Rigid mtb, alloy, or as light as possible

[DCBassman]

Evenin' all!
As my shoulder is as fragile as an egg lately and for the forseeable future, my alu Scott roadie is going to be history fairly soon.
My other bike is the venerable Trek 800 Sport, currently in 8-speed 11-34 guise. The CB Uracco mtb is to be rebuilt as an 8-speed for my younger son.
The plan is to further modify the Trek to 9-speed, in order to gain a 36t low gear, and possibly to drop the chainrings from 48-38-28 to a couple or more teeth lower also.
As the Trek weighs 33lb, I was wondering, before I head off down this route, if there are any vaguely similar mtb/hybrid 26" rigid frames around, that might be lighter?
Then I could simply transfer parts.
Your suggestions most appreciated!

 

[Cycleops]

The lightest frame would be carbon so the bb couldn't be swapped but even that wouldn't be that much lighter.

 

[DCBassman]

Maybe an alloy hybrid, then. The search continues!

 

[Cycleops]

I bought one of these Trek 8300s down here a while ago and they do come up occasionally and are very light, carbon main tubes with alloy lugs and rear triangle;

 

[DCBassman]

That would be spot on. Will try and find one!

 

[SkipdiverJohn]

Back in the 80's and early 90's, the better quality end of the rigid MTB and Hybrid market had offerings with Reynolds 531 double-butted frames. If you can pick up a decent example from that era, it should come in at no more than 30 lbs weight.
IIRC, my 531 framed Raleigh hybrid from 1988/9 weighs about 29lbs with full mudguards and pannier rack fitted as standard. Essentially it's a flat-bar 531ST Tourer with 38mm tyres - really comfortable and not as slow as you might think.

 

[DCBassman]

Back in the 80's and early 90's, the better quality end of the rigid MTB and Hybrid market had offerings with Reynolds 531 double-butted frames. If you can pick up a decent example from that era, it should come in at no more than 30 lbs weight.
IIRC, my 531 framed Raleigh hybrid from 1988/9 weighs about 29lbs with full mudguards and pannier rack fitted as standard. Essentially it's a flat-bar 531ST Tourer with 38mm tyres - really comfortable and not as slow as you might think.

They just don't seem to exist hereabouts, just BSOs with crappy forks. The CB I'm doing up for my son is just under 31lb, the Trek just north of 33. With the right gearing, maybe I should just stick with the Trek.

 

[SkipdiverJohn]

Most of my bikes are north of 30 lbs in weight, in real-world rideable condition fitted with pedals, drink bottle, mudguards etc. There are a lot of dodgy practices used by manufacturers when quoting bike weights to achieve a low figure, such as not including the pedals or using a small sized frame.
In my own experience, weight only really becomes that noticeable when climbing proper gradients. A couple of pounds difference in weight is neither here nor there when riding on relatively flat or only gently undulating roads. There is always the option of getting off and walking up any really steep bits - not something I do often, but if I run out of gears I do have legs all said and done.

 

[Drago]

Indeed, there is no universal standard for quoting bike weights. Somem go as far as quoting without tyres or tubes, and some, like Giant, refuse to quote because the whole thing is bollards and you should go and ride it and see for yourself.

Provided something isnt utterly granite like I've never cared. It's probably the least impactive variable on my riding.

 

[Gravity Aided]

They just don't seem to exist hereabouts, just BSOs with crappy forks. The CB I'm doing up for my son is just under 31lb, the Trek just north of 33. With the right gearing, maybe I should just stick with the Trek.

Look around for a Trek 950 from the late 80's early 90's. They are a fine bicycle, True Temper steel, oversized tubes, so they had to have special lugs made, because they are brazed frames. Ultra light. I built mine up as a 26" touring bike.

 

[DCBassman]

Look around for a Trek 950 from the late 80's early 90's. They are a fine bicycle, True Temper steel, oversized tubes, so they had to have special lugs made, because they are brazed frames. Ultra light. I built mine up as a 26" touring bike. View attachment 476426

They're around, but not cheap.
I think I'll take a trip to Bikespace, the co-op where I did my bike mechanics, and see what they have.