Hunter

Do you pay attention to the weight of bolts? Are you willing to compromise strength for weight? I over the years have seen many who have touted light weight bikes. Ti bolts all over their rigs, ti spokes, ti railed seats etc. I admit I did a ti railed seat once just once, bent it and went back to cro-mo. I have ridden ti frames in a road application it is cool. On a MTB however they feel like a wet noodle, and I rode a Litespeed! I have sen riders use ti skewers and bend them. I have seen and experienced a ti b.b. spindle ring out like a wash rag. I cannot even imagine ti spindles on pedals, not to mention spokes! I spoke with a couple of people and they swear that ti is just as strong as anything else. I do not understand carbon bar ends, if you crash and they get damaged thats it. I do not understand carbon MTB frames. I have even seen carbon spokes now that's scary. I don't know call me weird but I believe in a MTB application you should have what works. You should not be concerned with weight so much as to it is "iffy" if it will break or not. There are frames and parts out there that have a weight limit but are feather light. Still you see them get bolted on bikes with riders that have these huge grins. Then they look at my bikes (KHS) and say "whoa heavy." Thing is it works I slam it around all over the place out here I weigh 200 pds. and never have to adjust or repair/replace anything. I see all the time those who have this feather stuff and are always doing something to it. Maybe this stuff has its place somewhere say racing. However for those who ride all year round and this is their primary ride why try to make it a sub 20 lb bike? Should a FS rig be a feather? I don't think so. FS rigs were orriginally intended for DH riding. However the new segment came in after years of not riding anything caught on tho the MTB fad and wanted comfort. FS rigs offer this but for XC riding they lack promise. After all if you are going downhill and racing why would you want a feather? Would you rather have an anvil? I would, it only makes sense to me to be as heavy as possible, when doing DH stuff. Compromising strength in this area is borderline suicide. I mean even Pat Irwin who won the Iditasport Extreme siad that he did not use a whole lot of lightweight stuff "that may or may not break." HHMMMMM interesting concept he races endurance MTB and wants durability and strength. Maybe durability and strength is overated and outdated, but I cannot justify $300 for bolts that may snap or round off. I cannot justify $100-150 for a ti b.b. that will ring out like a wash rag etc. I wil stick with the tried and true cro-mo stuff and that which works and lasts. I can always get stronger to push my lead sled faster.

LittleBigMan

NO! I am not a weight weenie!

I can't AFFORD to be! But I figure, o.k., I got a basically light bike, but not light by road biking standards. I mean,
I don't want one of those 40 pound cast iron jobs, but I can't see spending $500 - $1,000 extra to save a few pounds. If I did that, how could I justify loading up with 15 pounds of junk to take to work? My Kryptonite U-lock alone would be worth hundreds of dollars, by those standards! Also, I'll never carry as much extra weight on my bike to equal the 25 pounds of fat I lost from my body!

I met up with a guy a while ago when riding home from work. I asked him how he liked his bike. He said the frame (road bike) kept cracking on him. This was his third bike! He said every time it cracked, the company gave
him a new one! He said as long as they keep doing that, he'll keep riding it. I'm thinking it's like when you call up
Pizza (name unknown) and complain about their pizza, and they send you a coupon for another pizza. Give me a
massive break. I don't want the same crappy pizza!

mike

Anybody who has some extra body fat to lose should not be spending extra money on a lightweight bike. That just doesn't make sense.

Once you mount your machine, you and the machine are united as one in weight. Oh, I suppose the lighter you make the wheel, the faster the exceleration, but the energy to move the mass is the same whether the weight is in the rider or on the bike itself and that energy comes from the rider.

How about these techies who have ti component bikes and then put 3 lbs of water in a Camelback backpack! Function or fashion? I say they are more interested in the fashion of the gear than the need for performance.

I know I'm looking at a weekend warrior when I see a 190 - 210 pound rider on an expensively lighted bike.

I like the concept of telemark skiing as it relates to all sports - rely less on gear and more on strength & skill.

Joe Pozer

I think that you have to be smart when it comes to the type of bike you ride and the components you hang on it. You really need to take into account how much you weigh and what type of riding you plan on doing.
If you weigh 200 pounds, it's probably not a good idea to be riding a 21 pound mountain bike, unless it's strictly a race bike. Also, if you plan on doing 10 foot drops and stunts, you need to be on a strong bike which is going to be heavy. If you are doing 6+ mile climbs, it wouldn't be much fun if you were dragging a 40 pound anchor up the mountain.

Personally, I ride on a fairly light weight full-suspension bike that has a carbon front end. My bike weighs around 24.5 pounds with disc brakes. I'm an XC rider and don't go around doing 10 foot jumps. Also, I weigh a 160 pounds so my bike can take the abuse I put it through. It's a lot more enjoyable doing an 8 mile climb on a light bike than on a heavy tank.

Does this make me a weight weenie? Well, maybe or maybe not. I'm not fanatical about putting the lightest components on my bike but I do want my bike to be fairly light.

Ranger Jake

Servus,

It's so nice to be stereotyped because of my weight.

So what you are saying, Mike is that because I have a few extra pounds of body fat to lose, I shouldn't go out and buy my new sub 12 kg mountain bike this weekend? That merely the fact that I weigh over 200 lbs and have an quality bicycle that is realtively lightweight makes me a "weekend-warrior"? Gosh, I figured that the 250+ km a week that I ride wasn't too bad. I see now that I should buy a DH rig for my XC outings and quit my job so I can train.

All joking aside....

I wasn't kidding about the buying a new bike this weekend. I have annoyed the piss out of my LBS guy discussing about what componentry to put on the frame. We sat for about an hour and worked out all the best stuff for my weight and riding style and then calculated the best way to safely save weight. Things like wheelsets and contact devices (bars, seat post, etc.)
were not compromised for weight savings. .

I laugh heartily at the poor sucker out there whose ride craps out in the middle of nowhere because something over-light broke. My personal favorite is carbon fiber bars for mountain bikes. Sure, there is an aluminium sleeve inside to give it some structure, but I have seen at least two knuckleheads bend/bust 'em clean off on the trail. This equals "long walk home". Weakining my main control surface in the name of weight savings is not my idea of intelligent or safe.

Just my .05 pfenning (check the exchange rate yerself!)

toolfreak

I agree with Hunter en Mike, why spent a lot of money to save weight of your bike, if your own weight is more important!

I hate to get stranded with a cracked lightweight component which i can`t repair on track, it makes me :irritated and think "why didn't i choose the stronger part?"

My bike weighs 13,5 kg, compared to new FS its heavy!
But i prefer strength and durability over weight.
Here`s a little check at Performance Bike for the so called "Weight weenies"

- LP Composites Braide Junior Bar Ends:120 gr/p

Compared with the good old AL (about the same length),

- Performance Topo SL Bar Ends alu: 111 gr/p

Cheers

Mark b.

Rich

Interesting discussion Hunter...

I agree in part about the durability of lightweight bikes and components out in the rough and tumble of our world, but will always advocate the use of good quality lightweight parts over heavier, less expensive models.

I think if you go with a good brand name, you shouldn't go far wrong. I'd much rather go more say a Merlin Ti Frameset than a Salsa Al-la-cart frameset (cro-mo), but that's what flicks my switch.

I probably wouldn't go for Ti component bolts as I have heard some horror stories or even carbon bars, but a good quality Ti b/b on my mates bike has withstood about 4 years on the race circuit.

Who know...personal choice perhaps.

Rich

MichaelW

If you are going to go ultra-light, it pays to work out the cost/per gramme saved, compared to a high quality standard part.

Simply replacing steel with a less dense , weaker material wont do, many components are dimensioned to give adequate strength or stiffness using steel. If you change the material you need to alter the dimensions.
eg if you use a carbon or Al steerer, you need a 1 1/8" rather than 1" diam tube.

If you can get away from the "steel" standard dimension, and use over-sized axles, then Ti or even Al may work well, but some components (eg pedals) dont work as well when they are over-sized.

I think its about time that BB shells were made a bit wider for hollow axles. Canondale have their own oversized design, but there is a lot to be said for standards.

Oscar

I admit that I am cheap, and have never owned a titanium anything. I have a rigid, steel mountainbike with aluminum rims and alloy crank. I ride the heck out of it. I've never had more serious breakdown than a chain busting.

I'm not saying I wouldn't ride a light bike, I just don't, and can't compare a featherweight ride vs. a dependable one.

LittleBigMan

Yes, I am a Weight Weenie!

I like extra weight, just a teeny-WEENIE!

Hunter

LOL!

fubar5

I am definetly not a weight weenie. And all the "lighter is better" crap drives me crazy. You can't read a review about anything without reading" it could be lighter" or" the extra weight makes it less suitable...da da da da..."
It makes deciding which bike to buy a real pain in the ***, cuz even the bike shop managers are crazy about wieght.

LittleBigMan

Emphasis on, "extra weight," as in, "Sumo Champ."

TriBob

No Weight Weenie here either. Unless you are racing I don't see the point.

To quote a club member, "It is nice to see all of those expensive bikes, to bad they have 10 cent legs."

Hunter

It is good to see that I am not the only one here who thinks this is a little played out. Good point Fubar you are so right on that. Magazine reviews are very biased. I will never forget the time at one of the Interbike shows about 6 years ago, a group of people tried to make the lightest bike possible. It ended up around 19 and some change. Thing is no one would ride it.

aerobat

I'm not a weight weenie particularly, but there are some times when a lighter bike is nice. I've just started riding my road bike, which is a Cannondale R800, weighs in at 19 pounds and change.

There's a tremendous difference to my hybrid. I really notice it on the few hills we have here, and against the wind. Granted there is a tradeoff in comfort, although I'm still experimenting with seat position, and will change the saddle, but there's never a free lunch. Also at my "advanced" age the lighter weight is more of a factor. Depending on the ride I'm doing, one bike is better to ride than the other, it just comes down to personal preference and the particular situation.