Originally Posted by
barturtle
Ah, the joke here is that I ride a steel framed hybrid, that is set up as a commuter:fenders, lights, luggage, tools, rain gear, etc. All up, as ridden for club rides, with two full bottles, it's about 42lbs. For centuries, with additional food, spare folding tire, a couple more bottles (on a behind the seat mount), clothing as needed, it's pushing 50lbs.
Until the rider losses a good bit of the extra poundage that he carries around, I'm not too worried about the little bit extra the bike weighs. Once the rider meets some of his weight loss goals, a lighter, speedier bike will be the reward (current plans point to a cyclocross bike, set up as a LD ride)...then watch out! I'll be flyin'!
The way I see it: a biker that can carry all that weight on a century is all that much better for it. It's like running with ankle weights. Of course, it is always fun to go faster - can't argue with that. Yeah, if you get a lighter bike, you will break the sound barrier as you literally fly off.