Categories: The BikesThe RidesTraditionUnforgettable Rides

Weight Weenies

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.

frank

The founder of Velominati and curator of The Rules, Frank was born in the Dutch colonies of Minnesota. His boundless physical talents are carefully canceled out by his equally boundless enthusiasm for drinking. Coffee, beer, wine, if it’s in a container, he will enjoy it, a lot of it. He currently lives in Seattle. He loves riding in the rain and scheduling visits with the Man with the Hammer just to be reminded of the privilege it is to feel completely depleted. He holds down a technology job the description of which no-one really understands and his interests outside of Cycling and drinking are Cycling and drinking. As devoted aesthete, the only thing more important to him than riding a bike well is looking good doing it. Frank is co-author along with the other Keepers of the Cog of the popular book, The Rules, The Way of the Cycling Disciple and also writes a monthly column for the magazine, Cyclist. He is also currently working on the first follow-up to The Rules, tentatively entitled The Hardmen. Email him directly at rouleur@velominati.com.

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Teocalli says:

Jun 26 2015 at 12:07 am

@frank

@Owen

@Teocalli

I have definitely crushed at least one Strava segment in the area on the commuter simply because it’s so godawful rough that no one wants to risk their carbon steeds by hitting the stretch hard. I certainly don’t since if I break my bike I’m just out of luck. Aluminum is definitely more jarring but the giant tires make up for it.

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.

Well I've ridden Carrefour and sections around there on carbon this year. Near shook my fillings out. I can't help but wonder whether there would be a difference on steel. I suspect the conclusions would be - near shook my fillings out.
Teocalli says:

Jun 26 2015 at 12:10 am

@Nate

@frank

A rider is made up of two parts, a mind and a body. The mind is the more important part.

Who was it that said "It's simply a matter of mind over matter, I don't mind and you don't matter" - probably from a Bond film when some baddie thought they were going to manage to finish him off.
Teocalli says:

Jun 26 2015 at 12:24 am

@Daccordi Rider

L'Eroica Britannia figures are something like 160 Km, 2,500 m climb, 11 kg bike, 5Sp (with triple). Time about 1.5 hr longer than the same on lightweight carbon 22 Sp.
ErikdR says:

Jun 26 2015 at 1:23 am

It may all have been in the mind - even back then - but I remember fondly the days immediately upon return from long cycling holidays (weeks of riding, 1000's of km's, mountains...)

I would almost literally be flying during the first couple of rides after returning home (and after taking the sleeping bag, tent, panniers and racks etc. off, reducing the weight of the (steel) machine from 20+ back to a feathery 11 or 12 kilo's). What a feeling.
Daccordi Rider says:

Jun 26 2015 at 2:41 am

@ErikdR

It may all have been in the mind – even back then – but I remember fondly the days immediately upon return from long cycling holidays (weeks of riding, 1000’s of km’s, mountains…)

I would almost literally be flying during the first couple of rides after returning home (and after taking the sleeping bag, tent, panniers and racks etc. off, reducing the weight of the (steel) machine from 20+ back to a feathery 11 or 12 kilo’s). What a feeling.

That's not in your mind, it's being fit from cycling lots. No doubt if you ride a heavy bike lots then jump on a light one you will feel unshackled so to speak. But for equal training you won't be any fitter than the guy on the light bike who has worked himself at the same levels.

ChrisO, I didn't take that from Fronks article, just calling bullshit on a couple of responses. I thought Frank meant it doesn't matter what you ride, you get better by hurting yourself. That's the fun of some of his articles, we can misinterpret them any way we like. People frequently misunderestimate Frank...
Teocalli says:

Jun 26 2015 at 2:45 am

@ErikdR

Biggest difference for me is when we come back from being at altitude in Colorado. The years where we spent whole ski seasons out there and became truly acclimatised I'd be flying for about 2-3 weeks on return before the benefit wore off. Even spending 2 weeks out there has a noticeable impact on return to sea level.

Of course the converse is not so great as we have 2 flights of stairs and no lift at the condo. So carrying cases up stairs at 2,900 meters when we arrive is knackering.
Daccordi Rider says:

Jun 26 2015 at 3:03 am

@Teocalli.
ChrisO says:

Jun 26 2015 at 3:03 am

@Daccordi Rider

ChrisO, I didn’t take that from Fronks article, just calling bullshit on a couple of responses. I thought Frank meant it doesn’t matter what you ride, you get better by hurting yourself. That’s the fun of some of his articles, we can misinterpret them any way we like. People frequently misunderestimate Frank…

Well there's not much misinterpreting this:

Riding light bikes is fun, but they won’t make you go any faster. Pushing harder on the pedals does

which is quite simply wrong. The same effort on a lighter bike WILL make you go faster. Pushing harder will make you go more faster.

But that would be letting facts get in the way of the story.
Teocalli says:

Jun 26 2015 at 3:08 am

@ChrisO

@Daccordi Rider

ChrisO, I didn’t take that from Fronks article, just calling bullshit on a couple of responses. I thought Frank meant it doesn’t matter what you ride, you get better by hurting yourself. That’s the fun of some of his articles, we can misinterpret them any way we like. People frequently misunderestimate Frank…

Well there’s not much misinterpreting this:

Riding light bikes is fun, but they won’t make you go any faster. Pushing harder on the pedals does

which is quite simply wrong. The same effort on a lighter bike WILL make you go faster. Pushing harder will make you go more faster.

But that would be letting facts get in the way of the story.

Ref Mark Twain (sub Truth)
Daccordi Rider says:

Jun 26 2015 at 3:28 am

@ChrisO

True that, my slant. Light bike won't make you better by itself, pusher harder fucktards.