my gripe - Where are all the Weenie bikes?

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jkzy
Posts: 38
Joined: Sun Mar 01, 2015 2:06 pm

by jkzy

Long time lurker, new poster.
I agree with many who have mentioned that aero > weight although to quote another poster, "Aero & Light is Right".

I think people are more focused on striking a balance between aerodynamics and weight rather than chasing weight as the ultimate goal these days.Sure, I do enjoy seeing builds with a theme - some that come to mind are no-carbon builds/budget builds - stuff that is fun and interesting. I also like looking at pure bikeporn, builds that are no expenses spared (although some would say simply throwing money at a bike isn't the point) as the end result can be astounding.

All said and done, while I do miss the days of drillium, which are few and far between nowadays, I don't necessarily think that the evolution of this forum into what it is today is a bad thing.

by Weenie


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jonasd
Posts: 30
Joined: Sun Nov 06, 2016 9:49 am

by jonasd

I'm hoping we are just in a WW "winter" and there will be a new renaissance of people going crazy with custom light bikes. I think the maturation of 3d printing could be the catalyst as I've already been running a 3d printed stainless steel part on my MTB for a few years. Once the price goes down for 3d printed titanium we could see some nice one-off innovation.

sawyer
Posts: 4485
Joined: Fri Dec 15, 2006 7:45 pm
Location: Natovi Landing

by sawyer

No we won't be going back to those days ... the unmodified high-end builds are here to stay ...

- cycling is now more mainstream, and has brought in a whole new demographic with cash, most of whom don't have the time or knowledge to hack away at their pride and joy

- high end parts have also got better, and more expensive, relative to what you can do with a drill. In turn that means people are even more reluctant to destroy re-sale value and drill holes all over a $500 pair of handlebars or whatever

- people have also been taught that aero matters more than weight most of the time, and that a half kilo off the bike doesn't count for much
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Stiff, Light, Aero - Pick Three!! :thumbup:

yinya
Posts: 229
Joined: Tue Aug 07, 2007 9:06 pm

by yinya

sugarkane wrote:God don't get me started onhalf assed crowd funding.. I should be crowd funding stuff but..... That's how you lose control of it.. And there are the major companies using crowd funding.. Any one happy with their knog bell? Yeah I didn't think so.. What a joke :roll:


I agree - the knog oi bell is completely useless - way too quiet at road cycling speeds/distances. (only got mine recently with the customs here).


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Boshk
Posts: 462
Joined: Wed Jul 19, 2017 2:59 am

by Boshk

yinya wrote:
sugarkane wrote:God don't get me started onhalf assed crowd funding.. I should be crowd funding stuff but..... That's how you lose control of it.. And there are the major companies using crowd funding.. Any one happy with their knog bell? Yeah I didn't think so.. What a joke :roll:


I agree - the knog oi bell is completely useless - way too quiet at road cycling speeds/distances. (only got mine recently with the customs here).


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I thought bell were there just for legal requirements. It is here in Hong Kong. Need a rear red reflector and a bell....everything else is non essential so people usually go for the best looking/slimmest/lightest bell

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prendrefeu
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by prendrefeu

jonasd wrote:I'm hoping we are just in a WW "winter" and there will be a new renaissance of people going crazy with custom light bikes.


WW-ism will come back.
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youngs_modulus
Posts: 668
Joined: Wed Sep 20, 2006 1:03 am
Location: Portland, OR USA

by youngs_modulus

Prendrefeu, are you suggesting that summer is coming? ;)

Andrewjn
Posts: 70
Joined: Mon Dec 20, 2010 2:54 am

by Andrewjn

I have been on my current bike for approx 8 years now and initially there was a weight factor in its selection but overwhelming was comfort and yes.... looks. I read WW for tech info and help now more than anything. However I must say I have issue with the " does my arse look bigger in Assos Mille's or Castelli's type posts :D

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prendrefeu
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by prendrefeu

youngs_modulus wrote:Prendrefeu, are you suggesting that summer is coming? ;)


HAHA

I'm suggesting that things go in cycles (pun not intended, but I'll take it). Yes, right now 'aero' is king - but at some point the marketing teams are going to go back to pointing at weight for a few reasons:

1. They need something to sell and separate themselves from the other marketing teams that are also pointing at vague 'aero' charts that lack scale but people don't seem to notice that important detail (hahahaha). Weight/mass is always a continuous unit, no scale necessary. It's grams (or converted), period.

2. While yes, aero is king right now, mass is important for acceleration. Want to go from 0 to X km/h at a faster rate? Have less intertia = have less mass assuming your power is the same. Want to speed up and pass someone in a race with less effort? It's your inertia again.
Aero is king in the high-end vehicle world as well, whether it's super cars or F1 race race cars, but regulations aside they want to keep that total operating mass as low as possible.

Mass will matter again, WW will cycle back, like all trends do.

And it will eventually pour over into the commuter market (in some way). Yes the majority of commuters ride at a slower pace, but they would still care if you told them how having less inertia to overcome will result in less effort over time.
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darnellrm
Posts: 285
Joined: Thu Sep 10, 2009 1:06 pm
Location: NC, USA

by darnellrm

I predict that if the UCI significantly lowers the minimum weight rule, we will see a resurgence of WWism.

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