Are Light Mountain Bikes Best?

A light bike feels amazing! Everyone likes the feeling of cycling faster and easy acceleration, especially when riding technical climbs. But with many mountain bikes weighing a little more to increase durability, are light mountain bikes best? Rich Payne explains where you can, and shouldn't look to lose weight.

⏱ Timestamps ⏱
00:00 - Intro
00: - Weight Categories
02:02 - Practicality
04:56 - Ride Quality
05:35 - Is All Weight Equal?

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Do you want a lighter bike? Do you know the weight of your bike or where you think you could save weight without sacrificing durability?

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[gmbn]

Do you want a lighter bike? Do you know the weight of your bike or where you think you could save weight without sacrificing durability? Let us know👇

[mishaknyazev]

As the guy who lives in an apartment on fifth floor with no elevator in building I can say that weight really matters, especially after full day on a bike

[ecopennylife]

I upgraded my Polygon Syncline C5 carbon hardtail to tubeless Bontrager XR2 lightweight XC tyres, dropped weight from over 13kg down to 11.8kg with empty bottles, tool bag & mudguards - made an improvement for a total cost of about $2500 AUD, very happy with price point & performance, not everyone can spend 15K pounds on a bike 😜

[ellmusec]

When I'm 5kg overweight I'm not going to worry about saving 2kg with lighter parts on my bike. I'm just going to go on a diet... when the xmas choccies run out.

[cryogenii]

I had my moment of enlightenment (no pun intended) about 5 years ago. I'm a '90s weight weenie, and had always obsessed over the mass of my bike. But before an event in Wales I stuffed by back wheel and had to borrow a mate's for the ride. Added about 350 g to my ride... and I didn't notice at all. So got my new wheel set and figured I had about 325 g free to add to the bike. Went from 2.1/2.0 inch wide rubber (f/r) to 2.35 both ends and upgraded my fork with a better, heavier damper. Heavier bike, but I'm going faster with less upper body fatigue. First ride on it round my usually trail centre was the first time ever I made a lap with nobody overtaking me, and that's been the story ever since. Now looking at a heavier bike (YT Izzo Uncaged 11) that promised to be a lot more capable... Plan to put the equivalent mass of water ottoes on my rig and see how it feels on the climbs.

[Rzagski]

It really depends on the riding you do. Easiest thing to do is drop body weight. That being said a high quality carbon or aluminum that’s stiff helps deliver immediate power to the wheels. My XC full sus. Is 23 lb and my comfy all mtn daily rider is 26-27lb. They ride difficult the all mtn is great for fun trail riding.

[jannep]

I have only older 26" mountain bikes from the years around 2002-2013 and I have modified them a lot with lighter parts. My lightest full suspension bike is Scott Spark 10 and it weighs 8, 23 kg including spd lock pedals. I always give my bikes weights including the pedals. It has still 2.2" Continental Race King tyres (535 grams each). Brakes are Centerlock 180 mm front disc and 160 mm rear disc Formula R1R. It has carbon wheels (DT Swiss XRC 300), carbon fork (DT Swiss XRC 100), carbon cranks (Race Face Next SL G5), carbon handlebar (RF low riser 720 mm), carbon saddle (Saevid Alien short 69 grams) etc. Stem is Extralite Hyperstem and it´s aluminium because it´s even lighter and stronger than carbon ones that weigh as little (64 grams only) for a 70 mm lenght stem.

Trek 8500 hard tail weighs 9, 75 kg and GT Zaskar Elite hard tail weighs just under 10 kg 9, 99 kg. Not "full effort" weight reduction here as otherwise weight should start with 8 kg at least.

Giant Trance full suspension weighs 10, 5 kg. Gary Fisher Sugar 2+ full suspension weighs 11, 0 kg. Could be lighter but great weight reduction already vs. the starting point and not expensive to build like this.

Kona Process full suspension trail bike (year 2013 with stock 160 mm RS Lyric coil fork and stock 150 mm rear shock) weighs 11, 8 kg with Continental Mountain King 2.3" tyres (600 grams each). This bikes weight was originally over 15 kg...

My heaviest weight mtb from all the seven I own is "Ford" branded full suspension bike. It weighs just under 13 kg at the moment. 12, 95 kg.

Total weight of all seven of my 26" mtb`s (five full suspension and two hard tails) is 74, 22 kg so this divided by seven gives the average weight of 10, 6 kg.

[TheArrowFist]

I would say that weight should only matter at the highest level of competition. If you’re a weekend warrior you probably shouldn’t worry about it unless you have the money.

[Carlifurafollas]

My Orbea Alma currently weighs 8.8 Kg and feels amazing! When I switch to my 15.5 Kg Rallon, ascending gets at least interesting. Is almost double the effort depending on the pace you cycle at.

[cteiss]

Thank you. Great explanatiion. Greetings from Mexico

[torist]

Yes, a weight weenie enduro build with a shoot out between you and Blake comparing it to a standard one would be interesting especially if you could do a whole day adventure where the weight difference should show

[hyperbunny]

After my sub 9 kg BMC Twostroke 01 three build broke under compression in a left turn (right seat stay folded) last autumn, I needed a new bike fast. Found an Intense sniper XC Expert (11, 9 kg large) on offer. After some discount opgrades (mostly from the BMC) replacing: fork (SID raceday), crank (X01 CF), wheels (Roval Terra), tires (Racing Ralph/Ray Super Race), handlebar (Black Ink one piece), grips (Wolftooth), drivetrain (XX1 chain / cassette, GX AXS derailleur), breakpads (XT metal, fins), Rotors (galfer) and Saddle (SLR Superflow EVO LTD), it weights in at about 10, 5 kg (marathon setup with 2 bottle cages, light mount, garmin mount and pedals. I love the journey of finding parts 😊. One thing I never see in weight videos are other system parts where weight can be saved (ignoring body weight), such as pedals (time XC 12, including cleats 292 g), disk Rotors (Galfer, 102 and 101 g respectively), shoes (I use gravel shoes, not only for lighter weight, but more stiffness (shimano RX8, 180g lighter than Recon 2).

[GGori_]

For enduro people like us.. durability matters over weight.. but still a little bit of a sneeze out of weight is nice..

[droneracer]

A lighter bike should decelerate quicker. Change direaction faster and acelerate faster . That's three opportunities at every bend.

[Music-ppyz]

The things that should matter for the average weekend warrior are: tires that have the right tire pressure and grip with the least rolling resistance, clean and well oiled drivetrain, bottom bracket and hub bearings that are stainless steel, good quality and spin freely and tubeless tires. Things that stop drag are much more important than weight.

[Austen-zf]

I use to ride on all my local trails as a kid with my dog but I did it on basic mountain bikes you buy at a store like Walmart if you're in the u.s. they're not exactly bad quality bikes but they're definitely heavier than 40lbs and well I'd like something lighter just for the ease of getting around. Few years ago an old friend of mine bought a mountain bike said he spent like 700 bucks on it and it was literally the lightest pedaling contraption ive ever held. I didn't even know they made bikes that light. I felt so powerful and agile on it I never wanted to get off. I guess what im trying to say is its like trying to slide a dually f350 around a dry parking lot as opposed to sliding a lil 90s Nissan 240 with the diff welded around in the rain. It's just night n day difference when it comes to how much fun you can have

[ShadLife]

I think that once a bike gets over 30 lbs it starts to get into the too heavy category. This is one reason I personally don't like eBikes. Sure, they get you up the hill easier, but they are a lot of work on the upper body trying to toss them around on the way down. Jumping an eBike literally overworks my arms and shoulders compared to a 30 lb trail bike.

Although, you stated this in the video, it really depends on what you are going to be doing with the bike. So the real thing here is picking the right category of bike for what you are going to do.

I mainly ride a trail full suspension bike or one of my hardtails. My full suspension bike is a Carbon Salsa Rustler and weighs about 30 lbs with the upgrades I have done. For most of the riding I do that bike is perfect and I don't need an Enduro bike with heavy casing tires and so on.

I think most riders are overbiked and ride a heavy enduro bike when a trail bike, down country, or hardtail will do them just fine. Enduro bikes got super trendy and everyone started buying them and riding around on 34 plus pound 150mm plus travel bikes when they don't need them. Sure, some people do, but most riders don't ever push an enduro bike to its limits.

Weight does matter and I feel like bikes keep getting heavier and heavier. My goal with a bike is to keep it around 30 lbs or less. I shave most of the weight with the wheels and tires I choose.

[peterbarratt]

Light bikes don't put your back out when you try to load them into vehicles

[fourocker]

Light = harsh, getting bucked and flung about it's not for me, I'm perfectly happy with my 13.95kg trail hardtail with 29x2.6 tyres, the big tyres are a Godsend on a hardtail ❤

[superherofan.]

I love that canyon's paint scheme it gives a kind of Portal vibe