TIFOSI WEIGHT REDUCTION

The Tifosi CK7 Veloce Audax bike has arrived!

For £750 (sale price) you get a triple butted 7005 alloy frame with mudguard and rack eyelets, a carbon fork, Campag Veloce shifters and dérailleurs, a Miche compact chainset and brakes, as well as Miche Reflex wheels.

The original weight was 9.6Kgs so I raided the basement to see what weight we could lose by swapping components.

The original alloy seat-post and Selle Italia X1 saddle weighed 620g but I had a PZ 27.2mm carbon post and Fizik Aliante saddle that together tipped the scales at 420g, quite a decent weight saving to get things started. Weight now 9.4Kgs

The next and most obvious weight saving (over half a kilo) came from swapping the wheels & tyres.

The Miche reflex front wheel including Zaffiro tyre was 1.56Kgs and the rear wheel 1.68Kgs, making a total of 3.24Kgs.
Once I'd swapped them for my Zondas (with Continental 4 Seasons tyres) the weight of the bike came down to 8.86Kgs (without pedals) a further reduction of 0.54Kgs.

8.86Kgs is reasonably light for a winter bike. Apart from helping with the hills it also helps getting it up and down the narrow stairs to the basement. This was a virtually impossible task with my heavy old hack, a few years back.
I went straight out for a test spin and found the bike lively and responsive - and quite comfortable too. A really nice ride and even better than I was expecting.

One reviewer of the bike mentioned being able to 'feel a bit more of the road', saying fatter tyres would help, but I think that problem was solved with the use of my PZ carbon seat-post which really reduces road buzz. The only thing I might change in the future would be the bars as I have a few spares sitting around that might suit me better - although thicker (and less flesh coloured!) bar tape might help as well.

My issue with the front chainring shifting will go on the back burner during winter. On my test ride I shifted between the Miche big and little rings a lot without any problems so fingers crossed (I've got a couple of dodgy left hand fingers, so it can be an issue).

 

Take a look at the Bike Buyers Guide and you can compare weights and prices of most best selling bikes currently on the market.






 
Veloce shifters have the benefit over Shimano Sora and Tiagra of having under bartape cable routing. Much neater! 
I'll change the tape to black once it's a bit worn out.
**LATEST**
Changed bars to ProVibe 42cm. Another small weight saving (and more comfortable for me).
I've also totally solved my front chainring shifting issue. I've learned to ease off the pressure just before the shift, and the chain is now changing from one ring to the other without a problem. It's taken me long enough to sort that out!
Overall I'm a big fan of this bike, but the wheel change has been the key. The Miche Reflex are fine if you just want a hack, but if you want a bike for sportive riding, winter training or fast commuting I'd highly recommend an upgrade.