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'05 Epic - Next Upgrade?

1K views 21 replies 11 participants last post by  Andino 
#1 ·
I need help with my next upgrade for my base '05 Epic. I just upgraded to Juicy 7 discs brakes, Mavic 819 tubeless wheels w/ xt hubs and Panaracer Fire XC Pro UST tires, and FSA Carbon low rise bars. The upgrades are huge and make this bike so much better. Problem is, the disc and UST upgrades actually added weight - even though the performance gains are well worth the additional weight. I'm now thinking of my next upgrade to shed some weight and want the biggest bang for the buck.

I've been thinking the biggest weight loss would come from upgrading the crankset / bottom bracket from the stock Custom Hollowtech cranks and ES-30 bb to XTR. Also, replacing the stock seat and seatpost would be easy upgrades. Any ideas how much weight these upgrades would save?
 

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#4 ·
i think you could've done better with the wheels. sell them, and get something really nice (240s hubs on stans rims or something). i'd also get different rubber if it were me. the fire xc's have a lot of rolling resistance and ust tires aren't very light either. i'd replace the drivetrain when it needs it.
 
#5 ·
Cyco-Dude said:
i think you could've done better with the wheels. sell them, and get something really nice (240s hubs on stans rims or something). i'd also get different rubber if it were me. the fire xc's have a lot of rolling resistance and ust tires aren't very light either. i'd replace the drivetrain when it needs it.
I didn't want to spend $600 or more on wheels. That's why I chose the 819s w/ XT hubs. Seemed like a durable and fairly light UST wheel for the $$$. I really like the Panaracers Fire XC Pro's. They are really predictable and are much better than the Maxxis Ingitor front and stock specialized tire in the rear, that I was running b4. I know they are not the lightest UST tire, but the price was hard to beat at $49 for two.

Thanks for your input. I agree that the drivetrain needs to be upgraded.
 
#9 ·
MTBFreerideCT said:
U dont want to spend $600 on wheels... want to spend $500 on a crankset??
You can find weights for the seatpost/seat on spec site and im sure you can find thomson weights out there. Not as much as a lighter wheelset and won't make as big of a difference.
I already spent $400 on new wheels. In Colorado, I expect to thrash these wheels and couldn't justify some major $ for a set of bling wheels. It seems I can get a XTR crankset and bb for $300-$350.
 
#11 ·
well, now you're spending more than $600 for less significant weight savings, but i digress.

you can look up the weights here. i don't know what the custom crankset weighs, but the strongarm 7075 octalink crank that came on my '03 epic weighed 1,040 g. if you look around and are patient, you could snag yourself an xt crankset and cassette for under $200 if you're on a budget.

that would only be a weight saving of a little more than half a pound though? i think you would have better luck getting tires that have less rolling resistance. it might be worthwhile checking out the new panaracer rampage ust. it doesn't seem to be available yet (only the non-ust version). search the wheels forum for info about it; i think i've seen a couple relevant threads. then give larry at mountain high a call. he might be able to get them, and he has good prices and fast shipping.
 
#12 ·
What would I do? Well, first, the cassette. Probably an HG 50... gross/heavy. Upgrade to an XT. Then? Well, you can buy the 970 xtr on ebay for 369 at zing industrie's ebay store. It will def add bling, but is that what you want? You mentioned you didn't wanna drop a lot of coin on blingy wheels, but really xtr is bling. Xt is the 'working man's' xtr. You can pick that up for a 150 at the same ebay store. As for the thomson, I dunno. I just don't buy into thomson. Sure, made in America, looks nice, but in the end...its just an aluminum seatpost/stem, for 100$ a peice! I don't think it's worth it, but, this is coming from a guy who has a king headset/hubset (contradicting, isn't it...) Otherwise, tires. UST tires add a whole pound over non UST tires. Since I replacd my worn out front UST Nevegal to a non UST nevegal, I still have to pump it before every ride because it doesn't hold/seat as well as a UST. I'll go back to UST. Otherwise, I dunno. Be open to what others say, except the lame ones who said SELL YOUR WHEELS, BUY BETTER/LIGHTER/BLINGY-ER/PRETTIER ONES!!! Just ignore them...
 
#14 ·
I would suggest swapping the original Specialized stem (which is heavy like an anchor) to something in the 130 g region, crankset to XT, the small (60 g) weight difference between XTR and XT doesn't justify the much higher price of XTR. The original Specialized stem weighs about the same as a Thomson. If you want a lighter seatpost, then I would suggest taking out the hacksaw and remove some excess seatpost length. Swap the rear cassette to an XT and you could also change the pedals to something lighter (Xpedo, Crank Brothers). These upgrades won't cost a fortune, but the weight saving would easily be about 1 - 1,5 pounds.
 
#15 ·
Have to agree with the rest: drop the wheels and tires. You'll save at least a pound if not more. You could sell them on evay, get most of your money back, and then call mikegarcia (www.oddsandendos.com) and have him made you a light wheelset for under $400.
other than that get an xt cassette. It's about 100g lighter than the HG that's probably on there now. Those pedals look like low end shimano. Gets some eggbeaters. Even the cheap ones will save you some g's.

light, durable, cheap - pick two
 
#16 ·
here's a freebie, unscrew the studs for old cantilevers in your fork, that's what I did when i put juicy's on my 05 epic, not sure what they weigh but it ain't nothing

thinking of getting new carbon bar for the vibration dampening, but unsure between flat and rise. How does that low rise change the feel from the flat stock one?
 
#17 ·
Thanks!

Okay, thanks everyone for your input. I should have stated at the beginning that I was on a budget. I thought that was obvious since I'm not riding a S-Works. The 819 wheels and xt hubs were a huge upgrade over the crappy Deore and Specialized hubs with Mavic 317 rims. I realized I could of saved more weight with more expensive wheels and by not going UST. Honestly, several really knowledgable shops around Denver talked me out of buying more expensive wheels and hubs. Anyway, I think that horse has sucumbed to the beating.

Good comments on upgrading to XT vs. XTR for the drivetrain. I think it's obvious that is my next move.

It's really true what everyone says, to buy a better bike rather than replacing parts after the fact. I really should of spent the extra $$ for a Marathon.
 
#18 ·
dam5h said:
here's a freebie, unscrew the studs for old cantilevers in your fork, that's what I did when i put juicy's on my 05 epic, not sure what they weigh but it ain't nothing

thinking of getting new carbon bar for the vibration dampening, but unsure between flat and rise. How does that low rise change the feel from the flat stock one?
I love these bars. It's a small difference but makes the bike feel totally different. Much more comfortable for flats and a better position descending. I've heard people say that the carbon helps absorb smaller bumps and chatter, but I have not noticed much of a difference. I bought these FSA bars on ebay for $56. Well worth the money.
 
#19 ·
This is what I would do....

Take off the seat bag. You should only have to carry a tube, a CO2 cartridge/pump and multitool. What you need to carry should fit in the back pocket of your jersey or your camelback. Wrap it all up with a rubber band.

Remove the water bottle cages. Again, a camelback is better alternative.

If you like the tires, get the non UST version and a bottle of Stans. This will save over a pound of weight.

Find a nice carbon seatpost (syncros or USE)

Find a nice lightweight saddle (SLR or Flite)

There are lighter pedals out there.

The bottom bracket is a tank. XT will be better and lighter.

Upgrade drivetrain as needed. Dont spend money until it is warn out. Then upgrade to XT level parts.

I am live in Denver. Send me an IM and we can discuss further is you have any questions.

good luck
 
#20 ·
perhaps you don't realize as much difference in flex since the bends in a riser bar make it a more rigid design than a flat bar. or it could just be a beefier bar than others.

I think I'll stick with the flat type and just switch to carbon, as I don't really have many complaints; though it would be interesting to try a riser and feel the diff.
 
#22 ·
I'd reccomend you sell your current wheelset and get something lighter. You'll feel the most deference in swapping the wheelset out for a lighter one because you not only reduce the over all weight of the bike, but also the rotational mass. By reducing the rotational mass, your bike will feel faster and nimbler because of the reduced weight of the wheelset. Also, if you have a Performance Bike near you, they will price match any prices from online so you can save on shipping there. Some other things you can do is upgrade from the HG50 cassette to a XT and the stock cranks to a XT crank. Those things would give you the most bang for the buck. Good luck with everything
Andy
 
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