Trent Lowe was a world class XC racer from Australia. Of course, he left MTB racing for road racing, and spent a lot of time racing with Lance. Enough trivia though, must get back on topic.

Light weight and reliability do not have to be mutually exclusive. Case in point: The tandem pictured below weighs less than 40lbs, yet is in every way more reliable than just about any bike any of you own. That's not a boast or a challenge, just a statement of fact. Everything on there is tandem-rated for 400+lbs. And even with the DH fork, 203mm brakes, Shimano 636 pedals in back, a cro-mo stoker stem (to be replaced soon) and that ugly rack (it's gone now) it still comes in around 38lbs.

There is nothing wrong with the careful application of lightweight components. If I was racing, I would want my bike as light as possible. If you've ever had to hoist your bike to your shoulder to climb an unrideable section of trail, you'd appreciate light weight too. I won't even get into the car/bike debate, as that's just silly. And yes, I have a scale that measures in grams too. Sometimes I even use it for bike parts.