noglider 

I just thought up a new project for myself. I want to take the weights of various components so I can see what the breakdown of the weight of a bike is. This is not the same as the weight weenies project. I want weights of TYPICAL components. This is so I can look at a bike and figure out why it weighs what it weighs. From there, I can get an idea of the most cost effective ways to lighten it and whether it's appropriate at all to try.

I want to do this for "pedestrian" bikes, not high performance bikes. For instance, my wife's bike is a 10 year old (approx) Trek 820. It has a suspension fork and a hardtail. It's an awfully nice bike, and it suits her well. I put thin (or thinnish) slick tires on it, but the bike is still mysteriously heavy. If the extra weight is in the fork or frame (or both (boy, I'm really using a lot of parentheses here)), then I'll know I should leave it as it is and get her a new bike for lighter weight.

I want to weigh things like steel fenders, plastic fenders, cottered cranks, cotterless cranks, etc, so I know what typical weight is.

Anyone have a good scale to recommend? I have a postal scale which seems accurate but it's inconvenient for bike parts. I have a hanging scale with a hook but it seems super cheap and inaccurate.

rhm

I use an "info" scale from Ikea. It's a cheap plastic scale that weighs things and stuff, up to over 6 lbs. The bowl is removable, of course; and you can adjust it with a lever on the side so "zero" either includes the weight of the bowl, or doesn't. It'll give you a pretty good idea what something weighs, but without great precision.

I used mine a few days ago to weigh two Sturmey Archer AW hubs, with all the nuts, cog, etc. removed: a '48 with a chromed steel shell (about 1000 g) and a '53 with an alloy shell (about 900 g).

Zaphod Beeblebrox 

you can get a postal scale for 40-50 bux.

or go to a Head Shop ("Tobacco Shop")....they sell scales

or if you have nintendo Wii, get a Wii Fit. Its not only really really fun, but it has all sorts of great balance exercises AND its a very accurate scale. (Much like Alton Brown, I like multi-taskers )

LesterOfPuppets

I weighed some of my wheels on my triple beam and was sad to find my rear wheels outweighed many wheelsets available today.

This is the one I use. Only good up to about 6 pounds, so won't work for heavier frames, etc. Precision to .1 grams:

wrk101

1. Small stuff I use a postage scale, a good investment if you are going to do much on ebay. My postage scale goes up to five pounds. If I was going to buy a scale now, I would probably go with a 15 pound unit. I see decent ones on ebay with a delivered, BIN of about $18.

2. For bigger stuff, I use one of those cheap digital hanging scales, bought mine on ebay for about $8 as I recall. Works good.

jimmuller 

Good idea. Please post the results or it didn't happen. No, wait, scratch that last part, that's for bike pics.

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bigbossman 

I use this one, from Harbor Freight. Goes up to 11 pounds, and weighs in lbs, ounces, or grams. Works great, and only $20.

https://www.harborfreight.com/digital-scale-95364.html

They have a ton of inexpensive scales - here's the page:
https://www.harborfreight.com/catalog...egory=&q=scale

noglider 

I already have a digital postal scale that goes up to 50 lbs, but it's really hard to weigh a bike with it. It's even harder to weigh a frame with it.

I think I'll get this hanging scale. It goes up to 45 pounds, so I can weigh a bike with it by hanging it by the rear rim.

bigbossman 

That's the one I'm going to get, too. No need to hang by the rear rim - just put the hook under a saddle rail, and the bike will balance out.

ldmataya 

Stop - you hit the nail on the head right there. I've been upgrading bikes for family members for a long time. If you don't start with a light frame/fork, the rider will never notice all your effort. You had it right - put decent tires on, pump them up, then stop. Or get a new bike.

LesterOfPuppets

Pretty much, and if you've a 5+ lb. fork and don't mind running rigid, you can easily shave 3 lbs. for $0-60.

southpawboston

that's the one i have. i think i paid less than $10 shipped from hong kong and didn't get my hopes up, but it seems to be pretty accurate and consistent.

wrk101

The hanging scale I have is very similar. +1 Hang from a seat rail.

For individual components, I prefer the postal scale.

reverborama

I have a small "food" scale at home and can weigh some components I have laying around (like a few SunTour front and rear derailleurs). Do you want the results in grams or ounces?

The chain has got to be the biggest offender. I really should take that thing to a bike shop and weigh all the chains they have in stock...

sillygolem

I've been eyeing this scale for making a sandbag weight set:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...SIN=B001S9HWKS
35lb postal scale. This would let you weigh just about anything on a bike including the frame.

bigbossman 

Depends on the chain. The last one I bought weighs 240 grams. That's 8.27 ounces. A Cinelli 100mm 1A stem weighs almost 10 ounces, and the Shimano bar-cons I have on my desk weigh close to 7.

jimmuller 

What is the difference in weight of a "typical" good and great frame, not counting the ultra-heavy or ultra-light outlyers? That's how much you would save by buying another frame.

Captain Blight

I foresee a return to drillium in the not-too-distant future.

jimmuller 

Humor or no, the question posed by the OP could be interesting. Do chain models really weigh much differently from each other? A half-ounce here and a half-ounce there and pretty soon you've saved a few ounces! (FWIW, I have no intention of drilling or buying unless a part wears out.)

Some months ago I weighed my Raleigh GS and U08. The GS isn't stock but has more or less original-like components. It also carries added toe clips and straps, a largish handlebar bag with a few tools, and a frame pump. The UO8 had its original steel wheels (with the dork disk removed), steel crank (with the "chainguard" plate removed), steel rattrap pedals, bar, stem, but Suntour derailleurs, and added toe clips and straps, and a bottle cage. The GS frame is 59cm, the U08 about 60cm, center of BB to top of ST. (I measured them this evening.)

The GS weighed about 25lbs, the UO8 about 29lbs. I suspect most of the weight difference is in the bar, crank, and wheels. It would be interesting to know if a pound or two were due to the frame. But I'm not going to worry about it!

iab

Get a job with a company that has a lab. Our lab has a scale that is accurate to a tenth of a milligram.

noglider 

jimmuller, are you talking about a Raleigh Gran Sport from the 70's? That has an all 531 frame with butted tubes, so it ought to be significantly lighter than a UO-8 frame.

I'm not under the impression that there is much variety of weight among chains. But I know there is among cranks and handlebars. I'm under the impression that tire and rim weight feels more significant than other weight changes you can make. Has anyone debunked this well-worn theory?

I suspect my wife might not care much if she got a lighter bike. I think the more you ride, the more it matters. She doesn't ride that much, at least not yet. Then again, her thighs are very thin and weak, and perhaps a lighter bike would help a lot. The problem is, though, that she is very uncomfortable on most bikes I have her try. She tried my Cannondale mountain bike and hated it. It's almost exactly like her Trek. She's very sensitive to changes, and I can't figure out why that is.

But that's something else. I think this is an academic question that could ultimately become practical, so I'll go ahead with weighing components when I get the scale. I have occasion to take bikes apart frequently. I flip bikes and I also repair bikes for neighbors.

jimmuller 

Yes, and I would expect the GS to be lighter. The question is, how much? I mean, if a frame weighs, say 5 lbs, you can't save any more than 5 lbs (unless the super-light one is bouyant in air). Just curious.

Can't help with your wife's bike. Wives can be exceptionally sensitive to small changes, I find. Actually, I can speak for only one wife. Others may be different.