Weight

[Ryan Ray]

I have a 64cm road bike and I just made the mistake of weighing it. 35 lbs. THIRTY. FIVE.

It seems astronomical but is it? It's not like I have a dutch city bike (well it IS Dutch but a touring bike). Is 35lbs excessive? I kept my pump, an acorn bag, patch equipment and tools and fenders all on it.

It's the same bike Iv'e posted before...

http://www.flickr.com/photos/ryanrray/6747584237/in/photostream 

[Matthew Hoult]

Not astronomical.  My guess is the bike accounts for ~25 of those lbs and the bag, pump, rack and tools for the remaining ~10 lbs. 

It's a touring bike.  It is supposed to be a little weighty.  I'd worry if it wasn't.  The bike looks very nice and very ride-able in all the pictures.  You've set it up nicely, sensibly.  I see no bricks strapped to the frame.

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[robert zeidler]

People will say it doesn't.....
But it does matter.

[Patrick in VT]

On Mar 2, 2:15 am, Ryan Ray <ryanr...@gmail.com> wrote:

as pictured, it doesn't look like 35lbs. unless you have a lot going
on in that bag. in any event, that's a right smart bike and if it
wasn't bothering you before, it shouldn't bother you now! whether the
weight is "excessive" is entirely up to you.

[jimD]

Weight?

It's all in the rear of the beholder.  ;>)

Don't worry.

Remain calm.

Ride your bike.

If you have fun riding the bike who cares? I've heard it is possible to develop a syndrome where one

worries incessantly about how much their bike weighs.

That's when the real trouble starts.

-JImD

[jimD]

It only matters if it matters to the beholder.

-JimD

Who's afraid to weigh his bikes and then become obsessed with the whole problem and end up

on some slippery slope.

[Peter Morgano]

Last time I had the scale out I weighed my Hilsen, came in at a cool 36lbs, haha. When I think of how much I weigh and what a joy it is to ride it I dont even think twice about it. I used to ride plastic bikes but like many would agree unless you are one of the "top riders" there really is no point being on a lightweight uncomfortable and uncustomizable bike.   A friend I used to ride with has gone down this dark path and sadly today asked me if he changed his chainring bolts to titanium how much weight could he save!!! Its a slippery slope people!

[Joe Bartoe]

Just be cautious. when bike are weighed for spec purposes, the bikes are usually bare of any accoutrements-no bottle cages, no bags, no computers, no fenders, no pedals.

I weighed my rear bag after a brevet once and found that it alone weighed 10lbs with all the stuff I had in it. Add a couple lights and an 18 lb bike and you get to 30+ pretty easily.

Joe

Joe Bartoe
Synaptic Cycles Bicycle Rentals, Inc.
email: j...@synapticcycles.com
website: www.synapticcycles.com
Twitter: @synapticcycles
phone: 949-374-6079

---

Date: Thu, 1 Mar 2012 23:15:37 -0800
From: ryan...@gmail.com
To: rbw-owne...@googlegroups.com
Subject: [RBW] Weight

[GAJett]

I'll worry about how much the bike weighs after I get 40 pounds off the engine ;-)
GAJett

[Andrew]

How much does it weigh when you take the growlers out?

- Andrew, Berkeley

[Peter Pesce]

We'd all be much more content if BQ would stop publishing pictures of fully-kitted Herse randonneurs that weighed 17 lbs!

As an experiment, I weighed my 60cm Sam with its racks 'n fenders n' stuff and it was about 28 lbs.(I can't recall if the handlebar bag was on there, but I"m pretty sure it was not. No tools or pump either.)

I then tried stripping it down and re-building it as light as possible with parts I had lying around, plus a few new bits I was able to find cheaply. The best I could get it down to was 23 lbs. The biggest-impact things I was able to change were the saddle - swapping a WTB for the Brooks was 3/4 of a lb., and the tires - Schwalbe Ultremo 28s with lightweight tubes instead of Pasela TG 35s saved almost a pound per wheel.

Now, of course, it was no longer the same bike! And no amount of "satisfaction" with weight savings made up for the bone jarring ride of the 28's pumped up to 115 psi to keep my considerable self from pinch flatting them!

Your bike looks fantastic, comfortable and practical. I'd say whatever it weighs is "just right!"

-Pete in CT

[Patrick in VT]

On Mar 2, 10:15 am, Peter Morgano <uscpeter11...@gmail.com> wrote:
>I used to ride plastic bikes but like many
> would agree unless you are one of the "top riders" there really is no point
> being on a lightweight uncomfortable and uncustomizable bike.

not sure i agree - lightweight, uncomfortable and uncustomizable
aren't tied together. I'm sure a Roadeo could build up into a very
comfortable, sub 20lbs bike. and light bikes are fun! don't need to
be a "top rider" (what is that anyway?!) to appreciate a bike that's
easy to push around.

[Peter Morgano]

Been there done that, not worth the trade offs. Sorry I meant competitive rider , a thousand apologies for not using  the correct verbiages.  Good thing you are here to dump on me though, appreciate that.

[Smitty-A-Go-Go]

Don't put your bike on the weight scale... put your bike on the fun scale. If it doesn't pin the needle, you're doing something wrong.

--Smitty

 

On Thursday, March 1, 2012 11:15:37 PM UTC-8, HappyCamper wrote:

On Thursday, March 1, 2012 11:15:37 PM UTC-8, HappyCamper wrote:

[PATRICK MOORE]

I have two, customized, very comfortable and lightweight bikes;
Rivendells, as it happens, both fixed. The gofast (am debating whether
to get it customized into a gearie analogue to the fixed commuter --
we'll see) is indeed fun with its sub 18 lb weight: man, there is
nothing like pushing a 75" gear up a hill with the bike so ligh, and I
generally ride in rolling and windy conditions. The question here is
whether this fun will outweigh the alternative fun of a light, gearie
commuter to complement the fixie one -- one regrets having only one
gear when the winds gust to 40 as they have been.

The fixie one weighed about 23 lb when I weighed it on a rather
doubtful hanging scale, this with Kojaks, frame pump, lighting, rear
rack and kit but no panniers. It sure feels fast and easy to ride
after I get off my Fargo or the trike!

The Fargo, with fenders, heavy kit bag, lighting and pump and the
SnoCat/Big Apple wheelset weighs north of 30 lb but my scale won't go
that high; it feels -- heavy, particularly on hills but the low gear
makes hills feel easy. I guess that the Kojak (folding)/Sun Rhyno
wheelset (also dynamo) saves some 3 lb at least, so with that wheelset
I'd guess 30 lb with the heavy kitbag on the bar, again, no panniers.

The fun of the tank-like Fargo is of course that I can ride it over
everything: if my vertigo (inner ear problem leading to dizziness and
nausea for the last couple of days) gets better, I want to go for
another extended dirt ride in the Bosque.

The trike is about 28 lb I estimate with lighting, pump but no bags or
kit -- the kit goes in the Hoss.

The Herse was a tank but felt fast, tho' hill climbing was hard to
gauge as low gears meant that climbing felt so easy.

The light bikes are ceteris paribus more fun to ride; one ceterum is
the fit: the Rivs just fit better than the Fargo and trike (tho' the
Herse fit as well), but leaving that aside and getting back to the
para, they feel more nimble in accelerating and certainly when
climbing; the also are easier to throw around, as much as one can do
this on fixed gears, and tho' of course other factors probably trump
here.

The Rivs are also far more expensive than the others but for me, the
extra cost is worth having the best of customization, comfort and
light weight.

To sum up my experience (over 50 years of riding, 35+ as an adult) I'd
say that weight does matter: more than some things but not as much as
other things.

On Fri, Mar 2, 2012 at 9:41 AM, Patrick in VT <swin...@gmail.com> wrote:

> not sure i agree - lightweight, uncomfortable and uncustomizable
> aren't tied together.  I'm sure a Roadeo could build up into a very
> comfortable, sub 20lbs bike.  and light bikes are fun!  don't need to
> be a "top rider" (what is that anyway?!) to appreciate a bike that's
> easy to push around.
>

--
Patrick Moore
Albuquerque, NM
For professional resumes, contact
Patrick Moore, ACRW
http://resumespecialties.com/index.html

[CycloFiend]

The only question is "how does it ride?"

Everything else is just noise.

- J

--
Jim Edgar
Cyclo...@earthlink.net

Cyclofiend Bicycle Photo Galleries - http://www.cyclofiend.com
Current Classics - Cross Bikes
Singlespeed - Working Bikes

"You must be the change you want to see in the world."
Mahatma Gandhi

[Patrick in VT]

On Mar 2, 11:51 am, Peter Morgano <uscpeter11...@gmail.com> wrote:
> Been there done that, not worth the trade offs. Sorry I meant competitive
> rider , a thousand apologies for not using  the correct verbiages.  Good
> thing you are here to dump on me though, appreciate that.

dump on you?! wow!

i merely meant to suggest that lightweight bikes need not be
uncomfortable, nor does one have to be a competive, performance-
oriented rider to enjoy a nice whippy road bike. as i alluded to, it's
about fun. lots of people think lightweight bikes are fun and that's
the only reason someone needs to have one. apologies if you found my
opinion on the matter personally insulting - 'twas not my intention,
although i'm flattered that my opinion had such an impact on you.

[Ryan Ray]

I think this is definitely a problem.

- Ryan

[Ryan Ray]

Thanks the responses. Consider me off the ledge but still investigating the possibility of a more stripped down bike. The pictured bike is my one and only and as set up serves me well in that regard. City riding, work out rides, 80+ mile all day fun rides, hauling the kid to school in the trailer, that tour I keep putting off...

- Ryan

[William]

Sweating the grams on chainring bolts?  That's an idiosyncrasy

Trying to get through life with ONLY ONE BICYCLE?!?!?  That's a major malady 

You gotta fix that situation,  STAT!

[robert zeidler]

Until things go vertical.....

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[William]

um......what?  I'm not familiar with that phrase.  

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[Kelly]

If I take fenders off and get rid of the dyno hub lights and rack and large rear bag and kick stand I run about 24 lbs ready to ride.

Old plastic race bike.. ready to ride same base configuration 18lbs.

Add in all the junk and the 67cm AHH runs about 30 lbs.. when I'm done adding in thermos of coffee, d90 nikon camera and two lenses, extra sweater, I'm running 36 37 lbs.
I don't notice the weight when riding much.. if at all. pushing the bike Ok I notice.

The Bomadill is the 40ish pound category when I head out.. shrug.. lately probably closer to 45 since I've added front panniers and lower rider rack for daily riding.

Wifes Roadeo as she rides it with bags fenders, pedals seat etc still hits the 24 25 lb range.. guess I'll have to weigh it again.. but really nice bike.

I'm 230 lbs.. riding 67 cm AHH 68 cm QB and 64 cm Bomba so 5lbs is not something I am able to distinguish. My larger bikes are heavier before we even get started.. including my plastic ones. I think the front dyne with 700x50 big apple is like 5 1/4 lbs oh how terrible.. NOT.. the bike doesn't feel doggy it feels quick and rides great... even if it is slow.

Wifes Atlantis and Roadeo are both 61 cm.

Something to be said for my race bike. Trouble is I then remember that I would be on clippless pedals, in spandex, on 700x23 tires at 125psi and areo wheels all being fast and fun.. but damn I don't miss it.. I moved from the ferrari to the sport sedan and the suv of bicycles and not looking back.

Beautiful bike.. if me I'm going to forget what it weighs and just enjoy the ride.

Kelly

[PATRICK MOORE]

Behold this: http://antranik.org/worlds-lightest-road-bike-at-2-7kg/

*And* it is laterally stiff and vertically compliant!

*And* it has those coveted Aerolite pedals! (Which I have held in
these my little hands but never ridden; have also held a NOS Cyclo,
which I'd like to see on this bike.)

*And* it has a real ass hatchet for the saddle!!!

*And* the bar position will offend Grant!!!

Reviewed by the mighty and wise BSNYC today, who also outs Grant's book.

Patrick "hyperventilating!!!" Moore who arbitrarily draws the line for
"light" at about 20 lb and for "heavy" at about 30 lb. Just 'cause.

[Leslie]

I think what he means:
Weight doesn't matter so much, until you come to a hill climb...

[Steve Palincsar]

On Fri, 2012-03-02 at 14:42 -0800, Leslie wrote:
> I think what he means:
> Weight doesn't matter so much, until you come to a hill climb...
>

But even there, your weight matters a lot more than the bike's weight.

[William]

If that's what he means, then, um, OK.  All I said about weight was about sweating the grams of chainring bolts.  If Z-man thinks that you start to feel the weight of your chainring bolts when you start climbing up a hill, then wow. 

Of course weight matters.  I like music, so I'm willing to carry an iPod or even a harmonica on my bike.  I'm not willing to carry a piano.  Why?  Because it's too heavy.  Weight matters.  

If there was a gravity knob on your bike that allowed you to dial down the weight for free, you'd turn it.  Why?  Because lighter is usually better, if it's free. 

In real life, light weight usually has its costs.  Either it costs not bringing something that you might want, or it costs money, or it costs something else like work, or looks, or a perceived downgrade in reliability.  Those who say weight doesn't matter are those that are really saying "I could go lighter, but don't want to, because of the cost".  

[dougP]

Ryan:

My 58 cm Atlantis tips the scale around 35ish or so, with a Nitto Big
Back Rack, little front rack, Acorn Boxy bag, small tool kit, maps &
small junk in the bag. Typical Riv build, Brooks, Schwalbe, etc., but
no fenders. There's really nothing there that I would strip off
because I use it all.

I've run it occassionally with a light wheelset & 28 mm tires (looks
pretty funny, actually) but the better acceleration & climbing does
not make up for the jack hammer ride.

Now that you're off the ledge, put the scale back in the bathroom
where it belongs, and enjoy riding your bike as-is. Comfort is king &
functionality & versatility not far behind. Performance? I dunno,
maybe in 20th place?

dougP

On Mar 2, 11:45 am, Ryan Ray <ryanr...@gmail.com> wrote:
> Thanks the responses. Consider me off the ledge but still investigating the
> possibility of a more stripped down bike. The pictured bike is my one and
> only and as set up serves me well in that regard. City riding, work out
> rides, 80+ mile all day fun rides, hauling the kid to school in the
> trailer, that tour I keep putting off...
>
> - Ryan
>
>
>
> On Friday, March 2, 2012 11:12:04 AM UTC-8, Cyclofiend Jim wrote:
>
> > The only question is "how does it ride?"
>
> > Everything else is just noise.
>
> > - J
>
> > --
> > Jim Edgar

> > Cyclofi...@earthlink.net
>
> > Cyclofiend Bicycle Photo Galleries -http://www.cyclofiend.com

> > Current Classics - Cross Bikes
> > Singlespeed - Working Bikes
>
> > "You must be the change you want to see in the world."

> >    Mahatma Gandhi- Hide quoted text -
>
> - Show quoted text -

[Brad Gantt]

I rode Aerolite pedals for about 8 years on various bikes including a whippy, thin-walled aluminum Vitus replete with a full Superbe Pro kit. Stolen later it was. 

[robert zeidler]

Damn those bars are low!

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[EricP]

I'd like to think that for my riding, weight might matter.  But it would be human rather than bike.  I could easily lose 50 pounds and still be considered heavy by most folks.  So while I might like a slightly lighter bike, it's not going to make me a better rider by any means.  And wouldn't want to strip anything off my Sam Hillborne to get it under 30 pounds.  And it would take a lot of work to get it down to that level. 

 

As an aside, it's funny Patrick Moore considers the Fargo heavy, as when I had one, it was possibly my lightest bike at around 30 pounds.  Just wish it wasn't my failure as a rider that caused me to sell the bike. 

 

Eric Platt

St. Paul, MN

[eflayer]

dare i say i have owned a number of Rivendells...for instance. i do mostly fastish, mostly smoothish club rides. given a choice, for most of those rides i would choose my 17 lb Specialized Roubaix. nothing against gorgeous steel bikes, but 5-10lbs of bike weight makes a big difference in the speed and feel of flight. also not saying that this is any need to be in a hurry or that your motor is not better than mine...just love the 17lb carbon Roubaix. can't carry much on the 17lb carbon Roubaix.

On Thursday, March 1, 2012 11:15:37 PM UTC-8, HappyCamper wrote:

[Aaron Thomas]

Grant might not like how low the bars are, but maybe he'd like the fact it has downtube shifters. Or maybe not....

Aaron

[robert zeidler]

Amen to that.

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[dweendaddy]

And friction!

Couldn't you save a (relatively large) amount of weight by having the rear cassette be 8 gears? But then that wouldn't be modern, would it?

[Bill M.]

With my commuting bike can run up to 42 pounds including front rack
and rack top bag, Carradice Nelson Longflap in back, home-made
headlights with a big battery pack, leather saddle, tools, tubes,
pump, fenders, 700 x 35 flat-resistant tires, bottles and cages, and a
change of clothing on board. It feels *heavy*, but everything on it
is there for a reason.

One exhibitor at NAHBS today had a carbon racing frame that weighs out
at exactly 700 grams. Less than a Schwalbe Big Apple tire! It's
astonishing how little a carbon frame tube weighs.

I'm not totally weight obsessed, but I do pay some attention to weight
in most of my bike builds, and don't tend to carry around more than I
need to.

Bill

[charlie]

My deraileur bicycle weighs 45 pounds with Schwalbe 700x47's,
Carradice Nelson Longflap, full water bottle, metal fenders, sprung
leather saddle, tools and tire stuff, extra glasses, gloves, rain
jacket, hub dynamo, rack, front and rear lights plus wiring, cable
bike lock etc. etc. Its a comfy ride and when I get to hills I gear
down and spin up.....no biggie. I have MTB gearing 44x32x22 and 12-32
seven speed so I get about a 18"
low to a 100" high. I don't often think how much my bike weighs and
really didn't know until just now when I weighed it. I'm still 70
pounds overweight though so.........

[Joe K]

My custom Riv was built for all-round road riding with possible light
touring. Do-it-all. (Sidebar: this was because I'd always been used
to having only one bike so it didn't occur to me to have different-
purpose bikes.)

The Riv always seemed very light to me compared to the other steel
bikes I'd owned. Still does. I now have an old Univega for a beater,
and it sure seems heavier.

One day I happened to notice the shop where they service the Riv had a
bike scale. It turned out to be 26 lbs unladen. I had it in my mind
that it was lighter than that, but so what? It's definitely light by
my own comparisons, and no other bike I've owned has been such a joy
to ride.

On Mar 2, 2:45 pm, Ryan Ray <ryanr...@gmail.com> wrote:
> Thanks the responses. Consider me off the ledge but still investigating the
> possibility of a more stripped down bike. The pictured bike is my one and
> only and as set up serves me well in that regard. City riding, work out
> rides, 80+ mile all day fun rides, hauling the kid to school in the
> trailer, that tour I keep putting off...
>
> - Ryan
>
>
>
> On Friday, March 2, 2012 11:12:04 AM UTC-8, Cyclofiend Jim wrote:
>
> > The only question is "how does it ride?"
>
> > Everything else is just noise.
>
> > - J
>
> > --
> > Jim Edgar

> > Cyclofi...@earthlink.net
>
> > Cyclofiend Bicycle Photo Galleries -http://www.cyclofiend.com

[Scott Henry]

I actually have 2 pairs of those old aerolite pedals and brand new cleats,  I love them.  Willing to sell one pair if anyone is interested.  Started riding on them back in the eighties, they were my first set of clipless pedals.  I have since moved on to Look KEO pedals but my aerolites will forever keep a special place in my heart.  I am keeping at least my one pair.

 

Come on light bikes are fun, so are light motorcycles and light cars.  All for one reason, they go fast. 

 

My fat man bike is fun too.

 

But its not anywhere near the same thing.

Scott

 

 

 

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[Philip Williamson]

Gravity Knob! I've thought about weighing my bikes, but usually don't.
Any upgrades I've ever done to them have added weight. Fenders,
dynohubs, racks, leather saddles. Drop bars. I'm looking to move back
to the Bay Area, where I can get by with narrower tires, since the
roads are better, and maybe have one road bike without fenders. I do
want to photo-document each bike - weight, equipment, etc. so I can
refer back to it next Spring and see what I've done in 2012. I wish I
had that to look back on for the last 10 years, so the best way to
have that in the future is to start now.

Anyway - digression within digression. My Quickbeam rides differently,
and I ride it differently, with 40mm tires, metal fenders, front
basket, dyno hub and flat pedals than I did with 28mm tires and
Eggbeaters on NJS track wheels.

"But how much does the gravity knob weigh?"
Philip

Philip Williamson
www.biketinker.com
www.philipwilliamson.com