BMC Speedfox SF29: more feedback

I finally got the BMC on the scale yesterday, weight was 26lbs 7oz as pictured previously. This is about what I was expecting, but a bit more than I was hoping. Doing some looking around this morning I discovered that the bike isn't that far off on weight compared to others, even carbon frames. I found actual weights of Epic Expert Carbon 29er and Jet9 RDO, and when pedals and cages are added they would be 25lbs 15oz and 26lbs 5oz each. So the aluminum frame BMC isn't looking too bad after all. I know of at least a half pound I can take off without doing anything too extreme, so we'll see where it ends up. I would like to save some weight but I don't plan to use any super lightweight/fragile parts, and I probably won't upgrade the drivetrain much. Cassette and brake rotors are first items that I'm thinking about, just standard stuff but will save me a half pound combined, and rotational weight at that.

I had to switch to a setback seatpost and while I was at it I got to weigh a few parts which gave me some insight into the game of shaving grams and manufacturers "claimed" weights. The seatpost I took off was an Easton EC70 Zero, 31.6x400mm. The claimed weight is 225g, the actual weight was 236g. That's not a terrible overage, about 4.9%. There was also an Easton EC90 Zero, 31.6x400mm that I weighed, it came in at 234g vs. the claimed weight of 190g. This is a 23% overage! It's especially alarming that this post was only 2g lighter than the same sized EC70, when they carry pricetags of $210 and $140 each. The new seatpost is a Thomson Elite setback aluminum model. This is the only post I could find that would be long enough (410mm) with setback to get my saddle in the right spot. Thomson provides individual weights for all their different size stems and posts, so I suspected that the claimed weight would be much truer to actual. Sure enough, the claimed weight was 247g, and the actual weight on the scale was 242g. I doubt you'll find anybody complaining about a part being lighter than claimed! Also worth noting is that the post was only 6g heavier than the carbon post it replaced. Thomson makes good stuff, and this reinforces my opinion of them.

Last night I got a couple more hours of singletrack on the bike at the Anthills trails. It continues to impress. There are lots of really rooty sections out there where the hardtail would really get hung up and lose a lot of momentum, but the BMC carries through them much better. There are also some big drops and nasty steep downs that were doable on the ht but had to be given a lot more respect (line choice and braking). The suspension allowed me to carry much more speed down them. There are also some pretty steep short climbs out there to contend with, where traction is critical and proper weight distribution will determine whether you make it up or not. This is an area where I'm usually pretty good, having cleaned lots of climbs on my hardtail where others will bobble. I made it up most of the tough spots last night, but I still feel like I have a little more learning to do on figuring out how this bike responds and how the rear suspension affects things. This usually comes down to rider skill and their instinct for traction and weight distribution, but every bike is a little different and takes a little getting used to before you really feel it. Being a bit "disconnected" from the rear wheel is the biggest difference I'm feeling, where the feedback from the ht is instant and you have precise control, the full suspension is doing its own thing a bit more. This is usually a good thing as the rear wheel will follow the terrain much better and roll over obstacles on the climb, but I feel like it takes a little bit of control out of your hands when you're so accustomed to being very precise with your back wheel.