38 pounds is not unheard of for a cruiser or an old/cheap MTB. I do realize that no proper road bike ever weighed 38 pounds.

anyway, there's also at least 3 curves for diminishing returns on capital deployed:
- new complete bike or new component at msrp
- best sale/ebay/whatever price on new bike or component
- used

the OP was comparing new complete bikes weighed on a scale to his optimized combination of sale and used parts. and the reason I disbelieve his claimed weights are this: he knows his claimed component weights (good sign that he has tracked and added them for a composite total), others with similar builds such as gsteinb have heavier bikes, and he hasn't posted a picture of the scale.

I wouldn't need a picture for proof if he had a solid reputation here or if others were agreeing that his weight claims were reasonable.


I think we've beat this dead horse way more than enough.