It seems obvious that they would but my light bike doesn't seem to make any appreciable difference in performance compared to my commuter. There is about 1.5 kg difference. I haven't tested it on 16K mountain climbs but on some tough hills.

A few guys I meet on the road use a steel heavy bike to train with and a carbon bike to race on .
They don't think it makes that much difference more about the mind set, getting there racing head on having the best equipment .

It makes 1.5kg difference then - simple maths.

Add your weight (plus, helmet, clothes, bottles etc. etc.) to the bike's weight and see what % is the total difference. You 'll realise it is not that much.

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Wilier Cento Uno
Colnago Master X-light
Wilier 18carati

Lighter riders climb more easily. i have a steel bike that rockets up climbs, helped by the fact that i've lost 5 kilo's. Steel forever, carbon never.

If people don't think it makes a significant difference, then why is there a Weight Weenies forum ?

We could all just join Weight Watchers if it were all about body weight.

Because some of us enjoy the feel of light bikes, experimenting with technology and material limits.

Others are attracted to a international forum that tends to show high end equipment, and then will purchase their way towards a light-weight setup.
However these same people tend to be the ones that do not account for fitness. Light bikes are not a replacement for good fitness.
See signature.

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Exp001

if a 80kg rider+bike system rides a 15km climb at 7% at 250W, losing 1.5kg will make you roughly 60 seconds faster.
that's assuming all other factors are equal.
see analyticcycling.com

Also to be considered: What is "a significant difference in performance" ?
Bike races are typically not uphill time trials. So the difference of a few seconds or 10 yards can be the difference between "being in the lead pack" and "dropped", which typically translates into an enormous difference in final time and placing.

So no one is claiming that a light bike makes up for poor fitness, but a light bike can contribute to a significant difference in performance.

I would suspect that nearly everyone who actually races would have had the experience of being only one or two bike lengths behind a group at a critical point in the race, yet just be unable to close that last gap no matter how hard you try. Since you are already as fit as you are going to be at that point, I would be delighted to have 1.5 kg less bike to have to accelerate.

Of course if you don't race, and just time trial up hills, you would never notice the small difference weight makes and it would be swamped out by a lot of other variables. So it could also be said that it DOESN'T make a significant difference to performance.

I had to race my steel winter bike in the spring, as my carbon bike was not ready yet.
It's around 4kgs heavier. I was terrible. Now I have my carbon bike, with some aero wheels and I'm flying.
Obviously it's the bike.

You can do 'what if' calcs here: http://www.analyticcycling.com/

1 kg makes 8 sec difference in 2.25km at 9% gradient.
Not much but significant in competition.

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r o y g b i v

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Indeed. I love the Team Sky "marginal differences" philosophy. It's what drives the philosophy of this forum. "Every gram counts".

But there's a difference between how a frame feels and what it actually does. For example a heavier, stiffer frame may feel like it's climbing faster, yet be slower. Perception is a very poor measure of actual speed.

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http://djconnel.blogspot.com/
Fuji SL/1
Send your data to Weight Weenie listings!

I had my doesn't fit me alu bike in the winter, as my lightweight steel bike wasn't ready, it's around 500g's lighter, and now i'm flying.

On top of all the advantages already mentioned, it's easier to take a light bike up and down the roof rack.

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Bikes: Raceur, Beateur

nope not at all don't believe the hype!


I would be more concerned about stiffness, the less flex in the frame, the more juice goes into pushing you uphill.