Road Cycling - component weight

I have been reading alot about component weight and out of curiosity, weighed some pennies just to get a feel for certain weights. 38 pennies weigh 101 grams (by my digital kitchen scales) and I have noticed comments made about the difference between components that are only 100-300 grams lighter/heavier and was wondering if that made a big difference?

I guess I could ride with 38/76/114 pennies taped together to see if this made a difference but I'm not sure if this would be the right way to test it.

Has anybody tried different components with such a small weight increase/decrease and nitoced a big difference?

:beer:

Originally posted by astonv0l
I have been reading alot about component weight and out of curiosity, weighed some pennies just to get a feel for certain weights. 38 pennies weigh 101 grams (by my digital kitchen scales) and I have noticed comments made about the difference between components that are only 100-300 grams lighter/heavier and was wondering if that made a big difference?

I guess I could ride with 38/76/114 pennies taped together to see if this made a difference but I'm not sure if this would be the right way to test it.

Has anybody tried different components with such a small weight increase/decrease and nitoced a big difference?

:beer:

Truth be told, subtracting a few grams here and there, even off rotational weight, will not make much of a difference.

It's not really about what each component weights. It's about what they all add up to. Any weight saved, makes you faster, especially climbing. There was a great article on climbing in the September issue of Bicycling. It showed comparisons on climbing at the same tempo, but at different weights. A 160lb rider would finish 30 seconds ahead of a 165lb rider after only 5km of climbing. The 160lb rider would finish 60 seconds ahead of a 170lb rider, and so on. People become fanatical about saving weight. For me, it's no big deal, but Im not racing either. If I was racing,,,,,, Id want to be as light as possible.

It's cheaper and healthier to lose weight. Body weight that is. Riders will spend $350 on an ultralight seat post so that they can save 2 ounces but on their way home stop at McDonalds for a supersize meal and top it off with a round of beers at the local pub.

I've seen it many times.

Im simply too cheap to spend the money on the lighter stuff. I love all the carbon fiber equipment that is out there, but Id never pay extra for it.

Save your pennies........instead, use stacks of $20 bills to experiment. It'll cost you several bucks for reduction of every single gram saved. I know.....I used to be a total weight freak. I'd go out and spend $300 in aftermarket titanium/carbon gizmos just to save a lousy 100 grams.... I wised up and took 10 pounds, that's 4,540 grams, off my gut and became the king of the mountain for a short while....

I'd only worry about that 100g difference once you've gotten your body to its peak lean-ness. I weighed 220lbs when I started putting together my old Schwinn LeTour. I almost fell for the whole "Lighter is Better" deal while upgrading this old bike. Then I sat down and did the math like George did. So I bought all my upgraded components on sale, finished my bike, and have so far lost 5 lbs that seem to be staying off. So what if my Schwinn from 1986 weighs 27lbs? It has a Shimano 105/Ultegra component mix on it and so far has only cost me $225. (I bought the bike at a thrift store for $25)

Now if I were someone like Lance Armstrong, who's already in top physical condition, and racing on a regular basis, I may hem and haw over a measly 100g on my ride. But as far as I know, that's about 50lbs away. So don't expect to see me buying carbon fiber handlebar plugs in the near future. :D

Weigh your last poop...anything that weighs less...ain't worth $h!t!!!!

Originally posted by George
I wised up and took 10 pounds, that's 4,540 grams, off my gut and became the king of the mountain for a short while....

And it cost you absolutley nothing.

Thanks for all your replys (good sense of humor here) I think my first and main upgrade will be the wheels, and not just for the weight, but quality

Yeah,,, but are you going to weight your poop? lol :D

Make that a 101g loss in rotating weight and you may notice a difference. Tape 38 pennies to your rim... I guarantee you'll feel the difference. Now 101g of non-rotating weight... it's all in your head. Put your cash into the wheels where you'll get some value for the weight loss.

A good sized pee will save me 500g but I've never noticed a performance difference :D

Another way to look at it... I ride with a MP3 player in my pocket that weighs about 200g. I don't ride faster over my usual loop without the player and I've got 6 months of data from that loop.

Why not fill your new tires with Helium? That should offset some of the weight! :rolleyes:

I'd recommend hydrogen, but...well....you know. :D

Hey, they are called ballon tires, aren't they?

OK, it's obviously late. I need to get some sleep.

Ha! how do I find out the rotation weight of wheels and what is an acceptable weght ?

Originally posted by KennethToronto
Truth be told, subtracting a few grams here and there, even off rotational weight, will not make much of a difference.
Yes it does.You dont think having a half pound weight around each ankle for a 20 mile ride at a cadence of 90 will not make a difference.20 miles at 80 minutes at a cadence of 90.That is around 7200 pedals.I'll take that pound off thanks.Thats rotational weight.Makes cents{LOL**to me.What,something like 450 grams is a pound.You could lose close to that with tires,shoes and pedals.