Bike weight

noeleoreid

so ive been contemplating recently upgrading the bike to something a little higher spec. I have an old Giant OCR 4 at the moment in perfect working order and the only thing that originally prompted me to even want to upgrade was to shed some weight and get something a little lighter.

As it is , the OCR4 only has basic shimano sora spec all round and is bang on 10kg in weight but i dont see any issue with that , as everything works perfect!!

I have looked at bikes even up to a price range of near 1500 euro and i see by buying these id only be shedding about of 1.2 kg in weight , maxamium. And buying something in the range of 1000 euro I would only be shedding about 0.4kg in some cases.

So just pondering , it seems illogical to spend this kind of money on a bike and only be making such a little gain??

Another factor may be that , components might preform better , if I was upgraded to something like ultegra groupset or similar? Ive never ridden with these components as the OCR is my first. Is there really a dramatic difference... I doubt it but maby I am wrong?? Am i?

Also , maby I am wrong also about the weight issue and shedding half a kg or more will make a dramatic difference to speed when cycling.. even though I doubt it?

Comments??

The Davestator

YOU could always lose 2 or 3 kilo's and it would be free!

noeleoreid

The Davestator wrote: »

YOU could always lose 2 or 3 kilo's and it would be free!

U callin me fat man ?? ha ha I only weigh 70 kg as is so dont wanna go down that road...

Dubba

I weigh a bike and a half more than you so. :pac:

You could pic up a planet X which is around 7.5kg, saving you 2.5kg. (€1,300)

You will notice the weight difference but I don't think weight alone will make you faster. But buying a new shiny bike will make you want to get out more, which in turn will make you faster.

Also carbon bikes in general are more comfortable than aluminum esp on Irish roads.

petethedrummer

I see from ART that you're doing triathlons. I presume these are generally flat so a lighter bike isn't going to make an enormous difference.

There's an article (I don't have the link) that details the aero advantages of different pieces of kit and the benefits versus cost.

Some TT talk:
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2056005486
http://www.bikeradar.com/news/article/how-aero-is-aero-19273
http://www.analyticcycling.com/RiderAeroStudy.html
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055646069

macnab

I went from a 9.5kg Trek 1.2 to a 7.9kg Boardman, I shaved 6 minutes off my local 37km circuit. I weigh 65kg.

zico10

macnab wrote: »

I went from a 9.5kg Trek 1.2 to a 7.9kg Boardman, I shaved 6 minutes off my local 37km circuit. I weigh 65kg.

6 minutes is a huge chunk of time over 37km. You hardly think it's all down to the 1.6kg weight difference?

FISMA

Money is the name of the weight game in cycling.

Once you hit 17lbs, a good rule of thumb is $1000 for every pound dropped thereafter.

Beasty

So OP, if someone offered you $1,000 to lose 1kg of weight from yourself rather than the bike, would you go for it?

Having said that, you would need to lose the weight without compromising power - something it's probably easier for me to do at just under 90kg, than for you at 70kg ....

Lumen

I have a 10kg bike and two 7kg bikes. I mostly prefer riding the 7kg bikes.

Untangling the correlations between weight, component function and geometry is difficult, because you generally won't find Di2 and Paris Roubaix-spec tubulars on a 12kg touring bike (hmmm, I wonder...).

What is generally true is that faster bikes are more uncomfortable.

If you're happy with what you have then just be happy with what you have, and don't worry about validating the choice against those of others.

In any case, the most important thing is that your bike is beautiful. Is it?

Idleater

Lumen wrote: »

Untangling the correlations between weight

There is one correlation (heard this before, so had to google it hence the non euro measurements):
All bikes weigh 50 lb. For example a 25 lb bike would need a 25 lb lock, a 20 lb bike would need a 30 lb lock and a 50 lb bike would not need a lock.

bikenut

Lumen wrote: »

generally won't find Di2 and Paris Roubaix-spec tubulars on a 12kg touring bike (hmmm, I wonder...).

Generally indeed..
Who was that I saw this morning on Leeson St adjacent Appian Way on the cerise aluminium Lapierre with Cosmic Carbone wheels? They were purring!

kennyb3

I'd say the stiffer/better components make a big difference. I had bog standard wheels on my defy 4 and upgraded to kysrium elite and the difference was unreal esp climbing. They definitely roll faster on the flat too.

Its not just about weight

Lemag

The most important components to lose weight/increase stiffness are the cranks and the wheels. At the end of the day it comes down to how fast one spins their wheels and what grip they have with the road so gear ratio and tyres are important factors also.