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How much does your Marlin, Mamba, Cobia, X Calibur, Paragon weigh?

65K views 99 replies 52 participants last post by  lamar83 
#1 ·
Hello everyone,

I've recently purchased a 2012 Trek Marlin, and I'm under the impression that the other bikes in this "29er Sport" (Wahoo, Marlin, Mamba) and 29er Race (Cobia, X Calibur, Paragon) series are exactly the same frame, with upgraded Fork, drivetrain/brakes, wheels, etc. based on their respective MSRP.

What I want to know is how much does your bike weigh?
What model and size frame?
What parts did you upgrade to achieve this weight?
Any recommendations on upgrade path?



Thanks for all your input, I'm excited to upgrade as my skillset improves, and eventually end up with a kick-ass aluminum hard-tail :)
 
#2 ·
you are partially correct in thinking the 29er HT family using the same frame. the only exception of the paragon frame being different than that of the rest. the paragon uses press fit BB instead of the standard 73mm threaded type and also has a tapered head tube.

i too own a marlin 19" but mine is a 2011. i have not weighed the bike stock but i have weighed it with my bathroom scale (weigh myself first, then weigh myself hold bike, subtract my weight = bike weight). i have done a couple of upgrades before the weigh in.

mine so far has the following mods:
easton ea50 30mm riser bar
truvativ hussefelt 40mm stem
sette s lock on grips
speed dial 7 levers
bb7 brakes w.185mm rotors f/r
panaracer rampage 2.35 front tire/ tioga psycho genius 2.25 rear (slime tubes f/r) -- soon to be tubeless
shimano slx double crankset
wellgo mg52 platform pedals
hurricane mini pump

with these mods my bike weighed in at ~30lbs (all reflectors removed)

i have in my possession these components awaiting my stan's wheelset so they can be installed.

2010 fox f29 fit rlc100 15qr
salsa 32t chainring, sram x9 9spd shifter, x9 rd, mrp 1x chain guide, pg990 cassette (1x9 convert)
cane creek 40 series zs headset

looking to change out the saddle and seatpost too...

i know ive overbuilt this bike but i really like the frame's geo and i like to mod!

i think the best path for entry level upgrade is better brakes, mid level fork, better crankset should be more than adequate in reducing weight and upping performance.
 
#3 ·
In the pic (bike is sold now) the bike weighed in at 22lbs. Only thing left from stock bike was the Frame, Fork and RD.

Shimano XT M775 brakes
Gatorbrake Aries rotors
Bonty RL seat
Thomson elite post
Easton Monkeylite SL
ESI Chunky grips
MRP x1 BB mount
Shimano XT M760
Shimano XT 11/34 Cassette
Sram X.7 shifters
2 Racing Ralphs.. 2.4 (FR) 2.25 (R).
Wheelset is Velocity VXC on Halo 6 hubs
Salsa Skewers

Think thats it =)

[/QUOTE]
 
#4 ·
My 2011 Paragon 19" frame with only ergon grips and pedals (shimano 820?) is right around 26.5 pounds on the bikeshop scale.
If I recall from previous searches on this site the 2011 x-cal is right arouns 27.5 to 28 with pedals.

Biggest recomendation for weight loss is wheels and tires. Stock tires can be 700 to 800 grams each. A set of 600gr. tires save almost a pound. Farily easy to drop another pound on the wheels.
 
#5 ·
So I weighed my bike using the digital bathroom scale method, so my info is:

32.2lbs
2012 Marlin, 15.5" (small)
Only upgrades so far are 2012 XT pedals (trail) and a Planet Bike gel seat. I think both maybe even added weight :)

I think my next upgrades are going to be a Bontrager RXL/RXXXL stem and handlebar to get the cockpit right.

Then for next summer I think I'm going to do a full 2012 XT group set. Probably do wheels/tires around the same time too, but so far I'm uneducated on wheelsets and don't know what will suit me and the terrain here.

I'm interested on how other people have built up their G2 hardtails, I'd appreciate if you posted.

Thanks and Regards.
 
#8 ·
2012 Trek Marlin 29er-100% Stock, no upgrades.

19'' Frame-36lbs Bathroom Scale confirmed with full waterbottle.

What I plan to upgrade:

1. The Tektro brakes are total ass.
2. The stock fork is equally useless. I really thought that at this stage in my life (31,kids,etc) I would be doing light trails and mainly sticking to pavement. Well, I basically push the limits everytime I ride and pretty much expect to seriously F something up sooner or later. So when that happens, I'll buy a new fork and some additional life insurance.
 
#12 ·
Got my 2011 19" Mamba down to 24.60lbs with pedals, water bottle cage, cateye and sensors. It weighed 31lbs stock. I dropped 7lbs with the following mods: Stans Crest Wheels, racing ralph tires, thomson seatpost and stem, truvativ bars, x0 brakes, 2x10 x9 groupset- frnt der, rear der, crank, shifters, etc. fizik tundra seat, crank brother candy pedals, fox g2 rlc100 front fork.
 
#15 ·
2011 x-cal 17.5 inch frame

Digital bathroom scale

Stock with some old shimano spd platform pedals = 27lbs

Upgraded parts
Egg beater sl pedals
Lizard skins lock on grips
Easton Ec90 carbon low rise bars
Easton Ec90 stem
SDG Fly seat
SDG carbon I beam seat post

Currently weighs in at just under 26lbs

Wheels will probally be next
 
#21 ·
I'm about three weeks into a squealing 2012 Trek Marlin 29er (purchased for under 600) and thinking of returning/selling it for something else. I can get my hands on a 12Y Trek Mamba for about $750 and a 12Y Cobia for $950. Also, I could probably use those prices to bargain down a selection from another manufacturer.

A Talon 29er 0, a Felt Sport, a Cannondale 29er SL3 are a few that come to mind… all retail at roughly the same point as the Cobia and I could probably get them for 20% less.

So if you had your choice of any mtb in the 1200 range that you could buy for 950, one for which you could easily get service and support, which would you buy and why?
 
#23 · (Edited)
2011 Trek Cobia 21 inch

From the bathroom scale method, the bike started out at 29.5 Lb. I used an accurate scale to weigh each piece that I upgraded to get an accurate change in weight.

The first column is the weight of the newer or different part. The next column gives the weight of the part from the original Cobia. Next column is the weight difference in grams and the final column is the weight gain or loss in Lbs.

Text White Colorfulness Line Style


After swapping out some parts with my older 26 inch bike that I am retiring, I dropped a touch over 2.7 Lbs off of the original weight for a new estimate of about 26.7. I can see a few things to do that would bring me under 26 like the grips, the pedals, and going tubeless.

The table gives a quick idea of where some potential weight savings could come from on these bikes.

***************
Edit. Bathroom scale is not too good in this case apparently. Table weights are good for what I put on the scale but total start and finish weights are off. See updated post below.
Final weight of bike is actually 28.14 according to local bike shop digital scale.
 
#24 ·
2012 Superfly AL Elite, basically stock except for Tubless-ready & some little piddly stuff.

Bongrager tubeless-ready system with Stans goo. 85 g savings per wheel using 2 oz of goo per tire.

2" cut from handlebars 18g savings plus now it fits between the trees.

2" cut from seatpost. 15g savings

Bottle cage bolts replaced with nylon screws to fill holes. About 15 g savings

Carbon headtube spacers saved 5 grams ($1 per gram :) but it looks cool. I actially added an extra 5mm carbon spacer so weight savings is down to 2 grams.

Add:

Eggbeater 3 pedals.

Cateye strada wireless.

Total weight 26.6#.

Here are the weights of some of the components:

Tube2 & valve cap2 180g each
Tires 625g each
Stock rim strops 20g each
Replacement tubeless rim strips 50g each
Tubeless stems 5g each

Front wheel & rotor 1075g (not sure if this was with rim strip or not).

Front skewer 55g
Rear skewer 64g

Rear wheel, rotor, cassette, wheel, & stock rim strip 1775g

Headtube top 10g
Headtube bolt 8g
Headtube spacers 3x10mm 22g total

Water bottle bolts & spacers 17g

Cassette 448g (The cassette is very low-end. I will replace it with SLX or X7 (is X7 posible?) when it wears out).


Seatpost (before cutting) 270g.
Saddle 270g
 
#25 ·
@ Chris5107

Curious if you have weighed just the frame to find out what it weighs as I have the exact same frame size as you. Trek doesn't readily give out that info because according to them there are variances in weight due to manufacturing processes (duh!). I was planning on breaking down the bike completely this winter to find out, but perhaps you have already weighed it. I have been thinking about converting it to a 1X9 race bike, but if the frame is a porker then I will probably look at a lighter frame to use as a platform.

Thanks!
 
#27 ·
@ Chris5107

Curious if you have weighed just the frame to find out what it weighs as I have the exact same frame size as you. Trek doesn't readily give out that info because according to them there are variances in weight due to manufacturing processes (duh!). I was planning on breaking down the bike completely this winter to find out, but perhaps you have already weighed it. I have been thinking about converting it to a 1X9 race bike, but if the frame is a porker then I will probably look at a lighter frame to use as a platform.

Thanks!
I did not tear it down to the bare frame and my accurate scale only goes up to 2000g.

My guess is that the frame is not too heavy based on anecdotal comparisons to my old 4900 26er frame.
 
#26 ·
Using the bathroom scale, my 17.5 2012 X-cal came in at 25lbs.

2011 RXL wheelset
WTB Valcon seat
M520 pedals
ESI chunky grips
Cutter carbon cage and a Bontrager RL cage.
29-1 2.20 tires into tubeless.
Fork steerer was cut down also.
Sunline V-One 762mm wides bars with a Truativ T20 75mm stem. (pretty sure new stem is heavier than stock one)

Everything else is stock.
 

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#28 ·
Just weighed my 2011 X-cal on a set of digital fish scales that I've had forever. Weighed a 5lb bag of sugar first to see how accurate it would be and it read 5.1 lbs. My X-cal came in at 26.5. But I have not got a wheelset for it yet so I know when I can get that it should drop on down around 24. I've put a carbon bar on, WTB V saddle, Lizzard Skins Peaty lock on grips, Axiom Cycle computer, Crank Brothers 50/50 pedals, a shorter 70mm stem and I have a USE Alien Cyclops seatpost on the way. I removed the brake and rotor from the front. I ride greenway and hardpack and didn't feel a need for it.
 
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