Weight: Avid HS-1 Rotor 180mm

While my bike don't experience any upgrades, I post some information about some component's weight.
Avid HS-1 (HS1) 180mm rotor weight is about 135gr. It is 15 grams lighter than stock Avid G2CS rotor of my Norco Sight.
I don't like how HS-1 rotor looks like, that's why I will install it  on my training wheelset.

All of My Mountain Bikes: Stark, FireEye, Specialized, Corratec, Norco...

Here are side pics of my mountain bikes since 2007.

Stark Pusher I (2007-2008). This is my first MTB Hardtail.

Weight: Wheelset of Norco Sight A 7.2 2014

Norco Sight A 7.2 2014 stock wheelset consists of ball bearing Joytech hubs (15mm and 142x12) and Alexrims TD26 650b (27.5") rims. Alex rims are not too heavy, their weight is about 460-470gr. Front hub weight is about 290gr. I haven't got rear hub on a scale but it's weight must be 450-480gr.

The whole wheelset weight is 2200gr.

Norco Sight A 7.2 front wheel (1020gr):

Norco Sight A 7.2 rear wheel (1180gr):

New Handlebar for My Norco Sight: Kore Mega

Norco Sight A 7.2 2014 comes with very convenient Norco 740mm handlebar but it's weight is approximately 400grams. This handlebar was emmedietely replaced with my old Azonic World Force 762, which I've been using for 4 years with many of my bikes. Azonic World Force (762mm, 1") weight is about 345gr.

Finnaly, I replace my old handlebar with my freind's Kore Mega 760mm:

My Vintage Singlespeed Road Bike (ХВЗ Start-shosse)

I've just got a new handlebar tape and  U-brake for my non-fixed gear bike, and I've decided to make some modifications.
MTB riser bar is rather convenient, but sometimes I want to get lower riding position, that's why I've decided to put stock Start-shosse drop handlebars with new white tape. I've also installed 16T singlespeed rear cog with front 39T chainring and new U-brake. The bike is a little bit lighter now (11.04kg/24.34lbs) with very heavy steel seatpost and wellgo b-54 flat pedals (I use flat pedals for city-biking).

Vintage Singlespeed Road bike (ХВЗ Start-shosse 1973):

New Tyres for My Norco Sight: Maxxis Highroller II

My Norco Sight A 7.2 comes with Kenda Honey Badger Sport Tyres. These tyres are rather good but I'll leave them for cross country and light trail riding.
While there is a big sale in most of bike stores now, I buy a pair of new Maxxis Highroller II 27.5x2.4 with 3C (Max terra) compound and EXO protection.
Maxxis website tells us that this tyre weight must be approximately 890grams, and this seems to be the truth, cause my tyres' weight is no more than 920gr:

Weight: Kenda Honey Badger Sport 27.5x2.2

Norco Sight A 7.2 2014 comes with Kenda Honey Badger Sport 27.5x2.2 tyres with 60TPI casing. These are rather lightweight foldable tyres for dry conditions.  They easily become tubeless with "ghetto tubeless" method. I like them very much and I'll use Kenda Honey Badger Sport tyres for training and cross country riding, but for enduro competitions I will buy more agressive tyres with protected sidewalls.

Kenda Honey Badger Sport 27.5x2.2 (650B) tyre weight is approximately 680-690grams (1.5lbs).

This is my rear tyre:

and this is front one:

Late Autumn Trail Riding

There's still no snow in our nothern country, so we have a great opportunity to ride our bikes in cool and dry conditions. Trails are very solid and dry and there's no ticks in the forest ). Here are some pics of the latest weekend trail riding with my friends in our local spot.

I ride my new Norco Sight Alloy 2014:

New Wheels for Norco Sight

My new Norco Sight A 7.2 comes with very bad wheels. Stock wheelset consists of Alexrims TD26 650B rims with ball bearing Joytech hubs. Weight of this wheelset is 2200 grams.

Weight: AVID G2CS 180mm Rotor

150 grams is the weight of a new AVID G2CS (G2) 180mm rotor.
It is even 20 grams lighter than used shimano SM-RT51

Weight: Joytech D041-15 and ZZYZX Front Hubs

Joytech D041-15 is a cheap and heavy ball bearing front hub from a stock wheelset of my Norco Sight A 7.2 2014. More crappy front hub I can't even imagine. Its weight is 290 grams and it has loose balls inside.

Stock ZZYZX front hub from my Corratec X-Force 0.3 2012 is much better. It has 2 sealed bearings and construction similar to Hope Pro 2 hubs. This ZZYZX hub is for 20mm axle, but I have transformed it to 15mm using Hope Pro 2  adapters. The weight of this hub with these adapters is 220grams.

Weight: WTB KOM i23, Alex TD26, ZZYZX X-Force Rims

I was building new front wheel for my Norco Sight, and decided to put on a scale some rims I have.

My new lightweight 650b (27.5") rim WTB KOM i23 and it's weight is 420grams

New Wheel for My Norco Sight

I've just built a new front wheel for my Norco Sight A 2014.  Stock front wheel was built of Alex TD26 rim (470gr) and Joytech D041-15 hub (290gr) and its overall weight was more that 1kg!

I've bought new WTB KOM i23 650B rim (420gr) and have built a new wheel using 32 butted spokes and front ZZYZX hub (220gr) from my previous Corratec bike. The spokes' length was 262 mm that's why I've built my wheel using 2 cross lacing pattern. Front 20mm Zzyzx hub was transformed into 15mm using Hope Pro 2 adapters. 

860 grams! Great result for the front wheel!

My New Bike: Norco Sight A 7.2 2014

Few weeks ago I've decided to buy a new trail bike. I wanted to try a bigger size frame (L) and 27.5" (650B) wheels because I'm 185cm (6' 1") of height. My previous trail bike Corratec X-Force 2012 was in medium size and has shorter top tube and reach.
I've bought Norco Sight A 7.2 at our local bike store. Sight A 7.2 is the cheapest version of Norco Sight. Alloy frame and cheap components make this bike's cost less than $2000.

Suspicious Paint Crack of my Corratec X-Force

I always thought that my Corratec is rather weak for agressive trail riding, that's why I didn't send any gaps and big drops with it. Only pure trail riding with roots, stones and cornering with fast speeds. But few days ago I've noticed a crack near a weld of the frame. I don't understand weather it is a paint crack, or a frame crack? What do you thing of this??

Review: Manitou Minute Pro 140

I've been using Manitou rear shock with my Fireeye Griffin, and I was very surprised with Manitou Swinger 4x coil shock!
I've got my first Manitou fork with my new bike Corratec X-force 2012. The fork model is Manitou Minute Pro white with 140mm of travel, tapered steerer and 20mm axle.
The fork is rather lightweight (1800-1900gr. or 4-4,18lbs), has ABS+ damper with remote lockout and MARS Air technology. MARS Air is a technology wheech combines coil spring with air pressure. The fork is very plush in the begining of travel like a real coil spring fork, but the second part of travel can be easily adjusted with air pressure.

My adjustments:
My weight is about 75kg (165lbs) and I use maximum allowed air pressure for this fork - 110psi, cause with lower pressure the fork becomes too soft. A coil spring of my fork marked as "hard". I don't use remote lockout of ABS+ damper. I  turn the ABS+ damper compression adjuster to 45 degrees to get more compression damping. A minimum rebound adjustment works fine for me with this fork.

I like the work of my fork very much! It has a variety of adjustments, a stiff 20mm axle and smooth as butter travel! After a couple thousand kilometers with this fork it still works as new. I always spray silicone grease on the stanchions and add some oil into air spring. Couple times during the season I change oil in lower legs. The oil in the damper is still in good condition.

This is my first Manitou fork and I can say that it is very simple, reliable and ajustable.

My non-Fixed Gear Bike (ХВЗ Start-Shosse)

Sometimes I need a citybike to ride to work, or when I don't want to drive my car. My trail mountain bike (Corratec X-Force) is not as good for it as a road bike, that's why I've decided to build a city bike using a road bike frame (ХВЗ "Kharkov bicycle factory" Start-Shosse).

Review: RaceFace Narrow Wide Chainring

Last winter I have bought Race Face Narrow Wide Chainring for my Trail Bike.  The idea was to through away front derailleur with shifter and chainrings, to decrease the weight of my bike. The weight of this chainring is less than 50 grams (0.11lbs).

I've been trail-riding with this chain ring for couple of months and can say some words about it.

Review: Shimano FC-M552 Crankset

FC-M552 is a cheap OEM crankset from Shimano. Usually it is installed at budget complete bikes for Cross Country or All Mountain such as my Corratec X-force 0.3 2012. These are my first Hollowtech II cranks and I'm very impressed with this crankset system. Big alloy axle of these cranks is very strong, reliable and lightweight. There is no need in any special tools to take off cranks from a bike. I've been using these cranks for two seasons, and I can say that Shimano FC-M552 has only two minuses:
- they are a little bit more heavy than SLX or XT;
- they are rather flexible in comparison with some rigid DH cranks, but I didn't noticed any problems with this flexibleness. Maybe it gives me some aditional suspension for my legs?? :)
Pluses of this crankset are:
- price;
- it's strength is enough for trail riding or enduro.

My Bike Setup for 2014 Season. Corratec X-Force

My Corratec X-force trail bike was a little bit upgraded for the season 2014. First of all I've thrown away front derailleur with front gear shifter and installed Race Face Narrow Wide chain ring. It helped me to decrease the weight of the bike by half of kilogram. 
Continental Mountain King II tyres were changed for the same but the UST version. 2.2 for the rear wheel and 2.4 for the front. UST tyres are rather heavy (850-870gr each), but they will help me not to get pinch flats on rocky trails. I don't have UST rims, but my front UST tyre keeps air even without sealant! 
I have bought new pedals - Shimano M530 Trail with cage but I don't feel much difference between M530 and M520.
I have also installed new bushing hardware for the rear shock. TFTuned heavy duty kit and offset kit.

Weight: Wellgo V8 Copy Flat Pedals

These were my first pedals for my first mountain bike Stark Pusher. I've been riding Wellgo V8 Copy Silver for several seasons and the still looked like new, cause there were no paint on them.  These are rather heavy pedals, but they are very cheap and reliable.

The real weight of Wellgo V8 Copy is about 550-560gr (1.22lbs):

Weight: Shimano PD-M520 Pedals

PD-M520 is the most cheap clip-in pedals from Shimano. Their price is in range of $20-30 per pair with cleats. They are very good, for those who wants to try clip-in pedals. They work as more expensive Shimano pedals, but has a little more weight. It is also rather hard to repair them, that's why it's simplier to buy another pair.
The actual weight of Shimano PD-M520 Clipless pedals is about 370-380gr (0.82lbs), it is 10-20 grams heavier than PD-M540, and 80 grams lighter than PD-M530 Trail.

Weight: Shimano SM-RT51 180mm Rotor

The actual weight of Shimano SM-RT51 180mm (7") rotor (with words "RESIN PADS ONLY" on it's side) is about 170gr (0.38lbs). The thickness of my rotor is about 1.9mm - it is a little bit used. I've been using this rotor with sintered (metal) pads with Avid Elixir CR Carbon for about 1000km on a back wheel of my trail bike. I don't have any problems using this "resin pads only" rotor with sintered pads, and I will use it until it will be weared out.

Weight: Wellgo B54 B-54 Flat Pedals

Wellgo B54 is a rather cheap pair of flat pedals, but they keep feet in its place very very well. They are also very strong.

The real weight of Wellgo B54 pedals is about 530gr (1.17lbs).

Check this photo with the pedals on a scale:

Thule ProRide 951 Review

I don't have Thule ProRide 951 bike carrier, but my friend does, and I usually take it when we go to Finnish bike parks. After using this bike carrier for couple of years, I can easily say that Thule ProRide 951 is the most convenient bike carrier on the market. With this bike carrier, a bike can be mounted in a few seconds. User manual tells us that a maximum weight of a carried bike can be up to 17kg (37.5lbs), but I didn't have any problems mounting 19kg downhill bike. Even driving bad roads, this carrier keeps a bike securely mounted.

Specialized Demo 2011 on Skoda Fabia using Thule ProRide 951: