Singlespeed & Fixed Gear - Are track parts mostly heavy?

I don't really worry about it (I store enough beer in my gut to negate any bicycle weight savings I'll ever see), but I was surprised when I weighed my new singlespeed.

It has reasonably nice parts, kind of the basic nice but not crazy flashy setup.

I was expecting it to come out to something around 20 pounds built up. It was just a touch under 24 lbs before I tossed on my rack. Is that normal, or is my bike outside the norm for singlespeeds?

The frame is roughly a 63 (custom, so that's just from measuring it haphazardly myself)

Are track parts mostly heavy?


Not really. Depends on what you got.

I'm assuming the bike is steel, so depending on your parts it could easily be 24 lbs. With an aluminum bike you might want to worry a little.

I'm assuming the bike is steel, so depending on your parts it could easily be 24 lbs. With an aluminum bike you might want to worry a little.

It's a 63ish cm (center to center) lugged steel frame.

It's a 63ish cm (center to center) lugged steel frame.

yeah, you could easily be up at 24 lbs. I saw some fixies in bicycling magazine lately that were pushing 19lbs for aluminum and 22 lbs for steel at smaller sizes (like 56 I think), so if your bike is pretty big, this is not abnormal. I would try not to think about it since in the end a few pounds wont make a difference if you're not at your ideal weight yourself.

63 is BIG, but 24lbs still sounds high. can't do much about the frame...wheels/tires are 2nd on the list.

my 52cm steel fixed-gear is right at 16lbs, without crazy ultralight measures. that 8lb difference isn't all in the frame size...

At 63cm that's nothing to be surprised about, especially if you have a sturdy (heavy) wheelset on there. I weighed 22 pounds for mine, and it's a shade on the small side for me. I won't be surprised if I top 23-25 pounds with my next build up (on a 62cm Rob Roy.)

Track stuff is heavy compared to road stuff.
Hipster stuff is even worse.

24lbs is more than my crosscheck. How accurate is that weight.

63 is BIG, but 24lbs still sounds high. can't do much about the frame...wheels/tires are 2nd on the list.

my 52cm steel fixed-gear is right at 16lbs, without crazy ultralight measures. that 8lb difference isn't all in the frame size...

dookie, what is the make of your steel frame and what kind of components are on your bike, that it weighs in at a light 16 lbs.?

Thanks.

It depends on what part and what era it came from. High flange track hubs are notoriously heavy compared to most modern road hubs. Same with steel track bars / steel stems. But these days, modern aluminum/carbon track frames are pretty damn light. Old school tubular wheelsets tend to be super light. New school wheelsets may or may not be heavier: Mavic Ellipses are pigs compared to road stuff at 2000g, but American Classic 420's are more like 1500g. Disc wheels aren't light but weight is not the concern there. Cranks, don't think they differ much from Al road counterparts...

It's been repeated ad nauseum, but on the track, weight is not the top concern. Stiffness, and depending on the event, aerodynamics, are more important.

Apart from your frame, look at the wheels. Deep V's, straight gauge spokes and HF hubs will weigh down an otherwise decently light setup.

53 iro angus with an anchorspoke and a dp18 (another anchor) as the wheelset comes in at a cool 18.5

(I store enough beer in my gut to negate any bicycle weight savings I'll ever see)

+1

As I'd said, I wasn't so much worried as confused.

I'm running Fusions for durability, deep vs seemed overkill and I don't like the look. The spokes are doublebutted, but there are 36 of them, laced to Paul hubs.

I think I figured out why I was coming up so confused about weight though, it was just something dumb. I was figuring weight without counting pedals or giant stainless steel gilles berthoud fenders. That right there should be the 3 pound difference I was missing.

What weighs so much? I am riding a lugged old steel (Tange) conversion running a brake and a super-deep Vento and it comes in at 17... and I couldn't make it heavier if I tried. If I threw on my tubulars, it is probably a 16.5er.


I'm assuming the bike is steel, so depending on your parts it could easily be 24 lbs. With an aluminum bike you might want to worry a little.

^What method did you use to weigh?

bathroom scale method puts my 531 tarck bike at 19lbs. its 59cm c-c with aluminum nitto junk on it. no carbon anywhere, guarantee my 531 fork weighs 3-4 pounds (im pretty sure when you strip any bike down to the frameset, outside of the worst alloys ever, the fork always outweighs the rest of the frame by a long shot). have never had it properly weighed, but a friend just today told me i can bring my bikes to his workplace that has a big floor scale for shipping/filling drums with chemicals, and its very accurate. we shall see. and no, i dont put any stock in the bathroom scale method. just felt like sharing.

15lbs, aluminum.

The frame is roughly a 63

you've found your culprit.

dookie, what is the make of your steel frame and what kind of components are on your bike, that it weighs in at a light 16 lbs.?

Thanks.

major parts: jamis sputnik frame (631), wound-up fork, cane creek volos wheels (cc hubs w/aerohead rims, 24/28), centaur road double w/miche ring & 1/8" drivetrain...also brakes (2 x tektro levers, 1 x campy caliper).