Weighing Parts

I am not obsessed with weight but if you are buying parts from a catalog, online, etc., you can't help but notice the weights listed - usually in grams. I bought the least expensive parts I could while coming in low on weight. Remember the earlier quote? "Strong, cheap, light - pick two." These three just don't coexist on a non-formula one budget. Even at that level getting light and strong regardless of cost is walking a tightrope. In our world with all the name brand hype and marketing, very often a lighter item is less expensive than the heavier one. Things like "carbon wrapped" are usually a waste. They might as well say, "Carbon weight added for nothing other than aesthetics." On the other hand, if you can afford solid carbon, it will usually be the lightest option. Just remember the above quote.
Buy a food-type scale (with grams) for about $25 and weigh everything - just to make yourself crazy. Actually I was really surprised at how much less today's components weigh compared to those 10 years ago. I weighed 5 seat posts I had and an old aluminum one was the lightest. A "carbon wrapped" post I had was the heaviest. All that glitters isn't gold. Manufacturers often underestimate their items weight as well. A good site for real world measurements is:

http://weightweenies.starbike.com/

The listings section has many common components and their weights as submitted by actual purchasers.

A note on weighing. Prop the scale up on a jar to get the room to weigh your drop bars. Be careful, too high and it will topple over, too low and the bars will hit the counter. I found a peanut butter jar to be perfect.
Test it first to be safe. If your dog's tongue can't reach the bottom of the jar, then the jar is too tall and will likely topple over. This jar proved to be perfect and took only about two minutes to clean. Remember, this test can be dangerous in and of itself. It's difficult to "double tap" the SRAM shifter without fingers!