Ottrott ST frame weight

[John H.]

Hi,
Can anyone confirm the actual weight of a 55ish size Ottrott ST frame made for a 150 lb. rider?
I have heard weights from 2.8-3.5 lb., and that 2004 frames are lighter than prior frames.
Thanks,
John H.

[Climb01742]

i believe frame weight would depend on the tubing used. example: during the factory tour, kelly showed us four stiffnesses of carbon tubing. the stiffest tubing weighed more than the least stiff. i assume that ti tubing varies, too, based on wall thickness and diameter. so there would be no "normal" weight for a frame in a given size.

that said, the headtube for the '04 was lighter than previous HTs used. and word is, '05 frames will be lighter still.

[93legendti]

I have a 2002 model 52cm Ottrott, built for a 150 lb. rider. The rear end is Ti. My complete bike weighs 16'6". It has clincher wheels (American Classic Sprint 350's and Veloflex Pave tires), Speedplay X-1 pedals, FSA Team Issue Cranks and Pro BB, Easton 44cm EC-90 bars, Easton EC-90 fork, Easton EC-90 Seatpost, ITM 90mm stem, Selle Italia Flite Trans Am Gel Flow Seat, 2 Pedro Milk Cages, and D/A 9 speed every where else.

[John H.]

You guys are still skirting the question.
What does the frame only weigh?
Thanks,
John

[alembical]

John,
I dont think anyone is skirting the question, but rather no one is sure. 93LegendTi has just weighed his bike but is not sure of the frame weight by itself (nor is there much reason to know). I think one problem is that these weights are not published because they are not always the same. Most companies frame weights are published because all the same size frames weigh the same (cause they are all identically built). That is not true with these, as there are numerous tubing choices depending on the ride you are looking for as well as your size, as well as frame dimensions and angles, sloping or not, ST or not......that make it impossible to say what a certain frame weighs without weighing it.

Alembical

Without knowing for sure, I would assume that the newer frames do weigh less than the older frames.

[Sandy]

I have an Ottrott ST and have no idea what the frame weighs. I don't care what it weighs. It weighs what it weighs. I have no idea what my whole bike weighs. I don't care what it weighs. It weighs what it weighs. I will never care what my frame weighs, nor will I ever care what my bike weighs.

However, I weigh about 212 (from 225). I care about what I weigh. I am planning on weighing a lot less and am working on that very hard.

My frame (bike) weighs what it weighs.

Weightless in space,

Spaceman Sandy

[shinomaster]

Sandy ! You are skirting the question!! I hope you are not wearing a skirt! MAybe a kilt.. :banana: :banana:

[93legendti]

I do care what the frame weighs, I didn't weigh it as a frame only because it came built up. I assume it weighs around 2.8 or 2.9 lbs, because my Strong 6/4 DB Ti frame weighs less than 2 1/2 lbs and that complete bike with the same components weighs 16 lbs, while this one weighs 16'6". I believe frame weights matter. If someone doesn't think a frame's weight matters I have no interest in trying to persuade them otherwise.

[Andreu]

Surely, its the law of diminishing returns...beyond say xlbs the weight loss doesn't give you much more advantage and you start to compromise the strength of the frame. I would say I would care more about my weight rather than the frame weight. Apologies - off subject - this is not helping John H in his quest to find the weight of his frame!
A

[Sandy]

I apologize if I upset you with my comment. Never my intention.

The weight of a frame, unless it weighs 12 tons, is, to me, rather insignificant. Most of today's road frames are reasonably light. A one pound difference in a frame is an extremely small portion of total bike/body/fluid/shoes/jersey/money(only for us Ottrott riders)/food/.......A great bike simply weighs what it weighs and a small difference in frame weight is meaningless relative to ride, handling, accelerlation,...

Perhaps the pros on mountain stages might want a lighter bike, since whatever might help them is crucial.

I am sure that there is some consideration given to tube and frame weight (one reason they don't use lead tubes) when a bike is being produced by say a Sachs or a Serotta or Calfee or whomever, but it is way down the list, except to perhaps sell more bikes.

I meant no disrespect. Sorry.

Super Slim (to be) Serotta Sandy

PS- Put Lance Armstrong on a 2.5 pound carbon frame and he will crush me going up a mountain. Put him on a 2,000 pound lead frame, and he will still crush me going up a mountain. Let me drive a 10 wheeler, carrying 25 tons of cement, and I will CRUSH him, his yellow jersey, his pretty girlfriend, and his pretty little light Trek bike. Maybe not on the way up, but certainly on the way down. Talking about road kill.....

Slaughtering STill Serotta Sandy :) :)

[Sandy]

There are 4 tubing choices for the Ottrott ST- Soft, medium, firm flex, and stiff. There are 2 ST choices. One can choose regular chain stays or oversized. All would have an effect on weight. Usually Serotta places great weight on your body weight when the tubing selection is done. Perhaps you could call Serotta and ask that particular question.

Sandy

[Sandy]

The 2004 frames are a little lighter than the earlier frames. Different carbon tubing.

Sandy

[Michael Katz]

True story: When my Ottrott ST arrived at my LBS I dropped in after hours to celebrate with the gang there. After a few beers, we decided to weigh the frame. 3.16 lbs for the equivalent of a 54 built for someone who weighs 180. We then sat around getting mesmorized by the purple to gold kaleidascope of the copper harlequin tint and had a few more beers. At some point, some one mused that it was a sacriledge to the gods of weight weinies that the frame didn't weigh under 3 lbs and offered the thought that if I just epoxied my seat post into the frame that we could save some weight by doing away with the seat post clamp. So we weighed the frame without the clamp. 3.0 lbs. Not good enough. So we had a couple of more beers and pondered the dilemna. I then made the off hand comment that if I only rode the bike on supported rides with scheduled rest stops every 20 miles or so that I really didn't need to have water bottle cages on the frame and therefore could remove the water bottle bolts. Some dolt uttered a concern about getting water in the frame through the holes but was quickly reminded that ti and carbon don't rust. So out came the bolts. Neglible effect-and we were using a digital scale too! A moment of desperation set in and we were required to have a couple of more beers to buoy our spirits. Then real inspiration hit. I realized that if I only rode flat rides and didn't shift I wouldn't have to worry about cable stretch and could do without the barrel adjusters. So off they came and eureka - 2.9 lbs! Well you can't let success like that go unacknowledged so we all had a final beer to pay appropriate hommage to the the Gram Gods.

When I finally got home, I couldn't wait to share with my wife my accomplishments of the evening. For some reason, she just wasn't as excited about it as I was. In fact, she was a real wet blanket about it - even had the nerve to point out that the number of beers I consumed were the equivalent of at least a pound in calories and about 3 pounds in weight by volume and if I stopped stuffing my face like a pig I wouldn't have to worry about the weight of the bike. Sheesh, women, they just don't get it!
:beer: :beer: :beer: :beer: :beer: :beer: :beer: :beer: :beer:

[victoryfactory]

Serotta has managed for years to avoid publishing
the weights of their frames. But don't start flaming just yet...
They can't! Not with any accuracy. It's easy for a mass market company to
publish weights because they make hundreds and thousands of stock frames
all the same. Our esteemed hosts, however use different tubes, geometry etc for every bike.. It's easy to build a frame to a weight point, but it's much harder to build one that rides and handles like a Serotta.
So they have played down the weight thing that seems so important to the rest of the industry. They also feel that a few grams one way or another don't make a big difference (I agree) and that opens them
to critics evey time this subject comes up.
The company could publish average weights for a certain size frame in an
average geometry, but it would leave them open to nit-picking when certain
customers compared the chart to the actual custom frame they got.
They could also publish weight ranges for their models, but that would
also not satisfy the nit pickers either, so why do it.
I think Serotta would like to have some company out there from some of the other builders, but to their credit, I think, they have taken a lonely but sincere stand.

VF

PS: I think if you call them, they might give you average weights over the
phone, they used to anyway

[coylifut]

Our state championship RR was won on a steel IF. I know the guy well and he really likes the way it rides and believes that sheding a pound or so off the frame isn't going to make him faster.

[93legendti]

I apologize if I upset you with my comment. Never my intention.

The weight of a frame, unless it weighs 12 tons, is, to me, rather insignificant. Most of today's road frames are reasonably light. A one pound difference in a frame is an extremely small portion of total bike/body/fluid/shoes/jersey/money(only for us Ottrott riders)/food/.......A great bike simply weighs what it weighs and a small difference in frame weight is meaningless relative to ride, handling, accelerlation,...

Perhaps the pros on mountain stages might want a lighter bike, since whatever might help them is crucial.

I am sure that there is some consideration given to tube and frame weight (one reason they don't use lead tubes) when a bike is being produced by say a Sachs or a Serotta or Calfee or whomever, but it is way down the list, except to perhaps sell more bikes.

I meant no disrespect. Sorry.

Super Slim (to be) Serotta Sandy

PS- Put Lance Armstrong on a 2.5 pound carbon frame and he will crush me going up a mountain. Put him on a 2,000 pound lead frame, and he will still crush me going up a mountain. Let me drive a 10 wheeler, carrying 25 tons of cement, and I will CRUSH him, his yellow jersey, his pretty girlfriend, and his pretty little light Trek bike. Maybe not on the way up, but certainly on the way down. Talking about road kill.....

Slaughtering STill Serotta Sandy :) :)

I am not upset at all. Thanks.

[Climb01742]

on a flatter road race course, frame weight -- and total bike weight -- have perhaps less importance than a bike that is efficient, fits perfectly and 100% reliable. for climbing, however, frame weight matters. all the lightest components matter, hung on the lightest frame a rider feels fast on. when i climb mt washington, frame weight will matter...among other things. its the old "horse for courses". an extra pound -- whether on a bike or a rider -- gets noticed when things get real vertical. but in day to day riding, other characteristics seem to matter more in a frame.