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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I think we could settle on approximately 6kg, couldn't we? Just to give us all some room to move...
@Daccordi Rider
Yes - and pronounce it 'Podnuh', I suppose?
Weight matters. Just more on you than your bike.
@Teocalli
It was my French teacher who also said "it's a love hate thing. I love to hate you"
@frank
Why question the obvious?
@Chris
I think you are right it comes from a bond movie, and I think (but have not researched) that Pussy Galore said it.
gert jan theunisse had a training wheel filled with lead, for training purposes needless to say...it worked !(-:
@frank
You got your orange cables!
Training "heavy" may have its benefits but they are fleeting. For example, consider swinging a baseball bat a few times with a weight, then pop the weights off when stepping up to the plate for the pitch. For the first swing or two the bat feels lighter, snappier. But that sensation is gone quickly since the body+mind adapts. Thus its a perceived effect, not an actual one. So, train heavy, train light, whatever: Just ride. If there's any real benefit of training heavy its durability. Better to have be rolling vs broke down on the side of the road.
@michel02
Willing to lay odds Ol' Gert had a bit more than lead working in his favor.