess the weather makes or breaks it ..and I would love to go back in a dry spell..
- Thread starter
- #51
Battery - yes, no problem with compromising on range for the day to day rides, I'd go down to 400wh, but in reality for some reason the 400wh battery is exactly the same weight as the 500wh battery according to the official figures, so no point in going any smaller than 500wh.
Wheels - current wheelset weighs ~2kg, I think you could maybe drop 300g from this, but at significant expense. Possibly one to consider when I've trashed the current rims, but I wont be going for carbon rims - I've tried them before and found them too fragile, and the weight savings over alu are not great enough.
Tyres - This is an interesting one, they're a cheap place to save significant weight, but whenever I've tried lighter tyres in the past, I've found they puncture too easily. I thnk my current tyres are as light as I dare go, and I'm not a fan of the mega wide 2.8 tyres etc - I currently have a 2.5WT dhf in exo+ on the front, and a 2.3 DHr ii in doubledown on the back, They're actually pretty light for what they are, just over 1kilo each. If anyone knows of any equally tough but significantly lighter tyres I'm all ears......
Cassette - could go for xtr and save over 100g, but the cost is substantial, and you get into is it worth it on an ebike. I need to see how many miles I can get out of my current cassette, then when its shot, see if I can justify an expensive cassette, or whether I compromise on gearing range with a 10 speed narrower range, but cheaper and just as light cassette.
I'd like to ditch the abus battery lock barrel/mechanism , partly because it'd be a small free weight saving, but mainly because I dont trust it not to jam up at some point in the future, but need to look into how I can release the battery without it.
- Thread starter
- #53
First post
Recent post
Sorry, I am a little confused
XTR cassette? 100g is 0.4% of your 23kg bike... less than half of 1%
Is that your idea of a significant weight saving? without spending a fortune ? ?
for the purposes of this discussion I said in an earlier post up there that somewhere around £1 for every gram saved might be considered reasonable, so an xtr casette does not fit that criteria, but its all useful discussion, and I appreciate it all, just mulling the pros and cons of any given bit of weight saving is a useful exercise .
I'd just like to point out that I started this thread with the intention of getting ideas, and I do appreciate all the input so far, its been great, really helpful, but this discussion does not constitute a contract between me and the forum that I will go ahead and do any of this, just looking for ideas, some people seem to be getting annoyed that I'm not taking their suggestion and doing it,or that I consider the suggestion a compromise too far
.I'm well versed in swapping components to save weight, and not new to this , and I'm confident that my current setup (except for battery) is about as light as it can go without compromising what I prioritise, in fact in my first post I said
I was mainly just testing that I hadnt missed something substantial - sounds like I havent, except for possibly cassette and saddle.
You've been given tons of options at half your £1 per gram criteria but dismissed almost all of them.
It doesn't bother me in the slightest and I haven't noticed anyone else get annoyed but you are wasting everyone's time here.
It doesn't bother me in the slightest and I haven't noticed anyone else get annoyed but you are wasting everyone's time here.
I think, as in fairness he did say, he was wondering if there were any out there options he'd missed or not considered .....
We've only really thrown in the normal options ... because we've not come up with any abnormal options which work .. yet ... Though the balloons are a winner.
We've only really thrown in the normal options ... because we've not come up with any abnormal options which work .. yet ... Though the balloons are a winner.
- Thread starter
- #56
maynard
E*POWAH Elite World Champion
Give it a try . I think you will be pleasantly surprised.
As regards making a Emtb lighter for low/little expense , I’m pretty sure that the bike manufacturers wouldve explored this ,cos if for say e.g, £500 extra (with their buying power) they could offer a sub 22kg bike, wouldnt they pretty much ALL be sub 22 Kg ?? ??♂
how Heavy Is the rear double down tyre , the heavyduty high roller my commencal came with on the back didn’t help . Fitting the lighter casing protected with a light rat bite insert made a big difference to how light it felt
Interesting thought to add here my 18 commencal meta race 27.5 was under 23kg.
My new trek rail 9 is about 24.5 kg with a 38mm zeb and 29er . I was expecting more of a bulldozer , yet it Feels lighter and lot more playful than the old bike. . Maybe it’s the weight distribution that’s better
My new trek rail 9 is about 24.5 kg with a 38mm zeb and 29er . I was expecting more of a bulldozer , yet it Feels lighter and lot more playful than the old bike. . Maybe it’s the weight distribution that’s better
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