Originally Posted by
bikerjp
Wow! 21lbs? I think the one I rode was like 40lbs but that's a guess so maybe it wasn't that heavy, but it was still heavy. Most of the ones I looked at were steel and expensive ($3,000 range). Is yours alloy or just quality steel?
Mine are both AL. The highracer is made from a single piece of tubing and the CF seat which is held up by Ti rods is crazy light.
I've ridden lighter ones, including a couple of Carbents which are about 17 lbs on Zipp 404 tubulars. But these things cost way more than $3K. Even my highracer lists for about $4K with the equipment I run, and I cut some corners. It could be dropped under 20 lbs if I were willing to drop a bit more coin.
Most 'bents are built for people who like wacked out gear or who are focused on comfort. But there are machines out there that deliver some performance. On shorter hills, I can leg press with my back against the CF seat which gives plenty of power. On longer grinds, it's less fun because you can't rotate muscle sets so easily.