Is there a site that lists bicycle weights?

[Dave W]

I own a carbon Cannondale with rim brakes but quite fancy disc brakes. Not prepared to pay the £1000 premium for the privilege though - even if the carbon is higher quality.
It got me wondering whether the aluminium version with disc brakes was a good buy (much cheaper). Many manufacturers don't seem to publish weights for some reason. I wondered if there was an individual site that might do comparisons.

[Brucey]

weight weenies keep a database of component weights and have a forum where they talk about little else.

A lot of manufacturer supplied figures are guff, or vary too much with frame size (or just randomly) to be meaningful.

[edit; you should try and ride a good rim braked bike and whatever new disc braked bike back to back, on 'normal' tarmac, with the same tyres/tyre pressures. Be prepared for a disappointing ride.]

cheers

[greyingbeard]

theres a lot more to a bike than just its weight.

[robc02]

When magazines review bikes they usually quote measured weights. Sometimes these reviews get published on the web - e.g. Bikeradar. There are also roadbike specific sites such as http://road.cc and http://www.roadbikereview.com.

If you have a specific model in mind why not visit a shop that has one and take a handheld spring balance? Maybe try to book a test ride at the same time - and then repeat the ride on your existing bike?

[JohnW]

Don't become obsessed with weight Dave. No manufacturer who may/may not quote weights will include for your pump, spare inner tubes, waterproof, cheeses-n'-pickle sandwich, banana and flapjack, oil on your chain - or pedals. Don't worry about it.

If you want to save weight don't take on liquids, ride naked , and let the air out of your tyres .............

[mattsccm]

Agreed weight isn't everything but why carry it if you don't need to? As so many bikes are similar in so many ways, weight is often the only difference.
The simple answer is no. Even manufacturers don't provide lists of their own bikes. Taking your own scales to the shop is the only way unless someone had published a weight for the size you need.

[Brucey]

I own a carbon Cannondale with rim brakes but quite fancy disc brakes.

OK, I have to at least ask the question..... why...?

Not prepared to pay the £1000 premium for the privilege though - even if the carbon is higher quality.

which rather begs the question 'why not...?', if it is (for some reason) worth buying a whole new bike just to have different brakes, why wouldn't you want to buy one that is similar quality to your present bike? What value do you attach to having different brakes, and why? What other compromises are you willing to make to have these different brakes? More weight? Less expensive parts elsewhere on the bike? More complex maintenance? Worse ride quality?

I can't help but think that you will end up with a bike that doesn't ride so well, and is somewhat heavier than the one you have at present. Neither quality is one that I find appealing in a road bike; in fact the reverse of those things is arguably why I bother to ride a road bike at all these days...

BTW I'm not saying what you are thinking of is completely daft (although it is something I am not myself planning to do anytime soon) but I do think that you are best to go into this with a clear perspective and some realistic expectations.

cheers

[oldmanonabike]

Why disc brakes you ask , I have arthritis in my hands and find the disc brakes on my newish road bike much easier to use than rim brakes

[pedalpower2]

It would be useful to have weights quoted. At 82 I can't afford to have more weight than is necessary. Some makers seem to be against giving this information but if the customer wants then it should be available.

[Brucey]

Why disc brakes you ask , I have arthritis in my hands and find the disc brakes on my newish road bike much easier to use than rim brakes

easier to use than what rim brakes?

Brakes are very far from being made equal in every case; that could well be execution rather than conception making the difference with whatever you compared them with. I find that, in the dry, good rim brakes are better than many disc brakes are, and in the wet, I am braking with somewhat more circumspection anyway.

If I had a bike with rim brakes and I wanted more power for less effort, I'd likely first see if I could improve the rim brakes in some way; pads, cables, brake type even. System MA values for rim brakes go from around 4:1 to about 9:1, with lower friction losses in the latter case. This translates to about x2.5 stronger brakes. Add in the variation in pad friction coefficient and (depending on where you start from) you can easily get mechanical rim brakes that are x3 or x4 more effective for the same effort.

cheers

[TonyR]

[edit; you should try and ride a good rim braked bike and whatever new disc braked bike back to back, on 'normal' tarmac, with the same tyres/tyre pressures. Be prepared for a disappointing ride.]

Mainly because new disc brakes take a short time to bed in and can be not that impressive straight out the box. You get the same problem with new disc brakes on cars. Take it out to a local hill, do a few hard stops to bed them in and then recompare

[Dave W]

Because I have other bikes with disc brakes that are far superior to my rim braked bike that's why.
I know they are better because I use them. I don't want to go down the discs versus rim brake debate yet again thanks.

I just wondered what the weight penalty might be on that particular model from carbon to aluminium + discs thats all.

I have an aversion to steel (don't know why) and generally either ride carbon or aluminium - that particular brand offers the same bike in both those materials.

[robc02]

I just wondered what the weight penalty might be on that particular model from carbon to aluminium + discs thats all.

Your best bet is a back to back comparison, either in a shop or with someone who owns the one you might be interested in. (The other owner might be quite interested. It could make a fun day out - comparing one another's bikes!) Even if you can find published weights you might not be able to depend on them. You have specific models in mind, so its not as if you were asking a general question about carbon/aluminium/discs.

[thidwick]

Weight?!
I can (relatively) easily reduce my weight by a kilo or so. I have a bit to spare.
To reduce my bike weight by a kilo would, I think, cost me a fortune buying carbon and ultralight parts.
The drive for significantly lower bicycle weight always seems a bit fatuous beyond some limits: but then I guess those limits are what makes us all different.
Me? I can take the tube, pump, and cable lock out of the pannier, and imagine I've spent a fortune on a carbon frame.

[JohnW]

.............I have an aversion to steel .............

You'd have ben scuppered 30 years ago then.