Lightning Special

[subira]

I've just been reading the Trials Competition article on the 'Lightning Special', really impressive piece of work, but you have to wonder how much it has really cost to reduce the weight of a standard Raga Replica by 11lbs ?

Lots of the parts are off the shelf, but I'm sure the machining of the forks and the titanium front pipe bumped the price up.

I make that a new 'dry' weight of an impressive 61.45Kgs - must be like riding a heavy bicycle

Makes me wonder at what point is light, too light ?

Should I go on a diet ?, it's going to be a lot cheaper than spending any money on my bike

[jtt]

Very cool! Probably not the bike for the 250lb novice rider though

[social climber]

my thoughts exactly. I was actually pondering this at the bottom of a camber ledge I had just fallen off on saturday as it crumbled under me and my bikes combined titanic mass.

As my Climber lay revving happily on top of my chest and left arm, I pondered how much heavier it seemed than all those pretty little GG's, shercos and betas (note I haven't mentioned Monty's in there, cue flame ).

Anyway, as the exhaust started to singe my left nipple, a moment of clarity arrived. I weigh 115kg's, on top of my climber's ???kg's. Surely a performance gain would be had from me losing some of the bulk that rugby has forced me to gain over the years. Imagine the steps I could climb, the fancy skips and hops I could pull of with my less burdened suspension. The decreased wear on tyres, chains, sprockets, footpegs, the earth's crust etc etc

This struck home as a skinny kid on a TXT200 skipped and bunny hopped his way across what was left of the ledge I had tried to relocate to the bottom of the hill......