Originally Posted by
Smaug1
I'm already going to blow my budget to get a 23 lb. bike. Doing down another 3-6 lbs. will add $1,000 to the cost. Besides, I'm 30 lbs. overweight. Why would I count 6 lbs. on the bike until I've dropped that 30? ;-)
Don't blow your budget on a bike. And don't buy a used bike or any bike that strains your budget so much that it has to be your "forever" bike. Those to me are figments of imagination. Certainly as you age and get better or worse at cycling, your needs will change. Maybe even your desire to do other genres of cycling instead of just road biking.
But don't ignore weight for those bikes that are within your budget. The total riding weight you lose from getting a lighter bike is immediate.
If two or more bikes in your selection have about a 3 pound difference from each, then go for the better components and looks. When the bikes in your selection start to get more than 5 lbs in difference, then consider the lighter of them. At least that's generally how I use weight for comparing them.