Bike Weight Reduction and Getting Faster
 

Just as the title states. I am currently riding a ~21lbs pound Specialized Allez Double, and am considering upgrading to a used Cannondale Supersix Evo Ultegra Di2 which supposedly comes in around 15.5lbs. Would this weight reduction help significantly on climbs?

Also, as a side note does anyone have any positive/negative experiences with this Supersix?

Depends on your current level. If you are hoping to mount a serious challenge on the GC next month in France, then it will make a considerable difference.

Figure it out as a percentage: 100 - ((weight of new bike + you) / (weight of current bike + you) *100)

The smaller the percentage, the less of a difference it'll make.

How much does the rider weigh?

Haha I'll save that for next year, the weather is far too nice here in Houston to leave...

In all seriousness, I have been cycling daily for a little over a year now and one thing that has really bothered me about my current bike is how difficult it feels to shift when really attacking a hill, in addition my current Sora groupset shifts fairly clunky even on flat terrain. I have heard electronic shifting solves that problem, and with the 6lbs weight reduction, I would assume for there to be some noticeable difference in performance. Am I correct?

Cheap and easy way to test this.

Put six pounds on your current bike and go ride. See if it slows you down.

I am 6'1" and I havent weighed myself in about 2 weeks but I should be around 153lbs

There are hills in Houston?

Canondale Supersix is a cult status bike, the following is strong ... never heard anyone say anything bad about one and everytime I've abused my friends' I've never had anything bad to say about them. If you're 5'9 and weigh 135lbs then 5lbs off your bike would help significantly. If you're 5'9 and 200lbs, then you're better losing the weight elsewhere for now... Awesome bike regardless, and because the Caddy has external cable routing, it would look prettier with Di2.

No, I am only here for the summer. I live in Chicago and go to school in SW Ohio where there are plenty of hills. Here I am stuck riding overpasses about 50x for a workout...

I regularly rode 20+lb steel bikes(Still do) & never was dropped because of the weight of my bike. If I were racing at the top level, for financial benefit & my future, i'd take that 15lb bike just for a little added insurance.

5% grade at 10 mph with 190# total weight = about 198w against gravity.
Bringing this down 6 pounds to a total of 184 = 191.5w against gravity.
6.5w difference on a 5% grade, that's not very much.

Time saved: 190# vs 184#
5% grade for 5 km at 10 mph = 38s faster.

In summary, no, it will not help significantly. Buy some light wheels for your Allez if you want to reduce some rolling weight.

You're a light man for your height. I think you'd lean towards beneficial gains. I'm sure the wheels would be lighter on the S6E than your current set up as well. Carbon wheels are the way of the warrior though.

Hmmm, so if a full 6lbs reduction isnt super significant, why do people on this forum fuss about shaving off a few grams by switching out bottle cages/handlebars/etc.? Seems a little overkill unless you're Sir Wiggins going for an hour record. I am obviously new here, so I may be off base with my assessment...

The Sora to Ultegra Di2 jump in quality must be pretty big, no? I wouldn't know, never used Ultegra.

On the premise that the bike will give you more enjoyment I'd say you should upgrade. Speed difference is likely to be negligible, but you'll like riding it more.

It is hugely significant because the difference is thousands of dollars.

It will help around 3% on steep climbs. 5.5 pounds (difference)/181 pounds (total weight) Simple as that.

If you weigh around 160. And if the climb is steep enough that wind drag isn't much. Less percentage if you're going faster or weigh more.

Because, generally speaking, they're newbs.

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Six pounds is quite a big difference, it will certainly be noticeable. Whether it will 'help significantly' I guess depends on you. Sometimes only a few watts will mean the difference between losing a wheel and not, and that can be pretty significant.

If you ride by yourself, then it's different. Maybe you only do flat crits, that's different too. Maybe you're such a strong climber you beat everyone you want to beat by minutes, so seconds don't matter to you.

I would argue that unless you are on top form, I mean really high level of fitness, physical limits will vary so wildly from friend to friend that its highly unlikely that 6lbs will change the outcome of anything. you are better off making certain that everything on your bike is in perfect working order.

If that math is correct, that's actually fairly significant. "Significant" is a subjective term, but if you aren't just buying a new bike to commute to school or work, or tool around the neighborhood, then that actually is a lot. Also, you can't really take into account the performance of the bike, which certainly will have some additional effect.

If you do climbs on Strava, I suspect you'll hit some new PR's after dropping 6 lbs worth of bike. I know I did. Your average mph overall might go up a fuzz too.

That said, just get the bike. Sounds like you want it and have it picked out already. And you only live once.

If it doesn't break the bank and you know you're going to stick with riding for a long enough to get what you feel is a decent return on investment, go for it

Plus who cares what a bunch of Internet strangers say anyway?

My bike recently gained weight. Almost 3/4 of a lb in fact. This came from a saddle swap, thicker (Lizard Skins DSP 3.2mm) bar tape, going from 23mm tires to 25mm, and a few other nick knacks.. A bunch of little things that added up, but I didn't even notice the weight had gone up. What I did notice was how much nicer the new tape, saddle, and tires are to ride. I think it was a decent trade-off.