This is for anybody that has tried to save weight on a bike. To make noticeable differences, normally it would cost a wheelset (best way to make a huge difference in weight on a bike) or roughly $1,000 USD. I found out it doesn't always have to.
Took my bike into the shop this week to get a new FSA OS115 stem. Got there and asked Mark about options for handlebars. I wanted cheap but nice. He started digging around to find me something nicer/lighter than what I had, but not expensive. He ended up finding a set of Cannondale Fire handlebars (nice bar from the Six13 series road bikes) just my size he had taken off another bike. How much? $40. Perfect!
Went to pick the bike up today and he brought the old parts out to me. He told to feel the weight of the old Felt handlbars. Woh nelly!! Felt like a lead pipe in my hands. So I asked him if he still had the digital scale around cause I had to see how much they weighed. He dug it out and we weighed the old bars. I already knew what the new bars weighed. You know what the difference was... 250 grams!!!!!!
We were blown away! The old bars weighed 505 grams, that is 1.13 lbs just for the bars!!!!! Come on Felt, what are building them out of, old car parts?!?!?! For $40, I shaved 250 grams (.55 lbs) off my bike. That is unheard of. So that just goes to show that you don't have to spend a ton of money upgrading pieces on your bike to be a weight weenie. But I have to admit, these bars don't look nearly as good as the FSA Carbon Wing bars I will end up with one day. :)
