Why is my bike so heavy

npowell28

Why is my bike so heavy. I bought my GT Transeo back in July 2008 and when i picked it up in the shop it felt light. I've just ordered a Cube Ltd Pro and it's so much lighter 12.4 kgs compared to 15Kg +. I only use the GT for commuting, would it be worth buying a lighter commuter?

il_principe

Well it has got suspension (which is unnecessary and heavy on a commuting bike), a triple chainset (which is unnecessary and heavy on a commuting bike), a pretty cheapo Alu frame and low end Shimano componentry - again this'll be heavy. Is your commute on or off road or both? If it's on road then I'd suggest looking at road bikes, which are of course considerabley lighter. A Specialized Allez costs just over £500 and weighs around 9KG:

http://www.cyclesurgery.com/1027468/Specialized-Allez-18.html

npowell28

Yeah that sounds more like it. I only go on the road and cycle paths. I'll have a closer look at them. Thanks

N0bodyOfTheGoat

npowell28 wrote:

would it be worth buying a lighter commuter?

Well this comes down to a few questions that only you can answer...
Is your job relatively safe in the current recession?
Have you got the spare pennies to afford a new steed?
Can you justify spending money, to yourself and perhaps your other half, on a lighter commuter?
Given that you have a "sunday best" bike already, if the transeo does its job, why replace it? Its heavy weight status should make the "sunday best" outings feel special.

soy_sauce

NitrousOxide wrote:

npowell28 wrote:

would it be worth buying a lighter commuter?

Well this comes down to a few questions that only you can answer...
Is your job relatively safe in the current recession?
Have you got the spare pennies to afford a new steed?
Can you justify spending money, to yourself and perhaps your other half, on a lighter commuter?
Given that you have a "sunday best" bike already, if the transeo does its job, why replace it? Its heavy weight status should make the "sunday best" outings feel special.

+1

you could lose some weight of the bike by changing tyres, if you haven't done so.

npowell28

I've changed the tyres. Yes i can justify it and she would never find out anyway.

This is what i don't like about forums. Everyone gives great advice, even if it all differs. I'm so confussed(only joking).

I'm taking it all on board and will no doubt make a decision soon.

prawny

NitrousOxide wrote:

npowell28 wrote:

would it be worth buying a lighter commuter?

Well this comes down to a few questions that only you can answer...
Is your job relatively safe in the current recession?
Have you got the spare pennies to afford a new steed?
Can you justify spending money, to yourself and perhaps your other half, on a lighter commuter?

Only question 3 has a real bearing though surely, interest free credit and ebay are there for a reason

Roastie

Does the extra weight slow you down unduly? Does your commute involve carrying the bike? Do you have SCR aspirations? Is one of the motivations for cycle commuting keeping in shape?

If no, no, no, yes, then I don't see the prob with a heavier commute bike. Just means you get more exercise for the same distance (and speed) travelled.

DonDaddyD

You ride a £800 hard tail mountain bike on the weekend and you ride a hard tail mountain bike during the week for commuting - this indicates that you have miles in those legs and are a relatively experience cyclist.

You find commuting on a hard tail mountain bike sluggish.

You are financially able to purchase a new bike.

Buy a road bike. It will provide you with the speed you crave on your commute while being different enough from your weekends rides to enable to enjoy both seperately.

Look at:
Specialized Allez
Giant Defy
Trek 1 series
Bianchi via nirone
Focus Varrido

peachos

if it's just for commuting only why spend so much cash? i picked up an old french road bike off gumtree for a tenner last year. it rode ok considering the age/price but have been slowly converting it to SS. so far i've spent approximately £70 to get it to where it is now (new wheels/SS kit/SS chain) and it works perfectly. spread over about 5 months the cost's barely noticable and it well, does the job!

c12345

+1 for ebay

...Also, I thought my bike felt heavier than I remembered one time. It was soon fixed by rutning it upside down and draining all the water out of the frame!

worth giving your bike a shake occasionally to see if it sloshes.

gtvlusso

Perhaps your bike has a secret pie habit? Is the bike heavy because you are on it?

Sorry, I am in a silly mood.

sarajoy

I was sure my old bike was incredibly heavy, but almost entirely sure now that with the crap I've added to the new one, that it is reaching a comparable weight...
...meh, I'm slowly losing weight and getting stronger so I guess it all balances out in the end

It definitely helps that I'm no longer in a very 'sit up and beg' position when trying to ride up hills, though.

Kieran_Burns

sarajoy wrote:

It definitely helps that I'm no longer in a very 'sit up and beg' position when trying to ride up hills, though.

As in "PLEASE let me get up this hill... oh please God let me get up this hill!" ?


Of course this is a problem I do not have :P

biondino

sarajoy wrote:

I was sure my old bike was incredibly heavy, but almost entirely sure now that with the crap I've added to the new one, that it is reaching a comparable weight...
...meh, I'm slowly losing weight and getting stronger so I guess it all balances out in the end

Don't you dare lose that ample bottom. Skinny girls - nein danke!

DonDaddyD

sarajoy wrote:

It definitely helps that I'm no longer in a very 'sit up and beg' position when trying to ride up hills, though.

So you bought drop handle bars, Yes!?

sarajoy

DonDaddyD wrote:

sarajoy wrote:

It definitely helps that I'm no longer in a very 'sit up and beg' position when trying to ride up hills, though.

So you bought drop handle bars, Yes!?

Nope, DDD!

But from this: http://www.falconcycles.co.uk/CORP/cb06/classicW.html
To this: http://www.specialized.com/bc/SBCBkMode ... 59&eid=121

...is a significant change in riding position already!

The Chingford Skinhead

The advice I got from a very experienced road racing cyclist was train heavy, race/ride light. On that basis save your money

npowell28

Had a great ride in to work on it this morning. Thought i was dreaming. Yes i think i'll keep it for a while. I think the other issue is, i don't want to have a sunday best bike for commuting. I need something that can be abused a little.