"They're not making their bikes any faster" - an outsider's perspective on weight weenies

Back by popular demand, the general all-things Road forum!

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RDY
Posts: 2354
Joined: Thu Jul 30, 2020 10:31 pm

by RDY

wheelsONfire wrote:
Wed Feb 24, 2021 9:58 am
stevesbike wrote:
Wed Feb 24, 2021 1:04 am
the difference between her bike and about the lightest bike you could ride practically, a 13lb bike, saves about a minute on Alpe d'Huez. The interesting thing to me though is that the light bike just feels so much better subjectively.
Totally agree with you :thumbup:

It's just so that broads aren't like guys when it comes to unnecessary stuff.
It's same with flat screen tvs, cars, motorcycles etc etc.
These bikes and all stuff high and low, it wouldn't exist without guys mindset.
Broads? Seriously?

LanceLegstrong
Posts: 1145
Joined: Fri Sep 13, 2019 1:35 pm

by LanceLegstrong

spartacus wrote:
Wed Feb 24, 2021 11:29 pm
Yes she is cynical and honestly I expected more negativity towards her comments!
Well you can tell her I'll keep riding my "ruined" 1x road bike with smile. Gatekeeping be damned!

(only on flat days though, I do love my little ring)
Specialized Tarmac SL7
Specialized Crux
Velobuild 168
Trek Checkpoint ALR

by Weenie


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alcatraz
Posts: 4064
Joined: Mon Aug 29, 2016 11:19 am

by alcatraz

17lb is light. She's proven to be a weightweenie too. Especially with that reaction that other bikes can't possibly be better than hers. :D

bikeboy1tr
Posts: 1395
Joined: Thu Mar 21, 2013 3:19 am
Location: Southern Ontario Canada

by bikeboy1tr

At least she is happy with what she has and you keep it running proper so no worries for her. I know for me my bike was a project that I wanted to do as I got older and its not all that light at 6.45kg but it fits me well and I love the feel of it. Like others say, the way it reponds, the ride and it climbs well. Even near the end of the season when I am getting toasty I still look forward to riding that bike even it is just an easy ride. Having nice wheels that spin up quickly is a joy to behold for me as I never had anything that nice before (Bora Ultra 35s tub). I can hardly wait until spring when the roads are clear so I can ride it again. So its kind of mid life crisis toy and it keeps me motivated to ride. Its not just about lightweight but durability as well. I know my bike isnt any faster but it is more fun riding the hills which is what I like to do. Puts a smile on my face when riding anyway.
viewtopic.php?f=10&t=154188
2018 Colnago V2R Rim Brake
2019 Colnago V2R Disc Brake
2014 Norco Threshold Disc Brake
2006 Ridley Crosswind Rim Brake

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wheelsONfire
Posts: 6283
Joined: Mon Jul 07, 2014 8:15 am
Location: NorthEU

by wheelsONfire

RDY wrote:
Thu Feb 25, 2021 12:04 am
wheelsONfire wrote:
Wed Feb 24, 2021 9:58 am
stevesbike wrote:
Wed Feb 24, 2021 1:04 am
the difference between her bike and about the lightest bike you could ride practically, a 13lb bike, saves about a minute on Alpe d'Huez. The interesting thing to me though is that the light bike just feels so much better subjectively.
Totally agree with you :thumbup:

It's just so that broads aren't like guys when it comes to unnecessary stuff.
It's same with flat screen tvs, cars, motorcycles etc etc.
These bikes and all stuff high and low, it wouldn't exist without guys mindset.
Broads? Seriously?
What do you prefer me to call them then?
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.

Paperboy
Posts: 71
Joined: Tue Jun 04, 2019 5:38 pm

by Paperboy

wheelsONfire wrote:
Sat Feb 27, 2021 8:59 pm
RDY wrote:
Thu Feb 25, 2021 12:04 am
wheelsONfire wrote:
Wed Feb 24, 2021 9:58 am
stevesbike wrote:
Wed Feb 24, 2021 1:04 am
the difference between her bike and about the lightest bike you could ride practically, a 13lb bike, saves about a minute on Alpe d'Huez. The interesting thing to me though is that the light bike just feels so much better subjectively.
Totally agree with you :thumbup:

It's just so that broads aren't like guys when it comes to unnecessary stuff.
It's same with flat screen tvs, cars, motorcycles etc etc.
These bikes and all stuff high and low, it wouldn't exist without guys mindset.
Broads? Seriously?
What do you prefer me to call them then?
White knight alert 📢 😄

spartacus
Posts: 1049
Joined: Mon Apr 04, 2011 6:53 pm

by spartacus

I asked my SO if she would be offended if someone referred to her her as a "broad" and she just laughed. I kept prying and she thinks some women would consider the phrase derogatory, though I don't think it is; "noun DATED•INFORMAL
a woman."

Cycomanic
Posts: 391
Joined: Tue Feb 04, 2020 11:10 pm

by Cycomanic

I think this has much less to do with women vs men (as some seem to make it out), but much more with people who race lots vs people for whom the upgrading the bike is the main hobby. Back when I was racing a lot in Europe, pretty much everyone was on upper end (though not top end) bikes with Ultegra components, even sponsored bikes.

Typically you did not have enough time on working on your bike, because you needed to train so much. Also the potential cost for crashing a bike was just too much when using top-end or even weight weenie components, considering that it was not uncommon to have at least one crash a season. This is a European perspective where bunches were often 100-200 riders and racing was very aggressive. When I lived in Australia later on, pretty much everyone was on the latest and shiniest gear, but training was also as much about the cafe stop afterwards and crashes are much less common in races.

For those of you who say they think their light bikes feel snappier, I seriously would like to make some double blind tests. I doubt most people here would be able to tell the difference of 0.5-1kg in a bike when accellerating.

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StanK
Posts: 477
Joined: Sat Oct 13, 2018 11:10 am
Location: Croatia

by StanK

0.5 kg - I wouldn't bet on that one.
1.0 kg - I would put some money on this.

My bike, of course, in both cases. Change on it whatever you want.
Of course, this is impossible to realize, so ...

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Cheers!
Posts: 1483
Joined: Sat Aug 05, 2006 2:29 am
Location: Mountain View, California
Contact:

by Cheers!

Peak bike happened in 2008.

Now mfg have gotten lazy with using cheaper modulus carbon. Claiming a Kammtail aero profile is as efficient as a 3:1 teardrop. It is not. The Kammtail is just way easier and cheaper to manufacture (with higher yields).

Is 11spd > 10spd? Or is 12 spd > 11 or 12? I think not.

2007/8 era was also one of the very last year's you could get a threaded BB. How many threads have we seen on creaking issues or BB that do not have proper concentricity?

The only major advance since 2008 was adoption of disc brakes. That has been the major thing. Yes the absolute performance advantage of disc over Rim is negligible for a PRO or top end enthusiast. But I myself would take disc brakes any day now for the sake of consistency when ascending above the clouds on a cold morning and then having to defend again through it.

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Lucendi
Posts: 643
Joined: Fri Jul 19, 2019 10:37 pm
Location: Sweden

by Lucendi

Women tend to care more about people and less about things while men tend to be the opposite.

I fully agree with her, but as I am a man who care more about inanimate objects. Looking through the build threads on this forum is just one impressive bike after the next, I love how ingenous solutions people come up with! :)

schlafen
Posts: 165
Joined: Sun Mar 24, 2019 11:51 pm

by schlafen

Cheers! wrote:Peak bike happened in 2008.

Now mfg have gotten lazy with using cheaper modulus carbon. Claiming a Kammtail aero profile is as efficient as a 3:1 teardrop. It is not. The Kammtail is just way easier and cheaper to manufacture (with higher yields).

Is 11spd > 10spd? Or is 12 spd > 11 or 12? I think not.

2007/8 era was also one of the very last year's you could get a threaded BB. How many threads have we seen on creaking issues or BB that do not have proper concentricity?

The only major advance since 2008 was adoption of disc brakes. That has been the major thing. Yes the absolute performance advantage of disc over Rim is negligible for a PRO or top end enthusiast. But I myself would take disc brakes any day now for the sake of consistency when ascending above the clouds on a cold morning and then having to defend again through it.
Sir, how dare you !? We've got apps, we've got long socks...and... and aero and...and batteries, a 10T cog. No progress? smh

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Nickldn
Posts: 1866
Joined: Mon Mar 25, 2019 12:35 am

by Nickldn

Cheers! wrote:
Sun Feb 28, 2021 7:45 pm
Peak bike happened in 2008.

Now mfg have gotten lazy with using cheaper modulus carbon. Claiming a Kammtail aero profile is as efficient as a 3:1 teardrop. It is not. The Kammtail is just way easier and cheaper to manufacture (with higher yields).

Is 11spd > 10spd? Or is 12 spd > 11 or 12? I think not.

2007/8 era was also one of the very last year's you could get a threaded BB. How many threads have we seen on creaking issues or BB that do not have proper concentricity?

The only major advance since 2008 was adoption of disc brakes. That has been the major thing. Yes the absolute performance advantage of disc over Rim is negligible for a PRO or top end enthusiast. But I myself would take disc brakes any day now for the sake of consistency when ascending above the clouds on a cold morning and then having to defend again through it.
Well my 2019 road bike is objectively better than my 2009 bike in every way:

2019 - 2009
Aero frame carbon - less aero frame carbon
Internal cable routing - external cables
PF ceramic BB - English thread DA steel BB
Wide and deep carbon wheels - shallow aluminium DA 7900 wheels
25mm tubs - 22mm tubs
11s Red etap electronic - 10s DA7900 mechanical
Seat with hole - solid seat
Aero bars - round shape bars
Aero carbon stem - aluminium stem
Gel bar tape - cork bar tape
Carbon 'blade' pedals - carbon 'spring' pedals
Ultra stiff frame - wobble wobble frame
Comfort (relatively) - bump crunch (pain)
Cross wind issues - cross wind issues
Aero lights - awful lights
Garmin - .......

I am measurably faster on my 2019 bike in every way, it is also far more comfortable (despite it being a Propel with ultra stiff ISP). I enjoyed riding my 2009 bike much more........go figure.
Giant Propel Advanced SL Red Etap 11s Easton EC90 wheels CeramicSpeed BB Zipp SL70 bars 6.5kg

Vitus ZX1 CRS Campy Chorus 12s Bora WTO 45 disk brake wheels Zipp SL70 bars 7.5kg

SL8 build with Craft CS5060 Wheels in progress

bilwit
Posts: 1526
Joined: Sun Apr 03, 2016 5:49 am
Location: Seattle, WA

by bilwit

WW is more about hobbyism. Ride feel (acceleration) and going up hill optimal to your own relative fitness are just a couple perks of it. I've had similar conversations about cycling enthusiasm in general with non-cyclists and they seemed to understand it better when drawn a parallel to people who do a lot of work on their cars, computer building/gaming, etc. Does it "make them any better" at the respective discipline... marginally, but not really the point.

CyclingGiraffe
Posts: 328
Joined: Sat Jul 18, 2020 10:04 pm

by CyclingGiraffe

Nickldn wrote:
Sun Feb 28, 2021 11:16 pm

Well my 2019 road bike is objectively better than my 2009 bike in every way:

2019 - 2009
Aero frame carbon - less aero frame carbon
Internal cable routing - external cables
PF ceramic BB - English thread DA steel BB
Wide and deep carbon wheels - shallow aluminium DA 7900 wheels
25mm tubs - 22mm tubs
11s Red etap electronic - 10s DA7900 mechanical
Seat with hole - solid seat
Aero bars - round shape bars
Aero carbon stem - aluminium stem
Gel bar tape - cork bar tape
Carbon 'blade' pedals - carbon 'spring' pedals
Ultra stiff frame - wobble wobble frame
Comfort (relatively) - bump crunch (pain)
Cross wind issues - cross wind issues
Aero lights - awful lights
Garmin - .......

I am measurably faster on my 2019 bike in every way, it is also far more comfortable (despite it being a Propel with ultra stiff ISP). I enjoyed riding my 2009 bike much more........go figure.
Tell me more about this "wobble wobble . . . bump crunch (pain)" frame; I'm intrigued!

by Weenie


Visit starbike.com Online Retailer for HighEnd cycling components
Great Prices ✓    Broad Selection ✓    Worldwide Delivery ✓

www.starbike.com



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