Why We Should STOP Our Obsession With Bike Weight

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0:00 - Intro
0:52 - Putting Weight Into Context
1:58 - Calculating The Time Penalty of 1kg Extra
3:03 - My Weight Testing on a Hilly Route
3:43 - My Weight Testing vs Mathematical Model
4:20 - My Weight Testing on a Flat Route
4:48 - Five Situations When Weight Actually Matters
6:22 - The Types of Resistance More Important Than Weight
7:56 - Summary

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[Cyclingabout]

Soooo.. are you now going to be thinking about bike weight in minutes per 100km, like me? 😂⚡️🤘🏼

[ErikDouds]

Biked across America on the Trans Am, the bike shop before leaving said, "You'll never make it with flats." I often feel the bike industry has forgotten that to move forward all you need to do is keep pedaling. Old Tour De France photos is always my motivation to care less about gear.

[gregknipe]

all of my information has come from racing, and I am not nor have ever been a racer. I tour. you do a great series of productions on relevant and useful points. thank you. great service.

[monev]

I went shopping for camping stuff. I told the sales person it was going to get used while bike packing, and he starting listing them all by weight. I was like, "sure sure, but which one takes less VOLUME?" I think that's a more limiting factor on what you can take with you on a bike assuming you don't get new bags.

[paulverweij]

cheaper way is after 1 week of bikepacking I lost :D making the last 3 weeks a bit easyer

[theantichrome]

Having a really light bike is one of lifes nicest pleasures. Just loading it on/off the bike rack, carrying it up/down steps, seeing friends lift it to feel the weight, not to mention riding it... a light bike is always a joy.

[coreymihailiuk]

I am a professional wheel builder who has been building since 1973. The weight of the individual components in a wheel are my very last concern. There are so many more important things to consider than the finished weight of a pair of wheels. My clients often obsess about weight and it's madness.

[timcoleman]

As long as I’m pedaling down the road or trail I’m happy. I don’t understand people’s obsession over speed unless that’s your career. I get a great work out on my heavy bikes and lots of smiles.

[Merlmabase]

I take your point. I just watched a GCN video where they did a blind comparison between 10s dura-ace and 105 groups, both mechanical, on a trainer. The presenters were at a loss to tell the difference based on shifting performance. In a video sponsored by Shimano. Oops! They went to great pains to highlight the marginal weight differences, and just how *sexy* those dura-ace components look.

On the inverse, though, I think weight should at least be something to keep in mind especially when loading up a traditional touring bike, because things can get out of control quickly otherwise. At that point overpacking can start to affect handling, and I find it begins to affect your enjoyment of a longer trip. Hikers face the same challenge, and it's as much about reducing weight as it is just learning to say no to things you don't truly need. That kind of windom applies to all things in life.

Bikepacking is less of an issue since you're so contrained on volume, but if you're crossing technical terrain, a bit less weight can make things a lot more fun.

So sad I can't use my heavy bike as an excuse for being slow anymore.

[soundbites]

I can confirm with my own real world experience how much more important reducing rolling resistance is vs anything else.

[bikepackingadventure]

Sitting here waiting for ‘Rides of Japan’ to enter the discussion

🤔😏😏

[MrFowl]

I rode for 7 years in Florida and learned real quick that weight didn't make a difference unless you were doing hills. And even then, being just a tiny bit more in shape was way more effective than reducing a few kg's.

[quijadriss]

I've been trying to convince my doctor that weight isn't all that important for years now. Hasn't gotten me anywhere. But maybe that's why I had to buy a touring bike just to hold up to my my fat ass.

[TACTOR]

My experience was that the handling part mattered the most. It's just incredible how good the gravelbike still handled with bags directly mounted to the frame with the center of mass below the handlebar.

[shenava]

I really noticed how little the weight made when I put a child seat on the back of the bike and was riding around with my young son on the back. Maybe added 17kg all in but it only felt slightly harder when accelerating and barely noticed at all once up to speed. So glad I am subscribed to this channel, always put out really informative and relevant content 👏

[yashchirka]

Yep, this weight thing is ridiculous for us weekend amateurs.

[mtbjoser]

I've got a lot of weight to lose on my body before I even begin thinking about this issue lol

[nirajshr]

Appreciate your analysis here regarding how little weight matters while touring. One additional analysis to note here is the inertial component to get the bike up to a speed. Especially during touring when you might be stopping a fair number of times. I read an article that hinted that this inertial component could account for as much as half of the total energy spent during touring.
Would love to see that added to your analysis.

[jcsrst]

Unless you're racing at world tour level or have a lot of money to spend, it's not really worth worrying about. A better way to gain speed would be to lose weight on your person. If you get super excited about trying to shave every gram off your bike, well have at it 😄 To each his/her own. There's no right or wrong way to approach cycling. Personally I like to train with a heavier bike.