Modern bike weights

[freiston]

<SNIPPED>
Realistic weight ranges based on what is available/ridden

Audax sans kit 8-11kg

Touring 7kg upwards

[The utility cyclist]

What is car money

Well, it typically costs about £3k to £4k to get the weight down to 7 kg. Though you can spend over £8k for a similar weight if you want something like Chris Froome’s bicycle. No doubt you can get to 7 kg for less than £3k if you shop for a month, but my list of weights was typical weights, not foolish minimums. I’d like to see what passes for a tourer at your suggested 7 kg! And while you gave 7.5–11 kg for gravel/adventure, most such bicycles actually being sold weigh more than even your upper limit.

As a side note, manufacturers’ claims aren’t a good guide to weight, because they usually fib and don’t include pedals.

Where can you buy a new car for £3-4k of any quality and if you have a c-class or 3 series estate at that price can you get me two?
My point was you're stating that to get to lower weights that you need to spend a lot of money, "car money" as you put it, but comparing used car prices of 5-6 year old middle of the range motor vehicles to brand new high spec bikes isn't a true comparison. Also as I stated, if a bog standard bike in Argos in 1976 was about a weeks wage (Av wages were in fact £72/week) how much would a top of the line bike be?

I built a top of the range UCI weight limit beating bike with new components (bar as new wheels and handlebars) for £1550, with a new continental pro team frame, if I'd have assembled it used and/or bought some cheaper components like some chinese carbon fibre rims I could have got it for under £1000 easily and still be under 7kg

At the end of the day why does it even matter how much someone spends on a bike or whether that is perceived as value for money/money well spent even if it's in the shed for 11 months of the year.

[The utility cyclist]

<SNIPPED>
Realistic weight ranges based on what is available/ridden

Audax sans kit 8-11kg

Touring 7kg upwards

Yes you can go touring on a 7kg bike. Seen an Australian guy ride a TCR Advance SL with bar bag, frame bags and huge seatpost bag, his wheels were the stock sub 1400g clinchers.
Doesn't mean it works for everyone but it's whatever works for you.

[freiston]

<SNIPPED>
Realistic weight ranges based on what is available/ridden

Audax sans kit 8-11kg

Touring 7kg upwards

Yes you can go touring on a 7kg bike. Seen an Australian guy ride a TCR Advance SL with bar bag, frame bags and huge seatpost bag, his wheels were the stock sub 1400g clinchers.
Doesn't mean it works for everyone but it's whatever works for you.

I think that giving a 'realistic weight' for touring bike category based on a hitherto undisclosed example of one bloke using a high-end (to me) racing bike is missing the point of the thread and rather misleading. The OP asked for "good clubman -standard bike. I would go so far as to say that the TCR is above that standard as a race bike.

I realise that the OP didn't ask for touring bike weights but I'd say a realistic range would be 12-15kg all kitted but without luggage.

[Samuel D]

Where can you buy a new car for £3-4k of any quality and if you have a c-class or 3 series estate at that price can you get me two?

You sound like you want an argument. I only stated some weights that I thought were typical. I would not spend £3k on a bicycle, but I know people do. Some spend twice that per bicycle and have several. I happen to think such bicycles are not just poor value but functionally worse than my own despite their price.

If you think it’s useful to say road bikes start at 5.5 kg and tourers start at 7 kg, we disagree. It’s a bit like saying adult humans start at 35 kg: true but atypical.

[Bmblbzzz]

We also have to remember that there is a these on paper calculations may give relative comparisons for a particular lab conditions instant but dont always work so well in the real world. For instance the two bikes i used to use for audaxes: one light and stiff, the other heavier, flexier and with squishier tyres. If i were to jump on them now and time myself up my road the lighter one would undoubtedly win due to simple physics. But on audaxes the heavier one seemed to get round quicker especially as the distance increased. All simply because it was more comfortable so i felt less fatigued from road buz and aches in the latter halves of the rides.
However if i was a tdf rider doing the same thing the lighter bike may well be faster as the rider would be more atuned to the less comfortable bike and generally less sensitive to fatigue.
From which i deduce that its not just horses for courses but also horses for riders.

Definitely agree.

[NATURAL ANKLING]

Hi,
In Halfords today -
Rep reckons 8 kg but actually 10.1 with pedals.
http://www.halfords.com/cycling/bikes/r ... -team-bike
Its minus front changer and 2nd chain wheel cable and gear lever, tis 11 speed.
My 83 Koga Miyata has 12 speeds and weighs 10.5 kgs, and is steel, add the tyre deficit and its 11.4.

[Si]

After starting this i thought i might as well weigh on road bike (653 frame, fixed wheel, old but middling coponents eg 9spd ultegra chain set).....21lbs with spds and race blades. I was going to weigh my work bike but couldnt lift it onto the scales

[The utility cyclist]

Yes you can go touring on a 7kg bike. Seen an Australian guy ride a TCR Advance SL with bar bag, frame bags and huge seatpost bag, his wheels were the stock sub 1400g clinchers.
Doesn't mean it works for everyone but it's whatever works for you.

I think that giving a 'realistic weight' for touring bike category based on a hitherto undisclosed example of one bloke using a high-end (to me) racing bike is missing the point of the thread and rather misleading. The OP asked for "good clubman -standard bike. I would go so far as to say that the TCR is above that standard as a race bike.

I realise that the OP didn't ask for touring bike weights but I'd say a realistic range would be 12-15kg all kitted but without luggage.

How is it misleading, it's realistic because it's been done by many with lightweight carbon fibre machines without the 'endurance/touring/audax' tag and are simply out and out racing machines adapted to be used for a differing style or riding, isn't that what pretty much everyone on here has done with a bike at some point or another away from its 'label'?

The example I gave(& I know of plenty more) was the lightest I knew of being sub 7kg stock with Dura Ace 9000, the guy in question doesn't race, he's competetive in what he does, he rides with other 'clubmen' and does sportives and other similar events, isn't that the definition of a good clubman?

Isn't it entirely feasible and proven to be capable of such at a price range even new that quite a fair few 'good clubmen' are riding, what is a 'good clubman' value anyway? These days many people in the 'club' or even non club types are not riding lower to mid range bikes, we already know that on average they have more disposible income and whilst £3,000 upwards is a lot of money to some, to others it isn't and in any case that is a brand new out the box money, average joes who aren't racing are indeed spending that money so I think my point is valid.
Also If you can use one bike for all occasions then the 'clubman' valuation is somewhat negated because I would imagine 'good clubman' own more than one bike and use them for differing occasions.

My audax cum tourer (that can take loads over 150kg all up) built from a higher end hybrid frame with no particular special kit aside from the USE carbon fibre seatpost weighs in just over 9kg (-guards/bags/rack) but with a Brooks Swift, a triple set up, a set of wheels that are a shade over 2kg and the 105 road pedals, it cost me under £700 even with mostly new parts. If I put my 'nice' 32 spoke wheels on, a set of cushy 28mm tyres (I currently use Giant PSL2s), my comfy Fizik Arione ti, a Stronglight super compact double, Suntour Cyclone mechs and a 12-26 cassette, that would take my 'hybrid' frame that would be perfectly adept at touring to around 8kg and still cost much less than half what an average clubman spends on one single bike these days yet I could use it for pretty much any task, commuting, the shopping, touring, long rides, fast club rides.

I said previously you don't have to spend 'car money' to be able to get a bike to 7kg

[Brucey]

interestingly the manufacturers use weight as a differentiator in their model range heirachy, often in a strange way. For example one major manufacturer uses the same (relatively lightweight) frame for several of their mid-range hybrid machines. Presumably economies of scale make this a sensible approach. Many of the components used on the different models are about the same weight despite variations in quality through the range. The bikes in the range are further differentiated in weight by using

a) different forks; the steel fork option is about 3lbs (i.e. about double the weight of a 531 fork) and the carbon/alu fork is about half the weight. I am sure that they could make the steel forks lighter, for about the same cost, if they wanted to. Needless to say the ride quality with the heavy forks installed is pretty lousy.

b) different handlebars; some models are fitted with what I can only suppose are deliberately overweight handlebars. These bars are made like cheap aluminium bars (i.e. with a generous wall thickness of about 2.5 to 3mm) but these ones are made in steel . I think there is at least 1lb of extra material in handlebars alone.

One LBS owner near me thinks that mid-range bikes of this sort are getting heavier, not lighter, and with this kind of approach I can see how this could happen. They are seen to be 'adding value' to the more expensive bikes not by adding expensive lightweight parts to them, but by making the cheaper models worse!

cheers

[Si]

After starting this i thought i might as well weigh on road bike (653 frame, fixed wheel, old but middling coponents eg 9spd ultegra chain set).....21lbs with spds and race blades. I was going to weigh my work bike but couldnt lift it onto the scales

heaved work b9ke onto scales.....with lock, bag, lights, tools etc, it came to 44 lbs. 10kg gravel bike plus pedals pump and multitool for starts to look appealing

[tatanab]

After starting this i thought i might as well weigh on road bike (653 frame, fixed wheel, old but middling coponents eg 9spd ultegra chain set).....21lbs with spds and race blades.

That's right. My 653 track bike with ESGE mudguards, Open Pro rims, nothing special about the parts weighs 21 lbs. My 725 Roberts touring bike with rear carrier and mudguards is 27 lbs. My daily 531 hack with dynamo, carrier etc, plus all the junk in my saddlebag is 43 lbs.

On tour one year I met an American group on a supported ride with rental Specialized aluminium framed "touring bikes". No mudguards, no baggage. Their machines were lighter than anything I ever had to race on.

[Mick F]

My 1986 531c Mercian weighs 22lbs ........ and 23lbs with mudguards, and a tad over 23lbs with the tool pouch on the seat pin.
Add a bottle of water and you get maybe 24lbs.

That's 10Kg to 10.9Kg

[Bonefishblues]

After starting this i thought i might as well weigh on road bike (653 frame, fixed wheel, old but middling coponents eg 9spd ultegra chain set).....21lbs with spds and race blades. I was going to weigh my work bike but couldnt lift it onto the scales

heaved work b9ke onto scales.....with lock, bag, lights, tools etc, it came to 44 lbs. 10kg gravel bike plus pedals pump and multitool for starts to look appealing

Might I suggest a weighbridge?

[Mick F]

When I was riding the Raleigh Chopper, I weighed it.
44lbs.

By the time I fitted the loaded trailer, it was almost double that!