Im not sure i agree with this! That will screw it far more towards the lower end of the price range and tells us the average price of what folks spend on a bike, not what the average bike costs to buy.

Yep, I’m not sure either, but I’m going to argue my case anyway.

Surely the average price of what folks spend on a bike is the average bike. By definition.

Surely the average price of what folks spend on a bike is the average bike. By definition.

Yep, but the phrase that triggered this fantastically pedantic discussion was “mid-range”.

Which means half-way between the top and the bottom. I think you could reasonably argue that that means half way between the top and bottom price, or the price of the bike that is half way through the range (i.e. same number of models above and below).

It’s not a very useful measure, other than of manufacturers’ ability to design ranges that make extremely expensive bikes look reasonably priced 🙂

when you look at that kilo as a % of total weight package its minimal.

OK, turn it around. Would *you* walk into a shop and drop over £3k on a road bike that weighs that much, knowing full well that the same money could buy you a substantially lighter bike elsewhere? I’m not sure I would. (In fact, I’m pretty certain that I wouldn’t!)

As I said, weight isn’t everything, but it is something and that Domane is a good example of something I’ve known for some time – major manufacturers are lazy and they know full well that it costs money to make a bike light. By making it heavier, the frameset will be less expensive to make, will have a higher margin and thus they make more money from each one sold. Punters look at groupsets (well, rear mechs anyway) and flash carbon bits. They don’t notice the cheap, downgraded chain and cassette, that the wheels are made of depleted uranium and that the tyres have all of the grip of skateboard wheels.

Of course we all know that speed is 95% rider, 5% bike, but it’s still your money and your choice where to spend it. An expensive, portly bike is never going to be high up my shopping list…

As I said, weight isn’t everything, but it is something and that Domane is a good example of something I’ve known for some time – major manufacturers are lazy and they know full well that it costs money to make a bike light. By making it heavier, the frameset will be less expensive to make, will have a higher margin and thus they make more money from each one sold

Or the tech they’ve added to the frame to make it more comfortable has a weight penalty. Have you seen a Domane SL?

I’ve got the previous Domane sl, when I stopped racing I thought I’d go Uber comfortable and not worry about weight and speed. That mindset lasted about 6 months before I wanted a lighter bike.
Looking at the current Domane SLR, you need to be spending about £6k to get a 8.5kg bike. Nice looking bikes and I’m sure they meet their key criteria of being comfortable, but that’s a lot of weight for such an expensive bike. The Madone is similar. £7000 gets you an 8.1kg Madone with Ultegra Di2 or £5200 gets the lower spec frame, non integrated bar and stem and Ultegra Di2 weighing 8.25.
Be interesting to see what the new Emonda is like.

Or have I missed something in the 90 odd previous posts since the OP?

Well the OP wants aero, completely concealed cables & disc brakes as well as 6.8kg.

This reminds me a bit of when (maybe 15 years ago) I really had to have a sub 20lb mountain bike. I built one (thankfully not at all that much expense) only to find that I didn’t particularly like riding it.

I suspect you could spend a fair bit of cash building a 6.8kg bike but with the only actually value in it being able to tell folks how light it was and bore them by telling them it was the same weight as a Tour de France bike.

My Roubaix is never going to be particularly light (it’s 8.2kg even with Dura-Ace wheels fitted) however for me at least I suspect it’d be faster over distance than many/most lighter bikes as it’s so comfortable.

I’m also a fat biffer so would probably break a really light build!

I think folk’s expectations of weight are set by some fairly optimistic claims..

2019 Tarmac expert disc here with mechanical ultegra, paid £3250 in sales last year & that weights 7.3kg in 58.

I weighed the very same bike in medium on the shops park scales and without pedals it was around 7.6kg as I recall (I remember as it was pretty much identical to the tcr I also had my eye on). Likewise I fail to see how it would be lighter than the 7.5kg sworks with full duraace that the chap mentioned he was selling earlier in this thread.

If you weigh it 10 times on luggage scales and pick the smallest reading maybe, but in reality I’m pretty confident that’s not it’s real weight. Still a cracking bike though, it was a choice between that and my tcr when I bought mine last year.

Gcn did a vid where they weighed the pros bikes, and there were a good few that came in around 7.3 as I recall.

Thankfully, the pros have realised that weight is not the be all and end all of road bikes and actually aero, stiffness and comfort are all more beneficial.

I think folk’s expectations of weight are set by some fairly optimistic claims..

2019 Tarmac expert disc here with mechanical ultegra, paid £3250 in sales last year & that weights 7.3kg in 58.

I weighed the very same bike in medium on the shops park scales and without pedals it was around 7.6kg as I recall

I’d also doubt it a little. I have a 58cm S-Works Tarmac SL6 disc, albeit in a fairy heavy acid mint green camouflage paint, with Ultegra 8070 di2, S-Works carbon bb30 Chainset and Roval CLX32 wheels, with Fizik R1 stem/bars and saddle, Dura Ace pedals. it’s 7.17kg on my Ultimate scales.

With all the “lightweight” carbon Domane mentions, god knows how much my 2015 AL2 weighs!
I’ve fluctuated between upgrading the wheels to save weight or buy a carbon bike.
Fortunately I’ve lost 13.5kg since Jan instead as that’s the cheaper option!

so about £11k / kilo – Bargain 🙂

, just that buying a bike for the longer term is a bit of a different perspective.

Two propels and a Defy Advanced SL. If I were to choose one bike for the future, it would be a new TCR Advanced SL. With manual Dura Ace if I could. As it is, I don’t have to choose. Aero is faster, but the Defy is stiffer. The TCR is the middle porridge. The Defy is my long term bike. That frame won Paris Roubaix. And I don’t want discs.

The 6.8kg is really all about the wheels. Once you’ve DA’d up, carbonned those bars, stem and saddle, you’ll be about 7 kilos. Lighter means tubs and carbon wheels. Tubs are too much of a compromise for me. Oh and if you want light you need titanium speedplay. Because the mechanism is in the cleat so the pedals weigh less. sad.

If I was spending 5k today, it would be a pro-level (Advanced SL or S-works) frame, ultegra Di2 and the best wheels I could manage to budget. You won’t get Dura Ace without a compromise elsewhere. And you won’t get manual DA.

If I was spending 5k today, it would be a pro-level (Advanced SL or S-works) frame, ultegra Di2 and the best wheels I could manage to budget. You won’t get Dura Ace without a compromise elsewhere. And you won’t get manual DA.

And you won’t get much in the way of wheels, once you’ve dropped £3400 (S-Works Tarmac) on a frame, £1k on a groupset, and £400 on a bar/stem/tape and pedals.

Why the adversity to disks tired ?

It’s 20grams well spent 🙂

Why the adversity to disks tired ?

It’s 20grams well spent 🙂

I agree. I put discs on mind. I also think it will be harder and harder to get good choice of wheels for rim brakes going forward.

I agree. I put discs on mind. I also think it will be harder and harder to get good choice of wheels for rim brakes going forward.

Agree , a mate of mine works for a UK wheel manufacturer…. And is/was very vocally old school in his views on disks since their inception……

He now has disks as thats where the good wheels at.

For 5k you are not going to get a world cup level bike. Simple as

I posted a £4k Rose that was 6.2kg with Dura Ace, 50mm carbon wheels, semi-aero frame. So if by ‘world cup’ you mean integrated cables and discs then I suppose you’re right.

but chuck in some ropey weather and especially winter roads, and there’s no comparison

If you wear ear-plugs, or have some sort of miracle set up that still works reasonably quietly on cold wet rotors… I’m never going to stick carbon rims on a winter bike so will stick with basic aluminium rims and rim brakes.