# 2013 Scott Scale 920 Racing Build-on-a-Budget Project



## MattMay (Dec 24, 2013)

I've decided to make a summer project of this 2013 Scale 920 medium frame I won on an eBay auction. My goal is to build a custom lightweight fully functional racer that lands somewhere in the 18-19.5 lb range, but on a limited budget.

The frame came, and weighed in at 1070g. For the life of me, I can't figure out how Scott got the 949g claimed weight. The front der and two sets of water bottle cage holes are inset under the carbon and look to be made of steel, but they aren't removable, but I can't see them adding 121g. Anyway...









The frame came with a 141.6g (fat!) 34.9mm carbon seatpost 350mm (unknown brand...looks like a Chinese *bay item) and 6.1g collar.

















Seller listed it as "excellent" condition. When it came, it was more like Good-Fair.

























I didn't like all the blemishes. And I'm not wild about the older neon green...sortuva duller yellowish green in person. Since I'm going to make this a functional racer, I decided step one was make it look fast and change the colorway.

I like the red-black-white combo, so I ordered some 3M 1080 vinyl wrap, which I taught myself how to use in changing the colorway of my trail bike (Santa Cruz Solo/5010), along with how to use knifeless tape. I ordered matte black, gloss black, red, white vinyl swatches (1 x 5 ft), along with some Scott frame decals in various colors and sizes, all from eBay. I couldn't find Scale decals, so I just used Scott decals in different sizes.

I don't like screaming logo advertisements, though, but I wanted to keep the Scott identity, so I went with gloss black lettering. I sanded down the blemish ridges as much as I could. I laid down a strip of matte black first to cover the old letters, then applied the proper size frame decals.

Here's the end result, adding 20g of weight to the frame.









































I know folks have gotten these to 17ish lbs, but again, I don't want to spend a fortune, so I'll be using mostly near-new or supersale/last model year parts, along with some miscellaneous parts I already own residing in my misfit spares box.

I'll be weight-conscious for sure, because what I'd really like to do is to meet the top-of-the-line 2013 Scott Scale 900 SL spec, which was 18.06lb/8.2kg not including pedals (so 18.5ish out the door).









I'll post progress pics, scale shots, etc. and welcome all input and commentary, because I'm a tinkerer...so once the build is done, I'll always be looking for improvements to the weight-performance equation.

Step 1: fork.


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## moefosho (Apr 30, 2013)

What is the budget?


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## MattMay (Dec 24, 2013)

Good question, sorry! Ideal would be under $3500. $750 on frame, $60 on vinyl so far. I'll put costs in as I go.


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## zephxiii (Aug 12, 2011)

subscribed. Glad u ended up with at least a real Scale frame...and in not too bad condition.


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## MattMay (Dec 24, 2013)

Yeh, always sketchy and risky buying anything carbon off the Web! Actually lost the auction in the last 3 seconds, but winner couldn't pay, so I got the "second chance."


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## phlegm (Jul 13, 2006)

Fantastic! Looking forward to this build, and great details thus far!

The frame mods look factory - at least with the pics you've sent. 

You've got a nice head start on my last build as my Stumpy frame was 1180g. Can't imagine either where Scott got their claimed weight, although it wouldn't be the first time we've seen stuff > claimed.

Looks like some internal routing as well? Keep us posted.


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## MattMay (Dec 24, 2013)

Thanks! Unretouched iPhone photos only, promise!

Yes some internal stuff...I've already been warned by frame seller about doing cable routing before bottom bracket. 

Note on budget: the $3500 refers to incremental cost, cash out of pocket from frame purchase on. Obviously real cost would be much higher as spare parts had to be purchased at some point in time. I'll do an inventory tonite.


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## RS VR6 (Mar 29, 2007)

Nice! Looking forward to the build up. For 3500 after the frame...you can build up quite a nice bike.

As for the frame weight. Its possible that Scott weighed a small frame. There can also be small variations then it comes to carbon frames...like resin and the carbon itself. I would just sand the paint off and do a matte clear on it. The scratches would bug me.

I worked for a small place that builds carbon road bikes...and when I weighed the frames in a given size (I weighed all the 51cm's)...none were identical in weight. Same went for the road forks. So when it came time to build my bike...I picked the lightest frame and fork in stock. :cornut:


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## MattMay (Dec 24, 2013)

^That makes sense. I looked but couldn't any clarifying language around the frame size 949g might be based on. 

I think miscommunicated budget, I actually want to include the frame purchase. I just wanted to exclude some miscellaneous parts I already have, which include stem, bar, cable, headset, pedals, saddle, cassette and a bunch of Ti bolts. Significant dollars sunk. Will list existing inventory soon to be fair. 

So running total $810.


Chain Reactiob has an "up to 70%" blowout going in do in I'm hoping to find some goodies. And a bunch of good looking parts has been listed on Pinkbike recently.


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## RS VR6 (Mar 29, 2007)

The wheels and cranks are going to be two big factors in weight. Fork will be important too as it will have a big effect on how your bike will ride. I think thats where I would put my money towards first.

The new 11 speed XT will be out soon. Its not the lightest...but price to performance...it's real hard to beat.


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## Goran_injo (Jul 4, 2007)

MattMay said:


> ^That makes sense. I looked but couldn't any clarifying language around the frame size 949g might be based on.


Your weight is actually on the lower end of what it should be for a 920.

900 models (HMX) are under 1000g, 910-920 models (HMF) are over 1100g. 
No where are Scott claiming 950g for a 910 frame as far as I have seen.


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## MattMay (Dec 24, 2013)

Goran_injo said:


> Your weight is actually on the lower end of what it should be for a 920.
> 
> 900 models (HMX) are under 1000g, 910-920 models (HMF) are over 1100g.
> No where are Scott claiming 950g for a 910 frame as far as I have seen.


Yessir, you are correct. I did not know there was that difference, but as I look at the specs the 900 Premium and 900 RC models' carbon is coded "HMX" as you correctly state, and 910-930 are "HMF."

The seller had "under 949g" language listed, taken from Scott's collateral (see below) and I didn't press him on actual weight nor did I do a lot of homework on Scott specs until after I accidentally won the auction.

The marketing lingo doesn't make the distinction right up front. This is from the catalog I downloaded from Scott's site:









No worries, quite happy with the starting weight. And thank you for clarifying!


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## MattMay (Dec 24, 2013)

RS VR6 said:


> The wheels and cranks are going to be two big factors in weight. Fork will be important too as it will have a big effect on how your bike will ride. I think thats where I would put my money towards first.
> 
> The new 11 speed XT will be out soon. Its not the lightest...but price to performance...it's real hard to beat.


Right, and I'm limited on both counts, option-wise. The rear dropout is the 135x10, so like Phlegm with his Spesh build the lightweight thru axle options are out...skewer or Hadley bolt there.

And it's a bb92 (41 x 89.5mm shell) so I'm a little bummed that I can't put a RaceFace Next SL direct mount in there (30mm spindle), which I have on my trail bike and absolutely love.

Definitely going 1x11...switched to that last year and prefer the range of SRAM to XTR (despite the Shimano claims of better cadence rhythm). I was always an XTR guy until I tried 1x11, and at the time Shimano was late to the table and didn't wow me when they finally made it.

I have the X01 rear derailleur, cassette and shifter on my trail bike, little difference in weight vs.XX1...in fact I think the X01 cassette may be marginally lighter. Plus I have an extra one.

I'm looking for a '13-'14 X01 or XX1 chainset, which I've seen for under $300, and may as well just go with a SRAM ceramic GXP bb, which is expensive as bbs go, just so everything marries up well.

Probably a 34T ring, 4 bolt, as SRAM doesn't do an x-sync direct mount option for the GXP bb and 156 Q factor this bike takes.


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## MattMay (Dec 24, 2013)

*What's in my spare goodies box*

Here's some existing stuff in my spare goodies box I'll try to use. It's not much, but it will help the budget.

X01 10-42 cassette, 264g. Bought this on a huge holiday sale last year, knowing I'd eventually have to replace my the one on my trail bike.









Ritchey stem, 80mm, 100g. I swear I can't remember getting this...maybe from my roadie days which I left 3 years ago. Not 100% sure it'll work. Might want longer.









Bar, Answer carbon SL 660mm, 120g. I went to longer bars (760mm) on my trail bike early last year. Not sure if I'll like reverting to shorter bars.









Saddle, Selle Italia, 123g. Not a comfortable seat as I recall, which is why it's in the box.









Ti rotor bolts. I know have another 6 somewhere.









Bontrager Race X foam grips, 21.5g. No clue if these are any good. $9.99 when I bought them a few weeks ago at my LBS.









Pedals, Candy 1. Left over from when I was thinking about red trim on my trail bike (went another direction, gold...don't hate! http://forums.mtbr.com/santa-cruz/l...go-lite-their-5010-a-920434.html#post12079319)









Also, found these. I remember wanting to make the Candy 1's as light as the Candy 11's, and bought these Ti spindles (Home Page).









Five minute switch! Weight after switch, equal to Candy 11's:









And for the sake details, weight of original steel spindles:


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## phlegm (Jul 13, 2006)

Love the blacked out cassette. I just happen to prefer narrower bars, so I get a weight bonus by default with those. Will be curious to see if you stay with something wider or not.

I hear you about the saddles - I've got a bunch of them in the basement that aren't comfortable.


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## CuddlyToast (Oct 30, 2013)

wouldn't a PF92bb work?
RaceFaceBB
Unless i missed something?

Cool project.


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## RS VR6 (Mar 29, 2007)

Nice collection of parts! 

I stayed with the 135 too. I couldn't tell the difference with a 142 rear end.

Not sure I'd drop the cash on a ceramic BB (unless for some reason you had to). The benefits seem negligible on a bicycle. Sure on a turbo that'll spin at 30,000 rpm's...but not sure on a rider which will max out at about 120rpms. 

For wheels...I was actually thinking about getting some eBay hubs like Koozer and building around some Stan's Crest hoops. I've seen some builds come out to around 1400 grams.

SRAM may not have a DM ring for a 156Q...but have you checked the third party manufacturers?

IIRC the X01 and XX1 cassettes are the same. The X01 just has the black treatment.


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## phlegm (Jul 13, 2006)

RS VR6 said:


> ...
> 
> IIRC the X01 and XX1 cassettes are the same. The X01 just has the black treatment.


The former is 275g, while the latter is 260, claimed by SRAM.

Personally I think the 15g penalty is more than worth it for the blackout.


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## MattMay (Dec 24, 2013)

CuddlyToast said:


> wouldn't a PF92bb work?
> RaceFaceBB
> Unless i missed something?
> 
> Cool project.


You're correct in that it would work as a bb, but won't take the Next SL crankset, which has 30mm spindles. I'd need to use other Raceface stuff with 24mm spindles, which I'm not as interested in.


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## MattMay (Dec 24, 2013)

Possible stroke of luck: a friend is selling of parts of his 29er, including a '13 SID RCT3 100mm fork with just one season on it. Already unloaded his wheels unfortunately but is building up a lightweight 27.5 trail bike. I happen to have a '13 Fox 32 140mm Kashima and shock off my trail bike (that I replaced with a Pike and CC DBInline), both of which I had PUSHed. Possible even Steven swap providing steerers in both cases are long enough, which they appear to be. Will know tomorrow. Fingers crossed this works because after looking around at some prices and what's available it's not looking all that great for the budget. Wheelset being the issue...guess there's always Chinese carbon but I'm a little spooked by that.


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## MattMay (Dec 24, 2013)

Solid fork trade, steerers will work, I'll have maybe 15mm space depending on headset.

What I gave: '14 (not '13 as in previous note) 27.5 Fox Float 32 CTD 140mm with PUSH Elite (they replace the high and low compression with their own, 15 clicks of high, 20 clicks of low), with Slik Graphics stealth decals. My investment, around $1100.









What I got: '13 SID RTC3 100mm black on black. Weight 1560g including race. Maxle 70.5g. (Hope there's $ to go somewhat exotic and cut that weight down!)

















No rear shock involved.

Today after my ride on the nice damp trails of Southern Cal (yep, it rained here yesterday) I'll go shopping and bargain hunting for a drivetrain.


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## phlegm (Jul 13, 2006)

Is replacing the front axle in your budget?


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## MattMay (Dec 24, 2013)

^Probably not, but one must pay dues to be in the WW forum! 

Speaking of budget, drive train is now purchased, went predominantly XX1 because when it came down to it there wasn't a huge $ difference because of the weird and wide pricing levels on assorted sites that I could find, and when it comes to the drivetrain I like top-level stuff for performance and reliability/durability:

SRAM XX1 GXP Chainset 156 QF 175mm cranks: $268 (Amazon/Beach City Bike)

SRAM XX1 34T 4-bolt Chainring: $60 (Competitive Cyclist)

SRAM GXP Ceramic BB: $179 (eBay/Discount Bike Supply)...only $20 more than Hope so I figured why not for "marriage" purposes.

XX1 rear der: $245 (Chain Reaction)

X01 shifter: $101 (Chain Reaction)

The other splurge/WW item to consider is a red KMC chain...$90 on eBay.

EDIT: last night Merlin Cycles was completely out of stock of XX1 chain sets, today they have stock of just 156 QF for $230. Was able to cancel Amazon Prime order, and go Merlin. Ordered full XTR m9000 brakeset for $325 while I was at it. Free shipping. :thumbsup:


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## Acko (Feb 18, 2014)

Cancel the 4 bolt chain ring and get a direct mount


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## MattMay (Dec 24, 2013)

Not available for bb92 QF 156, can only use 4 bolt. Trust me I doublechecked.

AND to make it confusing for people the pictures on websites show the direct mount image.


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## MattMay (Dec 24, 2013)

Additional items on order/update:

Ritchey WCS Carbon Headset: $75 (Amazon/Bicycle Addiction) 
SID Red Decals: $23 (Slik Graphics)
Schwalbe Thunder Burt 2.1, snakeskin: $136 (for 2, Amazon)
KCNC Razors, 160mm: $50 (JensonUSA, bought last 2!)


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## MattMay (Dec 24, 2013)

Final items include wheels and weight weenie bling:

KMC x11sl chain black/red: $99 (eBay)
Carbon-Ti 15mm front thru axle, red: $70 (eBay)

I'll post scale shots when received.

'14 Specialized Roval Control sl carbon: $1120 (Win's Wheels)

Wins Wheels is a local service and parts only shop, very cool place, run by Win Allen, best mechanic and master wheel builder in my locale. He does not sell bikes, only components, new and other. You can sit and watch him work on your bike at "the bar."









He started in his garage 9 years ago after leaving an LBS. I helped him with his initial business plan, and he co-sponsors a rec team called Fast Friday I was a founding member of ten years ago. He had other kinds of sets, and these were not the cheapest, lightest, widest, or newest (and price is healthy good-guy discount), but best price/weight ratio. Includes endcap conversion from 12x142 to 135x10 (luckily these were not 142+ which you can't convert) and XD driver.

Weight is 1460g (640 front, 820 rear) with rim tape, tubeless valves. I think the skewer may have been in there, not sure. (Phlegm's 2015s were 1414g).

















Total now I have as $3523. I'm going to have Win assemble bike and check/service the fork, price tag estimated $125...faster, cheaper, better than I could do it all. So $3648.

I didn't make the $3500 mark exactly, but if I didn't publicly state a constraint I know I would've spent more.

Final scale pics when all parts in and assembled.


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## RS VR6 (Mar 29, 2007)

Lol...I had a heck of a time trying to find his shop.


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## MattMay (Dec 24, 2013)

Yeh not exactly retail! You must be in the Westlake Village area?

Tidbit: Win just married Timari Prius who rides endurance xc for Pivot.


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## MattMay (Dec 24, 2013)

Components starting to roll in from near and far:

Thunder Burts (snakeskin):

















Rear derailleur:









Shifter:


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## MattMay (Dec 24, 2013)

KCNC Razors, 160mm. Weird, came in two different shipments at two different times from two different carriers today (from JensonUSA).

Initial reaction: 1.6g variation on this item is not impressive. At all. I weighed them 3 times. My Ice-techs were within .2g.

I know what you're thinking: why not 140mm for rear? This '13 Scott frame won't accept anything below 160mm. (What were the frame designers thinking in 2012/13?)

Curious to see/feel how XTR m9000s work with these vs. Ice-techs. Hypothesis: slightly mushier due to thinner blade.


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## RS VR6 (Mar 29, 2007)

MattMay said:


> Yeh not exactly retail! You must be in the Westlake Village area?


A buddy of mine used to live off Kanan and TO blvd. We rode the road bikes every weekend and would pass by the business plaza Win's is in. Took a couple rides to realize that the shop is actually in the center. Right across from where Franco used to be.

The KCNC shouldn't feel mushier...it just won't have the braking power of the Ice Tech rotors. I went from Ice Tech RT-86 to the Ashima Ai2 (with XT M785)...and when I first grabbed the brakes hard...I was like "whoa". Get used to the feel before you hit the trail.


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## MattMay (Dec 24, 2013)

Ah. Good to know about the rotors, thanks!


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## phlegm (Jul 13, 2006)

Seems to me that 140mm native frames (rear) are getting rare. I believe that for 2014+ the Stumpjumper HT frames are now 160mm natively as well.


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## sfer1 (Feb 22, 2009)

The 2014, 2015 and 2016 Scott Scale models won't accept 140mm for rear either.

BTW, I don't know why you keep saying you can't install a Next SL crankset with 30mm spindle on that frame. As someone mentioned before, all you need to get is a CINCH - BB92 bottom bracket. http://www.raceface.com/comp/inst/BB_92_89-5-104-5_107_Installation_Guide.pdf


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## MattMay (Dec 24, 2013)

You're right. Think they updated the bb992...two weeks ago that "allows 30mm spindle" read "can be used with any Raceface 24mm spindle"...and I even had Win at Wins Wheels double-check. Anyway, too late now. And too expensive for the budget anyway!

But good to know, so thank you!


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## MattMay (Dec 24, 2013)

Just arrived, brakes (XTR m9000), chain, Carbon-Ti front axle:

































Love the look of this chain.


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## MattMay (Dec 24, 2013)

*Final Weigh-In*

The final shipment of bits arrived yesterday afternoon and I rushed everything off to my service shop. In my excitement and haste I didn't weigh stuff. My bad, but the SRAM weights have been accurate vs. posted, so the 34T chainset/bb should have been right around 645g (NEXT SL setup would've been 100g below that I think, but probably >$150 more.)

Couldn't stay the whole time to watch progress and take interim shots because he had some other work going on and I had honey-do's, but Win said the bike weighed under 16 before tires, 15.9 or so. I got back in time to catch the final step: tire mount and seal. The Thunder Burts aired up easily with the compressor and no Stan's, but he put in 2 oz after the beads were set for sealing/puncture purposes.

Final weigh-in: 18.4 lbs.









Really happy with the outcome, weight and spend-wise.

Virgin ride and picture in the wild today. Fun project!

Assuming I like riding this steed, I have an idea for phase 2 which I'll tee up after and ask this thread to "weigh" in on.


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## phlegm (Jul 13, 2006)

Nicely done! Hard to beat that result for the cost.

Please post some ride picks/comments.


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## MattMay (Dec 24, 2013)

*First Ride Review*

Awesome day for a first ride. First some shots in the wild.









































I like the looks! The Slik Graphics SID decals matched perfectly with the frame vinyl I put on.

*REVIEW*

Compared to my "workhorse" trail bike (Santa Cruz Solo/5010) the Scale is a thoroughbred. These shots were taken in the Santa Monica Mountains at the top of a 3.5 mile 1000 ft climb off which I shaved a couple minutes off my average time. The combination of light weight, stiffness, and gear-inches (29 vs 27.5 with essentially same gearing) made a difference. My trail bike is 1x11, same 10-42 cassette, and a RF Next SL crank with a 32T ring, so the drivetrain felt familiar, solid, with the 34T/29er combo giving me a little more bang for buck.

I was pleasantly surprised how well it descended...not nearly as sketchy as I thought it would be. I was a little leary because I hated the Tallboy I had a couple years ago. But the chain stays on that bike were a lot longer than the Scale's. I think the Scale is slightly slacker too. I just never felt right on the Tallboy, but I really like feel of this Scale. Very natural, not too stretched nor too cramped. A slightly longer stem might be worth considering, but way too early to tell. The rear end is very flickable, and tight turns didn't slow me down as much as I thought they might, the way they did on my Tallboy.

What really shocked me was the Thunder Burts...they roll, grip, and corner all at the same time. I'm thinking of replacing the Crossmarks on my 5010 with the 27.5x2.25 version of the Burts.

I lost some time going down, but not as much as I gained climbing. And it's not the bike's fault. I've been spoiled by my trail bike's geometry and suspension, including the dropper post. My left thumb instinctively reached for a nonexistent Southpaw to drop the seat too many times than I'd care to admit. I may put a QR clamp on there, not sure.

I'll have to adjust to the narrower bars, but they felt pretty good. And the man bits took a few whacks that smarted. Hard tail is an appropriate term.

I actually like the Bontrager grips. They don't require any sort of adhesive, and they felt good.

All in all, it's an amazingly fast bike, and I look forward to racing it.

*PHASE 2 CHALLENGE*

So the current weight is 8350g. If you had a limit of, say, $700 to drop the weight by, say, 350g without sacrificing race reliability, what would you do? So basically $2/gram saved. (If that's not the right set of constraints, help me construct the right ones!)

Weigh in with your thoughts!


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## zephxiii (Aug 12, 2011)

AWESOME on your ride comments. Scott can really dial in GEO and cockpit, it was the very reason I bought my Scale and Spark. The Scale just felt better than the other bikes I tested, and I got the Spark blind off eBay cuz I knew it was gonna rock, and it has every time I have gotten on it...and umm...I've gotten sag setup correctly lol. 

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using Tapatalk


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## phlegm (Jul 13, 2006)

MattMay said:


> *PHASE 2 CHALLENGE*
> 
> So the current weight is 8350g. If you had a limit of, say, $700 to drop the weight by, say, 350g without sacrificing race reliability, what would you do? So basically $2/gram saved. (If that's not the right set of constraints, help me construct the right ones!)
> 
> Weigh in with your thoughts!


Congratulations - you've done such a good job on your initial build that you've entered what I call "death from a thousand cuts" mode. 

You can aim at most bits on the bike, but savings are minimal, and expensive.

First off, the biggest component loss is still from pedals if you went with CB 11s @ 179g. However, you made a great mod on the Candys (Candies?) so savings would only be ~53g for $450. Not worth it IMO. (Now if you hadn't modded the existing pedals, maybe.)

Next biggest loss is in the seatpost, and I'm not a fan of unknown Chinese carbon near my crotch. As an example from MCFK, their 34.9, 350mm straight post is 113g, for 29g savings - 300 Euro! Not worth it either.

Everything else I've looked at is crazy expensive, averaging 20-30g max. Not worth it, and is somewhat against the theme of your "budget" build anyway. (What's the rear axle/QR?)

You could shed ~200g with rubber - Schwalbe Furious Freds in particular, however they offer zero flat protection. I myself have moved to Thunder Burt in the front, with FuFr in the back, but may exchange the rear as well. I also love the Burts!

So, IMO, you may be done at that reasonable price point.


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## RS VR6 (Mar 29, 2007)

If he rides the local trail in the area...he may get away with the Furious Freds. Most of the local terrain locally is loose over hardpack. He's got a Solo for more gnarlier terrain.

There is a company in France called Shift Up. They make a lightweight cartridge for Rock Shox forks. I don't know too much about it...but its something he can look into.

Suspensions | Shift Up products


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## MattMay (Dec 24, 2013)

phlegm said:


> I'm not a fan of unknown Chinese carbon near my crotch.


Now THAT'S funny!



phlegm said:


> (What's the rear axle/QR?)


Yes, the rear axle is the DS Swiss 135x10 QR. That's one thing I'm looking at.

I think I'd be game to try Furious Freds on race day, depending on trail, as RS VR6 says.

Thanks for nice words and allowing me to post in this forum!


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## MattMay (Dec 24, 2013)

RS VR6 said:


> There is a company in France called Shift Up. They make a lightweight cartridge for Rock Shox forks. I don't know too much about it...but its something he can look into.
> 
> Suspensions | Shift Up products


Interesting!


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## MattMay (Dec 24, 2013)

Anyone have experience with Piotr Smud carbon products? 
products


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## stew325 (Jan 3, 2011)

Love what you've done with the build. Frame looks great with the vinyl! Never heard of the Smud-Carbon. I think the saddle may look similar to Phlegms?? Looks like you could shave decent weight with the saddle and post. 
I just bought a set non-snake skin Thunder Burts to try. I'm always too excited to ride my upgrades to weight and photograph pieces. But I love the build and upgrade threads!


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## MattMay (Dec 24, 2013)

Thanks Stew!

Piotre Smud gets good reviews on other WW forums...guess he's a solo carbon artist. Other folks said he takes a while to return messages, but he got back to me within 24 hours. 

He's much cheaper than McFk...100 Euros less for the seatpost, for example, (using Phlegm's noted price above) at 199 Euros, virtually identical weight to McFk. 29g loss as Phlegm notes.

On the saddle, same deal, comparable weight and presumably quality at a significantly lower price point...150 Euros ($165) vs. $285 on FairWheelBikes. Maybe a 40g loss?

Phlegm, my skewer is 56g. What's your rear Tune DC 16/17 weigh...18-20g?

These three things upgraded, plus I'm really intrigued by RSVR6's fork mod above, could be a nice little upgrade package, all four for 200ish grams loss? Thoughts? Not exactly the 350g for $700 target, but... 

Might make me a card-carrying member of the Weight Weenie club!


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## stew325 (Jan 3, 2011)

Oh, my bad, I forgot that you had such a light seat and post. I must have been thinking of something else. Thats hardly worth it.
The tubeless ready TB tires I bought are around 100g each lighter than Snake skin versions. I'm a bit skeptical of them though, especially on the rear. But that would be an easy loss of 200g as Phlegm mentioned.


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## phlegm (Jul 13, 2006)

MattMay said:


> ...
> Phlegm, my skewer is 56g. What's your rear Tune DC 16/17 weigh...18-20g?
> 
> ...)


Yep, DC17 is 19g:
http://forums.mtbr.com/weight-weeni...rks-stumpjumper-ht-935429-3.html#post11550437


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## xcbarny (Jun 10, 2009)

stew325 said:


> Oh, my bad, I forgot that you had such a light seat and post. I must have been thinking of something else. Thats hardly worth it.
> The tubeless ready TB tires I bought are around 100g each lighter than Snake skin versions. I'm a bit skeptical of them though, especially on the rear. But that would be an easy loss of 200g as Phlegm mentioned.


I tried running a Non Snakeskin Rocket Ron on the front to save 100g. Lasted 3 rides.
Sidewall slashed whilst I was sitting in 2nd place in and XC race. On just grazed a rock, and there wasn't many rocks on the course.

I'm going to try switching to 2.1s instead of the 2.25 s I'm running (Thunderburt on rear, rocket ron on the front). I think this should save about 130g.

I also found that the Non snakeskin tire required a lot more sealant to seal up.


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## stew325 (Jan 3, 2011)

xcbarny said:


> I tried running a Non Snakeskin Rocket Ron on the front to save 100g. Lasted 3 rides.
> Sidewall slashed whilst I was sitting in 2nd place in and XC race. On just grazed a rock, and there wasn't many rocks on the course.
> 
> I'm going to try switching to 2.1s instead of the 2.25 s I'm running (Thunderburt on rear, rocket ron on the front). I think this should save about 130g.
> ...


Found out tonight that the non snake skin burt doesn't work for me. Dnf'd a race. Pinched the sidewall against the bead of the rim. Going back to snake skin. Not worth the 100g to me on my local rocky terrain.

So I think Matmay made the right choice with his SS tires.


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## xcbarny (Jun 10, 2009)

Sounds like you had a similar experience to me. Though luckily I had a tube and still finished.

The Non snakeskin shwalbes really do seem fragile.


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## MattMay (Dec 24, 2013)

That's exactly what I'm afraid of. The SS seem pretty sturdy...three rides in with no problems so far. That SUCKS to lose or dnf due to flats. Nothing worse.


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## MattMay (Dec 24, 2013)

RS VR6 said:


> There is a company in France called Shift Up. They make a lightweight cartridge for Rock Shox forks. I don't know too much about it...but its something he can look into.
> 
> Suspensions | Shift Up products


There's a UK outfit called Sussed Out that sells that suspension mod. Sent them an email and they responded asap.

Found a review:

http://www.paleoracing.co.uk/index.php?itemid=133


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## RS VR6 (Mar 29, 2007)

These guys have a lot of random cool stuff too.

EN FRM Bike UK


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## xcbarny (Jun 10, 2009)

That's great if it saves weight, and improves performance.

I'd be interested to get one on my SID, just to get a better damper.


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## MattMay (Dec 24, 2013)

If you look at the Shift-Up site, Suspensions | Shift Up products, it looks like for 25 Euros you can save 65g just with the replacement hydraulic cap, not even messing with the cartridge/piston. It's the greatest single weight saving element of various options, if my math is right (greatest saving potential is 125g, 65 of which is hydraulic cap). That seems like a no-brainer, especially for someone like me who just had a fork serviced.


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## xcbarny (Jun 10, 2009)

Remember you'll be losing your lockout or any compression adjustment by doing this. You basically just replacing the lockout cartridge with a dummy cap.


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## MattMay (Dec 24, 2013)

RS VR6 said:


> These guys have a lot of random cool stuff too.
> 
> EN FRM Bike UK


very cool!


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## MattMay (Dec 24, 2013)

xcbarny said:


> Remember you'll be losing your lockout or any compression adjustment by doing this. You basically just replacing the lockout cartridge with a dummy cap.


Right. Not ready to do that yet.


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## Le Duke (Mar 23, 2009)

MattMay said:


> If you look at the Shift-Up site, Suspensions | Shift Up products, it looks like for 25 Euros you can save 65g just with the replacement hydraulic cap, not even messing with the cartridge/piston. It's the greatest single weight saving element of various options, if my math is right (greatest saving potential is 125g, 65 of which is hydraulic cap). That seems like a no-brainer, especially for someone like me who just had a fork serviced.


That is the single dumbest WW mod I've ever seen.

Might as well run a Lauf at that point.


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## MattMay (Dec 24, 2013)

Lol!


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## facelessfools (Aug 30, 2008)

I don't post much anymore but i just saw your build and let me say you live in such a great place to ride! I moved to northern Virginia and hate it. Riding in Simi Valley spoiled me. 
Nice job!


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## MattMay (Dec 24, 2013)

Thanks! Funny, my entire family lives in northern Virginia...never ridden there.


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## MattMay (Dec 24, 2013)

Picked up a pair of Bontrager XRO Teams 29x2.1 at a huge Labor Day sale at my LBS...dirt cheap. Anyone ever tried these? I never have. Two things caught my eye: 430g weight and interesting tread pattern with staggered (vs parallel) side knobs.

























Weights not too far from claimed. My Thunder Burts (snakeskin) weighed a total of 1013g, so not a bad rotating weight savings of 132g, and cheap.

Hope they work, gonna be tough to beat the Burts.


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## MattMay (Dec 24, 2013)

*Semi-Final Weigh-in (Xmas coming!)*

Semi-Final weigh-in after some birthday (to me) gifts including an Extralite cockpit (Hyperbar, Hyperstem, Grips) and Bontrager X0 Team issue: 17.81 lbs, including a Garmin stem mount and a couple grams of trail dust.









I say semi-final because a little bird whispered in my ear that a new carbon saddle may be coming my way for Christmas: a MILEBA custom, which should save another 60g or so.

https://r2-bike.com/MILEBA-Saddle-ProPo-Custom-Carbon-UD-matt

Then, finito. And no longer truly "on a budget." Was fun, and I can see how this WW thing can be addicting.


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## phlegm (Jul 13, 2006)

Very, very nice, although your 1-post-per-month pace is killing me!

Any chance you can give more detail, or a build list, and lots more pics when the final bits arrive?


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## MattMay (Dec 24, 2013)

yessir, my bad! I didn't take pics of cockpit bits because they came in so close to listed weights at R2-Bike.com (which shows scale shots of many items):

EXTRALITE HyperBar UL Carbon Flat 700mm: 85.4g.

EXTRALITE HyperStem O-12 +/- 12° 90 mm: 78.2g.

EXTRALITE Hypergrips w/bar caps: 7.9g.

I'll list full build in a single post when final final is done...cool?


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## moefosho (Apr 30, 2013)

MattMay said:


> yessir, my bad! I didn't take pics of cockpit bits because they came in so close to listed weights at R2-Bike.com (which shows scale shots of many items):
> 
> EXTRALITE HyperBar UL Carbon Flat 700mm: 85.4g.
> 
> ...


Those are some really light parts!


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## MattMay (Dec 24, 2013)

But alas, not cheap!


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## MattMay (Dec 24, 2013)

*Final Chapter*

Well, the final chapter of this little project is a sale to a friend of the frameset and crankset. Decided to buy an OPEN Cycles 1.0 frame. Will post pics in "Post your light-weight bikes!" thread.


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## phlegm (Jul 13, 2006)

No - no, don't bail out on just that. ^^ 

I want a COMPLETE BUILD THREAD, damn it!


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## MattMay (Dec 24, 2013)

Ah, sorry. Here it is:

2013 Scott Scale 920 (1090g including vinyl wrap)
Chinese carbon 34.9mm post and seat clamp (148g)
'13 SID RTC3 100mm (1560g)
Ritchey WCS Carbon Headset
SRAM XX1 GXP crankset, 156 QF 175mm cranks
SRAM XX1 34T 4-bolt Chainring
SRAM GXP Ceramic BB
XX1 rear der (243g)
X01 10-42 cassette (264g)
X01 shifter (138g)
Shimano XTR m9000 brakes (205g rear, 190g front)
KCNC Razor 160 (74g front, 73g rear)
Ti brake rotor bolts (16g total)
KMC x11sl chain black/red (233g cut)
'14 Specialized Roval carbon rims ((640g front, 820g rear)
Bontrager XRO Team Issue 29x2.1 tires (442g front, 439g rear)
Carbon-Ti 15mm front thru axle (36g)
Crank Bros Candy 1 peddles w Ti spindles (233g)
EXTRALITE HyperBar UL Carbon Flat 700mm (85.4g)
EXTRALITE HyperStem O-12 +/- 12° 90 mm (78.2g)
EXTRALITE Alien3 rear QR skewer, red 135x5mm (20.5g)
EXTRALITE Hypergrips w/bar caps (7.9g)
Leggero elite carbon bottle cage (14g)
Mcfk carbon saddle (74g)*
Canceled MILEBA saddle order, taking too long
Jag wire mountain pro shift cable, red

FINAL WEIGHT (cleaned, including pedals): 17.64 lbs (8001g)


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