Today the items I ordered for my Eddy Merckx 525 to go on a diet and some cosmetique upgrades arrived!
Current setup of my Eddy Merckx 525 Custom is 7.6+kg.
Here are some of the items I received today.
Note: Time XPro 15 pedals are sold. I will be getting another set of pedals to help with the dieting.
The key upgrades for today are:
HEPPE Thru Axle shafts
These thru-axle skewers are suspiciously similar to a prominent brand which is famous for their anodised products, quality and of course royal price tag.
Manufactured from alloy, hopefully they can withstand the stress of the wheels rolling around them.
They are asthetically nicer from the original ones which are starting to show signs of corrosion (tsk) and are more aerodynamic compared to the pragmatic ones currently used for convenience on the road due to their Quick Release Handle built-in. Overall 48 grams [(Front: 45g-24g)+(Rear: 57g-30g)] removed from this upgrade.
MIXED 7D MAX Full Ccrbon saddle The Fizik Antares saddle has been solid but not exactly stiff for my liking especially on longer rides. Maybe I have gotten used to the thinner carbon based saddles so I sourced the MIXED brand saddle to have a try. This is the most significant weight saving single component for this exercise with 94 grams reduced.
Came with a few cute stickers.
Clean 3K carbon weave molding and the leather upper bonded neatly on the chasis. Rails are 7mmx9mm type with no blemish found. Overall a very clean construction.
Ritchey styled WCS 1-Bolt with 9mm OS Rail Clamp Replacing the seat clamp from 7mm around rail type to 9mm oversized clamp for carbon rails meant additional weight.
In came the M6x55mm titanium bolt resulted in zero gram net weight penalty despite using a larger saddle rail clamp. Bases are saved!
RideNow Ultralight Road Tube
Tyre tubes is a sub-segment topic usually after deciding first whether to remain on tubes or go tubeless. For a worry free-roadside repair, tubes are a tried and tested way that is more assured than second guessing if the sealant will fix the puncture.
Swapping out my standard MAXXIS road tubes, each tube reduced 63grams off each wheel which translated to another 126 grams off the bike. The
TPU based material is very thin and light as compared to a bulky butyl tube. This made it easier to pack into my repair kit pouch and saved some space to keep some spare change. Did I also mention that each tube came with an anodised magenta coloured valve cap? That is a very nice inclusion for the price paid.
Question now is will the new TPU type material hold up to the abuse of regular road riding ? This remain to be answered so stay tuned for a long-term use review in future.
Without excessively breaking my bank account, the 525 already has 48 grams + 126 grams + 94 grams = 268 grams taken off without any complex upgrades performed. There are still a few areas to explore with but will not risk safety in name of getting the bike to go on a diet. Maybe I should be going on a stricter diet too like the 525 and that should help me go faster.
Update: Titanium Bolts refresh
- Crank Mounting Bolt M20x8mm
- Crankarm Locking Bolts M6x20mm
- Disc Brake Pad Retention Pins M3x26.4 - Disc Brake Caliper Mounting Bolts M5x16mm (Front @ 160mm), M5x35 (Back @ 140mm)
Fun days ahead - Ride On everyone!