Hi, I was wondering have any of you ever thought about drilling holes in your trials uni frame, possibly the forks for the purpose of making it lighter… I guess this is a three part question…
First: Has anyone ever done it?
if so, then 2ndly, how did it work and where did you do it on the uni frame?
and lastly… whether you have or havent what do you think about the idea?
The reason that I am asking is because My trails uni is pretty heavy (summit) and it has pretty thick forks on it… so, I think that it would make it lighter, and I dont think it will compromise it strength too much to where it would break…
The best way to make a frame lighter is to use thinner walled material. Ideally the frame designer should use a thin a wall as posible to start with. Drilling holes in tubes isn’t a particually good idea as they will lose a lot of the strength that comes from the shape. If you are keen to save weight then save up for a new frame or have one custom made. Sorry
The weight saving from drilling holes wont be that great, anyway. Can you remove weight anywhere else? (Saddle base, pedals ?? )
I used to design gears for racing cars and we’d have to add holes to our gears for the American market because that is what the customer percieved to be better. For European stuff we’d always go with thinner walls because that gives better strength to weight.
I agree. To remove a significant amount of weight you have to drill out quite a bit of metal. I think it’s highly unlikely that you could remove noticable weight this way without substantially weakening the frame.
Don’t know if maskedriders is concerned about uni weight or total weight. If he’s concerned about total weight, then …
If he’s caring any tools or spare parts, losing those might drop some weight fast.
Also, excess water is excess weight - each (extra) liter of water is an (extra) 2.2lbs (1kg)!
But, please do carry enough water to stay properly hydrated.
thanks guys…
what I mean is not to necessarily drill it to make it lighter, but more so it just seems like the holes would make it more airy… My husbands summit is fine for him, but for trials it is a little heavy for me… so this is just an idea we had… please, continue on with feedback!! All is appreciated! Thanks!
If it were a Schwinn frame I’d say drill away. I have done this with a couple of Schwinn frames, but if you want lightness you would not be using a Schwinn in the first place. A frame made of tubing is designed to be solid tubing. Get a lighter rim and you can save more weight than you probably ever could by weakening the frame.
Seats and seatposts are huge harbingers of weight also. Remove all excess parts, and cut off excess post. Someday, Trials unicycle seats might consist of little more than handles, to keep the weight down. Similar to a Trials bike, with those tiny plastic seats.
Plus, for total weight (including rider) don’t worry about clothes… Period.
