How much should a french style rando bike weigh?

[Frank San Miguel]

Hi everyone,

This is my first post to this group.

I've been recently brainwashed by a bunch of back-issues of Bicycle Quarterly into building a rando bike! I recently test rode an "entry level" Soma Grand Randonneur with 42cm compass tires and was hooked. I love the ride and handling.

My build spec: production low trail frame (e.g. Soma, rawland, Velo Orange, etc), 650b wheels, 42mm tires, dyno hub, lights, aluminum fenders, front mini rack, handlebar bag, ultegra-level components.

My bike shop says I should be able to get this bike down to around 23 lbs without bag (and my spreadsheet of parts confirms this).

Intended use: weekend rides with friends, the occasional brevet, light camping and touring with my old blackburn low riders. Lots of climbing. Some off road. Never racing. Frequent stops to explore.

I weigh about 160lb. I've ridden a Trek 300 for 25 years. The latest incarnation of this bike weighs about 32 lbs unloaded (rack, fenders, dyno hub, lights) which is too heavy to keep up with my wife on her new carbon specialized diverge.

I'm trying to decide how much money to invest in getting the weight down. Is 24lb on the heavy side for a french-style rando bike? What is a good weight to shoot for?

Frank

[Greg Merritt]

I don't have an answer...but, ironically, I get the impression that many contemporary French randonneurs gravitate toward carbon-fiber race bikes with skinny tires...?? Go figure!

My general sense, though, is that to get a light bike, you pretty much need to get lighter "everything" -- consider lighter choices for most every component.

Good luck, and happy shopping!! :)

-Greg

[My name's Dave. And I'm a straggler.]

On Saturday, November 12, 2016 at 11:48:08 AM UTC-8, Frank San Miguel wrote:

Hi everyone,

This is my first post to this group.

welcome aboard, then! You'll find lots of helpful answers(*) 

 

I weigh about 160lb.  I've ridden a Trek 300 for 25 years.  The latest incarnation of this bike weighs about 32 lbs unloaded (rack, fenders, dyno hub, lights) which is too heavy to keep up with my wife on her new carbon specialized diverge.

There are alternatives here, which do not include you trying to make your bike lighter. ... just saying.. 

(*) Although, it transpires, not with this post. 

[C. Duque]

Your spreadsheet takes into account comfort an reliability? I would not concentrate too much on weight. Sure light is nice but it can be silly expensive and not necessarily more reliable. I would concentrate on comfort and reliability,  weight after those. Sure, I would rather ride a 24lb than a 34 lb bike but there is a point where the grams saved per $ don't make much sense to me. That trade off is a very personal choice.

Carlos

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[Reed Kennedy]

Some numbers from my and my partner's classic-French-style rando bikes:

51cm Soma Grand Randonneur with fenders, Nitto 27F front rack, dynamo lighting, Wald basket, Baby Shoe Pass tires, and a fairy typical cost-conscious-but-not-cheap build: 29 lbs

Without rack and basket: ~26lbs

60cm Cycles Toussaint Velo Routier, build almost identical to above but with a frame pump and no dynamo or lights: 30lbs

Without rack and basket: ~27lbs

62cm MAP 700c Randonneur, built no-expenses-spared with a focus on light weight. The original owner tells me this bike came out to almost $9,000. With rack, fenders, Berthoud bag, 32mm tires, dynamo, lights, frame pump: ~28lbs

Without bag or pump: 25.5lbs

You don't list your frame size, but I think you will have a very hard time getting under 25lbs with a Soma GR. Folks generally agree that the fork and rear triangle are inordinately heavy on that frame. (My partner likes hers a lot though!)

If you read the BQ bike reviews Jan does a pretty good job of giving context for the weights he lists. From memory, he generally seems to consider bikes under 24lbs impressively light and bikes over 27lbs heavier than they should probably be. But my memory may be off. 

It's my opinion that if light weight is your primary goal you might want to look toward another sort of bike. As you might guess from the above list, I love bikes like this! But they aren't terribly satisfying to weight-weenie on. 

Oh, and don't fail to consider the Velo Routier. I adore mine. I really should write up some thoughts...

Best,

Reed 

[Pudu]

10.75kg

On Saturday, November 12, 2016 at 11:48:08 AM UTC-8, Frank San Miguel wrote:

[Libby Subers]

Is that with or without full bottles? 

- Libby

Sent from my iPad

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[Frank San Miguel]

Thanks for the replies everyone!  I agree with you in that weight isn't my primary design factor: my wife will always get to the top of the hill before me no matter what bike I ride or she rides, so the only reason for me to care about weight is being able to do the distance and elevation and have fun doing it.  Also, I'm getting her a dyno hub and lights for xmass so that should slow her down a little bit :-).

On Saturday, November 12, 2016 at 11:48:08 AM UTC-8, Frank San Miguel wrote:

[Frank San Miguel]

Reed,

Thanks for the awesome details!  This really helps me to better understand the nature of the machine I'm building.

You are right - yesterday, my mechanic (Tahn at Silva Cycles in Campbell) told me my build is coming out to 25lbs (I think that is without the bag).  Remarkably, he weighed all the parts for me.  

I have heard the soma frame is a little bit overbuilt and may not be as fun as other frames ($$).  I've been eying the Velo Routier and also possibly a Boulder Byclicle frame.  The new Rawland and VO frames are disc only so I'm not interested.  I can't rationalize a custom frame.  

I would love to hear what you like best about the Velo Routier?

Frank

On Sunday, November 13, 2016 at 12:52:18 PM UTC-8, Reed Kennedy wrote:

Some numbers from my and my partner's classic-French-style rando bikes:

51cm Soma Grand Randonneur with fenders, Nitto 27F front rack, dynamo lighting, Wald basket, Baby Shoe Pass tires, and a fairy typical cost-conscious-but-not-cheap build: 29 lbs

Without rack and basket: ~26lbs

60cm Cycles Toussaint Velo Routier, build almost identical to above but with a frame pump and no dynamo or lights: 30lbs

Without rack and basket: ~27lbs

62cm MAP 700c Randonneur, built no-expenses-spared with a focus on light weight. The original owner tells me this bike came out to almost $9,000. With rack, fenders, Berthoud bag, 32mm tires, dynamo, lights, frame pump: ~28lbs

Without bag or pump: 25.5lbs

You don't list your frame size, but I think you will have a very hard time getting under 25lbs with a Soma GR. Folks generally agree that the fork and rear triangle are inordinately heavy on that frame. (My partner likes hers a lot though!)

If you read the BQ bike reviews Jan does a pretty good job of giving context for the weights he lists. From memory, he generally seems to consider bikes under 24lbs impressively light and bikes over 27lbs heavier than they should probably be. But my memory may be off. 

It's my opinion that if light weight is your primary goal you might want to look toward another sort of bike. As you might guess from the above list, I love bikes like this! But they aren't terribly satisfying to weight-weenie on. 

Oh, and don't fail to consider the Velo Routier. I adore mine. I really should write up some thoughts...

Best,

Reed 

[Jason Pierce]

Real French Randomnerds use Camelbaks. 

On Sunday, November 13, 2016, Libby Subers <lib...@gmail.com> wrote:

Is that with or without full bottles? 

- Libby

Sent from my iPad

On Nov 13, 2016, at 9:50 PM, Pudu <pud...@gmail.com> wrote:

10.75kg

On Saturday, November 12, 2016 at 11:48:08 AM UTC-8, Frank San Miguel wrote:

Hi everyone,

This is my first post to this group.

I've been recently brainwashed by a bunch of back-issues of Bicycle Quarterly into building a rando bike! I recently test rode an "entry level" Soma Grand Randonneur with 42cm compass tires and was hooked.  I love the ride and handling.  

My build spec: production low trail frame (e.g. Soma, rawland, Velo Orange, etc), 650b wheels, 42mm tires, dyno hub, lights, aluminum fenders, front mini rack, handlebar bag, ultegra-level components.

My bike shop says I should be able to get this bike down to around 23 lbs without bag (and my spreadsheet of parts confirms this).

Intended use: weekend rides with friends, the occasional brevet, light camping and touring with my old blackburn low riders.  Lots of climbing.  Some off road.  Never racing.  Frequent stops to explore.  

I weigh about 160lb.  I've ridden a Trek 300 for 25 years.  The latest incarnation of this bike weighs about 32 lbs unloaded (rack, fenders, dyno hub, lights) which is too heavy to keep up with my wife on her new carbon specialized diverge.

I'm trying to decide how much money to invest in getting the weight down.  Is 24lb on the heavy side for a french-style rando bike?  What is a good weight to shoot for?  

Frank

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[Juliayn Coleman]

I don't think anyone's yet mentioned Pelicans, so I'll go out on a limb here and suggest you might like one. If I remember correctly, mine was about 24lbs. without bag when it was built. I don't think about weight too much though and maybe if I'm wrong someone will correct me. I think they are a great value, considering what you get.
https://mmmmbike.wordpress.com/my-bike/
http://boxdogbikes.com/collections/pelicans/products/box-dog-bikes-pelican-frameset

On Saturday, November 12, 2016 at 11:48:08 AM UTC-8, Frank San Miguel wrote:

[Ely Ruth Rodriguez]

I strongly support making your wifes bike heavier.

On Saturday, November 12, 2016 at 11:48:08 AM UTC-8, Frank San Miguel wrote:

[Greg Merritt]

Here are some French Rando bikes....or, at least, French Randonneurs' bikes!!



-Greg