As a bonified weight weenie (my last weenie bike was a 19 lb cannondale CAAD4 hardtail MTB) I have started a quest to build a sub 16 lb lb TT bike with these restrictions:
Integrated bars, Specialized 250gm saddle (only one that works for me thus far), trispoke front and disc rear.
Right now I’m at 16.75 lbs, I have a plan to get to 15.8.
HED3 front 700c tubular
Corima disc 700c tubular
Tufo S3 lite tubular tires 22mm
Zipp Ti skewers (85g)
Zipp water bottle holder (35g)
Reynolds Ouzo Pro Aero 700c fork
Everything else Dura-Ace with Dura Ace 54t/42t TT rings set (40
gms heavier than normal 39/53’s) and a 11-23 DA cassette, and DA bar end shifters
Plan:
Frame - 03 Kestrel Talon SuperLight 57c - 1090 gm
… aero bladed carbon design, hidden cables, 73.5 seat angle for Slam
Headset - King Devolution - 100 gm
…to bring my 1" fork to my 1-1/8" steer tube
Pedals - Speedplay Zero Ti - 164 gm
… I use DA SPDR now
Post - USE alien aero, small - 151 gm
… lightest
Stem - Easton EC70, 80mmx+6 - 135g gm
… lightest 80mm post made (need 80mm for Slam position)
Aerobar (in shipment right now, hopefully) - HED - 850 gm
… lightest and most aero bar made, includes levers
Saddle (just upgraded) - Specialized S-Works BG - 250 gm
… lightest in the BG line, only saddle that works
for me - I have tried SLR, Flite, Koobi, Terry Fly, cant get comfortable
in the aerobars in any other, I used SLR on my MTB no problem but I cant while in the aerobars.
Brakes: CAT-USA, 160gm pr. … lightest and most aero
You should look at the new Yaqui DL frameset. Probably just as light and just as aero as the Kestrel SL. I think they have a complete DL in at 15lbs, but it is a size 53.
My Litespeed Saber (55) weighs in under 15lbs. Some things that got the weight down are:
FSA Carbon Pro cranks (53-39)
Alien post
Modified Dia compe brake levers. I cut off about 2 inches off the ends. I think Nytro markets thier own light brake levers. Looks like modified Dia comps also. Also cut off about 2in off syntace bar ends.
I also ran Falcon Accell II disc. Weighs in at under 700 grams!
Light bikes are good if you’re racing up the Alps and can’t get any more weight off your body. Seems I read somewhere that a five lb lighter bike will give you something around five seconds over 40 kms on a flat terrain.
To answer your question, my TCR is around 17 or 18 lbs. The P2K is probably a lb or two heavier.
I respect your quest for a light bike because it can be fun and interesting to pursue such things, but I’m not concerned about the weight of my bike until I get my body fat percentage down around 8%. That said, I’m a bit frustrated with my Cervelo P2 time trial bike right now because I could only find a veritable boat anchor for a fork locally in 650c size, the QR/Kinesis Illuminaero. The damn thing weighs almost as much as the bike frame and makes an awful ping noise when it hits bumps.
For a 40 km. time trial I’ll use a full Jetstream and one additional water bottle. That’s got to add at least a kilo to the bike’s weight. Bike weight alone can be deceptive.
I know weight really doesnt matter when it comes to tri performance, but do what makes you happy.
So heres some ideas based on what you got planned:
drop the zipp skewers and get the control tech non QR, you wanna lose 1/2 lb-3/4 lb and a lb is 454 grams—the non QR will give a reduction of like 40+ gms.
get rid of your heavy DA cranks
do the HED3s have ti axles----you can pick these up pretty cheap on bicycles marketplace newsgroup from kristan roberge, i have.
every bolt needs to be ti, like if the stem doesnt come with them, top cap, seat post, etc. you can contact srp-racing and they can provide you with any ti bolt you need practically, just give them the size you need.
ti BB will lighten you up a bit too.
Theres a 13 gram bottle cage on EBAY right now—you can get away with almost 3 for the weight of your zipp.
What bike computer are you using? If you use a polar bike computer, you get away with two for one—and it doesnt “weigh” your bike down as much as a normal pc.
Dont pad the ends of your aerobars, really its not necessary. Heck dont pad the pursuit bars either, wear thicker gel gloves in training.
Just for sanity, I weighed my bike a while back so I could input the weight into the computrainer. The bike was ready to ride but without water bottles. It seemed like it was in the 28 lbs range. Trek A1000 road bike converted to TT.
For the good news, while I was adjusting the der. this weekend I cut off a few inches from the cables. That’s got to help on the weight.
Have I run the numbers correctly? It seems that I have tried to compare Dura Ace cranks to various competitors and that the weights always come within a few grams of each other.
How much weight can you save by “getting rid of the heave DA cranks” and what do you substitute?
I don’t weigh any of my bikes but I know they are all resonably light. I am mindful of wheel, pedal and handlebar weight but not too concerned about much else.