comparison for weight loss on the bike vs weight loss of the rider ie 500g off the bike is the same as 5kg off the rider, not sure it can be done but I bet someone could produce a spreadsheet for it 😆

Weight saving only makes a worthwhile difference if power is maintained or increased and then only for climbing and accelerating. As I’m not an XC racer and just someone who rides bikes and does the odd gravity enduro race I find my weight and my bike’s weight really don’t matter as long as neither gets out of control and that being strong, balanced and confident matters far far more.

Easy. Weight off the bike costs money, weight off you just takes effort 🙂

only for climbing and accelerating

That is definitely true for road riding but I reckon that for mountain bikes, the weight of the bike as a part of the total system weight makes more difference as you manhandle a mountain bike a lot more than a road bike. Every time you lift the bike, pull it about or work it through obstacles or bends you are working against the weight of the bike so a little bit of a saving can make quite a difference.

http://www.sportsscientists.com/2009/07/tour-de-france-2009-power-estimates.html

b r – Member

Easy. Weight off the bike costs money, weight off you just takes effort

And that’s why so many of us are always trying to lighten our bikes! 😉

The whole weight saving in cycling thing is amazing; it seems that cyclists can avoid the laws of physics simply by being on two wheels.

When you accelerate, you accelerate everything…. That’s you, your willy, your helmet, your socks, your camelback, your sandwiches, your bike, your tyres, your chain, your underpants etc.,

People seem to think that by losing 200 grammes from a wheel, they will somehow fly uphill, yet don’t actually think about what has to get to the top of the hill.

The accelerations produced by chubby IT guys on £3000 mountain bikes are actually very, very small, and therefore the impact of saving weight on your super steed is equivalently unimportant.

Argue away….

I ride relatively weighty bikes quite happily, all winter+spring on the 25lb(? ish) winter road bike = 18lb ‘best’ bike feels a lot easier to ride.
It’s like wearing a camelback with 7lbs of excess junk/ballast in it for every ride and getting used to it. Subtle resistance training. Loose that 7lbs for a big ride and you should feel stronger, or at least tire less quickly – same for loosing your gut, it just happens more gradually and is less noticed.

I lost a stone a while back and kept my power at a similar or higher level, started climbing a fair bit quicker. But I don’t really notice 3lbs on a bike, ie a couple of water bottles. Ratio of power to weight of rider+bike is all that matters over a longer ride and I’d quess it takes 6-8lbs to affect performance noticeably. 1/2lb on a wheelset, may ‘feel’ different initially but that’s all imo.

I’d also say it works in reverse. During the longer bikepacking trips I’ve done carrying 15lbs extra, I felt after a week on the loaded bike that I was climbing almost as well as I was pre-trip unloaded. Almost. Certainly was stronger when I got back after some rest.

Edit to add,

500g off the bike is the same as 5kg off the rider

Sorry, as crikey says, 500g on the bike = ~500g on the rider.. )

It seems to me that weight saving only comes into play when you are at the extremes of the spectrum. I’ve swapped various bits of kit on my bikes and never seen a big improvement in weight. However, the bike has felt and ridden better, therefore I seem to have gone faster.

It amazes me how many wannabe engineers and physicists treat the rider and bike as a single mass to be taken to the top of a hill.

If I had to carry a kilo of ballast (as in mass not sand/gravel mix) I would rather have it in the camelback than distributed around the spoke nipples of the bike.

It amazes me how many wannabe engineers and physicists treat the rider and bike as a single mass to be taken to the top of a hill.

Which bit do you reckon you can leave behind?

votchy – Member

comparison for weight loss on the bike vs weight loss of the rider ie 500g off the bike is the same as 5kg off the rider

Doesn’t really work like that. Maybe in a really simplified version but not when actually riding, especially on a mountain bike. So much riding depends on moving the bike in relation to you, and you can’t make that easier (or, perhaps, feel easier) by making yourself lighter.

Light bikes feel better (usualy)

Light riders (all else being equal, including training) are less powerful

What you’re generally trying to optimize is power/weight, so weight on the bike is dead weight as it doesn’t generate power, just like fat on a rider. So 500g off the bike is as effective as 500g off the rider, as long as that 500g was fat not useful muscle.

The exception to that is obviously the bike needs to do it’s job, so things like forks reach a sensible limit, you could build sub kilo suspension forks or some people take the internals out of old SID’s, but that’s probably going to hold you back at some point. And on road bikes there’s the UCI limit to worry about,so generally the lightest riders make the best climbers, but overall a bit of weight (and power) will be better as on the flats weight is of negligible influence.

If I had to carry a kilo of ballast (as in mass not sand/gravel mix) I would rather have it in the camelback than distributed around the spoke nipples of the bike.

It’s dead weight either way, you’d be better off heading down the gym and doing some squats. A kg of muscle would be much more use.

Light riders (all else being equal, including training) are less powerful

Mmmm, more cake.

Mmmm, more cake.

Yea, but you have to go training too :p

When you accelerate, you accelerate everything…. That’s you, your willy, your helmet, your socks, your camelback, your sandwiches, your bike, your tyres, your chain, your underpants etc.,

People seem to think that by losing 200 grammes from a wheel, they will somehow fly uphill, yet don’t actually think about what has to get to the top of the hill.

Sums it up for me for 99% of the MTB population, where that matters is turning those pedals.

However, when it comes to manipulating the bike, “If I had to carry a kilo of ballast. I would rather have it in the camelback than distributed around the spoke nipples of the bike.” This is where the weight actually matters.

When it comes to skids, wheelies and jumps, i’ll do all i can to save 500g since it makes the bike handle so much better, i however don’t expect it to make me any faster up that hill.

Yep. But I could hardly care less how fast I can get to the top of a hill, as long as I can get to the top.

Yes, you accelerate everything. But it is not as simple as that and you have to put it in perspective. There are many variables at play and ultimately you’re talking very small weight which makes little or no noticeable difference. A few grams of weight even a few hundred grams of weight is a small percentage of the overall weight, so not much difference. If you can lose a few kilos of weight from around your belly then that will make a difference, and if you can lose 10 to 15 kg’s, then that’s getting on for the weight of your bike, and you’re likely to me much fitter as a result, so double benefit. Saving 20grams with that carbon seatpost will make no measurable difference, even if you’re Bradley Wiggins.

I’ve recommended several mates do the financial angle instead. £350 worth of bling or £350 with a good PT. So far, investment into fitness and strength is winning across the board….

There is a point that I would rather carry a 10kg rucksack than a pair of shoes at 5kg.

One of the easiest ways to save weight is kit. Leave the baggies behind and the pack. For short stuff you should be able to get everything into a jersey pocket. Skin suits under 60 minutes 🙂

The point about moving the bike relative to you is valid. A lighter bike that you can hop or move about more easily is a good thing, not really related to the weight of bike vs rider point but a much better reason for having a light bike than the climbing angle unless you’re a competitive and fit/lean racer type.
Having said that one of the least enjoyable bikes I ever rode was a silly light HT, spent more energy keeping it on-track than the weight saving was worth. Weird how it felt so skittish even with my weight on it, but after riding a rigid 29er on Alpine descents with a load of kit in frame bags I saw the other side of it – planted, stable, steam-rolling fun )

I’ve recommended several mates do the financial angle instead. £350 worth of bling or £350 with a good PT. So far, investment into fitness and strength is winning across the board….

+1

£600 on new set of wheels or £600 on riding holiday in Spain for a week…
£100 on carbon bars or £100 on skills weekend at [trail centre]…