# Bored with a drill bit (pics)



## XSL_WiLL (Nov 2, 2004)

Well. I got bored. So I started poking holes in my bike and taking off knobs and stuff. Shorter bolts... etc. I'll eventually get around to cutting off the v-brake tabs and cable guides. Can't do anything about the ones on the top tube though... The guides for the hydro hose are one piece with the guides for the shifter cables. I'm thinking about stripping the bars... or getting white MG1s to go with it. And I kind of still want to drill the very ends of the bars. It's not like there's tons of leverage on the ends.

I shaved and drilled the levers... but the picture didn't really show. Also drilled my Thomson seatpost. The holes aren't perfect... I may have been slightly under the influence when I did this.

Scale at work teeters on 28 pounds... but I think it might be a bit off, it feels lighter.


























































Don't criticize how clean the bike is... It gets wiped down after every ride so I can keep it in the house.


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## XSL_WiLL (Nov 2, 2004)

Some specs:

Frame: Addict Cycles DJ
Fork: Rockshox Pike with a Maxle 360
Headset: Chris King
Stem: Truvativ Holzfeller
Bars: Deity
Brakes: Juicy 7 it'll be getting an aluminum bolt kit (found em in the shop)
Rotors: Hayes v-cut 160mm. I want to get a 140mm for the rear. May try the Alligator serrated or the Tektros.
Pads: Vesrah - finally bedded in and quiet
Grips: ODI Rogue... had these things for like 3 years now
Barends: NYC Freeride
Seatclamp: Hope QR converted to bolt
Post: cut and drilled Thomson
Seat: WTB Rocket V with all the bumpers and some of the staples removed
Cranks: Shimano XT - BB has the internal plastic sleeve removed (forgot to reinstall it)
Pedals: Azonic Accelerator - going to be replaced
Front rim: Alex Supra BH
Rear rim: Sun MTX (part of an Eight Track wheelset)
Front hub: some generic POS
Rear hub: Ringe Abbah with a Salsa skewer (only skewer long enough... and it's light... and my hub isn't compatible with the swoopy bolts)
Spokes: soon to be relaced with DT double butted and alloy nips.
Tubes: Performance Ultra Light
Tires: Maxxis Holy Roller 2.4 - will be replaced soon
Chainring: e13 G-ring 36t
Gearing: 36/18 I'll probably swap the 18t for a 16t


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## paintballeerXC (Jun 9, 2005)

interesting what ever floats the boat


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## BikeSATORI (Mar 20, 2004)

Nice work, winter will do this to a person, hahaha...
Some people hate it or bash it for no reason, but I really like to see people messin' around with their bike and tools... putting some thought into small possibilities, etc. It's called hot-rodding, man! here before our time and bound to carry on.

But I'd recommend just buying a dremel. Open up some of those reliefs, looks cleaner and saves more weight than just a drill press (when you think it structurally safe anyway).
Dremel would allow you to minimize those 1pc cable guides you were mentioning too, just eliminate the material that is there for the derailleur cable...
Just cheap small tools that are easy to obtain and easy to use, even if you only own an apartment or something where a workshop is out of the question. Just don't do it on the bed, the metal dust can get itchy, hahaha! 

Not a fan of the bar-ends though. I wouldn't drill mine, just pick up some lighter ones; Kink!

MG-1's are sickeningly light, but for about 1/3 of the cost you can have the twisted pc's which weigh about the same and have the same amount of grip IMO. Heck, pick up two pair, one for street/grinding, and one for trails when you want the grip studs on there.

One thing I haven't tackled yet is drilling my rims... just never got around to unlacing my wheel, nor found a way to mount it up to the drill press that isn't cumbersome. I did just build up another wheel last night though, quickest one I've ever done, but she's already light so no drilling needed.

here are a few pics of some recent messing around... But currently on to stage 13 right now, hahaha, takin' it to the 7th level! I'll post up pics of that action later. :thumbsup:

shortened drop plates about 3/8" and rounded, then speed-holed... may open it up to a relief similar to my Rebate dropout down below... but I think just the circle looks clean.








drilled some in the blade too but can't see in the pic...
















and check my "tree bar-ends" thread for more action on silencing your bars!


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## XSL_WiLL (Nov 2, 2004)

Oh, I've got a dremel. That's what I used to remove material from the levers. I was going to cut ovals into the adapter... but I couldn't find any of the cut-off discs.

Re-edited:

As for the barends... I like the NYC because they replace the ODI lockjaw clamp on one end. But I'd probably be okay if I only ran one clamp anyways.

I'm thinking about opening up some slots on the bottom of the non drive dropout. There are already two holes there to bolt on a grind plate.

Yeah, when I relace the wheels I think I'll drill the holes on the inside wall a little bit bigger for the front wheel. I'm also very tempted to cut slots into the hub shell so you can look in.

Nice.


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## DJskeet (Oct 19, 2007)

The bar ends look good. I just don't have any...lol

Always wanted to drill out some holls in my seat post but never got around to it.

good work!


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## BikeSATORI (Mar 20, 2004)

XSL_WiLL said:


> Oh, I've got a dremel. That's what I used to remove material from the levers. I was going to cut ovals into the adapter... but I couldn't find any of the cut-off discs.
> 
> Re-edited:
> 
> ...


oh ok, cool. for most of the stuff I use a dremel for, I use one of their "carbide" or ti or something (forgot what "dremel" calls their hard bits) little bit that has the spiral pattern on it... says it's for removing hardened metal material... just don't confuse it with the softer ones meant for removing grout or cutting tile. If I need a cutting wheel I use an angle grinder, haven't had much luck with the little weak ones that come with the dremels.

Yeah, I know what you are saying about those ends replacing the outer clamp, I ran some dangerboys like that on my splinter with the ruffian mx's.

Removing some material on your drops might be cool, they look a bit overbuilt towards the rear.
but I'd probably never drill or slot out a hub shell though, those things see so much stress from all different angles I'd be a bit weary. :eekster:

You know, I've been looking at buying a pike in the past few seasons but never did... I was just curious if you could rig something up with the stupid looking maxle handle. Could you remove the handle and make a little piece that you can fold up and down in the cam with an allen wrench or other multi-tool stuck in it as a handle? You see what I'm saying? Just a thought. lose some weight, and some extra stuff hanging off your bike, but still quick-release by using something from your pocket.


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## XSL_WiLL (Nov 2, 2004)

The best I could come up with for the Maxle is to use one of those little locking skewers instead of the QR. But then... you'd also need pliers or a wrench to remove the Maxle. Because when the skewer opens the handle falls into a slot to turn the 20mm part. Or I guess you could drill holes on the perimeter of the end of the Maxle and just use a allen key through the holes to turn it.


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## euroford (Sep 10, 2006)

will my man, your bike is way too clean!! leave the drill alone and go ride!

27lbs is stylin though!


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## the_godfather (Jan 19, 2007)

i would have to disagree with the drill. satori's dropouts look good and so does the brake lever. i also like what will has done with the bar ends and the IS to post mount brake adapter.

you could drop more weight by going with smaller gear rings. means you would have to change your adapted bashguard.


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## -.---.- (Jun 15, 2007)

nice job, but dude those holes here and there wont make such a difference in weight will it? Well unless you drilled all over the place =)

Nice tv by the way =).


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## XSL_WiLL (Nov 2, 2004)

No, doesn't make much of a difference. Shaves maybe a few grams... but I get bored. And I guess a few grams here and a few grams there begin to add up. Plus it adds some flare and character (even if the holes aren't quite right).

As for riding, I rode some over break when it warmed up. It felt good to be back on the bike... a bit sore and out of breath... but good.

That chainring is already wicked light at 36 grams. The cog is a bit heavy since it's steel. I could grab a lighter chain too. The bash isn't too heavy, I already cut out the unneeded material behind the arm. I could make it lighter...


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## -.---.- (Jun 15, 2007)

yeah cut the bash in half...you won't be using all of it anyways... probably. Those pedals look heavy but I could be wrong. Drill some holes in those =). What about the front brake? Need it?


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## ilostmypassword (Dec 9, 2006)

WHY? 
:nono:


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## XSL_WiLL (Nov 2, 2004)

Because I got bored... it's my bike... I have extras if it breaks... WHY NOT?

I guess somebody missed out on the 90s.


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## euroford (Sep 10, 2006)

for some reason (maybe because it was midnight, i was half drunk, i'd been up since 4am, and i had been ice climbing all day) i wasn't paying attention and didn't at first notice the way you carved up the bash guard.

thats actually pretty effin clever and i dunno why i haven't already done that myself.


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## A Grove (Nov 12, 2006)

Will, Why not cut it into a "taco" style bash? Thats what I'll end up doing with mine once I get it re-built.


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## climbingbubba (Jan 10, 2007)

BikeSATORI said:


> shortened drop plates about 3/8" and rounded, then speed-holed... may open it up to a relief similar to my Rebate dropout down below... but I think just the circle looks clean.


did you just use a dremmel to shorten the dropouts? i don't know if you saw my post a while ago but i want to shorten mine according to the chain tension. at most i could do is .3 inches cause then it starts to run into the welds but if i could get a full .3 inches off that would put my CS at 14.6 with 24's.


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## combatkimura (Jul 17, 2007)

Keep an eye on that brake caliper mount(not that you wouldn't). I did that to one and it started to bend. I'm glad I caught it when I did, the rotor was a c-hair from bottoming out in the caliper. I removed a little more material than you did though.


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## BikeSATORI (Mar 20, 2004)

climbingbubba said:


> did you just use a dremmel to shorten the dropouts? i don't know if you saw my post a while ago but i want to shorten mine according to the chain tension. at most i could do is .3 inches cause then it starts to run into the welds but if i could get a full .3 inches off that would put my CS at 14.6 with 24's.


used an angle grinder. :thumbsup: If you're shortening the slots, make sure to do that CAREFULLY! get it symmetrical, rounded, and straight..
Forgot to say... you shouldn't go all the way up the the weld, that is a bad idea, probably structurally, and not to mention, even if the slot goes all the way up to the weld limit, you wont get chainstays that short if your axle can't bolt over weld...

and to the other comments.... say each hole you did was a good 2-3+grams, well you do 20 holes of various size and you lost a couple of ounces.  
I hope more people don't start doing this though. Someone, could well likely be me or Will, may take it too far, post the carnage or damaged component and it will spark a whole riot of hate. It's just a hobby I like to mess with, I've always liked tools, may as well apply that to bikes. Don't want every kid to grab a black&decker drill and start speed holing 'cause they saw it on the net and it was trendy to lose weight.


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## C S (Sep 26, 2007)

Nice work. Really digging the bash guard and the chainring. 

Btw, which Pike model do you have?


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## BIKESerFUN (Sep 5, 2007)

Drilling holes in stuff is for silly gooses


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## crakbot (Nov 5, 2005)

That fork with the dremeled drop outs makes me nervous. But it looks like it has some wear on it so it must be holding up. Then again, I have a phobia of breaking parts. Even when I put on new parts I think I overtightened this or that and it's going to snap. It's a sickness


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## Vinny A (Oct 8, 2006)

Good work will I love seein people break out the tools and mod their whip. Also did you get my PM about the mtb stuff?

Oh and euroford Ice Climbing kicks major ass!


euroford said:


> , and i had been ice climbing all day)


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## bmxracer_2 (Oct 8, 2007)

Drill your bars? kinda like this?


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## euroford (Sep 10, 2006)

Vinny A said:


> Oh and euroford Ice Climbing kicks major ass!


hell yeah it does, we have our own little private playground.


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## The Dude (Jan 19, 2004)

kool. i think


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## BikeSATORI (Mar 20, 2004)

bmxracer_2 said:


> Drill your bars? kinda like this?


yeah, or like mine...  









more info here


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## Iggz (Nov 22, 2006)

XSL_WiLL said:


> Well. I got bored.


After seeing how many people you help on the mtbr forums I would have figured you had some sense of what is good and actually useful... Taking the knob out of a J7 to save weight has to be the fvcking stupidest thing I have ever seen. Sorry, but that's dumb. You can have extra's and whatever but It's dumb. All the other stuff, that is understandable. But cmon now....


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## balfabiker22 (Feb 26, 2006)

Do you race or just jump and stuff...???


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## XSL_WiLL (Nov 2, 2004)

Did race. I'll probably get into collegiate racing next year. For now, it's just messing around. If I get back into racing... gears are going back on.

And why would taking the knob off be dumb? Because I might jam dirt in there? Dirt manages to work it's way in anyways. And I'm smart enough to not turn the worm gear without cleaning it out... not that it matters. Besides, I never use the knob after bleeding it. So why bother keeping it there? So I can mess it up when I ditch the bike? I've broken the knob on another set when I hugged a tree mid race.

********. If you're going to be mean about it... you might as well specify WHY it's dumb. Is it dumb because it's going to hurt the brake? It won't. Is it dumb because I'm not loosing much weight? Well... it's still weight being lost, and it's FREE.

And seeing as it's my bike, I'll do whatever I damn please. If I want to run 700c wheels and tires... I will.

Dave, I dig the bars. I'll probably do that... but less extreme.


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## literocola (Dec 18, 2006)

euroford said:


> hell yeah it does, we have our own little private playground.


I can up that


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## Rover Nick (Jul 13, 2006)

Speed hoelz r fun


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## euroford (Sep 10, 2006)

literocola said:


> I can up that


wut?


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## DJskeet (Oct 19, 2007)

bmxracer_2 said:


> Drill your bars? kinda like this?


I guess your bars double as a bong


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## tibug (Dec 5, 2006)

XSL_WiLL said:


> And seeing as it's my bike, I'll do whatever I damn please. If I want to run 700c wheels and tires... I will.


Don't do that man. Run 650c FTW...

Tim


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## XSL_WiLL (Nov 2, 2004)

Ah yes... 650s and the aero bars. Good idea.


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## AW_ (Jan 3, 2006)

Wow. This thread has totally blown my mind.


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## tibug (Dec 5, 2006)

AW_ said:


> Wow. This thread has totally blown my mind.


Combine the Chevy and the Ram and you get????

You guessed it...........or maybe you didn't.... A '73 Nova supersport with a lift.










I think that drilling holes in your bike is a very good way to pass the winter.You would be suprised how much weight you could shed and how much time you could waste while waiting for the snow to melt.:thumbsup:

Tim


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