my gripe - Where are all the Weenie bikes?

[dadoflam08]

I need to gripe
I've been a member of this forum a few years now - when I joined Parlee was a new brand and everyone was trying to build light bikes. Some great boutique frames and components came and went (remember Ruegamer). No one would consider posting a bike with a frame over 1kg unless it was seriously built light - there were 5.5kg builds using 1250g frames. Dales, Cervelos, Scott Addicts which were pretty light in their day were a good chassis for a WW project. Crazy college students with limited budgets came up with some pretty creative ways to take weight off a bike. There were long debates about how much weight you save shaving 30mm off a seat post.

Nowadays, in this era of some seriously light frames actually being available the introduce yourself section is filled with leadmines - Dogma F8's, Cipollinis, Tarmacs, Domanes, Venges, C60's etc etc built with stock standard parts. Seems light the passion for lightness has gone. With the light products now available there should be pages of sub 5kg builds - but no - seems like 6.5kg is now the exciting light weight - seriously? We seem to have become sooo boring.

What has happened? Did I miss the memo or something? Can we have something exciting?

[weeshuggy]

I agree and would say it's down to two main reasons

1. Aero, light is no longer king like it once was. Remember when hyperons were second only really to lightweight

2. Price, top end components seem to have gone from expensive to just plain unaffordable for most. I mean yeah there's still some amazing deals around if your willing to shop around but prices have still all dramatically increased even in the last few years.

[kulivontot]

I see it as the other side of the spectrum. 10 years ago you couldn't get a $2000 carbon bike. Now there are stock bikes starting at 21 pounds and there's a limit with what you can really do with that. On the flip side, high end carbon hasn't really improved beyond top end bikes from years ago. Sure there are more mainstream vendors selling sub 1000g frames, but typically only in $8000 packages that are already under 6.8kg

[cdtf]

There is even one thread in the bikes section where they show off their high end watches on their Colnagos H geometry.

This forum is now about overweight MAMILS with too much money and free time.

viewtopic.php?f=10&t=56175&start=4485#p1275207

US Rednecks love to brag.

[SLCBrandon]

Is this going to be a bi-annual thread topic going forward?

[AJS914]

First, the forum is more popular so regular questions outnumber WW projects.

Second, science has entered into cycling. People are talking more about aero and rolling resistance and things like that.

I got my bike down to a reasonably light 16 pounds with higher end regular components. Taking 2 pounds off that will cost at least a couple grand.

How much faster will it make me cutting 2 pounds off of a 230 pound rider + bike + clothes package?

[corky]

Mountain bikes had an obsession with weight 10-20 years ago too.......

[glepore]

Is this going to be a bi-annual thread topic going forward?

More like biweekly. Geez, I'm sorry that I can buy a 14lb reliable bike now off the shelf, and if I buy it used I can actually afford it easily.

[snowdevlin]

I used to ride a 5,9kgs BH Ultralight (with pedals, Garmin mount, bottle cages, etc)... now I ride a 6,5kgs Dogma F8 and I'm much happier - and faster!
Weight doesn't matter that much to me anymore...

[GaryOS]

There is even one thread in the bikes section where they show off their high end watches on their Colnagos H geometry.

This forum is now about overweight MAMILS with too much money and free time.

viewtopic.php?f=10&t=56175&start=4485#p1275207

US Rednecks love to brag.

I agree with the sentiment of this post 100%. I was starting to lose interest in my daily WW reading with so many threads illustrating vulgar displays of wealth and little consideration for personalised builds with a primary focus on achieving a light weight bike. The amount of posturing has just become too much and that was the straw that broke the camel's back for me.

Obviously it makes sense that priorities have shifted towards aerodynamics and the physics is indisputable, at least at the pro level. I do still find it rather amusing that so many non-competitive and relatively unfit weekend warriors spend fortunes on bikes with aerodynamics as the justification. It always makes me snigger when a fat lad who struggles to average 30 km/h "must" have the latest aero tech. Aero is also something I am less likely to prioritise over weight when considering equipment. I don't care if I save x watts. It might bump up my average speed a little. As I only ride for fun and rarely bother with any form of data, I never really monitor progress or seek improvements in speed. What I really love riding for is getting up climbs that scare me at the bottom and that unparalleled feeling of dancing up a climb when I'm having a good day.

So I understand the move to aero but I never read WW to see the "fastest" bikes in the world. That sort of material is available on nearly every other cycling website. I used to read WW for the ingenuity and creativity of builders and boutique suppliers when chasing the lowest weight they dare to risk. I find myself bored of the current trend on here as it doesn't resonate with what I love about building and riding bikes. I don't disagree with the reasons behind the change in direction of the forum, I just don't like the new direction

P.S. I'm aware of the irony that I stated that I've lost interest in WW but this is the first post I have made in a while. I used to make a habit of reading daily, I might pop along once a week now but feel less inclined to bother at all with each recent visit

EDIT: Spelling mistake

[dadoflam08]

I can accept that aero has become a bigger factor in rider's priorities - thanks to some good marketing and proven benefits if you are a professional rider who can maintain high speeds.
Cost on the other hand has always been there as a consideration but never saw that limiting people's motivation and I would argue that light bikes are far more affordable now than ever.
Not only can you now buy a 5kg bike practically off the shelf and parts are actually cheaper in real terms in many instances.
To take an example a THM Clavicula crankset was once a $1800 USD item - 5 years later it is two thirds that price if the prices quoted on the Fairwheels crank test are near the mark.
I would suggest we have not seen a decrease in the average amount spend on the bikes here - quite the opposite - now the money is invested in higher-cost walk-in, buy, walk-out high-end bikes and the main concern is what colour it is.
Fundamentally people were willing to spend some serious time working on the quest for a unique light bike - and some really put some money down on that quest as well.
I suppose it is the diminishing interesting ideas and people spending time putting together creative light bike projects as an end it itself that I lament. I would happily settle for just creative bikes that are unique.
If this type of thread is a weekly occurrence then excited threads about building a Dogma with Di2 'my way' or painting a Tarmac in different colours 'just need held deciding which one' but still maintaining the supermarket branding all over it looking like everyone else's are a dime a dozen.

[icenutter]

The change in mountain biking, maybe 10 to 15 years ago, was that people realised that lighter didn't necessarily equal better. For example a dropper post is a wonderful thing, but they weigh a lot more than a normal post. But so many mountain bikes have them these days.

Maybe the same thing has happened on the road? Except not dropper posts...

[glam2deaf]

I'm just here for the pro cycling thread.

[TheDarkInstall]

Already been said, but the focus of a road bike nowadays, now that the technology has improved a lot, is not purely on weight. It seemed in the past, that weight was the ultimate goal. Lightweight does not equal fast though, as we now understand. I also think that with powermeters becoming standard, that wattage output and objective training has been accepted way further down the fitness ladder than it was before, so people are building bikes that work, and are fit for purpose, rather than being purely about weighing as little as possible.

Speaking from personal experience, my bike at its lightest was sub-6kg, but now sits at about 6.4kg. I added a power meter, and wider rims, and ditched the weight weenie skewers. What I have now, is a heavier rig (but still 'light-ish'), but one which allows for proper training and hammer without too many things snapping, compared to what used to happen. I am able to ride harder, and for longer, and am fitter than I have ever been.

I still reckon a super lightweight project is a great thing to get into though, and I love seeing how light people get their rigs, be that through straight-up wallet shattering expenditure, or creative modification but overall, that is just not what people are into anymore, now that the focus has shifted.

[9734344]

Obviously what makes a WEENIE bike is the weight. If I get a 'lamen' to pick up my light bike they go "WOW".

How many "WOW" bikes are there nowadays?