My best bike is surprisingly heavy....

IanTrcp

Out of interest I weighed my best bike today. I was slightly surprised to discover that it weighs just over 8kg given all the talk of 6.not-a-lot kg bikes in the mags. I don't particularly care but it's evidently not the "light bike" I thought I owned!

Or am I missing something? Are the 6.n-a-l weights for bikes with pedals, bottle cages, air in the tyres etc? Or are they more like the dry weights you sometimes see quoted for cars?

In case you're interested, my bike is a 56cm 2006 S-Works Roubaix frameset, Ultegra SL + FSA Compact chainset, Ksyrium ES and Ram Cinelli integrated bars. All quite high-end and supposedly lightweight hence my surprise....

e999sam

Weighed mine on the bathroom scales (not very accurate) came in about 7.5Kg with pedals and bottle cages.
Bike is a 58cm Keota Kebel with full Dura ace.

andrewgturnbull

IanTrcp wrote:

Or are they more like the dry weights you sometimes see quoted for cars?

Got it in one. Plus the weight will usually be the smallest size, taken with a large pinch of salt!

8kg is still a respectable weight!

Cheers, Andy

the_jackalcp

I get the feeling this could turn into a "how light is your bike" thread.

To some extent I agree with what has already been said however it is not too difficult to build a bike that is ready to ride and under 7kg. The only real difficulty is finding the money to do it. To put your Roubaix on a quick diet would easily shed 500g for not much. The real savings come in the form of tubualr carbon wheels. Big Bucks but maybe 400 -500g lighter than the ES you have already. There you have a kilo saved and not far from the magical 6.?kg

Of course the big question is how durable is the light weight stuff and can you be arsed with tubular tyres? If you haven't been to Weightweenies on the web then you should check it out for some real eye opening lightweight stuff in terms of kg and £.

For what it's worth my bike weighs 7kg give or take and is ready to ride ie bottle cages, pedals, saddle bag with tools and tube. It's a 58cm Cervelo R3 with good old fashioned alu clinchers.

redddraggon

Just because the weight limit is 6.8Kg it doesn't mean that every Pro is riding a 6.81Kg bike, because they aren't, most are well above the 7Kg mark.

Mark Cavendish's bike weighs 7.2Kg

Thor Hushovd's Look 585 for Paris-Roubaix was nearly 8Kg, although I think most of the bikes for Roubaix were pretty heavy.

meagain

Mine are never as light as either the sellers or other owners claim!

Managed to get a TCR down to just over 16lbs - at £1600 with everything except wheels and bars bought second hand! It's always the last 1lb-off that costs the money!

cougie

Its usually a hell of a lot cheaper to lose weight by not buying as many cakes. Much much cheaper than the latest carbon goodies. But possibly not so much fun.

HarryB

My best bike (could be termed a superbike) and my other bike (also very nice carbon job) are both heavier than bikes that I perceive to be inferior. They are also heavier than manufacturers claim and other people claim. I've weighed them (with me) on bathroom scales

So how do I weigh my bikes to make sure it's accurate

dombo6

I took mine to my LBS and put it on their scales. It's a steel/carbon Lemond Buenos Aires with the only difference to stock being Easton EA90 SLX wheels and conti 4000s tyres.
I was surprised to see it came in at 19.25lbs which I guess is heavier than most. However, as I only tip the scales 65kg (10.25 stone) that evens things with my heavier riding buddies and their sub-17lb steeds.

meagain

"So how do I weigh my bikes to make sure it's accurate"

Or to put it another way: how do you get the manufacturers and other people to weigh theirs accurately!

I did have one bike that as far as I could tell did weigh precisely what the manfrs claimed - a Fuji Mt Fuji S(uper) L(ight) hardtail. At the time it was reckoned to be the lightest out-of-the-box XC racer. The inner tubes were like tissue paper and even the rubbers on the V-wires had been cut down to 1/4"!

tenor

Moral? Just don't bother to weigh you bike! You were pobably really happy with it before and now that half kilo or so is really nagging?
Think of it this way; if you save 10% off the weight of your bike you are probably only saving about 1% overall. This is the equivalent to increasing your power output by 1% from say 400 (fit!) to 404watts.

cougie

If you want to weigh your bike - you'd best go and join the weightweenies forum.
They're completely insane over there - cutting bits off and ripping the covers off their saddles in their quest for lightness. Maaad.

aracer

The Jackalcp wrote:

I get the feeling this could turn into a "how light is your bike" thread.

Wouldn't want to disappoint you

Mine's about 6.7kg, and that is for a 55cm frame and an all in weight including pedals, bottle cages and computer - though I believe the weight quoted in mags is usually without any of these. I'm not that susprised by the weight of your Roubaix in comparison, given to get down to that I had to be fairly choosy about every part on the bike. The Roubaix frame / forks isn't the lightest going - about 400g more than mine - also Ultegra SL is about 250g more than my Record, and those Ksyriums are ~100g more than my wheels. Those bars are also rather porky, a good 50-60g more than my conventional combo. You've probably also got an extra 100g or so in the pedals, and maybe 50g in the bottle cages. It all adds up, and we're already close to 8kg with just my additions there.

IanTrcp

Thanks for all the comments. Interesting!

Anyway, I took it out for a ride today and knocked out 175km around the Surrey Hills. Including winching myself up White Down (signposted as 18%) with 150km in my legs. Can't be that bad then!

bishbish

hi
i am a cheapskate weight weenie
my tcr 9spd dura ace weighs 15.6 lbs exactly compleate
i have spent too much on ti bolts and ww bits
the cheapest weight loss for you
is
planet x carbon pin 175 grms £75 ish
planet x extra light stem + ti bolts about £35 101 grms
keo carbons ebay £55 ish
use titanium spin stix crc
slr xc trans am gelflow sub 200 grms £50 ebay light and comfy
gp 4000 s tyres
light weight stork bar tape from posh bikes at least 40 grm lighter than most
avid flack jacket cables
hope this helps
once you start down this road its hard to stop

aracer

bishbish wrote:

use titanium spin stix crc
slr xc trans am gelflow sub 200 grms £50 ebay light and comfy

KCNC skewers are lighter than Spin Stix, with the bonus feature of actually holding your wheel securely.
A standard SLR's a little more pricey, but at 140g a lot lighter, and whilst saddle fit does vary, I find one very comfy.

ride_whenever

or tune/storck skewers