Aiming for 16kg

[OxygenJames]

OK. Lets say I wanted to make myself a bike very similar to mine (which is a pretty bog standard Oxygen Emate race) - because I like all the basics (rear hub, suspension forks, throttle, quality build, etc) - BUT - I wanted it significantly lighter (a standard Oxygen race comes in around 24Kg).

ie - I am looking to make this new bike weigh in at say 16kg. It has to have front suspension. It has to have derailleur gears. It has to be a kit I can fit myself.

So? Is that possible? (I ask myself)

Let's say I buy the Oxygen kit - see here - which has exactly the same mechanics as my bike - except it has a lighter battery - they say that kit weighs in at 6.5Kg. So that leaves me 10Kg for the bike.

Does anybody know a hard-tail, front suspension, derailleur gears mountain bike that weighs in at 10Kg - which I would then add the Oxygen kit to?

Try to keep it below let's say £1500? - is that even possible I dont know! (the kit is £800 I think - so this is not going to be cheap - but I think at 16.5Kg you'd have a pretty neat bike!)

Any ideas?

 

[jerrysimon]

Not derailleur (this one has a two speed auto hub and is belt driven) but you can buy them fitted with them. Its sprung both ends!

It uses a small Tongxin (2kg motor) plus a small DIY battery. Bike weighs 14.5kgs with motor, controller and tiny five mile 0.5kg battery. Its all in that little triangular frame bag. This is it ready to go

I have also made larger batteries 1.0kg which will give you 10 miles or double them up for more. Then you have to put them in a front ruck sack. With two that would make 16kgs and give you 20 miles. Dependant on terrain and how much you were prepared to assist.

Bike also splits for portability.

Alternatively you are really looking at a Cytronex.

Regards

Jerry

 

[OxygenJames]

Nice idea! But I want 26 inch wheels - and the cytronex is no good you cant lock the battery - I'm interested in if anybody knows a suitable donor bike - sure I could go searching myself but I thought maybe somebody has some ideas or can point me in the right direction.

 

[indalo]

I am looking to make this new bike weigh in at say 16kg. It has to have front suspension. It has to have derailleur gears. It has to be a kit I can fit myself.

That's a big ask James and I can't help but I agree with Jerrysimon that the most obvious approximation is probably one of the Cytronex range, (no kits yet though!)

I'm not sure your point about having a lockable battery is really valid as all the ebike battery locks I've seen aren't exactly thief-proof to any great degree. At least the Cytronex battery is more portable than some.

I shall be interested to see if someone can can up with something which fits your requirements and I'm sure many readers here would love to know if such a lightweight configuration can be achieved for under £1500.

Best of luck,
Indalo

 

[Geebee]

Another option would be a lighter kit and heavier bike?
If you dropped the front suspension requirement a sub 10kg bike shouldn´t be too expensive maybe even 8kg in that price range.
My recumbent e-trike weighs 16kg with batteries so it should certainly be doable.

 

[Cakey]

Lots of light carbon hard tails but very expensive , Santa cruz , yeti ,storck ( yes same carbon frame for the raddar + fork. Trek also do a few light ones , lapierre
My fav is the carbon nomad , I have built one to 24 pounds
Santa cruz blur xc with full suspension can be min 22 pounds

 

[eddieo]

My sons C Boardman drop bar road bike weighs 8kg. But you will be pushed to find a Hybrid with suspension at 10kg.......if for mainly road use why suspension? My bikes is 12 kg and a smashing bike, latest version £1400 mine was £1100, with DaaHub kit it weighs 19kg. light bikes tend to be expensive, ID what you want and see if you can pick up a 2011 model, ex demo or used....

 

[indalo]

Nice idea! But I want 26 inch wheels - and the cytronex is no good you cant lock the battery - I'm interested in if anybody knows a suitable donor bike - sure I could go searching myself but I thought maybe somebody has some ideas or can point me in the right direction.

I'm not ignoring what you said but this is certainly within the weight parameter you set and will probably be within your price limit. Ok, it has no gears or suspension so it's no good off the beaten track but on-road, not many legal ebikers would be overtaking this.

Electric bike e bike cytronex cannondale capo | eBay

Indalo

 

[amigafan2003]

I'd go for the bike Indalo linked.

Also, why the concern about a lockable battery? The battery on the cytronex is so small and light just pop it in your back pack when you walk away from the bike (you're not considering leaving it locked up for a long time ina public place are you? If you are, then get the cheapest bike you can that you wouldn't mind getting stolen).

 

[eddieo]

I never leave my battery on bike. an e bike without battery, charger and keys is far less attractive to thieves.....

 

[oigoi]

If you're going down the route of something ultra light (which I did with hardtail mountain bikes but not electrified) you can save up to a couple of pounds of weight by the tyre choice you make. Some of the kevlar beaded xc tyres are around 400g whereas some of th e big knobbly tyres can be a lot heavier.
I also used to get panaracer greenlite inner tubes that saved weight there also.
Remember on a bike when you're riding it you will feel reductions to rotational masses like the wheels, more than the weight of other components

 

[jerrysimon]

On my Brompton I went from Marathon Plus to Kojaks and saved over 0.5kgs. The wheels seemed to roll much easier on the Kojaks, noticebly increasing my average speed by a couple of mph.

One puncture in 12 months. The trick is to keep them well inflated and the Kevlar lining then does a pretty good job.

If you want a removable battery (to carry around when you leave the bike ?) then its going to have to be smaller or lighter as stated. Again as stated a decent light bike will be expensive and even without a battery, is going to be very nickable.

Regards

Jerry

 

[OxygenJames]

That's a big ask James and I can't help but I agree with Jerrysimon that the most obvious approximation is probably one of the Cytronex range, (no kits yet though!)

I'm not sure your point about having a lockable battery is really valid as all the ebike battery locks I've seen aren't exactly thief-proof to any great degree. At least the Cytronex battery is more portable than some.

I shall be interested to see if someone can can up with something which fits your requirements and I'm sure many readers here would love to know if such a lightweight configuration can be achieved for under £1500.

Best of luck,
Indalo

Well thats £1500 plus the kit. So we're talking £2300 if I go with the Oxygen kit - Cytronex say they may have a kit out 'in 3-4 months' and it will have a lockable battery - but I'm not keen on waiting (never been a strong point of mine).

I still think its possible to get a suspension forked bike and keep it around 10Kg - I will look into some of the suggestions here so thanks for all your ideas.

 

[oigoi]

This is a 10kg xc hardtail bike for £1600:

Scott Scale 30 Bike 2010

nice bike!

 

[OxygenJames]

This is a 10kg xc hardtail bike for £1600:

Scott Scale 30 Bike 2010

nice bike!

Now that's more like it! Excellent link thanks.