# Will 800 grams of wheel-weight help me on stop and go climbing rides?



## Solo8 (May 30, 2021)

I just recently bought a new specialized epic evo (2021) but with all the cheaper components. The bike weighs in at 28 lbs but compared to my enduro bike I was flying on it. I was looking at a new wheelset which is 1400 grams carbon (current is 2200), sidluxe ultimate shock (current is deluxe), Sid Ultimate fork (current is reba SL) Whole XT 8100 drivetrain (current is a mix of slx 6100/7100 stuff), Enve stem, and race wheels. I'm thinking total savings will be around 3-4 lbs but from what I understand the wheel weight will be a big factor. Is 800 grams of wheels noticeable? I love to climb and not all that keen on the downhills so was wondering of someone's experience and suggestions in changing my rig for those longer epic rides. Thank you.


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## MSU Alum (Aug 8, 2009)

Reducing the wheel weight that much should help with acceleration, for sure. 3-4 pounds should help on the climbs as well. The wheels may be the biggest factor for your riding.


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## kapusta (Jan 17, 2004)

If the 800g savings is in the tires or rims.... yes, I find that very noticeable. 

Not sure I would bother replacing a whole SLX drivetrain with XT, but that's just me.


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## uzurpator (Dec 8, 2005)

Weight is not noticable at all. Unless we are talking about tens of pounds. Meaty enduro tires vs supple cross-country tires make a ton of difference.


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## Pedalto_themetal (May 29, 2021)

800 grams of wheel weight is huge 🤘🤘🤘


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## robbbery (Jan 12, 2021)

My own anecdotal and probably biased perception: wheel weight does make a noticeable difference on climbs, especially very steep or very technical climbs. You're still going to be working hard to haul your own weight and the bike weight against gravity, no getting around that. But there's that bit of extra work you're doing to accelerate the wheels over and over and over again every single pedal stroke and every bump (who has perfect pedaling technique and perfectly smooth terrain? not me!), and cutting that part down feels really good.

I agree with uzurpator that tire weight will make an even bigger difference. 1 gram of tire has a great moment of inertia than 1 gram of rim, spoke, or hub, since it sits further from the center of rotation.


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## robbbery (Jan 12, 2021)

Pedalto_themetal said:


> 800 grams of wheel weight is huge 🤘🤘🤘


That's a good point! To me, even 100 g of wheel or tire weight is with thinking about seriously. 800g is monster savings.


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## OneTrustMan (Nov 11, 2017)

uzurpator said:


> Weight is not noticable at all. Unless we are talking about tens of pounds.


Nonsense.
When I was switching from 2000g wheels to 1411g wheels with the same tires it was very noticable.
The wheels are the parts of a bike where weight is the most noticable even for non sensitive people.



uzurpator said:


> Meaty enduro tires vs supple cross-country tires make a ton of difference.


Of course but even a meaty enduro tire will be much easier to pedal with lighter wheels.


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## Solo8 (May 30, 2021)

Thanks for the replies. I'm also likely shaving off around an extra 700 grams or so off the rest of the bike. I didn't think 700 grams would be huge if it wasn't for the rotational weight loss as well. A big part of my riding is slowing down then accelerating as quickly as possible over the loop with only about 2 or 3 fireroad climbs that go for around 3 or 4 minutes. I'm hoping this new setup can shave as least 2 or 3 minutes over an hour ride which would be huge as I'm already pushing against the limits.


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## uzurpator (Dec 8, 2005)

OneTrustMan said:


> Nonsense.


On the left - OneTrustMan's "feels"
On the right - collected knowledge of humankind

Who will win?


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## Pedalto_themetal (May 29, 2021)

I live on this tank 8 months/yr. I often think about lighter wheels, even a tire 100 grams lighter, but overall durability is compromised in my situation. I often drop all luggage and trail ride rigid , and my buddies are a little jealous with their enduro bikes... At this point I'm not buying carbon wheels for a Surly Krampus, but am in a que for a ti frame and will then.


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## UPSed (Dec 26, 2010)

On my longer rides I'll swap out my 980g rear tire for a 700g tire and it makes a huge difference.


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## Zguitar71 (Nov 8, 2020)

Here is my experience with saving just over 700 grams on my ‘21 Epic Evo Comp. the difference was night and day. The acceleration was the biggest difference but it makes a difference in all aspects of the ride. I think it is the first place to upgrade. The light wheels makes the bike feel lighter than the 26 pounds your bike will weight after the new wheels.


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## Radium (Jan 11, 2019)

Saving 800g. on just a wheel set is massive in terms of rotational weight. If you can add some tires that have decreased rolling resistance, you have a much "lighter" bike when you pedal.


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## chomxxo (Oct 15, 2008)

The Epic Evo is a trail bike that can be raced. If that's what you're doing, it's great to have a set of race wheels and tires and a trail wheelset. I normally train on a 2000g aluminum extra-wide wheelset with a 2.6 on front and a 2.4 on the rear. I race an ultra-light 1250g wide carbon wheelset with knob-lopped 2.35 race tires. The difference is about 2.5 pounds.

You'd better believe there's a difference in acceleration and climbing. Funny thing is, which do you guess descends faster? Perhaps it's thinking about the money invested, but I blast through just about anything with the trail wheels.

Also additional weight increases inertia downhill, in other words if light weight at the wheel is extra-important in climbing, heavy wheels futher increase your speed downhill. Just facts.


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## Roge (May 5, 2017)

I have a Fuel EX+, my 27.5s with 2.8s weigh about 900g more than my carbon 29ers with 2.4s. It's a huge difference.


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## OneTrustMan (Nov 11, 2017)

uzurpator said:


> On the left - OneTrustMan's "feels"
> On the right - collected knowledge of humankind
> 
> Who will win?


On the left - uzurpator "feels"
On the right - collected knowledge of humankind

Who will win?


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## uzurpator (Dec 8, 2005)

OneTrustMan said:


> On the left - uzurpator "feels"
> On the right - collected knowledge of humankind
> 
> Who will win?


This is the moment where you totally obliterate me with that science.
I did this: TryboBikeTech/power_speed_cadence and a few other things here and there. And I'm not the only one.
Its a fascinating rabbit hole, to be honest. Care to go for a ride? I wonder to which category you'll fall into. My favorite is "but that's just theory" people. Literally denying science. I love that one. :>


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## sergio_pt (Jan 29, 2007)

uzurpator said:


> This is the moment where you totally obliterate me with that science.
> I did this: TryboBikeTech/power_speed_cadence and a few other things here and there. And I'm not the only one.
> Its a fascinating rabbit hole, to be honest. Care to go for a ride? I wonder to which category you'll fall into. My favorite is "but that's just theory" people. Literally denying science. I love that one. :>


The github repo doesn't have a readme... What does it do?


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## Sidewalk (May 18, 2015)

uzurpator said:


> On the left - OneTrustMan's "feels"
> On the right - collected knowledge of humankind
> 
> Who will win?


Before my power meter, I had Strava segments tell me the difference. Back to back dropping just 200g between hoops (Stans Arch to Stans Crest) was pretty substantial. I still have that KOM...

Now I have a power meter, and yes, wheel weight matters.


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## Suns_PSD (Dec 13, 2013)

800 gram wheel weight drop is HUGE and will make a noticeable difference in your bike's acceleration, handling & overall performance. The wheels combined with the fastest rolling tires that you can live with the traction are going to be your biggest performance improvements for the money spent.


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## WHALENARD (Feb 21, 2010)

I agree, 800 grams is HUGE. Seems pretty self-evident too. 

Sent from my Pixel 4a (5G) using Tapatalk


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## Flyer (Jan 25, 2004)

That is a huge weight saving on the bike, You will absolutely feel it, especially if most of it in in the wheels/tires and if you climb a lot, like we do here. You will also feel it in acceleration.


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## mikesee (Aug 25, 2003)

Yes.


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## gsteitz (Sep 9, 2011)

800g of wheel weight should be massive. I'd upgrade to the Enve handlebar as well, the vibration dampening of their carbon is excellent. I might upgrade the XT shifter and maybe the cassette, other than that the difference from SLX to XT is almost non-existent in my opinion. Fork doesn't seem that big of a difference either.


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## plummet (Jul 8, 2005)

Yes you will! I have 2 of the same bike. One with 2300gm wheels, one with 1450gm wheels. The difference is noticable. 

Its the difference between me keeping up eoth my local crew to being able to put them in the hurt locker on the climbs......

Like others have said, tyres are critical and have more impact. I have max grip tyres on the light wgeel bike at the mo and they are draggy af on the ups, makes light wheel bike about yhe se pedal efficiency as heavy wheel bike.


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## Zguitar71 (Nov 8, 2020)

Yes, 800 grams would be a big difference. It would also be the biggest difference of all the changes. The least noticeable and, imo, the most costly for gains would be the stem change. The drive train will hardly be noticeable except for a change to an xt shifter because of the different way it functions with dual down shifts. Changing the fork will make a big difference in feel while the shock will not be as big imo. The wheels and fork would give the largest change to the bikes feel overall.


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## Flyer (Jan 25, 2004)

800? Good lord yes! That's prob like losing 15 lbs of body weight.


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## Stewiewin (Dec 17, 2020)

Solo8 said:


> I just recently bought a new specialized epic evo (2021) but with all the cheaper components. The bike weighs in at 28 lbs but compared to my enduro bike I was flying on it. I was looking at a new wheelset which is 1400 grams carbon (current is 2200), sidluxe ultimate shock (current is deluxe), Sid Ultimate fork (current is reba SL) Whole XT 8100 drivetrain (current is a mix of slx 6100/7100 stuff), Enve stem, and race wheels. I'm thinking total savings will be around 3-4 lbs but from what I understand the wheel weight will be a big factor. Is 800 grams of wheels noticeable? I love to climb and not all that keen on the downhills so was wondering of someone's experience and suggestions in changing my rig for those longer epic rides. Thank you.


hell ye 800g is nice


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## eb1888 (Jan 27, 2012)

Wheels aren't all you can consider. How about rim width and tire options for different terrain? 
25mm is what I remember for that bike oem. If you can go lighter plus add rim width to 30mm that would be beneficial.
Potential for less pressure and more climbing traction from a bigger footprint with 120tpi tires.
If your terrain doesn't chew up the sidewalls.
Lighter makes it easier to get the wheel up over obstacles. You also need traction.


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## chiefsilverback (Dec 20, 2019)

Solo8 said:


> I just recently bought a new specialized epic evo (2021) but with all the cheaper components. The bike weighs in at 28 lbs but compared to my enduro bike I was flying on it. I was looking at a new wheelset which is 1400 grams carbon (current is 2200), sidluxe ultimate shock (current is deluxe), Sid Ultimate fork (current is reba SL) Whole XT 8100 drivetrain (current is a mix of slx 6100/7100 stuff), Enve stem, and race wheels. I'm thinking total savings will be around 3-4 lbs but from what I understand the wheel weight will be a big factor. Is 800 grams of wheels noticeable? I love to climb and not all that keen on the downhills so was wondering of someone's experience and suggestions in changing my rig for those longer epic rides. Thank you.


Seems like you bought the wrong bike if you're about to replace every part on it!


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## Davide (Jan 29, 2004)

I have a crazy light 1170 grams Light Bicycle Carbon wheel set and I use the front quite a lot with a Nobby Nic 2.35 on my Ibis HD3. Probably thanks to my weight, it holds up. Anyway, the difference compared to DT XMC (1420 grams) with Nobby Nic 2.6 is noticeable ... and it is less than 800 grams.


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## Vamp (10 mo ago)

Lots of people already commented, but just to add you don't need to stop at the naked wheels. There's rotors, cassette and tyres to save weight on as well. I just took off stock wheels from a brand new Scott Spark RC Team - they are alloy Silverton2.0 at 2,040g. Replaced with Farsport rims, DT350 hubs and Sapim CX Ray at 1,356g. But add lightweight rotors, Garbaruk cassette and lighter tyres and the overall saving is a touch over 1,300g. And that is really noticeable, I'm pegging it at around 30 seconds on a five minute cilimb.


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## jbrettk123 (10 mo ago)

Davide said:


> I have a crazy light 1170 grams Light Bicycle Carbon wheel set and I use the front quite a lot with a Nobby Nic 2.35 on my Ibis HD3. Probably thanks to my weight, it holds up. Anyway, the difference compared to DT XMC (1420 grams) with Nobby Nic 2.6 is noticeable ... and it is less than 800 grams.
> View attachment 1973042


Those have to be 27.5’s right? I’ve made just about every type of wheel on lightbicycle and could never get down below 1200 grams even with DT 180 hubs, looks like those are the 240’s


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## Davide (Jan 29, 2004)

jbrettk123 said:


> Those have to be 27.5’s right? I’ve made just about every type of wheel on lightbicycle and could never get down below 1200 grams even with DT 180 hubs, looks like those are the 240’s


Yes, 27.5 + DT240. Still going strong. 27.5 is indeed lighter by a chunk!


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## Flyer (Jan 25, 2004)

One time I had Maxxis DHFs on my bike and did a trail with maybe 1800 ft of climbing. At the time, it was my most-ridden trail and I had a thorn in both tires. Luckily, they held air and I kept the goathead spikes piece in for the ride. Sealant was dry. Anyway, after I got home, I threw in tubes that weighed around 200 grams each. I rode the trail again in two days with the same guys and after 10 mins of climbing I could absolutely feel the difference. I was working a little harder climbing and accelerating was a bit tougher. DH and flats were normal though not that much flat around here. Reminds me...I need to buy a light tube or two as a backup. These 29er tubes are anchors.


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