Losing weight off the Rooster

[godivatrailrider]

Afternoon folks, I hope you're all staying safe etc....

This lockdown is killing me.

Been getting out and about in Northampton (a surprisingly great place to ride !) and enjoying myself but missing the company of a select few others and pubs.

Having had my Scandal 29er stolen last year I'm reduced to only 3 bikes The Jones is singlespeed and rolling on 27.5+ .... the Croix De Fer and the 29+ Singular Rooster.
I keeping looking at bikes to replace the Scandal, top of the list being the Ribble Adventure 725.

I have grown to love the Rooster again.
However, I'd like to shave some weight off the bike. I'm looking at fitting the Travers forks I 'won' at WRT '18, if the 29+ wheels will fit them.
Tyre-wise I have Chronicles fitted at the moment and for the most part they're very good ... but heavy, over a kilo each! They're also very wide. I'm running the Rooster 2x 10 and when on the lowest gears the chain makes a very effective mud clearance device at it rubs on the tyre and thus clears the mud off and straight into the rear mech I'm looking at a pair of FatBNimbles which at 725g are significantly lighter.
The Rims are 52mm Stans Hugos and the rear has seen better days, so I may also fit a narrower rim to maybe pull the tyre in a bit away from the chain. CRC have Spank Oozy's 29+ rims with an external width of 39mm , internal 35mm. Cheap too.
I could go 1x but as I'm old and slow I do like the excellently low gearing I have at the moment, though 1x would be lighter.
And I really like the TRP's Spyre's on the Croix De Fer so am considering fitting Spyke's to the Rooster.

So between the forks, brakes, rim and tyres it should cut a bit of weight off..... but the main hope is slightly better tyre clearance.

[fatbikephil]

I'd stay well clear of the fat b nimbles as they were like paper and also tended to distort horribly.....
Bonty Chupacabras or WTB Ranger lites much better and 850 gs. Clearance may still be an issue but in terms of 1x do what I do and run a 26 or 28 ring. Gives a nice low gear and you won't miss the bigger ones. Losing a front mech off a plus bike makes a big difference in terms of mud clearance.

There are a fair few 29 x 2.6-2.8 options out there if you do stick with a double

[Scud]

Chupacubras roll pretty well.

What about reducing to a 2.6 tyre, Schwalbe, Vittoria etc, do a number of lighter, better rolling 2.6 tyres?

[faustus]

I'd also back WTB rangers and Bonty XR2's (latter is 2.6 and i think replacement for Chupacabras?). You'd be fine with narrower rims say 35-40mm instead. I think the only way to solve the front mech issue is to go 1 x. You can still get decent range, and you can swap front rings easy enough if you want to alter it.

[godivatrailrider]

That's a shame about the FatbBNimble
I'm happy to stick with the full 3" Chronicle on the front (other than the weight). I did think about going more 2.8" but couldn't see much , will look again.

With the wide range cassettes becoming more popular that's making the 1x a more viable option.

Thanks for the advice so far, gives me stuff to look at!

[godivatrailrider]

SCHWALBE NOBBY NIC SNAKESKIN 29+ x2.6" .... any good?

It's a minefield out there... I have the WTB Ranger 27.5 x 2.8 on the Jones and they're pretty good. So 29 x 2.8 should be ok too... but it's a bugger finding them. There's also a 2.9 x 3.0 Ranger too apparently which may be a little slimmer than the Chronicles

[faustus]

the 29x 3.0 rangers were £30 on CRC recently, don't know if they still are though. 29x2.8 is a bit more difficult, i recently got a Terrene McFly 29x2.8 and it's very light, maybe to thin for rocky territory...don't think they're available anymore.

[voodoo_simon]

Not sure how much weight you’ll save with the brakes, will makes you faster (or slower) though

What cranks are in there? That’s usually a good weight saving place and how much post is in the seat tube? Could always trim that

[godivatrailrider]

I'm 15st.... that's the easiest place to lose significant weight

Seat post is Thompson and I'm not cutting that.

The biggest savings are in the wheels.

I'm very happy with the Spyre's on the CDF, they're reliable and dead easy to adjust. Caliper activates from both sides and they're good stoppers. I can't see how the performance can be significantly worse than hydraulic, though I suppose it could be.

I think the Travers Carbon forks are a good move.

I'm not too fussed about a gram here and a gram there.

[lune ranger]

First ride on Fat B Nimbles I got a nearly unrepairable side wall puncture.
Spykes work really well for a while but when used in muddy conditions they stop returning well due the bearings getting cruddy. They still work but loose that nice snappy feel and gave a tendency to drag a bit on the rotor.
They are not light either. Could probably drop a hundred grams with hydro brakes.

[godivatrailrider]

Ah ok, thanks for the advice

[wriggles]

Loved my old Rooster.

As said above, wheels & tyres then forks first parts I would look at. Agree with using Chupacabra or XR2 as now called. Then look at Bars, rear cassette, pedals, chainset if want to get obsessive.

Spykes are really good brakes if use compressionless outers and non TRP pads (Ubderbike race matrix my preferred choice). Heavier than a good Hydro set up though.

[Retiredtester]

I've got a rooster and have stuck a 3.0 ranger on the front and a 2.6 on the back. Wheels are halo 45mm jobs and it's 1x11 sram. I'm quite a lump and the gearing is manageable here on the south downs. Brakes, pedals and chainset are cheap and cheerful shimano, gobi saddle, Thompson post, on one stem and Geoff bars. Don't know what it weighs (I'll check in a bit) but it's never really been an issue for me tbh.

[Retiredtester]

Just checked and its a whisker under 15kg . Size large