Tuesday, April 9, 2013

Spring Weightless Plan for Moonlander

Spring is the perfect time to adopt a fad crash-diet or "cleanse" to shed those unsightly winter pounds from around one's midsection.   But since I have grown quite comfortable with my steady intake of dark beer, pizza, and ice cream, I won't be chugging lemon juice-cayenne pepper-maple syrup anytime soon.  Instead, like a controlling boyfriend, my focus has turned to encouraging rapid weightloss from the object of my affection, the Surly Moonlander.


My Moonlander rolled off the showroom floor at a portly 38+ pounds; and after getting burned by the fat-bike racerboy set on their sub-30 pound titanium Fatbacks this winter, the seeds of carbon-envy and weight-weenie dogma were planted.  A cheapo digital scale from Costco and a few hundred dollars burning a hole in my pocket was all I needed to begin the project.

The internet will tell you that one pound of rotating mass is equivalent to two pounds of static mass,  so I first turned my attention to the Clownshoes.

I purged the heavy rubber Surly rim strips in place of light-weight and fashion forward orange ribbon (instantly saving 200+ grams), and opted for a pair of standard 26" downhill tubes cutting another several hundred grams off the thick Surly tubes that are better suited for a motorcycle.

Many fat-bikers are hot for tubeless setups these days, but seeing Stans fluid cause an instant freezer burn after spewing into a buddy's skin at -20 F this winter (Stans won't freeze) when his tubeless tire broke the bead seat, I am disinclined to accept that risk for the inherent benefits of a tubeless fat-bike (maybe when I move back to the desert). 


A titanium XTR cassette and Formula floating rotor complete the rear weight loss plan and add an additional bling factor. 






































Next was the cockpit: Carbon handlebars are (in my opinion) the top 3 best aftermarket additions to a fat bike. In addition to saving weight and looking sexy, carbon handlebars do not conduct thermal energy in the same way as their metallic counterparts.   Carbon's poor thermal conductivity results in warmer hands, as the bar will not hold the cold of the frigid winter air, nor will it transmit the cold of your exposed handlebar midsection into your grip area.  Your hands maintain a comfortable temperature  for longer.  Thermal Conductivity - k - W/(m.K) of Aluminum rates at 205 k, whereas Carbon and Fiberglass rate at 1.7 k and 0.04 k respectively (actual thermal conductivity of carbon-fiber in bicycle handlebars will vary based on composite resins used, but assume the ballpark between 0.04 k and 1.7 k)  This mindset of considering the impact of thermal conductivity of parts can be applied to peddles too, which was the driving force behind my decision to ditch my aluminium platforms for a set of cheap nylon (0.25 k) BMX peddles, and my feet stay much warmer now.


Here is a table for geeking out on.   Read more here, here, or here.  Looking in to this further would make for a great high-school science project; but all I know is my hands feel better on carbon and that makes me a believer.
Thermal Conductivity - k - W/(m.K)
Material/SubstanceTemperature - oC
25125225
Acetone0.16
Acetylene (gas)0.018
Acrylic0.2
Air, athmosphere (gas)0.024
Alcohol0.17
Aluminum205215250
Aluminum Oxide30
Ammonia (gas)0.022
Antimony18.5
Apple (85.6% moisture)0.39
Argon (gas)0.016
Asbestos-cement board0.744
Asbestos-cement sheets0.166
Asbestos-cement2.07
Asbestos, loosely packed0.15
Asbestos mill board0.14
Asphalt0.75
Balsa wood0.048
Bitumen0.17
Bitumen/felt layers0.5
Beef, lean (78.9 % moisture)0.43 - 0.48
Benzene0.16
Beryllium218
Bitumen0.17
Blast furnace gas (gas)0.02
Brass109
Breeze block0.10 - 0.20
Brick dense1.31
Brickwork, common0.6 -1.0
Brickwork, dense1.6
Butter (15% moisture content)0.20
Cadmium92
Calcium silicate0.05
Carbon1.7
Carbon dioxide (gas)0.0146
Cement, portland0.29
Cement, mortar1.73
Chalk0. 09
Chlorine (gas)0.0081
Chrome Nickel Steel (18% Cr, 8 % Ni)16.3
Clay, dry to moist0.15 - 1.8
Clay, saturated0.6 - 2.5
Cobalt69
Cod (83% moisture content)0.54
Concrete, lightweight0.1 - 0.3
Concrete, medium0.4 - 0.7
Concrete, dense1.0 - 1.8
Concrete, stone1.7
Constantan22
Copper401400398
Corian (ceramic filled)1.06
Corkboard0.043
Cork, regranulated0.044
Cork0.07
Cotton wool0.029
Carbon Steel545147
Cotton Wool insulation0.029
Diatomaceous earth (Sil-o-cel)0.06
Diatomite0.12
Earth, dry1.5
Engine Oil0.15
Ether0.14
Ethylene (gas)0.017
Epoxy0.35
Ethylene glycol0.25
Felt insulation0.04
Fibreglass0.04
Fibre insulating board0.048
Fibre hardboard0.2
Fireclay brick 500oC1.4
Foam glass0.045
Freon 12 (gas)0.073
Freon (liquid)0.07
Gasoline0.15
Glass1.05
Glass, Pearls, dry0.18
Glass, Pearls, saturated0.76
Glass, window0.96
Glass, wool Insulation0.04
Glycerol0.28
Gold310312310
Granite1.7 - 4.0
Gravel0.7
Gypsum board0.17
Hairfelt0.05
Hardboard high density0.15
Hardwoods (oak, maple..)0.16
Helium (gas)0.142
Honey (12.6% moisture content)0.5
Hydrochlor acid (gas)0.013
Hydrogen (gas)0.168
Hydrogen sulfide (gas)0.013
Ice (0oC, 32oF)2.18
Insulation materials0.035 - 0.16
Iridium147
Iron806860
Iron, wrought59
Iron, cast55
Kapok insulation0.034
Kerosene0.15
Krypton (gas)0.0088
Lead Pb35
Leather, dry0.14
Limestone1.26 - 1.33
Magnesia insulation (85%)0.07
Magnesite4.15
Magnesium156
Marble2.08 - 2.94
Mercury8
Methane (gas)0.030
Methanol0.21
Mica0.71
Milk0.53
Mineral wool insulation materials, wool blankets ..0.04
Molybdenum138
Monel26
Neon (gas)0.046
Nickel91
Nitrogen (gas)0.024
Nylon 60.25
Oil, machine lubricating SAE 500.15
Olive oil0.17
Oxygen (gas)0.024
Paper0.05
Paraffin Wax0.25
Perlite, atmospheric pressure0.031
Perlite, vacuum0.00137
Plaster light0.2
Plaster, metal lath0.47
Plaster, sand0.71
Plaster, wood lath0.28
Plastics, foamed (insulation materials)0.03
Platinum707172
Plywood0.13
Polyethylene HD0.42 - 0.51
Polypropylene0.1 - 0.22
Polystyrene, expanded0.03
Polystyrol0.043
Polyurethane foam0.03
Porcelain1.5
Potato, raw flesh0.55
Propane (gas)0.015
PTFE0.25
PVC0.19
Pyrex glass1.005
Quartz mineral3
Rock, solid2 - 7
Rock, porous volcanic (Tuff)0.5 - 2.5
Rock Wool insulation0.045
Rubber, natural0.13
Salmon (73% moisture content)0.50
Sand, dry0.15 - 0.25
Sand, moist0.25 - 2
Sand, saturated2 - 4
Sandstone1.7
Sawdust0.08
Sheeps wool0.039
Silica aerogel0.02
Silicone oil0.1
Silver429
Slag wool0.042
Slate2.01
Snow (temp < 0oC)0.05 - 0.25
Sodium84
Softwoods (fir, pine ..)0.12
Soil, with organic matter0.15 - 2
Soil, saturated0.6 - 4
Steel, Carbon 1%43
Stainless Steel161719
Straw slab insulation, compressed0.09
Styrofoam0.033
Sulfur dioxide (gas)0.0086
Sugars0.087 - 0.22
Timber0.14
Tin Sn67
Zinc Zn116
Urethane foam0.021
Vermiculite0.058
Vinyl ester0.25
Water0.58
Water, vapor (steam)0.016
Wheat flour0.45
Wood across the grain, white pine0.12
Wood across the grain, balsa0.055
Wood across the grain, yellow pine, timber0.147
Wood, oak0.17
Wool, felt0.07
Wood wool, slab0.1 - 0.15
Xenon (gas)0.0051
  • 1 W/(m.K) = 1 W/(m.oC) = 0.85984 kcal/(h.m.oC) = 0.5779 Btu/(ft.h.oF) = 0.048 Btu/(in.h.oF)




In my quest for further enlightenment I also ditched several other attachments: front rack, bar ends, seat-post bag, frame bag, heavy all-mountain saddle, and my trusty King Cage Mud Flask, because as a weight weenie disciple I am more concerned with performance than utility.  


All in all, with carbon seatpost, ti-railed saddle, fomula R1 brakes, and all other aforementioned goodies, the Moonie weighed in at a respectable 32.32 lbs.
 I had lost roughly 5 lbs, but when factoring in the 2 lbs of rolling weight = 4  lbs of dead weight, gained about 9 lbs worth of  performance .


4 comments:

  1. 200g of rimstrip weight . . . that's nuts.

    So happy to follow the links to the Performance video.

    What did your weight savings work out to be $/g or $/oz wise?

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  2. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  3. Always necessary to watch the Performance video at-least twice.

    It would be difficult to calculate an accurate cost-per-gram for my project as many of the parts were purchased used, cannibalized from other projects, or from the parts bin. The only parts I purchased retail from LBS were the Specialized downhill tubes ($30) and the Answer 20/20 bar ($150); the 'Black Ops' red nylon plastic pedals were $35 on ebay. [Speedway sells their own re-branded version for around $100].

    In an attempt to answer your question, I totaled up the MSRP of all parts necessary to approximate this build and subtracted the MSRP of parts comparable to a stock Moonlander build, this resulted in about a $750 cost differential if building up a new frame in-order to reach the 32 lb. mark, which works out to $125 per pound.

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  4. Realize this is years later, but love seeing folks pimp out their moonies! Pricing out a similar weight loss plan for mine now that I've had it about four years. Done the carbon bar, and looking at the wheels for some weight loss.

    Considering using the Surly ultra light fat bike tubes over downhill tubes (a little better at filling the volume of a 4.8 tire), Jumbo Jims to cut around 200+ grams per wheel, and ditching the boat anchor rear XT hub for a DT 350 disc. Then there's the option to relace with DT competition (18/16) or DT Revolution spokes.

    Fun stuff!

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