In my experience selling bicycles and parts, the most weight conscious cyclists are not the racers, but the aging club riders who fear being the anchor on a group ride. I remember a 70ish woman who had some 17 lb bike refusing to consider tires as fat as 25 mm because she believed that such wide tires would result in a considerably slower ride. And when I was working at a Trek shop, the guys who showed interest in the lightest, raciest (most expensive) bikes and parts were always 60-somethings with 50 extra pounds of pot belly. Of all the group rides I've ever attended, I can't recall that individual speed capabilities were sorted along any obvious correlation with bike weight.
On Mar 25, 9:17 am, Tim McNamara <tim...@bitstream.net> wrote: > On Mar 25, 2009, at 3:11 AM, Bill M. wrote: > > > > > On Mar 24, 9:51 pm, Tim McNamara <tim...@bitstream.net> wrote: > >> On Mar 24, 2009, at 10:52 PM, Bill M. wrote: > > >>> The 'less than a full water bottle' arguement always seems > >>> specious to > >>> me. I don't carry less water to make up for a heavier bike. > > >> That's not the point of that argument. The point is that- at least > >> IME- no one complains that the weight of their water bottles (about > >> 2.5 pounds for 2 20-oz bottles) slows them down or that they can even > >> feel the difference between full and empty bottles on their bike. > >> Yet people will get all lathered up over a bike component that weighs > >> 100 g more than another. > > >> Grant's attitude to this, as part of the guiding philosophy of RBW, > >> seems to be "meh." Adding a few ounces of steel to the frame with > >> slightly thicker tubes means a bike that might very well outlive its > >> 40 year old purchaser. > > >> Back in my racing days I chased those 100 grams, generally at much > >> expense and never for any measurable improvement in performance. Now > >> I ride my bike for fun and I don't sweat it. I've got bikes ranging > >> from 21 lbs to 27 lbs and I don't to have any less fun on any of > >> them. I prefer to measure my rides in smiles per hour these days... > > No one complains about the weight of water because it's fixed (though > > racers will dump extra water before a major climb or sprint finish so > > that they don't carry the extra weight). You can't make it any > > lighter and you need to carry enough to meet your need so you have to > > accept it for what it is. So, I don't find that the water bottle > > arguement convinces me that bike weight is not important. There are > > better ways to make that case IMO. > > I raced for 9 years and never, ever saw anyone from Cat 5 to Cat 1 > dump their water bottles before a climb. Even pros often don't > bother to do this, and there is no need for them to carry water up > the last climb in a race (pros will often dump their bottles before a > sprint finish for safety reasons, as a loose water bottle rolling on > the ground in the middle of a pack can wreak havoc- you can see them > being jettisoned out of the bunch about a km before the end of the > race). > > Can you feel the difference in climbing or any other type of riding > as to whether your water bottles are full or empty? Do they make you > slower if they are full? I've never, ever noticed the difference > except when picking the bike up. > > > Bike weight gets attention because it can be controlled. If I have > > the choice between two components of equal function, light weight is > > one criterion I would pay attention to (others include cost, > > appearance and longevity). But, yeah, spending hundreds to chase > > grams makes little sense and reasonably light is generally light > > enough. The rider to bike weight ratio for my Riv is about 8.5:1. My > > commuter is more like 5:1 (and I can feel the difference!), really > > light bikes can get to 10:1. > > Since I am 6'4" and 220 lbs, it's pretty easy for my bikes to be in > the 10:1 range. ;-) Harder for 140 lb riders to do. --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To post to this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch@googlegroups.com To unsubscribe from this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
