List of components & weights

I'll update this as things progress...

 ...updated 04/10/2012: 7615.4g - initial guesstimated total weight; excluding cables & tyre sealant

 ...updated 08/10/2012: 7752.4g - more actual weights; excluding cables, tubeless valves, & tyre sealant

 ...updated 12/10/2012: 7677.4g - XT cassette out, XTR in; excluding cables, tubeless valves, & tyre sealant

 ...updated 16/10/2012: 7656.2g - more actual weights; excluding cassette spacer, cables, tubeless valves, & tyre sealant

 ...updated 22/10/2012: 7639.5g - minor revisions; excluding cables, tubeless valves, & tyre sealant

 ...updated 03/11/2012: 7668.5g - more actual weights; excluding cables, tubeless valves, & tyre sealant

NB:
 - 'total weight' excludes 'miscellaneous' components (bottles & cages, computer & lights) but does include pedals.
 - 'as supplied' denotes weight reduction potential, e.g. by shortening, substitution of titanium fittings, etc.

frameset: 1953.3
 - frame - 1515g (including downtube cable adjusters & bottom bracket cable guide)
 - fork - 318.3g (including star nut)
 - headset - 120.0g (as supplied, but excluding 10.5g star nut)

steering: 361.6g (estimated)
 - stem - 157.7g (as supplied)
 - headset spacer - 1.0g
 - handlebar - 142.4g (as supplied)
 - grips - 60.5g/pair (as supplied, including bar end plugs)

seating: 548.2g (estimated)
 - seatpost - 160g (claimed)
 - seatpost clamp - 23.3g
 - saddle - 364.9g

wheels & tyres: 2392.2g (excluding sealant)
 - wheelset - 1755.5g (including skewers, excluding valves)
 - tubeless valves - 13.7g/pair
 - tyres - 623g/pair
 - sealant - ?

brakes: 559.3g (excluding cables)
 - calipers - 389.7g/pair
 - levers - 169.6g/pair
 - cables - ?/pair

drivetrain: 1876.9g (estimated)
 - bottom bracket bearings - 103.5g
 - crankset - <500g (estimated, after modification)
 - chainring - 139.1g (as supplied)
 - chain - 242.5g (110 links, including 2.5g Powerlock link)
 - cassette (XT) - 350g (claimed)
 - cassette (XTR) - 271.6g
 - cassette spacer - 1.8g
 - derailleur - 174.3g
 - shifter - 119.5g (including inner cable)
 - outer shifter cable -17.8g
 - pedals - 306.8g/pair

miscellaneous: 705.1g (estimated)
 - bottle cages - 58.0g/pair
 - bottle cage bolts x 4 - ?g
 - bottles - 151.4g/pair
 - computer - 76.5g (including magnets; excluding zip ties & heartrate chest strap)
 - front light - 215.5g (including handlebar mounting bracket & 4 x Eneloop AA batteries)
 - saddle bag & rear light -198.9g

Digital scales

This week I've acquired some digital scales:
 - Argos Value Range Electronic Kitchen Scale - 1g-4999g = £3.99 (collected)
 - Lupo Digital Scale (via eBay) - 0.1g-999.9g = £7.10 (including £1.99 delivery)

And here they are compared, weighing a couple of camera batteries:

Actual component weights:
 - Frame (excluding seatpost clamp): 1533g
 - Seatpost clamp: 23.3g
 - Fork: 318.3g
 - Crankset (unmodified cranks; including pinch bolts & end cap; excluding bottom bracket): 537.0g
 - Bottom bracket: 103.6g
 - Brake calipers: 389.7g/pair

Tiagra calipers have arrived

I won a set of used Shimano Tiagra BR-4600 calipers on eBay on Saturday, and today I got my paws on them.

Weights:
 - front - 196.6g
 - rear - 193.1g
 - pair - 389.7g

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/200820484288

Spent so far:
 - frame (including £20.00 delivery) = £332.88
 - crankset (including £6.00 delivery) = £126.00
 - fork (including £10.00 delivery) = £63.50
 - wheelset (presuming I collect) = £162.63
 - brake calipers (including £5.00 delivery) = £18.83
Total = £703.84

Wheels bought

Another used eBay acquisition: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/271061608605

Not sure if I'm going to collect or get them sent, so "spent to date" update is pending.

"Jeff Jones" XTR 960 crankset modification

Today I've been researching my intended conversion of a 3-ring Shimano XTR 960 crankset, circa 2003, to a lightweight (sub-500g), sleek, shiny, super-stiff, and hopefully nukeproof single ring crankset, mainly by means of an epic overdose of elbowgrease. It's a reasonably well-trodden (ridden?) path, especially by single-speed MTBers.

Here's a selection of related links, as much for my own reference as anything else. I'll add more if/as/when I come across them.

Links direct to pictures, for those with better things to do with their time:

Before - complete chainset
Before - bare RH crank

After - on the bench
After - on a bike

Links to articles and discussions:

http://forums.mtbr.com/weight-weenies/xtr-xt-crankset-ss-way-go-597093.html

http://forums.mtbr.com/singlespeed/jeff-jones-960-xtr-510632.html

http://www.mtnbikeriders.com/2011/03/12/diy-xtr-960-single-crankset/

http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/who-has-done-a-jones-m960-xtr-crank-conversion

http://www.thehubsa.co.za/forum/topic/57930-jeff-jones-xtr-crank-mod-a-pictorial/

http://www.ebay.com/itm/330569148739

http://www.jonesbikes.com/news/News1.html

Same idea, but Deore M532 cranks:

http://www.velosolo.co.uk/jjcrank.html

Bling of Kings

This is supposed to be a low budget proof of concept, but isn't it obligatory to equip a titanium frame with titanium goodies?

The Chris King headset is ruled out, for now at least, which conveniently does away with the dilemma posed by the aluminium version weighing (4g!) less than the same item in titanium.

But all is not lost!

King Cage titanium bottle cages:
 - 28g each (claimed)
 - £79.98 (including £2.99 delivery) for two
 - http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/400302042498
 - http://www.kingcage.com/products-waterbottle-cages.html

Oh dear - I suppose I'll "need" four titanium bottle cage mounting bolts too.

Shall we do bottles while we're at it? I was tipped off about these many moons ago by my good friend Mr Wotler. I'm currently using the smaller size, I've also used the caps on non-Camelbak insulated bottles (long story). I'll probably go for a pair of the larger size this time...

Camelbak Podium water bottles - clear/carbon
 - 610ml - £6.99 each
 - 710ml - £7.99 each
 - http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=75233
 - http://www.camelbak.com/Sports-Recreation/Bottles/2012-Podium-Bottle-21oz.aspx
 - http://www.camelbak.com/Sports-Recreation/Bottles/2012-Podium-Bottle-24oz.aspx
 - http://www.bikerumor.com/2009/10/12/super-hack-shave-4g-from-camelbak-podium-bottle/
 - http://www.bikeradar.com/gear/category/accessories/water-bottle/product/review-camelbak-podium-water-bottle-32110

Conflicting reports on the bottle weights (get these for the valve though, not the weight) - I'll pop them on my shiny new digital scales later.

Steering

Today I've pencilled in my shopping list for the remaining front end components.

I've been aware of the ESI grips for a while, just never had a good excuse to order them up and give them a try.

Everything else I've plucked from the pages of chainreactioncycles.com - so it's all subject to something else catching my eye, or finding a better price elsewhere, before I actually place the order.

The headset and stem have a combined stack height of 59mm - which is pretty much exactly what my frame/fork combination can accommodate. A Chris King headset would have been nice, but they are 31.4mm tall; the 24mm M:Part has good reviews and is less than a quarter of the price. Most stems have a stack height of 40mm; the 35mm FSA is a respectable brand and a decently low weight (150g for 100mm), especially for the price.

I wanted a 25.4mm bar, and the scandium Controltech seems a good price given its weight.

Headset:
 - M:Part In-Line low profile headset - black
 - 24mm stack height
 - 133g
 - £21.99
 - http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=28122

Stem:
 - FSA XC-150 LX stem - black, 1 1/8" x 25.4mm (x 90mm or 110mm?)
 - 35mm stack height
 - ~150g
 - £14.99
 - http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=59606

Handlebar:
 - Controltech SUP MTB (scandium) alloy flat bars - black, 25.4mm x 560mm
 - ~160g (sub-150 after I've shortened them?)
 - £29.99
 - http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=19589

Grips:
 - ESI Chunky 100% silicone MTB grips (black, blue, green, red, white, yellow, or orange)
 - 60g/pair
 - £15.50
 - http://www.mountain-trax.com/product/3667/ESI_Chunky_Grip
 - http://www.esigrips.com/Silicone_Grips_Shock_Absorbing.htm
 - http://www.bikeradar.com/gear/category/components/grips/product/review-esi-grips-chunky-silicone-grips-11-45221

Frame, fork, & crankset have arrived

A quick finger-tight mating of the (road) frame and (MTB) bottom bracket / crankset looks good.

But the head tube is a tad longer than anticipated - 154.5mm. The fork steerer tube is 213mm. So that's just 58.5mm for the headset and the stem, which will rule out some headset/stem combinations - I'll have to choose carefully (or get another fork).

Pictures to follow.

Pedals

I'll be tossing my existing pedals into the mix - Shimano XTR PD-M980, allegedly 310g/pair.

http://cycle.shimano-eu.com/publish/content/global_cycle/en/nl/index/footwear/Pedals_MTB___BMX/product.-code-PD-M980.-type-..html

Brakes

Plan A for brakes is Tiagra...  with a twist!

Calipers:
 - Shimano Tiagra BR-4600 brake calipers
 - 380g (pair)
 - €31.90 /~£26 (pair) from bike24.com
 - http://www.bike24.com/1.php?content=8;product=23767

Levers:
 - Shimano Tiagra BL-4600 flatbar brake levers
 - 170g (pair)
 - €16.90 / ~£14 (pair) from bike24.com
 - cables are included in the price but not in the weight
 - http://www.bike24.com/1.php?content=8;product=23776

That's right - for flat bars. Sacrilege, eh?

Wheels & tyres

These are the wheels and tyres I think I'm going to go for...

Wheelset:
 - Shimano Ultegra WH-6700 - tubeless compatible
 - 1625g (695g front, 957g rear)
 - €259 / ~£215 (pair)
 - spindles & tubeless valves included
 - http://www.bike24.com/1.php?content=8;product=11695
 - http://www.bike24.com/1.php?content=8;product=23187
 - http://cycle.shimano-eu.com/publish/content/global_cycle/en/nl/index/components/road/ultegra_6700/product.-code-WH-6700.-type-.wh_road.html

Tyres:
 - Schwalbe Ultremo ZX tubeless 700x23
 - 590g (pair)
 - ~£70 (pair)
 - Schwalbe Doc Blue sealant included with 2-tyre pack
 - http://www.schwalbe.com/gbl/en/presse/rollstuhl/index.php5?gesamt=292&ID_Sprache=2
 - http://road.cc/content/news/65200-eurobike-2012-schwalbe-launch-ultremo-zx-tubeless-tyres
 - http://roadcyclinguk.com/news/gear-ne
 - http://www.slowtwitch.com/Products/Things_that_Roll/Tires/New_tires_from_Schwalbe_for_2012_2852.html
 - http://www.bike-components.de/products/info/p32986_Ultremo-ZX-Evolution-Tubeless-Faltreifen-Modell-2013-.html

Fork

As of this evening, there's an Easton EC90 SL carbon fork about to wing its way from sunny Sunderland.

It's another used eBay item: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/251149638149

So far I've spent:
 - frame (including £20.00 delivery) = £332.88
 - crankset (including £6.00 delivery) = £126.00
 - fork (including £10.00 delivery) = £63.50
Total = £522.38

Crankset

Just bought a Shimano XTR M960 (175mm) chainset on eBay:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/130768279756

The plan is to modify the cranks to run a single chainring in the middle position.

Favourite chainring is currently a 46 tooth Shimano DXR CR80:

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=35272

Basically, it's a Saint downhill ring for 1x9/1x10 drivetrains. It has no ramps or pins. It's also available in 38T, 41T, 42T, 43T, and 44T.

The middle mounts of the XTR960 crankset are 102mm pcd, the DXR chainring is 104 pcd. Plan A involves four custom (titanium?) chainring bolts; plan B calls for a custom (titanium?) chainring instead of the DXR.

As (used) bearings are included, first thing I'll be doing is checking for compatibility issues between the road frame and the MTB bottom bracket / cranks.

Getting started

As of today, we've got a project name: Ti10x

And we've just won an eBay auction for a frame: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/140845442663