Just weighed my bike....

Thewaylander

njee20 wrote:

9.1kg FS, that really climbs like a dream :-)

I use wheels that are about 700g heavier for playing on, and I don't think they make the bike ride better in any way! Each to their own and that, but IMO lighter bikes are more fun.

But i bet one of the more important things is how effiecent the suspension is and you sus set up which i bet is firm for more effiecency and pedalling.

but to be honest I'm pretty sure i'd snap your light wheels, done a fair few different wheel sets in and never found a light set of wheels that didn't feel like they were bending in half in the corners

Kaise

Thewaylander wrote:

never found a light set of wheels that didn't feel like they were bending in half in the corners

+potato

dan shard

pilsburypie wrote:

Just looking at the pre ride poo, rider weight, kit/water in the camel back comments. Sure all this counts but not nearly as much as bike weight. Just to exaggerate my point, imaging putting 2 bags of sugar in your camel back for a ride.... not ride spoilingly noticable. Now tape those same bags of sugar to your forks and do the ride again. Rides like a dog.

I know this isn't reality due to weight distribution etc, but the point is still the same. If a bike is lighter you can chuck it around and move it easier underneath you. Sure there is a point where you might not want a super light bike for more agressive stuff, but 100g off your bike is worth 10 times that in your camel back or several good laxative induced evacuations!

As I said in my previous post, Im currently riding a bike that is 3.5kg heavier than my previous and havent noticed any weight induced difference at all. Youd think I would as your analogy gives me an equivalent 350 kg camel back :shock:

Please dont get me wrong, Im not saying you shouldn’t spend money on improving your bike, and one of those improvements may well be making it lighter, my point was just that those people that are obsessed (And that isnt aimed at anyone on here) with shaving grams off the weight of their bike really make me laugh. That extra £200 they spent on a carbon boxer shorts is made completely useless when theyre carrying a kg of mud on them

I guess as with all things, each to their own

njee20

But i bet one of the more important things is how effiecent the suspension is and you sus set up which i bet is firm for more effiecency and pedalling.

Actually no, it's pretty soft, if anything it's too soft. Still only a 100mm travel bike though, so it's not going to be too bad anyway.

but to be honest I'm pretty sure i'd snap your light wheels, done a fair few different wheel sets in and never found a light set of wheels that didn't feel like they were bending in half in the corners

I suspect you would. They do have a 77kg weight limit. For my use, they're absolutely fine! I've been impressed how similar they actually feel to my Hope Hoops frankly, I thought they'd feel very wobbly indeed!

Kaise

njee20 wrote:

I suspect you would. They do have a 77kg weight limit......

what make and type are these wheels that have a 77kg weight limit, are they wheels from a childs bike!?!

And this begs the question, how much do you weigh because your bike weighs a bit, you weigh a bit and then BAM you hit a jump, on the landing if your riding with the flow and you have compressed enough then the impact wont matter but if your not the perfect rider and you land hard then the force you place through the rims would be more than the force of 77kg surely?

Yeeha, wheres your physics please?!

and if i pull a wheelie then i am acting in excess of 100k on my back wheel no problem!

dan shard

I expect that the 77kg max rider weight takes into consideration expected shock load from a jump. Although its impossible to be exact as every jump, landing and rider style will change the shock load, they probably have an average figure based on a 77kg rider on a light xc jump/drop

Id be doubtfull that the 77kg max weight is the total max force allowable. And as with all thing there will be a ~ 30% safety margin

Wouldnt fancy doing a black run on them though :shock:

njee20

I would, except possibly Laggan, trail centres aren't designed to be tough on bikes! But then I'm 11kg under the weight limit, and to be honest I'd expect to run out of skill before I broke the wheels!

Not to say they'd be my first choice if I wasn't racing, but I don't reckon they're that flimsy!

Kaise

dan shard wrote:

Wouldnt fancy doing a black run on them though :shock:

thats what i was thinking, i weigh 110kg so these would be farked in one ride with me!

*AL*

nicklouse wrote:

have a look through the "Your Rides" section and it will show some weights on comparative bikes.

Please remember;

Internet bicycle weight = actual weight - 15%

pilsburypie

dan shard wrote:

As I said in my previous post, Im currently riding a bike that is 3.5kg heavier than my previous and havent noticed any weight induced difference at all. Youd think I would as your analogy gives me an equivalent 350 kg camel back :shock:

Please dont get me wrong, Im not saying you shouldn’t spend money on improving your bike, and one of those improvements may well be making it lighter, my point was just that those people that are obsessed (And that isnt aimed at anyone on here) with shaving grams off the weight of their bike really make me laugh. That extra £200 they spent on a carbon boxer shorts is made completely useless when theyre carrying a kg of mud on them

I guess as with all things, each to their own

Hmmm, maybe I should make better analogy calculations - that is one heavy camelback

Perhaps your new bike is just better. Dunno if you started loosing weight off that if it would make it better still - or worse?

It all does depend on where that weight is lost though - most know to go tyres,wheels,forks first before spending a a bomb on carbon valve caps.

All weight loss has to start somewhere (if you're that way inclined). Initially you'll save lots of g's for your £, but as you progress it could get insane.

Me - am I that fussed? A little.... upping fitness has made the biggest difference to me, but a bit of bling doesn't hurt. The white saddle and grips on my bike have definitely increased my speed. 8)

dan shard

pilsburypie wrote:

dan shard wrote:

but a bit of bling doesn't hurt. The white saddle and grips on my bike have definitely increased my speed. 8)

Completely agree with that

njee20

I'm not that sure that losing weight off the bike does make much difference to losing it off you frankly. Yes the handling changes more if you add weight, but in a straight climb I don't honestly think it makes much difference. So, lose weight before you start spending money on bling...

97th choice

12.9kg fs and 17 kg fs.

Both go up hill at the same speed, because I'm normally in a group with my mates. The heavier one goes downhill way quicker because that is what it is designed to do, the lighter FS would win hands down at a trail centre.

Horses for courses and all that.

Thewaylander

No i can climb on my old 28 pound stumpy faster than my 35 pound Dune by a mile Cwm equivelent roughly would be an hour on my specialized takes hour n 10 on the draker, but the Dune is a bit more effiecent so on the flats it storms along as well, it is the weight that hurts ont he climbs,

But on day rides it hardly makes any difference at all.

borrowed a Mates blur which had some hope hoops with some light DT rim.. They felt constantly like they were bending on any corner, freaked me out and gave him his bike back :P

I think wieght does effect how a bike climbs but that other factors like effiency of pedal design and so on has almost as great effect on full sus at least

02gf74

Thewaylander wrote:

I think wieght does effect how a bike climbs but that other factors like effiency of pedal design and so on has almost as great effect on full sus at least

yes it does make a difference; also make difference charging downhill.

I find my heavier bikes are more stable down hill and keep in line better whereas my lighter ones are easier thrown off line,

wander wheels

Miss Notax

I suggest swapping your wheels with Mr Notaxs' nice new pretty ones - he won't notice you'd done it

miss notax

wander wheels wrote:

Miss Notax

I suggest swapping your wheels with Mr Notaxs' nice new pretty ones - he won't notice you'd done it

Good idea.... I'll pour him a Magners and then move in for the kill

MarvintheAndroid

My Trek is 26 lbs with Crudcatchers, lights and batteries fitted (two sets of Ay-Ups). Mind you, the heaviest component by far is the lump on the saddle.

Marv

Shaggy_Dog

30lbs for me is the magic number, anything below that and I'm happy. My Enduro weighed between 33 and 36 lbs depending on what wheels/saddle/tyres were fitted and it was not much fun to ride uphill. I'm currently riding a HiFi Pro Carbon at 24 lbs but it's a bit bendy, I had the alloy one previously at 27 lbs and it was much stiffer.

I don't buy the "heavier bike makes me fitter" argument. I'm fitter than ever now because my light bike makes me want to stomp up hills and ride longer and further.

njee20

I don't buy the "heavier bike makes me fitter" argument. I'm fitter than ever now because my light bike makes me want to stomp up hills and ride longer and further.

+1

Thewaylander

njee20 wrote:

I don't buy the "heavier bike makes me fitter" argument. I'm fitter than ever now because my light bike makes me want to stomp up hills and ride longer and further.

+1

-1

dan shard

Shaggy_Dog wrote:

I don't buy the "heavier bike makes me fitter" argument. I'm fitter than ever now because my light bike makes me want to stomp up hills and ride longer and further.

I can see both sides of that one really, feeling it getting easier certainly makes you stomp up quicker hence improving fitness but generally speaking adding resistance to an exercise also increases fitness...

Shaggy_Dog

dan shard wrote:

Shaggy_Dog wrote:

I don't buy the "heavier bike makes me fitter" argument. I'm fitter than ever now because my light bike makes me want to stomp up hills and ride longer and further.

I can see both sides of that one really, feeling it getting easier certainly makes you stomp up quicker hence improving fitness but generally speaking adding resistance to an exercise also increases fitness...

If you have the grit and determination to push a heavier bike uphill at the same pace or go for just as long then you will get fitter, but that does undermine the other side of the argument that it's all about net weight of rider + bike...

njee20

And also sure it only really holds true if you then race (or swap for whatever reason) to a light bike.

If you perpetually ride around on a heavy bike you are just making it harder for yourself. I don't really buy the "my 35lb bike climbs better than my 25lb bike" type arguments either myself, with similar weights I can believe it, but not with large differences. Physics innit.

dan shard

njee20 wrote:

And also sure it only really holds true if you then race (or swap for whatever reason) to a light bike.

If you perpetually ride around on a heavy bike you are just making it harder for yourself. I don't really buy the "my 35lb bike climbs better than my 25lb bike" type arguments either myself, with similar weights I can believe it, but not with large differences. Physics innit.

I dont think that there are many people saying that they do, just that thay havent noticed any negative impact on going heavier.

Certainly in my experience, having a generally better bike, has improved the uphill side of the bike far more than the weight gain has held it back

njee20

But is that a speculative difference, ie the nicer bike feels better, even if it's slower, or is it is actually a case that it climbs better for whatever reason?

As long as the result is a more enjoyable ride it's fairly irrelevant, (unless one is racing) but I wonder.

Shaggy_Dog

Fit is more important, you'll be faster on a bike that fits you properly and weighs 35lb than one that is too small and weighs 25lb

dan shard

After doing to Llandegla black run a million times over the last 18months, the first time that I ever made it to the top of the climb on the black section was my first ride on my Trek remedy two months ago.

Did 7days before on my Cube and had to get off and push after the first bend, did it the following week on the trek and got to the top absolutely no problem.

Maybe it was in the mind, it after all be a pretty powerfull thing, but for me the better bike made it much easier, and I certainly wasnt held back by an additional 3.5kg

dan shard

Shaggy_Dog wrote:

Fit is more important, you'll be faster on a bike that fits you properly and weighs 35lb than one that is too small and weighs 25lb

It does fit me better btw. Feels much more suited to my size

TickTockTick

and regardless of how light it is, you always look stupid in a helmet.