how much does the bike weight matter at the elite level?

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kgt
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by kgt

Both Rick and fromtrektocolnago are right.

spectastic
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by spectastic

gotcha, thanks for confirming my uncertainty about the weight savings. I will carry on with racing on my 20 lbs beater, with confidence that it won't be my bottleneck.

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5DII
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by 5DII

bigcheese wrote:tbf, I only see most of them being done as adding weight to get to the 6,8kg instead of being seen adding random weights around the bike to get it there instead.

I know we can get lighter bikes fairly easily, but that was never the point. I reckon most of these guys do their training rides on bikes that possibly aren't legal for them to ride on. It's there to give a fair game, I like the limit due to that, theres no real reason to be drastically over it unless you choose to be, so those marginal losses will be on you.

I like the 6.8kg, even with lighter bikes becoming ever more present, it keeps the sport grounded. Ban Garmins or at least the riders view as far as I'm concerned, make the rides more interesting again when they can't view their power throughout.


Here's the GCN video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jMsgzD-JFQs

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spookyload
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by spookyload

Find more info at RBR's General Forum. It gets asked weekly and is covered extensively.

Zigmeister
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by Zigmeister

Greipal is a good example, although not a climber, his Ridley Noah Fast is around 17lbs+.

http://www.bikeradar.com/us/road/gear/a ... ast-39703/

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wheelsONfire
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by wheelsONfire

Funny, how do you know answer to this question?

Even if you know one of the pro team riders, you don't know them all.

No-one will ever know what stuff they really prefer, because they will probably never speak from the heart.
Bikes:

Ax Lightness Vial EVO Race (2019.01.03)
Open *UP* (2016.04.14)
Paduano Racing Fidia (kind of shelved)


Ex bike; Vial EVO D, Vial EVO Ultra, Scott Foil, Paduano ti bike.

RJKflyer
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by RJKflyer

Surely the 'answer' to all of this is "yes, it makes a difference."

But the real question is "how much"?

Looking at my bike, I often analyse what 'benefits' I might get from tyres, tubes, wheels and so on.

For example I estimate (note 'estimate') that on a typical 25-mile circular ride I might save 30-45 secs if I splashed out £2k on carbon mid-section aero wheels.

However, I'm a recreational rider, not a racer, so it matters not. Yes I might set a better personal best, but actually if it did transpire to be 45 secs better, I have simply 'bought' the benefit so I'm not going to feel great about it.

I feel more motivated when I get back and see an improvement via the 'engine'!

Now would I like the mid-section carbon aero wheels? Well, yes...! And maybe if I actually improve the engine I will 'justify' the swanky wheels...

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wheelsONfire
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by wheelsONfire

I watched some clips a rather long time ago.
Then it was engineers from Spesh, Trek, Cervelo, Scott etc. Mainly i think it was Phil White.

They discussed evolution and trends in cycling and weight was brought up among many things.
What they concluded, was that it was too many top cyclists who swore by the benefit of weight savings.
The engineers also had understood, that they had to accept that all things could not be measured.
Sum of all, weight was such a thing and they could simply not neglect that so many professionals swore by it.

I would say perhaps it's up to each and everyone to make up their own mind.
We adapt rather quick so admittedly it goes quick to adapt to both more or less weight.
If i swap bikes and wheels i do notice the benefit. But as mentioned, i adopt rather quick so i can't say if it's worth the money.
Because, had it not been for the money involved, more had bought it to really let it sink in to know how it feels.
We must accept that it's easier for designers to design a bit of thickness to components and frames.
It must be a much greater risk selling extremer bikes and components because we are always fingering at the extremes when we shed much weight.
Bikes:

Ax Lightness Vial EVO Race (2019.01.03)
Open *UP* (2016.04.14)
Paduano Racing Fidia (kind of shelved)


Ex bike; Vial EVO D, Vial EVO Ultra, Scott Foil, Paduano ti bike.

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