Parting the waters on a 24 pound bike.
My bike weighs about 6 kilos. It is no waify little thing either, with it having a 61cm frame and and three stories of seatpost. It has beefy tubes, a stiff bottom bracket and steerer, and deep section wheels which are laced 3x in the back and 2x in front. This bike has never made me go faster; only going faster has made me go faster.
Gianni rode Haleakala in the 80’s on a heavy steel frame with a 42T chainring and a 23T cog in the back. He rode it wearing a cuttoff sleeveless t-shirt; an offense which, had I known when we started this site, I would have put him on probation for. Then he did it again several years later on a titanium, campa-equipped steed with a compact and wearing proper kit. He rode it in about the same time, also proving that you go as fast as you want, not as fast as your bike is.
Gianni Bugno (different Gianni but possibly the source of inspiration for Keeper Gianni’s name), won back-to-back l’Alpe d’Huez stages on a 24-pound steel Moser, beating lighter carbon TVT’s to the punch both times.
Riding light bikes is fun, but they won’t make you go any faster. Pushing harder on the pedals does.
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@piwakawaka
That combination of comments could well result in the +1 badge this week, it would have my vote.
@Nate
@frank must be, to get a 61cm under 6kgs...
@frank 61cm?? I thought you would have subscribed to the popular 'down-sized' trend. I also ride a 61 at 6'4" and was considering downsizing...who knew?
@piwakawaka
Source ? Who the hell uses credible information to back up facts ?
That's absurd
@JohnB
When I was 10, I had this nutty idea of wearing a weighted suit around to get "super hero strength." It didn't really work all that well (actually not at all, but we're talking little kid logic here). I think a lot of folks train heavy (re: fat) and race light (re: less fat). I'm not so sure that works all that well either.
Train heavy, race light is one of the biggest myths out there. Ever seen a pro jump on a heavy bike to train? Training is simple, effort (watts) and heart rate. You can only push out so many watts or get your heart rate to X. The weight of the bike makes no difference to what your physiology allows you to do and improvements you can make via training properly.
@Barracuda
The day we start to cite sources or in any other way become credible is the day I shut this place down.
@piwakawaka
+1 badge to you, matey. Strong work.
Also I know the weight is right, just can't prove it. So yeah, I'm using the Dutch Clairvoyance Based On Shit You Know But Can't Be Arsed To Prove edition of the Scientific Method.
I love that no one is questioning my facts on how much Gianni sucks at climbing.
@Owen
Having ridden the Carrefour and Arenberg and the rest of Roubaix and Flanders on my above-mentioned carbon steed, I call bullshit.
That said, lightweight does no good on the flat.