# Single component swap for most weight savings?



## Geedubbayoo (13 Nov 2019)

Hello forum members,

I have a S6L purchased in 2012 and I’ve made no modifications save for replacing the tubes and tires. I’m mostly fine with the weight of the bike but I am curious; if you were to buy one replacement component to lighten the bike what would give you the most bang for the buck (or pound, please sub in your local currency)? I’m not necessarily talking about (grams lost) / (dollar spent) but that could be a valid measure. My suspicion it’s swapping in a titanium seatpost since it looks like that one swap would gain the most weight savings. What do you think?

Greg Weiner
San Francisco CA USA


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## Archie_tect (13 Nov 2019)

Greg, if I could offer you my best advice, it's to enjoy riding your bike just as it is... if I could just lose the extra stone I carry round with me the bike's weight would be irrelevant!


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## annedonnelly (13 Nov 2019)

I agree with @Archie_tect but I'd say it depends on when you need the bike to be lighter. I rarely carried mine folded but if you do need to carry it long distances then reducing the folded weight might be worth doing. I do like I do & wheel it until the last possible moment - at the train doors or just outside the lift.


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## chriscross1966 (13 Nov 2019)

Seatpost and saddle for carbon items is very noticeable. The 
EasyTi handlebar stem saves a massive amount too


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## biggs682 (13 Nov 2019)

The riders beer or food belly is by far the most notice able one to change and it needn't cost a lot


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## netman (13 Nov 2019)

Wheels... weight savings there are the most noticeable, and the most costly!


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## Threevok (13 Nov 2019)

I've said it before and i'll say it again

The biggest weight saving I ever made was ceasing to be such a fat *******

This was achieved by going out on my bike - as it was

Later, I purposely added weight*

* If you intend to do this, please check the max weight of your wheelset - not like me, who had to replace his back wheel as a result


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## Kell (13 Nov 2019)

Ordinarily on a 'normal' bike, the best weight saving to make is the wheels - as mentioned above. 

Lighter wheels help with acceleration, deceleration and climbing. Upgrading those normally means better bearings, so reduced friction and, if they're aero, better on the flat too.

However, I've not looked into doing any of this on a Brompton - and I'd question the validity of it too. 

In my case, as I'm 15 1/2 stone, the biggest weight saving I could possibly make would be to lose 3 stone.


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## ukoldschool (13 Nov 2019)

the rear wheel on an S6 is a heavy beast due to the sturmey archer style BWR geared hub. 
If you dont need all 6 gears (and depending on which gears you do use) you could swap to a 3 (or possibly 4...) cog regular type rear hub type wheel which would save a lot of weight.
I'm investigating this at the moment...


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## MichaelW2 (13 Nov 2019)

This is Brompton S6L not a normal bike for normal people.
The low hanging fruit of weight saving are the tyres, which you have done.
Titanium replacement parts should be assessed on £$€ per gram saved. 
Cranks are probably an easy target for weight saving.


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## fossyant (13 Nov 2019)

Saddle. You could cheaply knock a load off there, but it needs to be one that suits you, otherwise could be very uncomfortable. A Ti seatpost on a folder could be very spendy. Not sure it's the best idea if you are folding and dropping it a lot as it will scratch up.


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## Tenkaykev (13 Nov 2019)

I recently fitted a Titanium seat post to my Brommie, not particularly for the weight saving I'm just an inveterate tinkerer.
I put the new and old seat posts on the kitchen scales, the original weighed in at exactly 400 grammes, the Titanium post at 256 grammes.
The seat post cost me £50 so that's about 35p per gramme.

I also swapped the handlebar clamp bolt to Titanium, not for the weight saving as such, but because having a silver bolt on an otherwise all black handlebar, stem and wheel was annoying me. The black titanium bolt cost £5 and saved me 5 grammes so that's a quid per gramme!
( I was making up the value of an order to qualify for free postage so it made sense to get the bolt )

I'm also of the " lose the weight off yourself before the bike " mindset. After almost a month of travelling and eating out the pounds had piled on so my wife and I started a new regime a few weeks ago. Weighed myself yesterday and I'm back to my pre travelling weight. I'm going to persist with it and try to get near my " racing weight " of 25 years ago. I was doing lots of distance running at the time, and mechanical scales weren't all that accurate. My benchmark was if I couldn't look in the mirror and count my ribs then I was overweight . Perhaps a bit OTT now I've got some super duper WiFI body monitoring scales that are supposedly super accurate.

TopTip: If you share the scales with your wife, don't let slip that if you have set them up to email you your weight after each measurement, it also sends your wife's weight to your email account.


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## CaptainWheezy (13 Nov 2019)

I've gone full weight weenie on my CPHT3 and swapped just about everything I can think of. I found the following to be the lower hanging fruit:

1) Pedals, I swapped to Boardman MTB Pro SPD's, saved 112g at a cost of £26 (~23p/g)
2) Bottom bracket, I swapped to an ACE titanium part, saved 92g at a cost of ~£35 (~38p/g)
3) Seatpost, I changed to a H&H Carbon part, saved 207g at a cost of £116 (~56p/g) <-- No pentaclip needed with this part which contributes to a big chunk of the savings.

The weight savings above are all derived from weighing the parts removed and the replacement parts.


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## chriscross1966 (13 Nov 2019)

fossyant said:


> Saddle. You could cheaply knock a load off there, but it needs to be one that suits you, otherwise could be very uncomfortable. A Ti seatpost on a folder could be very spendy. Not sure it's the best idea if you are folding and dropping it a lot as it will scratch up.


Ti seatpost or CF is around 70ukp to save 150+ grams, and a cheap lightweight saddle rather less for a similar saving.


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## Tenkaykev (13 Nov 2019)

I think the saddle on the CHPT3 has titanium rails? I never thought to weigh the saddle when Swapping the seatpost over.


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## lane (13 Nov 2019)

Body fat. Hard work but I could potentially lose the whole weight of my bike. Lost about half of it already. Not going to lose the weight of my bike swapping components. YMMV of course.


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## Geedubbayoo (16 Nov 2019)

Thanks for all the helpful replies. The top answer was “lose some body weight!” but I’m 5’9” and under 140 lbs so I’m about as low as I’d like to go. And yes the BWR 6 speed hub is the heaviest gearing option but I use the full range of gears here in San Francisco on almost every ride, especially my commute to work.

I’m intrigued by the idea of lighter wheels but does that come at the expense of durability? So far this has been a thought experiment, but if I do make a purchase I do not want to sacrifice durability. There are potholes and uneven pavement where I ride and I carry a good amount of weight in my bag.

To that point one of the replies seemed to indicate that titanium seatposts aren’t as durable as the stock pillar. Is this true? I understand how a carbon fiber post could be scratched and compromised after repeated folding and unfolding but what concerns are there about titanium? Is this related to a specific brand?

I found this relevant article with a chart listing replacement parts and the associated cost/gram:
https://www.atob.org.uk/folding-bikes/superlight-brompton/

Using this as an approximate guide I can see that a seatpost swap is not the most economical upgrade but would give me the most weight savings in one single purchase. Can anyone recommend a titanium post based on personal experience? Any brands to stay away from?

Thanks,
Greg


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## Tenkaykev (17 Nov 2019)

Geedubbayoo said:


> Thanks for all the helpful replies. The top answer was “lose some body weight!” but I’m 5’9” and under 140 lbs so I’m about as low as I’d like to go. And yes the BWR 6 speed hub is the heaviest gearing option but I use the full range of gears here in San Francisco on almost every ride, especially my commute to work.
> 
> I’m intrigued by the idea of lighter wheels but does that come at the expense of durability? So far this has been a thought experiment, but if I do make a purchase I do not want to sacrifice durability. There are potholes and uneven pavement where I ride and I carry a good amount of weight in my bag.
> 
> ...



I recently bought a Titanium seatpost from seller " Wendy" on Ebay. 
I enquired about the grade of titanium alloy used and got a quick reply ( TC4) 
Seatpost arrived in a couple of weeks, seems very well made and extremely strong and light. ( I did try bending it) 

It's a bit unnerving at first, I've fitted it to a CHPT3 which has a lightweight saddle and rails and it feels featherlight lifting the seatpost when unfolding.


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## Gunk (17 Nov 2019)

Swap from two water bottles to one.


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## u_i (17 Nov 2019)

Brompfication posts have a good reputation but are more expensive. They may be a good starting point for looking at what one wants in the post.


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