What's "too heavy" for a commuter bike?
 

I've always thought weight doesn't matter much for a commuting bike. It should be strong, comfortable, and not scream out to be stolen, but that's where it seemed to end. Most bike commuters seem to feel this way.

Mine is 29 lbs with lights and pedals. I went and added a rack, fenders, and panniers; the bags are useless when they're empty, so I keep a scarf, an extra pair of gloves, and a wool sweater in them, plus random other stuff, a pair of tubes, and bike tools. It's got to be about 50 pounds now. I feel like Yehuda Moon. Sometimes I stand over the pedals just to accelerate on flat ground. :o But I think of it as weight training for the legs. :thumb:

So what's the heaviest you think is reasonable, for a bike plus all your gear, for commuting?

I don't know about reasonable, but, my rig carrying my daily carry gear weighs about 112 pounds.

A lot depends on how long your commute is. If you have a 2 mile commute, weight won't be much of an issue. If your commute is 20 miles with hills, you'll probably be more concerned about weight. I also carry stuff in my panniers "just in case" (my jacket, headband and cold-weather gloves spent all of last winter in my right pannier - actually, they're still there) but I've only got a 10 mile R/T commute. I'd probably move to a trunk bag if I was doing serious distance just so I'd have to keep my load light.

My trike that I'm commuting on right now is actually the lightest bike I've ever owned at 34 lbs. My winter hybrid bike weighs 38 lbs. The backpack that I commute with on the rear rack weighs between 15-20 lbs.

You'll never move up to Cat 5 status if your commuter bike weighs over 17 pounds.

weight is about selling bikes , after you got one, other than bragging rights, you just ride it

I dont own a bike scale or one in the bathroom.

Reasonable? Any weight that can be pedaled uphill or carried upstairs is reasonable. If I have to dismount and push the bike (barring deep snow, which is just an unreasonable riding surface), then the weight/gearing is unreasonable. If I can't carry the bike up the stairs to my second story apartment, then the weight is unreasonable. And I imagine that this varies from person to person.

My current ride, with the bare minimum of gear (that which never leaves the bike: fenders, racks, lock and chain, lights, pump, spare tubes and patch kit) weighs in at 48 lbs. It's especially heavy at the moment on account of my winter tires. On top of this I add panniers with 20 lbs of textbooks, homework, and spare clothing. I regularly stop and pick up a 12 pack of bottled beer on the way home from class, and strap that to the rack as well.

The most I've loaded onto the bike was 60+ lbs of groceries and beer, during a particularly large Costco run, and I spent an awful lot of time in the bottom gear range coming home. I made it home just fine though, so I still consider that a reasonable load.

Not necessarily.

I'm not a weight weenie, but I do have weight budget for my bikes. I have to be able to carry them up the stairs to the third floor at the end of every ride, dog tired at the end of the workday or the end of a century. Thirty pounds is about my limit for the bike. That allows for the panniers and a few pounds in them.

My primary four-seasons commuter, the Portland, started out at 23½ pounds on the showroom floor. Rack, fenders, lights and batteries, dyno lights and dyno hub, and soon, the studded snow tires, put it right at that limit.

I truly appreciate my lighter bikes on the stairs.

I'm with Xtrajack; my Dreadnought is the weapon of choice for commuting, and it tends to run just over 100 lbs., with the usual gear. I do carry more stuff than I need, but you never know when binoculars may come in handy, right? My commute is 5 or 10 miles one way, depending on the route, but either way involves a mile of 10% grade, just to make it interesting. The upside of the weight is that I tend to fare fairly well in automotive mosh pits - no damage from cars so far, in spite of occasional contact. Sometimes I use the Light Bike for commuting, but it only weighs around 50 lbs., fully equipped.

I dunno... I used to do an 8 mile commute with lotsa hills with my 40 pound beast of a bike.

What's too heavy? Anything you can't carry or ride up your biggest hill.

It probably depends on the person, but I used to be fine with my Aurora, which is roughly 30 lbs with nothing on it. After I got my fixed gear, which is around 20 lbs, I couldn't stand riding the Aurora anymore. It just felt so slow and sluggish... Now I have the Bianchi which is also around 20 lbs. Between it and the fixed, I just have no desire to ride the Aurora anymore, it's just not fun and my bike commute has to be fun or why bother..

My bike with all the hardware and personal item weigh in right at 40 lbs. That's about as reasonable as it gets for me especially when I have to carry my bike up the stair at the train station if the elevator is out of service. It gets much heavier when I do some grocerie shopping before going home. I easily have a 50+ lb bike under me. Needless to say, when it is at that weight, I don't need to climb anymore stair.

I had guys picked up my bike just to see how much stuff I am carrying and some just about get an hernia while other will say "Not too bad". I often wonder who is really telling the truth?

I do the backpack thing, so my bikes are all pretty naked except for a small saddle bag with tube, levers, CO2 pump, & multitool. Weights as ridden:

Road bike - 19 lbs
Folding bike - 27 lbs
Mountain hybrid - 28 lbs

How heavy is too heavy? That will wildly vary from person to person, but for me 30 lbs would be my upper limit.

Think mine is about 65lbs... between folding chromoly bike with front/rear racks, dyno hub, SRAM dual drive (hub gear + derailleur)... saddle back with tools spare tube, emergency food, 2 pannier (ortlieb office bag with clothes, notebook, organizer) + keen pannier with jacket, towel, liter of water, and some on and off stuff.
It's all right to do 14+2 mile one way with long hill (5-6% 4 miles) and rolling hills. Some times, I would dump in 25lbs bag of orange on it making it 90 lbs. I consider it as training for future touring anyways so I don't mind much. In fact, I am riding up the hill with all the extra weight faster and easier than with no extra weight (30lbs on bike) when I started doing this.

I dont think there is a too heavy, the kuwie being all steel is about 44lbs with no bags, my laptop bag loaded is 20lbs and my other bag is about 20lbs so about 85lbs daily.

My bike is about 190-200 lbs









with me on it!

whatever makes you late, that's too heavy.

I can't commute in on my 75 lb Madsen. 33 miles r/t on that would be a little rough. Anything reasonably under that is doable.

People with 100+lb bikes- what the heck are they?! I assume they're Xtracycles or cargo bikes of some kind?

Personally, I view the issue in the opposite direction: The bike that can carry the most weight gets the biggest bragging rights, regardless of its weight.

Edit: I like something reasonably sporty- mine is right around 30 lbs with a pair of panniers, flat repair supplies, lights, etc., plus maybe 10 lbs of 'stuff' in the panniers on any given day.

+1 It varies by person and their circumstances. I don't have a limit per say but lighter is definitely better whether I'm hanging it up in garage after I get home or trying to maneuver it on a crowded train during a mixed modal trip.

Yep: http://http://www.flickr.com/photos/...05/3334844176/

Commuter bikes are designed to carry heavy loads well.

They will never accelerate as quick as road bike but then again their strength lies in their comfort and reassuring stability.

I have a 17 mile commute. I usually ride my hybrid, probably a tad under 30 lb., but I've also ridden my ol' Schwinn Varsity which comes in at about 40 lb.

I ride a 40lb mtn for commute and I absolutely hate it. It's dog slow on any kind of uphill (1% grade makes a ton of difference) and it's a pain in the ass to carry upstairs to my apartment.

My 24lb road bike is a feather compared, flies uphills. I hope to get a nice, light commuter next.

You'll never be like Yehuda Moon if you don't have a spare road flare!

Personally, I think "too heavy" is just dependent on whether or not you have to lift the bicycle and carry it. I have to carry my bike up and down a 40cm high staircase each time I take it out for a ride. Since that's absolutely trivial, the rest is gravy.

My bicycle is approximately 40lbs with accessories. The weight of the accessories is well worth the utility they provide to me.

I even have some spare road flares in a box around here somewhere..