Whoa! Just calculated my on-ride accessories (inc. pedals) weigh nearly 2kg
 

I bought some portable luggage scales which are pretty handy for weighing bikes too. I was a bit schocked to see that my carbon commuter (Giant TCX) weighs almost exactly 11kg - a lot more than than advertised "base weight" of 9.2kg. I have a non-stock wheelset (Fulcrum Racing 5 vs Giant PX2), and possibly marginally lighter tires (32mm Vittoria Hyper), so I estimated the accessories to come in at about 2kg.

Here is my breakdown:

Pedals - Shimano M530 - 455g

Lights - Lezyne 800 lumen front c. 200g, Serfas rear 60-80g

Altura KLICKfix bracket 118gr (for bar bag - not included)

Topeak accessory bar 116g . (needed for light when bar bag is used)

Topeak top bag 150gr

Topeak large saddle bag c. 176gr

Topeak Hexus multi-tool c. 170gr

Topeak minipump 82gr

Schwalbe Innertube 28-40mm - 150g

2 x Bottle cages - c. 100g (bottles not included)

Bell - 20gr? (legal requirement)

Sigma bike computer + sensors - 50gr?

Garmin Edge 200 - 65gr

rear fender (SX Raceblade pro) - c. 200gr?

Total: c. 1950gr.

It certainly all adds up!

Some items I would consider absolutely necessary: pedals (duh!), spare inner tube, pump and basic tools (although maybe lightweight versions or a couple of allen keys would do)

Others are normally needed: lights (for added safety even in daylight), bottle cage (& water bottle), bell

And the rest is not essential or strictly necessary, but adds utility: bags (for food, spares, tools, phone, wallet, rain gear), fenders, computers.


I should stress that this is a commuter bike, so I'm not racing it, or going very long distances (about 28km round trip, although there are quite a few hills). I do need to keep the bags for carrying stuff, and if I got rid of them, I'd only have to use a back pack with the same total weight, but less comfort.

I'm curious whether anyone else had gone through the same exercise, and what your total accessory weight is?

If this were your bike, would you be looking for weight savings, and where from?

John

I had to double check that this wasn't posted in the touring forum.

TCX? All's I know is, despite the carbon frame, my TCX it the heaviest bike I own. Next in line is aluminum fixed gear, then lightweight steel gran fondo bike. Of course the Helium is the lightest. I carried the Helium and the TXC upstairs yesterday at the same time - I think the TCX must be 8-10 lbs heavier than the Helium (had taken the latter for a ride and picked up the former at the shop on the way home). Those disc brakes, mega cassette, big tires, hefty tubless-ready wheels, Power Strap pedals, the fat ol' 38g CO2 cartridge in the spare kit, etc. all add up....

LOL :-) Yes, it certainly feels like I'm going "on tour" when I set out to work with all my bits 'n bobs.

Your appraisal is making me feel heavy :-). Must be time to find that super-light climbing bike.....

Including water I think I carry 6-7 lbs of gear ... and the water apparently weighs three pounds, so four pounds of gear. My pedals and bottle cages are pretty light too ..... of course light pedals are pricey and maybe not as durable but Nashbar makes 20-gram cages and sells them for $3-$6 or so. I try to always bring a couple powerbars and a gel or two, and as for tools ... multi-tool, chainbreak, three tire levers, sometimes a spoke wrench (only need it when I don't have it) and some spare quick links. And usually some glueless patches and a couple boots. And a seat bag and a top-bar bag for easy access to food (with my bad shoulders fishing for things in a jersey pocket can be painful and dangerous.) Also I like to run at least a real headlight and a blinkie up front (usually two headlights), and two tail lights .... if one dies, the other might keep me from dying, so .....

I know for tools I could risk it and go with a Y-allen key and a reversible screwdriver 90 percent of the time ... but I had a chain pop twice several days ago, so that chain break and spare links .....

I figure since I am not racing ... that's the Honest weight of a rideable bike.

We get mesmerized by numbers---15-lb bike, 16-lb bike.

Unless you have a caravan for support, you are not reliably and regularly riding a 15-lb bike, sorry. Even $15-k bikes can get flats or snap a cable. And those UCI race bikes look so clean ... because they don't carry any tools or lights or anything. And of course bikes are listed at "Showroom" weight. On the one hand it is to have a standard ... on another hand it is to get us all lusting after lighter bikes. Like four or eight ounces makes Any difference to anyone who doesn't race professionally.

I don't care how much the necessary gear weighs,. So long as I am not bringing stuff I never use and never have used ... i am bringing stuff that at one time or another I was absolutely thrilled to have.

Are you sure you need pedals?

You could certainly cut a lot of weight if you wished.

My XPedo R-Force, 170g (M530, 455g), savings 285g.
Cygolite Dice HL 150, 30g (Lezyne 800, 200g), savings 170g.
Cygolite Dice TL 50, 30g (Serfas rear, 80g), savings 50g.
King Titanium cages: 56g (pair) (above, 100g), savings 44g
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Savings on those couple of items, 549g, or 1.2 pounds.

NIce! But those XPedo pedals aren't cheap, are they!

This ^^ ! It's the core principle.

It becomes more important when the impact of not having the right piece of equipment to fix your bike becomes greater - e.g. being 50km from the nearest town, without cell-phone coverage.

Personally even having to walk more than a couple of km, or paying $30+ for a taxi is enough incentive for me to take everything I might need to finish my commute.

But I will start to consider my inventory for each route more carefully.

They're bikes

You pay more for less.

Am I the only one a little creeped out by a product called "XPedo"?

I have my steel Guru down to 17 lb. 10 oz. with just pedals. After I add bottle cages, rear light, tool bag, Garmin, https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...782157f43e.jpg
etc. I'm riding it at 19 lbs even. My tool bag has 2 tire levers, tube, small patch kt and mini-pump and it comes in at a bit over 1 LB.

Pedals are accessories?

Tube, co2, mini tool, 1 lever, and sometimes a credit card. It's just under a pound.

I do wrap a few inches of gorilla tape around the co2 cartridge.

If I was doing unsupported gravel centuries I'd add a patch kit and mini pump to the mix.

If you do proper and regular maintenance, most of time you just ride.

shave your mustache, that should help ;-)

in all seriousness, that doesn't sound bad for a commuter. certainly not compared to the garage I carry

I went kind of all-in on not caring on my commuter, adding a relatively heavy steel rack, aluminum fenders and a chain cover, up-sized headlight battery. Probably closer to 3 kg altogether. With my already pretty heavy single speed I figured that if weight was an issue, then a little more weight won't make it much worse. On the plus side, I can keep the heavy stuff off of my road bike now since it's all on the designated commuting bike.

My bikes weight at least 20-30 pounds each and my avatar is a bodybuilding aid...steel is definitely real.

Phat is where it's at.

I could definitely cut the tools and food weight ... but that is the stuff you want when you don't have it. I could put some of it in my jersey pockets .... but it won't weigh any less.

Why the Sigma bike computer and and Edge 200?

Not nearly as bad as 'CurrentPedo'

This. I never understood why bike weight is quoted without pedals.

It makes sense in bike catalogs because almost nobody uses stock pedals on anything other than low-end bikes. Including the weight of a stock pedal would obfuscate the weight that the buyer is actually interested in.

But in terms of cyclists describing their bike weights, it rarely makes any sense to leave it out. Most people treat pedals as a long-term component on a bike.

​​​​​​Don't forget to add the weight of cleats and adapters.