Point3: Unbranded Gravity 29er Point 3 Frame & Fork Tora TK

Gravity Point 3 Frame and fork

After I built this bike up from parts. I wondered how much it weighed. I searched the internet to find what the average weight for a hard tail 29er. I seen some unbelievable weights from 20 lbs and less to 35 lbs. I then decided to get my parts list and do some research. One of the key points that makes sense is the components/parts/spec and weight truly does determine the price of the bike.  I also found that most all popular bike frames are made in Taiwan or China and usually only by a handful of frame manufactures. Kinesis is one of the largest frame manufacturers overseas http://www.kinesis.com.tw/frames/S1025-2013.php. USA made frames definitely have their niche and produce some really sweet rides. Intense cycles comes to mind.



I tallied up the components and weights in five groups:

• Frame 
• Front End 
• Drive Train
• Front Wheel
• Rear Wheel

I'm sure it could be argued to divvy the components up separately but, I did it this way so to section off areas of the bike to see where I might be able to shave some weight.

A critical decision point, value versus cost. Race bikes usually are not intended to be super durable as the team sponsor has the dough to replace parts as needed. The primary focus of most race bikes is to make the bike light as possible and handle extremely well for the rider and that bike is tuned to the rider. Of course the bike must hold up to a number of races in succession but, how many Clydesdales race in comparison to a normal racer on a circuit. I would be afraid to ride a bike that costs 8k as I could not afford to fix the stuff I broke as a weekend warrior I'm 5' 10" @ 220lbs.

Analysis

Frame

In my build the frame accounts for 19.75% @ 5 lbs for the weight of the bike.  The frame only being at 4.18 pounds is not super heavy nor super light. This frame less the fork was around $144.00 after selling the Tora fork for $125.00. I could save a 1/2 a pound by purchasing a better frame I would love a Niner frame!

Had I known then what I know now I would have likely purchased a Sette Razzo 29er Alloy Hard-tail Frame @ $199.00 and weighing in at 3.5 lbs saving a 1/2 pound however, the chain-stay is .20" longer than the Gravity.

Front End

Wow, I could not believe that the front end less wheel and brake accounted for 22.66% of the bikes total weight @ 6.69 lbs. The over weight component here is the Fork when combined with the front wheel and etc. it would account for nearly 40.28% of the total bike weight at 11.89 lbs. The recon weighs in at a hefty 4.8 lbs. For 270.00 this shock performs flawlessly. I could shave 1 lb by changing to a Recon Gold tk for another $100.00. I would have to sell my recon silver first and likely would end getting maybe $150.00 for it on eBay. So in reality it would cost another $219.00 to loose a pound.

Drive Train

This is a hard area to cut weight first off I could go with clip-less pedals  but, then I would need to purchase clip-less shoes which ups the cost to save the maybe 1/4 pound weight  the shoes and egg beaters are considered in weight versus cost. For me that is not worth it. I could switch out the current FSA Crank-set for a Shimano SLX M665 Crankset w/ Bash Guard 8/9 Speed and save a 1/2 lb for around $200.00

Front Wheel

Right off I could replace out the slime tubes and go tubeless and loose nearly a pound for each wheel (14.4 ounces). If I did the ghetto setup it would barely cost anything other than gorilla tape and a used 26er presta tube and slime in a bottle. If I used Stans tubeless kit for $65.00 it would relate to shaving nearly two pounds of rotational weight for front and rear. If I were to change out my Easton EA70XC wheelset for Stans ZTR Arch EX 29 Black the new purchase price would be $595.00 plus shipping and tax. I could save nearly a 1/2 pound. The Easton wheel-set would need to be sold on eBay maybe getting $175 - 200.00 meaning I would still need to come up with nearly $400.00 not worth it to me at least now. I could shave a bit of weight with the Hayes brakes but, they perform flawlessly and are not part of the rotational weight of the wheel. When looking at weights of brake sets you are talking about ounces and grams in my opinion if you have a good brake set why change it for a few grams?

Rear Wheel

Basically the same story as the front wheel with exception to the cassette. Right now I run the 29er specific cassette which is already lightened up quit a bit plus has a 36 tooth cog. Here is another spot where there is very little difference in terms of weight unless you have the bottom of the barrel cassette. The SLX derailleur works flawlessly to save a few ounces/grams to go to XT does not interest me at least yet. Where else can I shave rotational weight? Tires. Over the current tires I have now I could shave 50-150 grams per tire.If I wanted to spend $65-85.00 per tire. Does this make sense for a weekend warrior who never races? To ride on a tire that has no protection flimsy sidewalls and little to no tread? Not worth it to me.

Summary

This is considering my build and recycling the parts I have and or selling them. You could spend much more on XT/XTR/XO or other higher end items.

• Lighter Frame save 1/2 lb - $200.00 and up
• Lighter Fork save 1 lb - $219.00 and up
• Lighter Drive Train 1/2 lb - $199.00 and up
• Tubeless 1.8 lbs front and rear - $ 65.00
• Lighter Wheel-set - 1/2 lb - $400.00 and up 

For $1083.00 I could lose 4 lbs off my current setup that is $270 per pound! I have built my current bike for around 1300.00. I'm sure I couldn't find a 26 lb better bike for that!

I think I will do the tubeless hack! and ride more to lose the fat on me.

29er build spec's
Type	Brand	Model	Weight	pct. Of weight
Frame
Frame	Gravity	Point 3	4.18	14.16%
Water bottle holder	Black Burn	competition	0.1	0.34%
Seatpost	Easton	XA70	0.6	2.03%
Saddle	WTB	Speed V	0.8	2.71%
Headset	Crane Creek	10 ZS	0.15	0.51%
Frame etc. total			5.83	19.75%
Front End
Fork	Rock shox	Recon Silver TK 29er 100mm	4.8	16.26%
Stem	Truvativ	Hussefelt 60mm stem	0.7	2.37%
Handlebar	Crank bro	Cobalt 3	0.5	1.69%
Grips	ODI	TLD Lock on	0.25	0.85%
Shift Levers	Shimano	Deore	0.2	0.68%
Bar ends	Titec	Shorties	0.24	0.81%
Front end etc. total			6.69	22.66%
Drive Train
Pedals	Wellgo	LU-A52	1	3.39%
Chain	Sram	PC 951	0.7	2.37%
Chainrings	RaceFace	Single Speed 34t	0.1	0.34%
Bottom Bracket	FSA	Mega XO	0	0.00%
Crankset	FSA	Gravity	2.9	9.82%
Drive Train etc. total			4.7	15.92%
Front Wheel
Front Tire	Continental	XKING 2.4	1.5	5.08%
Tube frt	Slime	29 x 2.2	0.9	3.05%
Front Brake	Hayes	Stroker Trail	0.9	3.05%
Front Wheel	Easton	EA70XC	1.9	6.44%
Front wheel etc. total			5.2	17.62%
Rear Wheel
Rear Tire	Continental	RKING	1.6	5.42%
Tubes rr	Slime	29 x 2.2	0.9	3.05%
Cassette	Shimano	SLX CS-HG-61 29er Cassette	0.7	2.37%
Rear Brake	Hayes	Stroker Trail	0.9	3.05%
Rear Wheel	Easton	EA70XC	2.4	8.13%
Rear Derailleur	Shimano	SLX	0.6	2.03%
Rear end etc. total			7.1	24.05%
Total			29.52	100.00%

Gravity Point 3 Frame and Build

Final build comes in just under 30 lbs.

I'm very pleased with the build the frame and bike feel stable but, lively. The rear chain stay for a no name frame is not bad at 17.5 inches not the tuck of some of the name brand bikes but, this frame/bike climbs well and is very fun on fast single track and downhill. Building this bike or better yet putting all the parts together was an absolute pleasure and I'm glad I did it at least once. I did pull some parts from my 26er like the bottom bracket, crank, shifter and derailleur. I probably spent more than I should when I could have purchased a comparable bike for the same or less. But the experience in tuning, fitting etc was my real point.

Parts list

Frame - Gravity Point 3 (Sold off the Tora fork)

Handlebar - Crank Bros low rise Cobalt 3  720 mm

Stem - Truvativ Hussefelt 60 mm

Grips - ODI lock on

Shifter Right - Shimano Deore 9 speed

Bar ends - Titec shorty

Fork - Recon Silver

Brakes - Hayes Stroker 

Rotors - Alligator 180mm frt and 160mm rear

Seat Post - Easton EA70XC 27.2 mm

Seat - WTB Pure V

Wheel Set - Easton EA70XC

Crank set - FSA Gravity 

Bottom Bracket - MegaXO

Pedals - Wellgo flats 

Rear derailleur - Shimano SLX

Cassette - 29er 9 speed Cassette 11-36

Front Chainring - 34t Race Face SS 

Bashring - Race Face 

Chain Guide - Black Spire stinger 

Front Tire - Continental X King 2.2

Rear Tire - Continental Race King 2.2

Front and Rear tubes - Slime Tubes

Some of the local trails

Morning Drive - Foothills consist of lots of hard pack and sand in some areas and loose of hard pack. Some small to mid size rocks I.e. golf ball to softball size.

From the top looking down you cannot  

tell it is about a 75 foot drop off, if not more.
This area is ridden by dirt bikes and mountain bikers. I would guess a lot of the trails had been originally created by dirt bikes.

 

Entrance to Mr. Toads. There is some good climbs and a very fast single track section that could kick your ass if you are not paying attention.

Left Arm and Left Leg used to brush some speed off instead of using brakes:)

A little raspberry/dirt rash from Mr. Toads brushing up against one of the outside turns in this very fast very short single track going too fast. Hard to explain you have to try it for yourself.

riding...The Streets of Bakersfield... be safe

Hey you don't know me but you don't like me

You say you care less how I feel

But how many of you that sit and judge me

Have ever walked ridden the streets of Bakersfield? 

source: http://www.lyricsondemand.com/d/dwightyoakamlyrics/streetsofbakersfieldlyrics.html

I like to ride and would everyday if possible. I really like the connection to my fixed gear bike.I do not do any tricks like some do. I leave that trendy stuff to the X and Y generation. Also, my gearing is probably too high but, I prefer speed over the fancy stuff and frankly I'm too old and scared to try some of that shit those kids do. 

I run a 48T x 16T gearing which I think is around 80 gear inches and not totally downtown friendly for stop and go. I also run a front brake. It is my pacifier and also helps to slow down. I'm fully aware of the potential to endo but, it is a compromise between looks and safety. Yeah I know some say ditch the brakes for the aesthetics of the clean lines of the bike. Some say what is wrong with you keep the brakes. I say I will do WTF I want.

This bike is definitely fast and I have gotten up to around 27mph while sprinting and when in top shape can maintain 20-23mph. 

Riding the streets of Bakersfield is like playing dodge ball with retards. Seriously... The biking culture is just starting to take off here but, still there are plenty of people who think cyclist should not be allowed on the road and who are more than willing not to share the road. I try to ride mostly the bike paths and outskirts of town. I like to ride fast with little stopping so I suppose that may mean I'm not part of the sub-culture of the fixie crowd. However, I have had my share of close calls and fun. 

Hell even on the bike path some people are ignorant to the fact that a bicycle is a moving object and if you stop and stand in the middle of the bike path with your girl friend, family, friends or pets both parties stand a chance of getting seriously hurt. Some of the tough guys around here like to play the "I'm not moving out of the way" as a test of their man-ness to own both lanes of the path. I'm not sure if this is due to the ignorance of another biker being rude to pedestrians or just the fact that we have so many bad-asses in Bakersfield. 

One day while riding down South Hst this woman and her teenage kids in a Ford Exploder almost hit me I was as far right as I could be (in the gutter) but, apparently that was not enough. She honked her horn and her kids yelled out the window at me. Funny thing is there was a stop light about 500 feet ahead. She was a few cars back at the light and as I pull up I noticed all of them are texting on their phones and all the windows are down. I pull up slowly and get to the back window and shouted as loud as I could SHARE THE ROAD!!!! They all jumped out of their skins and as their phones flew out of their hands and up into the air I decided it was probably not good idea to go in the same direction as them. I guess they all thought I was number one because as I moved to the sidewalk and was watching them pass through the light they all gave me the finger LOL.

Another time I was heading south on Chester and this lady was parked in the bike lane on the side. She made eye contact with me through her rear view mirror of her truck. I thought that was odd since it was a few seconds before I would pass the driver door. As I approached closer I noticed her looking at me through the side mirror of her truck. In an instant it dawned on me. I thought REALLY? no people are not that crass are they? In any case I decided not to trust her so I veered a couple feet further out from her truck while passing her and low and behold that bitch opened her door at the exact time I was passing her. Well she got the number one signal from me and a loud FUCK YOU LADY!!!

One beautiful summer day I decided to take a long ride from my house to Ming lake. This would be about a 40 mile round trip. No this was not a fixed gear ride as there are two many steep grades. I rode my touring bike (a 1992 trek multi-track setup with rack and panniers etc). Most of this route takes the city streets, then some bike path and finally a highway. About 3 miles out from Hart Park these guys in a Saturn Vue think it would be funny to throw there pop bottles at me while driving 60 plus mph. I'm fairly certain they did not take into consideration that what ever object they toss out the car would also be traveling at that speed. As fate would have it they were driving the only Red Saturn Vue that was parked at a picnic area at hart park.Geniuses I guess they did not think we were both heading in the same direction and that I possibly would be pissed off and try to find them while I was passing through the park. LOL. Just so happens that I find the car parked. But, it looks like a Mexican wedding with lots of folks partying and having a good time. Am I stupid? well sometimes but, not this time. I ride around the park until I find a park ranger and as luck would have it some sheriffs were setup for search and rescue because during that time of year people get into the river and drown. So I ask them if they could contact a park ranger for me. They ask me why and I tell them what happen. Two park rangers show up and I give them a description of the vehicle. One stays with me and the other tracks down the people who own the car. Soon the ranger relays back to his partner that he has found them and to come on over.

I ride over and the one ranger asks if I would like to press charges I say no but I would like to talk to them. The other ranger says you are not going to doing anything stupid and I respond not today. I meet the guys responsible and they are falling all over themselves apologizing. Obviously, I wait until they are finished and yes of course I chastise them. I tell them like them I'm a brother, a father, a husband and a son, I'm also an uncle and friend. I tell them that although what they did seemed harmless they could have seriously hurt me. That could be them and I could be them. I get on my bike and ride to Ming lake. Not too shortly later one of the rangers pulls up to me and says I do not know how you did it (from loosing my cool) and that I was more than a man than him. I thank him and think to myself not in my eyes but, thank you.

Every so often while riding fixed I forget that I'm riding a fixed gear bike. Not sure if in my case it is because I also ride quite often my mountain bike which is multi-speed or, if it is just brain fade. I haven't stacked yet knock on wood but, it usually happens when least expected. For example, the other day I was coming down an over pass on my fixie and was hauling ass; once I knew I was going to make the light I started sprinting. After I nearly passed thru the intersection, for some reason I thought I could coast. Luckily I have toe straps so the bike did not throw me but, it tried and I bet I had the stupidest look on my face as well as the spectacle being shot off the seat then pulled back down by the momentum of the bike. I almost shit myself. The shock of being shot out like that caused be to almost loose control the front end went left to right to left to right until I straightened out and started riding smoothly like that was some sort of trick riding I was doing.

I have forgotten my bike was in fixed mode a number of times it seems it is usually when I'm tired or taking a sharp turn for what ever reason I think I can coast... The one thing it always does is give me a rush of adrenalin and of course I look around to see if anyone has caught me LOL. I mostly ride for fun and fitness and absolutely love all of my bikes. My wife however is not as enamored with them as I am. Hopefully I can convert her.

Where the weight is on your 29er

29er build spec's
Type	Brand	Model	Weight	pct. Of weight	Notes
Frame	Gravity	Point	4.18	13.69%	Bike Island
Bottom Bracket	FSA	Mega XO		0.00%	incl in crank set
Stem	Truvativ	Hussefelt 60mm stem	0.7	2.29%
Handlebar	Easton	XC70	0.3	0.98%
Seatpost	Easton	XA70	0.6	1.97%
Chainrings	RaceFace	Single Speed 34t	0.1	0.33%
Cassette	Shimano	SLX CS-HG-61 29er Cassette	0.7	2.29%	12/36t
Front Tire	Continental	MKII 2.4	1.8	5.90%
Rear Tire	Continental	MKII 2.4	1.8	5.90%
Crankset	FSA	Gravity	2.9	9.50%	removed poly bash and granny. Using race face bash alum
Tube frt	Slime	29 x 2.2	0.9	2.95%
Tubes rr	Slime	29 x 2.2	0.9	2.95%
Fork	Rock shox	Recon Silver TK 29er 100mm	4.8	15.72%
Rear Brake	Hayes	Stroker Trail	0.9	2.95%
Front Brake	Hayes	Stroker Trail	0.9	2.95%
Rear Wheel	Shimano M525 Disc	Mavic A317 29Er Wheels	5.4	17.69%
Front Wheel	Shimano M525 Disc	Mavic A317 29Er Wheels		0.00%	incl w/rear wheel
Shift Levers	Shimano	Deore	0.2	0.66%
Pedals	Wellgo	LU-A52	1	3.28%
Chain	Sram	PC 951	0.7	2.29%
Rear Derailleur	Shimano	SLX	0.6	1.97%
Saddle	WTB	Speed V	0.9	2.95%
Grips	ODI	TLD Lock on	0.251	0.82%
Total			30.531	100.00%