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Looking to lighten my FS i-Drive 5

883 views 7 replies 5 participants last post by  bmwjnky 
#1 ·
I know this is not going to end up anywhere near some of the bikes in here but I'm looking to add some lightness to my FS bike. I don't have a huge budget so I'm doing it one piece at a time, todays mod is some ESI grips to replace my ODI clamp on. The next thing I'm looking to do is get some suggestions on wider tires without gaining weight. The current tires are IRC Mythos XC's with kevlar beads in 26x2.1. I'd like to find something in the 26x2.3-2.5 size. The trails I normally ride are very hardpacked dirt with a light sand on top. By the end of spring I'm hoping to upgrade to carbon bars, maybe carbon seat post, different stem and maybe a new rear derailleur. I know the fork is heavy but I don't want to loose travel to save weight. Any other cheap ways to save weight would be great.

My bike, I have shortened the front and rear derailleur cables since taking this pic.
 
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#5 ·
I've been thinking of doing a 1x setup but I need to get in better shape before I make the change. Saddle is too comfortable for me to change it, SDG Bel Air with Ti rails, but the seat post will be changed for something lighter after tires. I'm looking at the Geax Mezcal in 26x2.3, they have a claimed weight of 570g for that size. The Geax Gato looks to be a more durable tire than the Mezcal but is not as fast rolling and weighs 610g. Does anyone have any experience with either of these tires?
 
#8 ·
The Mezcal did fine on my local trail and for just over $60 shipped for both it was worth a try. I actually lost 2oz from the bike with just the tire swap and they are much bigger than the IRC's they replaced.

What cassette does it have? The stock cassettes are typically standard Shimano HG series. Upgrading to an XT with aluminum carrier can save you 60g or so.
I checked this weekend while cleaning the bike and it is just the basic HG cassette. Maybe I'll get the XT cassette when I get an XT rear derailleur. I'm probably doing the seat post next since its easy to swap out and not that expensive. Tempted to drop the wireless computer but its nice being able to see where my speed is at on climbs now vs later in the season rides from last year.
 
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