Bike Weight?

who actually gives a t0ss about how heavy a bike is? I over heard a guy the other day saying he spend £32 on a seatclamp because it was 10grams lighter than his other one?
😐

It does make a huge difference if you drop a few pounds from a bike build, so from that perspective I care.

I wouldn’t spend £30 more to save 10g, though…

You obviously haven’t seen this site[/url] then!

£32 for 10g? I usually reckon on £1 per 1g weight saved.

I do, a lightweight single speed is a thing of joy.

me. but I find around 24-25lbs is a good weight, don’t really care for much less but if it is then it’s a bonus. I find if the weight goes up too much it becomes a bit of a heave ho to get up hills and the handling /acceleration isn’t as quick /sharp.

Kev

I agree. Bike anorexia.

I’ve ridden 40lb bikes that pedal/handle better than 30lb ones.

There’s a lot more to a good bike than simply making it as light as possible.

Fine if you are an XC racer and every extra bit of energy burned is a further nano-second away from the podium, but for most weekened warriors ragging it around a trail centre, it just seems a bit pointless.

It’s like everything else though, just do what makes you happy. If you prefer your bike a bit more burly, buy a big bike. If you like it light, shed some weight. Simples!

Riders should always weigh themselves first before worrying about spending X amount of money on shaving grams, not point obsessing about bike weight if you’re a tub ‘o lard. 😉

carbon bottle holders 😆 £40!!!!

just dont fill it to the top 😉

it gets silly when your spending hundreds changing components to shave grams.

but if building a bike always “weigh” the options up – it’ll be more cost effective to spend £50 more on lighter wheels rather than replacing heavy wheels with new light weight ones.

I don`t obsess about it too much,but my bike is much nicer to ride in its 24lb guise than it was when it was 28lbs.

+1 for: £1 per g saved = buy! (this is applied when comparing like for like products when they need replacing in the first place).

carbon bottle holders £40!!!!

Or £20 for a pair posted from Hong Kong, although I do find carbon bottle cages to be a bit crap.

I saw someone in a Ferrari once that must have cost £100 000.
It was in a line of traffic going exactly the same speed as my 20 year old Land Rover which cost about £96000 less.
Makes £32 for a seat clamp look a bargain.

I did care, but as the rule of £1 per gram doesnt always run true I am subsequently drained of cash and residing myself to get on with riding and stop being an overly obsessive big girl!!
Thinking of removing a few spokes, skewers, grips, stem bolts and my kidneys. Every litte helps 🙂

I have no idea what weight my bikes are. Nor do I care. They are fun, I’m happy.

I’d go as light as I can afford (which isn’t much) because I am a tub of lard.

The long term for me is to get physically lighter – arguably the principle reason I got a bike in the first place.

Going from a budget hardtail to a £2k Trek FS had a MASSIVELY noticeable improvement on my hill climbing ability in terms of bike weight alone, as well as improving my enthusiasm overall for up/down terrain. That said, switching bikes gave me a STEP CHANGE of around 5-6 lbs in weight – we’re not talking a few grammes, which I wouldn’t have noticed.

Assuming I get slimmer and fitter, I’m not sure how far I will continue down the weight saving path – it’s a law of diminishing returns – increasing spend with gradually decreasing benefit.

I saw someone in a Ferrari once that must have cost £100 000.
It was in a line of traffic going exactly the same speed as my 20 year old Land Rover which cost about £96000 less.
Makes £32 for a seat clamp look a bargain.

Only if you assume that getting from A to B faster is the purpose of a Ferrari… 😉

Lighter wheels & tyres are great so long as they’re up to the riding you do.

The same applies to all components in my mind, no use having uber light stuff if it’s not strong enough for what you do

Put another way – does anyone think I will be better off taking my 30lbs Prince Albert rather than my 22lbs Rocky Mountain for a solo Mayhem ride this year? Not worth obsessing over but certainly worth keeping an eye on when spec’ing a build – first suss forks I ever had were 2.2kg and no better or stronger than the 1.7/1.6kg Revs & Rebas I ride now.

My Giant Reign x1 with Joplin 4 and dual ply tyres weights in at 41lb but I don’t carei enjoy riding it

me

what coogan said. I’ve built my bikes to suit the terrain where I live and the type of riding I do. No idea how much they weigh but I love the way they ride.

I do. But it’s just one factor.

I’ve ridden 40lb bikes that pedal/handle better than 30lb ones

Uphill?

There’s a lot more to a good bike than simply making it as light as possible.

Very true
Weight loss is a good thing (both bike and rider) but, as with anything, too much of it and you sacrifice other stuff. Generally I look to see where I can save weight without impacting on performance, while your seatclamp example seems pricey it’s weight loss with no repercussions (presuming it works)

I’ve lusted after light bikes for years I’ve finally got myself a lightish bike and i rather like it.

There’s a lot more to a good bike than simply making it as light as possible.

Yep, my swift weighs 28lbs and rides better than any hardtail I’ve ever had. It’s also the heaviest by quite some margin.

I miss my 19lb Cannondale… It was the fastest thing I had ever ridden, and I deeply regret selling it. Before you say anything, it was even superb on the downs. Sigh…

I’m not obsessed but any way I can sensibly (Cost effectively) reduce the weight I’m lugging about I’ll consider.

There are actually some quite cheap ways to keep the weight of a bike down too, not all cheaper stems/seatposts/bars weigh a ton, it’ simply that people only tend ot look at the weight figures on pricier kit ignoring the details of the “Cheap tat”…

Plus there’s also the weight penaly for having all the bells and whistles fitted;

-3×10 Drives may be the newest thing but I bet you could have a lighter 1 or 2 x 9 setup for much less that would give plenty of usable ratios…
-uppy/downey posts (although I quite like the idea) do generally come with a weight penalty.
-Bigger brake rotors than you perhaps need, simply add more mass…

But those are all things to consider after you get the overall layout of the bike right, handling before weight loss in my opinion, the lightest bike in the world may barely bother the scales, but if it rides like a Mare and beats you up then it’s not worth having IMO…

Put another way – does anyone think I will be better off taking my 30lbs Prince Albert rather than my 22lbs Rocky Mountain for a solo Mayhem ride this year? Not worth obsessing over but certainly worth keeping an eye on when spec’ing a build – first suss forks I ever had were 2.2kg and no better or stronger than the 1.7/1.6kg Revs & Rebas I ride now.

Ignore the weights, which one is more comfortable to ride for long periods?

Take em both out for a good long all day ride and see which one leaves you feeling more beaten up at the end…

uppy/downey posts (although I quite like the idea) do generally come with a weight penalty.

That, and large volume tyres, are the only concession I make to my obsession with lightness.

The time lost to the extra 1/2lb for an uppy-downy post is made up on the first descent.

who actually gives a t0ss about how heavy a bike is?

Me. Light bikes are generally more fun to ride. Each of my bikes has a sensibly light build. My XC race bike weighs 21.5lbs* and hammering up climbs on it is a joy. That’s why I pay attention to it.

It’s not about seconds gained or lost, so people should stop using that as an argument. No-one gives a crap unless you are in a race. It just feels nice, in the same way that say a Mazda MX5 feels nice to drive even when you are not on a track.

* still with riser bars, 2.0 tyres, discs and full suspension.

in the same way that say a Mazda MX5 feels nice to drive even when you are not on a track a hair dresser.

There, fixed that for you…

I think about that 30-40lbs weight is normally for a bike. Its easy to run and balancing.

how about weight as a % of body weight?

i’m 60kg so i reckon a lb saved for me makes more of a difference than for someone heavier

I can afford to lighten my bike, so why wouldn’t I?

I think about that 30-40lbs weight is normally for a bike. Its easy to run and balancing.

I wouldn’t go anywhere near a bike weighing that much. Lighter bikes climb better than heavier bikes, Like everything diminishing returns does play a part. Then again i am of the opinion that 140mm is pointless for the majority of riders and they would be better off riding something more appropriate for the riding they do rather than believing the latest industry fad.

All of this is only applicable if you are already a super lean XC whippet.
Because it would be a far bigger benefit to loose 1/2 a stone off your person than loose 1000grms off your bike 😉

Always had light bikes. Epiphany is now sub 25lbs, why would anyone not want a bike which is lighter rather than heavier…?

I’ve ridden 40lb bikes that pedal/handle better than 30lb ones

A good light one will always beat a good heavy one

I’ve never ridden a bike that weighs anything like 40lbs and I probably never will.

A good light one will always beat a good heavy one

Depends on what you are going to use the bike for.

I agree, if you take two identically set up XC bikes that have the same general ride feel, the lighter will be preferable.

But, in order to achieve, say a 5lbs weight saving on an already good DH/FR bike, you have to make some sacrifices (or need to be prepared to stump up a disproportionate amount of money for exotic parts and their regular replacement).

So if you mean “beat” in pure race terms, then maybe. But in the real world, a broken £8,000 trick DH bike that is a few pounds lighter than it’s sturdier built counterpart might not really have “beaten” it.

So if you mean “beat” in pure race terms, then maybe

I was using it the sense of the old boxing saying

“a good young ‘un will always beat a good old ‘un”