[Closed] are we obsessing over bike weights (again)?

no we are not. The end.

I am and I'm quite enjoying it as well.

One of mine is going down. The other one's going up. It's all good fun.

people who care about the weight of their bike spend the rest of their time licking windows and stalking celebrities 🙁

Today's weight fact. SLX cassettes weigh 282g for 32T, XT is 256g. But the lockrings are interchangable,and the XT ring is about 10g lighter than the SLX one. So if you've already got a worn out XT one, you can combine the two and you're only gaining abut 16 grams!

Isn't that FASCINATING?

🙂

Isn't that FASCINATING?

not as fascinating as licking this window...

heavy bikes are good.

+1 ton, my mates giant glory is stupidly heavy 47lbs ish, but good, good fun on the downs which of course is all it does 😉

As some one in the trade mentioned to me the other day - it's the new purple. Just the industry's way of flogging us more stuff that we didn't know we needed.

Can't say I haven't done it though. 😳

we?

Us?

I used to think my bike was heavy and sluggish until I got some better forks (which are actually heavier than the old ones) and now it feels much perkier and is way faster. I can't afford really light stuff anyway.

To a certain extent weight makes a difference... a bike with sorted geometry can easily conceed a few pounds to a whippet and be much more rewarding to ride. Trust me...

I have just upgraded from a Scott Geniuis Ltd to a SC Heckler and the later fits me like a glove.
[img] http://www.flickr.com/photos/48915937@N05/4482001099/ [/img]

I think weight has always been an obsession in all forms of cycling. In early 90s MTB it was at the expense of [i]everything[/i] else. My marin eldridge grade from that period was very light but rubbish in every other way. The wheels in particular were very fragile.

Now I think things are a little more sensible. We have got used to kit which actually works and we (well, certainly I!) are not ready to forgoe that for absolute minimum weight.

weight matters for racing, as a race can be won by a tiny fraction of a second or a few cm, and a few grammes of mass can make that difference, everything else being equal - however in non racing conditions the weight mainly seems to have a psychological advantage - if you [b]feel[/b] the bike is better you may perform better, or at least, think you are...

For those that want to add weight: I've sawed 70mm of my seatpost. I'll put it on classifieds, what price for 70mm of Thompson seatpost?

(it wouldn't go below the top seattube bolt)

Lightweight stuff's great, until you encounter rocks. Then it tends to bend.. 🙁

I've no idea what my bike weighs so wouldn't say I've got weight weenie

My Session 88 is 38lb and falling....

were we not told by some marketing blurb a while ago on this forum that a bike (which I can't remeber) had designed it's bike to be heavy to improve the sprung to unsprung ratio

or was that just marketing blub for dam it's heavy how can we spin this

I'll be honest, weight factors in my decisions on my full suss but I won't replace perfectly good components to shave off a few grams. I take it about as far as buying XT casettes rather than deore and buying kevlar rather than steel beaded tyres.

Envy is a terrible thing. Only poor people worry about this - the rest of us buy the best available and that is often governed by weight.

I like to buy light stuff, but not obsessively so; I won't be found in the LBS with a set of digital scales but will buy the lightest kit I think will cope with my hamfisted riding style!

Envy is a terrible thing. Only poor people worry about this - the rest of us buy the best available and that is often governed by weight.

Not necessarily. I could buy almost any bike I wanted, yet I choose to ride a 2nd hand Merlin Malt 3 with battered paintwork. Once upon a time I used to sneer at hardtails and think "Not a proper bike", but when circumstances forced me into riding this bike I found it was actually more fun struggling with its less forgiving ride rather than breezing over the terrain with full suspension. I'm also content to demonstrate that a cheap bike with cheap components will do the job perfectly well

I agree with Simon... and think that there is a certain amount of placebo effect with weight. We are all individuals with our own goals and requirements, but mentality is paramount. Unless you are a racer, where competetors are striving for the tinyest advantage often at the sacrifice of other areas. If the heavier bike (lets face it... in modern day terms this can be a marginal ammount) is very rewarding to ride and puts a smile on your face then you can afford to conceed a few pounds and still probably ride faster.

[img] [/img]

This looks pretty light...

[i]Lightweight stuff's great, until you encounter rocks. Then it tends to bend[/i]

Light, strong, cheap - pick two - you picked the wrong two...

I'm a big believer in lightness, and this initially came for me from motorbikes - where you could treat it as [i]free[/i] power; free as in it didn't increase fragility nor fuel consumption plus meant the suspension usually worked better. And I don't see any real difference in MTB-land.

"Lightweight stuff's great, until you encounter rocks. Then it tends to bend.."

Lots of rocks at fort william, my 25lb Soul managed just fine 😉 Obviously that's not superlight but it's light for its purpose and strength. I did bust a spoke but only because I'm a clumsy idiot, the 4X track proved a bit much for me 🙄

For me it maybe is largely placebo effect... my Idrive was 30lbs and felt much heavier and less responsive than my Hemlock at 29lbs but that's not such a big difference. But there's things I can do on the Soul that I can't on the Hemlock, really steep explosive climbs, muscling the bike around on tight descents... Spent about 10 minutes yesterday repeatedly failing a techy section on the big bike which I can do every time on the Soul just because I can bully the Soul around more.

But then I'm not powerfully built, and I don't carry much weight, so maybe that's why I can't do these things with the bigger bike, probably if I was a bit stronger I could overcome thta.

My Beone is around 22lbs and I am around 200lbs - it's ridden regularly and fairly hard - I tend not to break bits...(touch wood!)

Buying quality pays off for me - it doesn't always have to be eye-watering expensive either, I just picked up a new XTR 11-34 cassette for eighty quid.

, I just picked up a new XTR 11-34 cassette for eighty quid.

[b]EIGHTY SOVS ??[/b]

I wasn't happy paying 18 for mine 🙁

i know the weight of every single component on my bike, including having the info in a spreadsheet and pics of each item being weighed 😀

I'm a weight weenie and couldn't care less what you lardy lovers like. In fact this will probably get most of you all excited as its got a big 2.5" tyres round the middle. 😉

[img] [/img]

Lightweight= Lack of Fitness???
Or buy a road bike 😯

i keep one bike heavy so the other one feels light..

I have no idea how much my bike weighs, and the only ever thing I have bothered about the weight of is tyres, as lighterish ones do seem to make a nice difference to the ride.

"Lightweight= Lack of Fitness???"

I just end up going faster, and getting knackered at exactly the same pace A lot of people fixate on climbing when they talk about lightness but that doesn't bother me so much, I like how a lighter bike rides on the way back down.

I just discovered, while pottering around, that my heaviest bike is my rigid hybrid commuter At a mighty 30.4lbs.

If your'e that worried about weight then make sure you have a crap, a haircut & cut your nails before you go out. I'm about 2 1/2 clem overweight so I'm not really ar$ed about how heavy my bike is. (although I know it weighs about 27-28lbs)

I'm pretty light, and getting lighter, my bike is pretty light, and will likely get lighter. Light bikes go faster uphill, in racing that matters. Ergo I will stick with light bikes!

When I get fat and start breaking bits, or when I give up racing and want something a bit more compliant then so be it! I must admit if I had a 6" trail bike I wouldn't be fitting 2.1" tyres and such, but on a 100mm travel FS race bike it makes sense to make it as light as possible.

I have never done a spreadsheet though, don't see the point, as the sum of all the parts is never particularly close to the weight of the complete bike, same with weighing individual components. I know where I could save weight without writing it down!

I'm about 2 1/2 clem overweight

how much is a clem ??

I really like my 819 wheels and lightish tyres. But then I don't like pitch punctures when I forget to pump them up enough. I find I buy most of my bike stuff from the net when I am not going biking and don't really care when I am going biking as long as it works. Having a decent frame and forks is probably the most important thing for my as I am not into racing but raging down hills as quick as possible and up hills that are as technical as possible (For me) which having a light bike does not make that much difference more a challenge for me.

I am trying to do a light weight me though which is failing for a number of reasons. 1. I like cake too much, 2. I work in an office and sit around all day. 3. I started doing interval training and pulled one of my quads. 4. Tried skipping instead and boy do my calves hurt.

I did go out on my bike today for 5.5 hours today though and then rode my bike with two children on it to the river and back.... So I can eat loads of cake tomorrow and not do interval training or skip at all and probably stay the same weight.

Envy is a terrible thing. Only poor people worry about this - the rest of us buy the best available and that is often governed by weight.

I agree about the rock comment, with a pinch of salt, you need to had speed to it...

One the light/lack of fitness comment I am bound to bow and agree...

I've always tried to ride light bikes and in 15 years have never broken a frame or major component yet. I've had bikes that knocked on 30lb but they didn't stay long!! I just hate the feeling of a sluggish bike.

a quote from the new york bike snob seems to sum it up

which is yet another example of the Universal Rich Roadie Equipment Paradox: "If you can afford it, you are also too heavy to use it." As a corollary to that, if you lust after ridiculous equipment like this, you also wear white cycling shoes:

! I just hate the feeling of a sluggish bike.

I just accept the feeling of a sluggish rider 🙂

I don't really get that mentality, I'm 68kg, and happy to use lightweight, top end equipment, what does that make me?!

There are some great threads on WW though where someone suggests something only for the OP to say 'I can't use those, I'm 105kg' or something!

[i] I'm about 2 1/2 clem overweight so I'm not really ar$ed about how heavy my bike is. (although I know it weighs about 27-28lbs) [/i]

I KNOW it weighs ABOUT...

Probably find its a lot more.

Hmmm, white shoes (Oops) 😳

Depends how you weight weenie. My 4x bike is under 27lbs despite being a steel framed bit running saint cranks. It has a scandium wheelset but this is strong enough to handle moderate DH. The light wheels make it feel very very light and fast.

My DH bike is a good weight (under 38lbs) but again has a light stan flow wheelset.

If I want to make a bike feel light and accelerate well I fit light wheels. IMHO it's much better to fit a light wheelset and accept the fact you'll need to replace the rims every year or two than spend fortunes on low weigh components that don't directly effect acceleration.

I have come to the conclusion that it is much better to spend your time instead of money to make yourself a better biker. Hence in the park every night over winter doing manuals and I can do them now! If you are time poor and money rich maybe that's while people spend loads of money on their bike.

it's easy junk all the gears you can save pounds ,, while you are there throw your bouncy forks in the corner of the garage,, there is another few pounds,

this weight weenie lark is easy,, ti discs, and a handfull of ti and alloy bolts

if my frame every arrives for my rigid ss 29er we shall see

sadly i weigh 85KG

Building a light bike by simply throwing money at it is easy.

And usually done by overweight unfit folk with nothing better in their lives to spend their money on.

t's easy junk all the gears you can save pounds ,, while you are there throw your bouncy forks in the corner of the garage,, there is another few pounds,

I don't know about "again" though - built my current weenie bike over 4 years ago, with not much in the way of upgrades since, the previous bike built 7 years ago was also weenie. Don't have a spreadsheet for the MTB (hence being surprised at how overweight my old handlebars were when they came off and I wanted to know the difference to the new ones), but do have one for the road bike which does actually match up quite well to the real weight, and even enabled me to plan what I needed to make my target weight in advance, given I found quoted weights which were pretty accurate.

if you lust after ridiculous equipment like this, you also wear white cycling shoes:

The industry gave us bad ass and heavy duty bikes. Maybe only now they've realised 90% of the biking population doesn't actually need it? And the result is now we're seeing bikes being built down to a realistic all day over hills and dales strength / weight.

I'm off to drill some holes in my chainset.

I'm not fat, by no stretch of the imagination rich (£21,000 per annum gross earnings), and unfit? Fitness is relative but I can do most speeds. Anybody want a race?
I have three road bikes, the best of which cost just under £3,000 and weighs less than 16lb.
I'm turning my mountain bike in to a lighter build because.....that's it, just because. No other reason, I just want to.
Still, no need for any of that to get in the way of your petty jibes 🙂

Farted today on a ride...

made a noticable difference, i could feel the extra weight on my sadle. 😉

by no stretch of the imagination rich (£21,000 per annum gross earnings)...
I have three road bikes, the best of which cost just under £3,000 and weighs less than 16lb.

I used to go out for a day in peaks with a 0.5l water bottle and a cool tool/ tube, now I seem to 'have' to take 3 l of water and a rucksac full of stuff that i never knew I needed to take out inorder to enjoy myself biking. I don't seem to have become obsessed about weight apart from carrying more of it

I have more money than I can spend and I have one bike which cost £300ish :o)

I don't really get the 'light bikes are only for racing' argument. They may well be for racing, but they're just as valid for regular riding too.

Per given unit of work, a light bike will leave you feeling less tired and able to go for longer, and thus enjoy the ride more.

This has been a particular issue for me this last year as I've clawed back something approaching fitness after a too demanding job wiped out my riding for nearly two years.

Enjoying climbing is a function of power to weight ratio.

Increase the power and reduce the weight and it becomes a more fun experience.

This is more-so on a singlespeed (as I've been riding), since if ones not fit enough to get on top of the gear, its just a lot of pushing rather than riding.

I've still got a stans flow wheel build on my XC bike though...

They may well be for racing, but they're just as valid for regular riding too.

Agreed, I suspect if I wasn't racing I'd have a very light 5" travel bike with wider tyres than I use normally, I'm never going to be into the sort of riding that commands/justifies a long travel bike with burly parts. I'd probably go 15mm thru axle though, and make a few other changes.

My comment re earnings/cost of bike was in responce to the fat, unfit, rich drivel being spouted.

I have more money than I can spend and I have one bike which cost £300ish :o)

I started thinking about weight then thought whats the point , out of my circle of riding buddies i have one of the cheapest bikes (pitch pro with mods which have added a few pounds ) but i'm the lightest person out of everyone ...yes i'm slower up the long climbs but i LOVE riding my bike and am always the first to get to the bottom 😆

Just get out and ride , thats my view !

Here here! 😀

fat, unfit, rich drivel

as opposed to what????

I just accept the feeling of a sluggish rider

I hate that feeling as much as I hate a heavy bike - due to other commitments I'm overweight and slow at the minute and it does my ruddy head in!!
🙂

I'm certain if I put pikes on my xc bike instead of rebas, it'd be more fun on the downs. just tweak em out to 140 for the fun bits/ it's not the weight penalty that bothers me tho (+1.5lbs). or climbs cos i'll still granny ring it. will it screw up my bike that's built for 110mm max though?

Christ on a bike! Calm down Ton, I'm not knocking your ample girth.
The Galic One (amongst others)is suggesting that people who like to reduce the weight of their bikes do so because they are one or more of the following: Fat, rich, unfit.
Although all three are relative to lesser or greater extents, I'm confident I can honestly say that I'm [b]not[/b] fat, rich or unfit.
I am in the proecess of significantly reducing the weight of my mountain bike, therefore to state that 'weight weenie"ing a bike is the preserve of the fat, rich, unfit is drivel.

Barnes if you have too much money to spend why ride around on a shed. Spend some of your money you tight git and buy a titanium frame and loads of carbon and super light bits! You cant take it with you. 😀

Barnes if you have too much money to spend why ride around on a shed.

because I'm demonstrating that you can have all the fun of mountain biking without significant expense. Expensive stuff is wasted on me because I'm always looking somewhere else and trashing my bike by riding it through water and crashing it. My camera is worth 5 times what my bike is 🙂

I had a light weight CF HT, it was very quick and I found myself in gears up hill that I'd never even contemplated. My riding is more the limiting factor in this equation though!

Since I'm not a podium finisher, it's a balance of which bike works best on which trails. Most of what I do will be medium - longer rides so the 29HT is huge fun and is 24-5lbs, where as the Turner Flux is great at all days in the mountains and 24hr events and weighs 25lbs.

Do I want to throw £££'s at bringing things down by 1-2 lbs? To what end? It's fine as it is; a happy balance. It's nice not to be constantly wondering what shedding 250g might make me into, or how much quicker Dalby's Red Route might be ridden in, a good place to be me thinks as the £ can be used for less selfish interests (house needs some work doing to it as does the garden).

My camera bodies are £2k a pop. My bikes are more! Hummm, maybe I've got this all inverted!

Well being fat or not is all relative isn't it... Less than 10% body mass in fat you're sharp, between 10 and 15% is what most of us should be (you know people taking regular exercise). More I am sorry but in my book you're fat (that is subject to age variation obviously).
Plus the lighter will break is a factomundo, get your whippet stuff down here and see how many time you'll break the rock (now I am waiting to get a good bollocking from njee)

I am unable to decipher one half of what you just typed and the other half reads like more drivel. Sorry.

Amazing how bicycles and their weights are able to ignore the laws of physics....

Total weight of bike plus rider plus camelbak full of gubbins?

say 100kg

Weight saved by weight weenie-ness?

say 4kg

Total performance improvement?

Not very much at all really....

...over a 2km climb, losing 4kg makes you 8.06 seconds faster.

If you climbed a 2km climb 3 times, I would guess that you wouldn't get times within 8 seconds of each other; so your presumed performance enhancement is lost in the noise...

fat, unfit, rich

Is this the equivilant of the famous triangle of words (strong, light, cheap) in weight weenie speak?

There's no way that a weight difference will have a uniform affect on different riders. Not talking here about "ignoring the laws of physics", but of people having different power output. If I do the climb in 10 minutes and my unfit mate does it in 15, then we repeat with 4kg less, do we both arrive 8.06 seconds faster? Will the exact same 8.06 occur if we do a 45 degree 2km climb or a 1 degree 2km climb? Or are your numbers actually total mince?

Obsessing with climbing is a nonsense of course, as if that's the only place weight makes a difference.

[i]Or are your numbers actually total mince?[/i]

The numbers are from analytic cycling website....

If you can do better, please show your working.

My point is that weight saving is vastly over-rated generally, and that weight saving for chubby weekend warriors is even more so...

[url] http://www.analyticcycling.com/ForcesLessWeight_Page.html [/url]