Originally Posted by
fogrider
I have 3 road bikes and a cross bike. the cross bike weighs in around 21 pounds. steel bike = 19 pounds, ti bike = 18 pounds, scandium bike = 16 pounds. for short rides, don't notice much difference. for hilly rides, I notice a big difference. with my 16 pound bike I can ride away from others that I ride with...on a 500 foot climb, I can open up a 1/2 mile gap to my buddies. on my ti bike, the gap was maybe 1/4 mile. on the steel bike my buddy rides away from me...so yes there is a difference. I like to ride a heavier bike on short training rides, when I get on my 16 pound bike, it feels like I've got a motor on the bike.
There's kinetic (mass, velocity) and potential energy (mass, g-force, height displacement). When the bike is traveling on flat ground, there is no change in elevation, so height displacement is zero (no potential energy). It's all kinetic energy.
During a steep climp, a good portion of the output energy will show up as potential energy due to a rapid increase in height displacement. The amount of potential energy gained during the climb is directly proportional to the mass (bike and rider) and the height of the climb.