Reducing the weight of my Thorn Sherpa...how did you do yours?

[Vintagetourer]

My trusty Thorn Sherpa has proved itself durable on some exceedingly rough outback Australian roads, however in November I will be riding from Canberra to Adelaide on roads which will not be exceedingly rough.
Hence I am wanting to prepared the bike to be a bit lighter and faster for this trip, and am prepared to spend a bit to do this.

The question is, has anybody else lightened their Thorn Sherpa for less expeditionary tours, and if so what modifications did you make? 
What changes did you make to bits and pieces to trim the total unloaded weight of your bare Thorn Sherpa?
(and yes ...I am trying to take some weight off myself as well as the luggage:)

regards
Graham Smith
Canberra Australia

[mickeg]

I try to lighten my camping gear list and load, I leave my Sherpa alone.  If I had managed to trim some weight off of it, that probably would not be as much weight savings as a full 1 liter water bottle, so I focus my weight savings where it is easier.

But I did trim some weight several years ago, I used to use Surly racks front and rear.  But now use a Tubus Logo rear and Tubus Ergo on the front. 

In the first photo, you will see a small platform rack that is mounted on my front brake mounts, that is in addition to the Ergo that is hidden behind the panniers.  The second photo is five years old and shows the Tubus racks more clearly, I changed handlebars after that photo was taken, the first photo shows the current bike configuration with newer handlebars. The handlebar change was for ergonomics, not for weight savings.

[Vintagetourer]

Thanks. Weight unladen of mine is 15.5kg including accessories and various attachments e.g. racks, lights, GPS, bottles (empty) before the loaded panniers and bags are attached. This is with 2.1"Smart Sam tyres.
I'll try to take weight off with lighter wheels and tyres, but also a Ti rear rack.

[martinf]

Different tyres would make the most difference. Smart Sam are already fairly light, but on tarmac, 2" Schwalbe Supreme should roll better, mainly because they are more or less slick tyres. Dureme should be in between Supreme and Smart Sam for performance on tarmac. Going down to the slimmer 1.6" Supreme would reduce weight a bit more at the expense of less comfort and less protection of the rims.

Building a pair of lightweight wheels might be worthwhile if you have very heavy rims. But lightweight rims are more fragile and wear quicker.

Personally, I wouldn't bother changing the rear rack, this is static weight and IMO better to try and reduce the amount of stuff carried. Or, if you can, reduce luggage to the point where it will fit in a large saddlebag and eliminate the rear rack altogether for this trip.

[Vintagetourer]

Also good tips. Thanks.
One other thing on my hitlist is the hefty Ortlieb handlebar bag and attachment. I'll either go without one, or replace it with one of those bikepacker type models.
I've toured on good dirt roads with the 1.6" Supremes and they worked well.

I'll need to stay with the rear panniers. Some stages of the ride will need extra food and especially water to be carried.

[jags]

first up get rid of that front fork go carbon.
next  bottom bracket if your using SQ taper bin it
new double chainset outer bearings.way to go.
saddle get a fizik alanti weights nothing best saddle on the planet once your arse gets used to it.
custom wheels 32 spoke.and compass tyres.you'll think you just bough a top end carbon road bike
rear panniers only ,barbag up front ..
a well planned packing list.

u did ask.

anto.

[Vintagetourer]

I need a cup of tea and sit down after reading the carbon fork suggestion.
The bottom bracket suggestion intrigues me as I have no idea what it means.
The saddle. Not Brooks? That's not going to happen.
The wheels. Brilliant suggestion. Already had them built.
Compass tyres?  Tried them. Useless in Australia with its too many thorns ... pardon the pun.

[jags]

nothing wrong with carbon sjs sell carbon forks to suit sherpa check it out.
the Bottom Bracket Square Taper is heavy as is triple crankset.

compaired to  50x34 crankset with outer bearings.
ok forget tyres suggestion i had supreams great tyres but dodgy sidewalls
the Conti hardshell gatorskin are class but not sure if they come in 599 .
do u really need mudguards in Australia ?
oh yeah forgot to mention   get a lightweigh  seatpost (carbon is fine)

[Vintagetourer]

Thanks for the advice.
Mudguards aren't really needed here.

[mickeg]

...
One other thing on my hitlist is the hefty Ortlieb handlebar bag and attachment. I'll either go without one, or replace it with one of those bikepacker type models....

While I really like having a handlebar bag, if I had a goal of cutting weight that would be high on my list of targets.  My handlebar bag is extremely handy, thus I keep using it.  But I readily admit that it has a very high weight penalty.  I suspect that the empty weight per unit of volume for my handlebar bag is higher than for anything else on my bike.

***

There is nothing wrong with a square taper bottom bracket, I would disregard that suggestion.  If you actually saved any weight, it would be expensive.

[jags]

yes mike but the question was how to loose weight and all my suggestions will  do exactly that, might not suit everyone but we are counting grams here.
feck the expense a fella will be dead a long time.


anto.

[bobs]

Best way too loose weight from a Sherpa is to buy a new bike🤣

Bob

[jags]

Yeah audax would be good

[martinf]

There is nothing wrong with a square taper bottom bracket, I would disregard that suggestion.  If you actually saved any weight, it would be expensive.

If you really want to save weight, you can probably still get a square taper TA Axix titanium axle unit.

I wouldn't bother on a full size bike, but I do have these TA units on the 3 family Bromptons. I care about weight on these as I often have to lift and carry them.

Downsides of TA Axix titanium:

- price (but I got mine relatively cheaply with a good deal from my LBS).
- might be a bit more fragile, though not broken any axles yet.
- axle/crank interface needs more care than with a steel axle, either Loctite or more frequent checks.

Good point of all TA Axix units (steel and titanium):

- bearings are standard industrial units, easily replaced, easily available from online bearing sites, and fairly cheap. I bought a small stock of these, in addition to the titanium version on the Bromptons I also have the steel version on some of the full size bikes.

[Vintagetourer]

These axles sound like an interesting option for my Bike Friday folder. It's a tad heavy too.

I agree with the suggestion about the Audax, as I have one. It's my most used bike. Brilliant bike. Not only  lighter but the geometry is ideal for commuting and light tours.
It won't really suit this next tour though, as the road surfaces could include a fair bit of dirt, so the slightly wider tyres, lower gearing and sturdiness of the Sherpa will be better suited to the conditions.