I frequently read posts extolling the virtues of the lightest bike possible for outright speed in general mountain bike riding and XC racing.

So, people get bikes down to 22 or 23lbs, and claim anyone rocking up on a 25lb bike is at an immediate disadvantage, that might be the difference between similarly spec’d carbon and steel framed bikes. That statement would be true given two riders of the same weight with similar power outputs, as the input/effort required to propel themselves and the bike as a unit would be the same.

But what if one rider is 140lb and the other 190lb, there’s 50lb of difference right there, and the 190lb rider could be much more powerful and at absolute peak fitness. So, the heavier rider might not be competitive given his extra bulk, but would 2lbs of frame weight have any impact? Personally, I think very little.

A 22lb bike as part of a combined total of 162lb (13.5%) v 25lb as part of 215lb (11.6%).

Thoughts? Perhaps the heavier rider just can’t compete, but is the bike much to do with that?

Likewise the 140lb rider could be an absolute machine and the 190lb person could be taking their first exercise in years…

Outside of tightly nuanced competitive riding by people prepared to go to extremes conditioning themselves, I can see value in lighter wheels for acceleration and manoeuvrability, but for anything else, weight is just something I look at if I’m struggling to decide between components I’ve already judged to be performance equals. I’ve got no idea what any of my bikes weigh and don’t really care… 😀

A Kg or so isn’t going to make much difference in the general scheme of things but there’s a big difference between a 12Kg bike and a 17Kg one.

My commuter is 13Kg and feels “heavy” (but probably needs a good service) whereas my fat bike is 14.5Kg and feels quite light. All relative of course.

Thoughts?

Don’t compare apples to oranges springs to mind!

When talking about weights and bikes the key phrase is “all other factors being equal” and they rarely are…

Most of the time bike weight (within a few lbs) is a mostly irrelevant factor in overall performance for normal riding, even at the pointy end of competition a lb here or there is unlikely to be a deciding factor.

It’s easy, irrelevant of the rider weight an equally strong/able bike is what you want, and the lighter it is, the better.

[video]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sKoTrHvgdx8[/video]

Science(ish)

Big differences matter. Smaller ones less so. But lots of smaller differences add up to big differences.

It’s worth considering but it isn’t the only consideration.

If I was comparing between 29er hardtails I’d consider the weights as there can be kgs in it. But I wouldn’t pick a carbon 29er over a good full suss because it was lighter if I wanted something to race enduro on.

You’ve got a nice connection between your body mass and the muscles moving it around. But you’re often trying to move the bike around with outstretched arms, with the soles of your feet, with a split second slight shift in body weight and usually in a really awkward body positions. Slight changes in bike weight do seem to be noticeable. Well that’s what I keep telling myself!

You’ve got a nice connection between your body mass and the muscles moving it around. But you’re often trying to move the bike around with outstretched arms, with the soles of your feet, with a split second slight shift in body weight and usually in a really awkward body positions. Slight changes in bike weight do seem to be noticeable. Well that’s what I keep telling myself!

I think that’s true – whilst uphill it makes hardly any difference unless you’re at the pointy end of competition or you’re talking about big changes. And downhill lighter isn’t always better but it does feel different.

The other aspect is solidity. I am heavy (92kgs) and I know there is no point my bike being under 11kgs with pedals and 2.35 tyres as bits start breaking at an alarming rate almost irrespective of their price ! Wheels in particular, can’t be under 1800g however perfectly built/balanced they are, although bog std MT66 are still alive after much abuse.

It’s a nice problem to have I guess!

Getting down to 85kgs would cost me a lot of money!

Getting down to 85kgs would cost me a lot of money

It’s just cost me 8 weeks of sweat to lose that exact amount 🙂

I guess my bike ~33% of my body weight 😆 I’m about 67kg and although I’ve not weighed the bike i think it’s in the region of 23kg. Due to having a motor it doesn’t really matter uphill but it makes less of a difference downhill than I had expected. I’m generally faster downhill on it than on my other full sus (due to this the other one is gonna get sold) and it feels easy to jump too. It definitely feels more of a workout on the descents though!