Is the weight of a bike really important?

IrishAlice

Hi Guys,

I'm wondering if anyone can advise me on this one.

I've decided to buy a bike on the bike to work scheme and have fallen in love with the Dawes Duchess.

Went to see them last night with my OH who is a major cycling enthusiast and he thinks that they're too heavy a bike to be pushing around the place.

I only need it for cycling to the train for work everyday and going to the shops at the weekends so it's not going to be anything too hectic!

The duchess weighs 16kg, is this too much for the kind of cycling that I'll be doing?

check_six

If you like the bike, go for it. It'll probably make you cycle more if you like the bike. However, if you have some hills to climb you may find a bike with some more gears a help. Where are you based, and what is your route like? Dublin is pretty flat for the most part with only a few slopes here and there, Cork, meanwhile, has big mad hills in the middle of town. If you are in Dublin, try out the Dublin Bikes, they are probably a good weight match for the Dawes, but, I'd guess, a bit less comfortable. If you are just rolling around the weight won't be a problem.

Also, get yourself a very very good lock (€100+ Kryptonite, or Abus) if you are leaving your bike beside a train station all day. Whatever you do, do not skimp on your lock.

Hatcho

I bought my OH a Trek Californian Cruiser for her birthday a few years back. It's a heavy bike with pink wheels, big wide whitewall tyres and swept back handlebars - built literally to cruise the boardwalks with a basket up front. It's fine for fairly flat cycling and also has a really low bottom gear for help on the hills. But it is easily heavier than my MTB. That said she managed to get around the Atlantic Drive on Achill Island and that has its fair share of hills.

Herself has gotten the taste for doing a bit more mileage recently and she picked up a lovely 2nd hand Cube hybrid which goes like a rocket and weighs a fraction of the Trek. That said, she'd never part with the Trek and she chose it over the Cube when cycling around the national park in Killarney recently.

So if your route isnt too strenuous and you don't plan on taking on longer, more difficult cycles in the future, then the Dawes should be okay...

IrishAlice

Thanks for all the info, it's a big help!

I'm based in Maynooth so I wouldn't be dealing with too many hills or anything too strenuous.

I was thinking the same about being more likely to cycle if I like the bike. I currently have my brothers old mountain bike and never cycle it because I can't stand the thing.

Leaving it at the train station all day is a bit of a concern alright as I think the duchess is the type of bike that would probably draw a bit of attention. They have bike lockers at the train station so might check out how much they cost to rent.

mp31

AFAIK, you have to lift the bike into a vertical position to place into the locker.. not ideal for a 16kg bike ... especially when it's raining and the wheels/tyres are wet.
You could leave it chained to the railings.. I've seen a few decent looking bikes there with strong locks so that may be an option.

Alternatively a nice looking 2nd hand yoke may be a better option if all you are doing is pottering around Maynooth... then use the BTW scheme for when you get hooked and start commuting into Dublin.

feck sake lads

well you've got to ask were all the weight come from.usually crap groupset and wheels whice doesn't make for good enjoyable cycling over time.
why not look for used bikes you could be lucky and pick up a gem.

Lumen

16kg isn't too bad, but you won't get that feeling of flying along that you will on a lighter, more responsive bike.

At some point in the range from carbon fibre racer->Pashley Princess a person is likely to find the sweet-spot in terms of lightweight speedy fun vs heavy bulletproof practicality.

There's a reason most people choose a lightweight hybrid for medium daily distances (5-10km). They're no less practical than a traditional bike* but feel much more responsive to ride which makes a difference in heavy traffic.

* traditional bike = fully enclosed drivetrain, heavy steel tubing, hub gears and brakes.

studiorat

That's a nice looking bike. Provided you don't plan on getting into sports or fitness cycling it would be perfect. If you fancied a spin into Dublin City or out along the canal for an afternoon it might be a bit uncomfortable after a while.

Thing is, it'll be 4 years before you can buy another on the BTW. If you do decide to take some longer cycles you'll wish you had something a bit more sporty.

Did you look at any touring bikes for example?

IrishAlice

I was looking at second hand bikes on the likes of Done Deal etc but there didn't seem to be many cheap ones that match what I'm looking for.

I did see a really nice Raleigh bike with a basket etc but at an asking price of €380 it was a bit out of my price range and I figured I'd be better off to just do the bike to work scheme if I'm spending that much.

I might take a look in Staggs in Lucan as I've heard they sell secondhand bikes.

Can't say I know what touring bikes are, any examples I could take a look at?

studiorat

Basically something that's set up to carry lots of stuff and is still relatively light with a more sporty riding position than the upright. Some have drop bars some don't.

Really fancy would be something like this >

A Dawes Galaxy cross, just shy of €700.

Edit > Actually I organized one of one of these for my brothers gf last year. >



Cost about €200 including shipping to the house. Great bike, very little to go wrong on it and not exactly desirable for thieves either.
http://www.winstanleysbikes.co.uk/product/42542/Probike_Retro_SingleSpeed_2013_Womens_Bike

BadCharlie

@Studiorat : Did the Probike retro single speed come with the mudguards & rear carrier ?

piston

It's not too heavy at all. Just make sure the supplied gearing is quite low to make hills easy.

bambergbike

If you forget about the weight and just look at the riding position, you'll find it very hard to get anyhere on the Duchess against a headwind or a crosswind. You'll be sitting bolt upright getting blown all over the place. To increase the effect, wear a cape and you'll fly along like in the wrong direction like a tall ship under full sail.

My own bike is very heavy, but the weight isn't really a problem, I have enough gears to keep the wheels turning and I'm not all that worried about how fast they turn.

studiorat

BadCharlie wrote: »

@Studiorat : Did the Probike retro single speed come with the mudguards & rear carrier ?

Yup. Came just like the picture. She put a basket on it for €40 or something.
Mrs Marple.

dub_skav

You need to be sure what you want the bike for.
If you want it for short trips and popping into town, then that bike is probably fine.

I have a carbon road bike and I use a dutch bike for commuting, I like the upright seating position and cycling just seems more fun on the dutch bike than a lot of bikes I've had before.
I accept it is heavy, has limited gearing and has an upright seating position. But, as I am in no major rush and traffic lights have a lot more impact on my average speed than my bike, then I am happy.

Somebody else suggested trying out a Dublin bike, I agree, they are heavy, upright, 3 speed and great fun to cycle. I love the Dublin Bikes, something very liberating about cycling such an uncomplicated bike

IrishAlice

The winstanley is a really nice looking bike and reasonably priced too which is always good.

Another that I was looking at was the Pendleton

http://www.halfords.ie/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_storeId_11101_catalogId_15551_productId_922425_langId_-1_categoryId_212377

Does anyone know much about these? I read a thread earlier about Halfords which makes me a bit worried about going to them but haven't found any other suppliers.

studiorat

One has gears the other doesn't. Apart from the colour they could be the same bike. Wouldn't be surprised if they came from the same factory.

There's the probike one with the gears :

Not as nice looking as the single speed IMO, but I couldn't tell the difference between that and the Halfords one.

Halfords are good value, go during the week when most of the staff are in school.

check_six

studiorat wrote: »

Halfords are good value, go during the week when most of the staff are in school.

Yeah, Halfords are worth checking out, but, as studiorat says, you need to speak to the grown-up in the shop. They'll have maybe only one guy that knows their stuff, and the rest, let's just say, are not quite as well trained as you might hope. (Especially since they could be the ones bolting your bike together!).

bambergbike

An upright riding position can be nice. You don't have to look up to keep your eyes on the road. It's a nice, relaxed way to get from A to B. BUT it puts an awful lot of your weight on the saddle. Leaning even slightly forward from a fully upright position lets your hands and arms take a bit more of the strain and you won't get as saddle sore anything like as easily if you do go out for the odd longer leisure spin (something like 25 km out the road or along a canal, lunch in a country pub, and then back on the saddle (ouch! ouch! ouch!) for the same distance home again.)