AlphaDogg

I know some of you don't like my attitude, so I will tone it down as much as I can.

I don't have a bike scale or anything similar, so I weighed myself (on a bathroom scale) with the bike, and then without the bike. I subtracted my weight w/o the bike from the weight of me+the bike to get the weight of just the bike. The bike weighs 29.1lbs. I took off the saddle and the seatpost (entire seat assembly) and it brought the weight down to 27.1lbs. Why does my bike weigh so much? How much do your bikes weigh? How much should a hybrid bike weigh? I bought this bike at Sports Authority, and I recall hearing people complaining about the weight of bikes from Wal/K-Mart being 10-20lbs heavier than their LBS counterparts. Is my bike the equivalent weight of a Wal/K-Mart bike? What can I do to lower its weight?

tl;dr: important points of the thread bolded

Arrowana

Nope, yours is more in line with a LBS bike. As a comparison, the average full suspension bike shaped object weighs around 40 lbs, and I believe hardtail BSOs come in at around 35. My rigid hybridized GT MTB is 28, my dad's hybrid is around 32 with accessories, and my hybridized Trek MTB with some light parts on it comes in at 25.6.

CbadRider

I have no idea how much my Sirrus weighs. When I use it to commute to work I load the panniers down with about 10 lbs of food and clothes, so the weight of the bike isn't really much of an issue for me.

There is no typical weight for a hybrid bike. It depends on the material it's made of and the type components installed.

AlphaDogg

I weighed mine to be 29.1lbs with waterbottle cage, hand pump mounted on the frame, cycle computer, and kickstand all mounted. I'm sure if I removed them, the bike would weigh about 28.5. Thank you for your for giving me something to compare my bike weight to.

AdelaaR

There is obviously no predefined weight for a hybrid bike.
It depends on how much you are willing to pay for lighter components and the benefit of a lighter bike.
Do not however overestimate the factor of a bike's weight on the speed ... time trail bikes are generally heavier than racebikes and still they go faster.

For new bikes:
If your bike cost you about $400 it's going to weigh around 30
If your bike cost you about $600 it's going to weigh around 28
If your bike cost you about $800 it's going to weigh around 26
If your bike cost you about $1000 it's going to weigh around 24
If your bike cost you about $1500 it's going to weigh around 20
If your bike cost you about $2000 it's going to weigh around 17
If your bike cost you about $2750 it's going to weigh around 16
If your bike cost you about $3500 it's going to weigh around 15

This is just an indication ofcourse depending on other factors and where you buy it.

giantcfr1

My guess is that your bike is a reasonably good weight for a hybrid. My guess the biggest factor (if you are comparing to another alluminium frame) are the components. I weighed my bike a few months ago and it came in at 24 lbs 10 oz which I think is pretty good.



If you really think you want to lower the weight, I'd suggest changing the "bits" over time as they break and / or save the money and buy a new bike if you decide in a year or two that a hybrid is what you want.

EDIT...I've had a thought, if you want to be one of the cool kids, remove the cluster and convert it to a single speed. That way you can also remove the two deraileurs, two of the chain rings, the two shifters. Instant weight saving and you'll look cool too.

giantcfr1

By the way, when are we going to see a pic of this bike of yours?

AdelaaR

Uhuh!

jimbojonez

That is much to heavy. I would sue them for selling you a heavy bike, there is no excuse for that.

Talldog

I bet it weighs more than 29.1 pounds, especially when including the accessories you mentioned. Bathroom scales are not too trustworthy, but they tell you that right on the box. The best bikes to ride are invariably the lighter bikes. They won't help much in a "constant velocity" situation but, generally speaking, excel in mostevery other riding aspect, ie., acceleration, climbing, liveliness, overall feel, etc., etc. But it is not a big deal for a recreational cyclist, and it is a fine line, so you should be happy with your bike and concentrate on riding instead of obsessing about it.

Talldog

Pretty good chart actually. To really know how much someone spent on their bike, you just have to get them to give you an accurate weight. Within reason of course, 'cause there is always someone somewhere with a full Dura-Ace Huffy, LOL.

AlphaDogg

Do you really have to bring that into this?

Nah. I'm not cool enough . I like having the ability to shift gears and change the difficulty of pedaling.

AlphaDogg

I'll take a pic of it when I take it out for a ride tomorrow (I'm busy after school this afternoon), unless you want a pic of it in my driveway...

KungPaoSchwinn

Money does a wonderful trick in relation to weight,pay more for less had found it's place.Yes pls do show pic/s of your bike,driveway or anyway is welcome.

AlphaDogg

Please disregard my dark kitchen..
I'll take a better picture tomorrow.

alanknm

Your average hybrid with an aluminium frame and fork, 700c X 35 tires would probably weigh 28-30 pounds without any accessories. The 7100 I have probably weighs about 28+ pounds but that's also a small frame and it has a front suspension fork. That looks like an alloy suspension seatpost. That can weigh a fair bit.
A really cheap store brand bike usually has a steel frame and that will weigh a ton compared to a aluminium framed bike. They also use cheaper heavier wheels and cheap groupsets that add to the weight. It sounds like your bike has an aluminium frame.

The little weight/price chart isn't too far off the mark. The Specialized Sirrus Pro is their top of the line hybrid and it's $2000. It uses the same frame as the Roubaix with alloy bars, alloy seatpost and heavier wheels and it would probably weigh about 19.5 pounds.

My Specialized Roubaix Comp is full carbon and I've been told by my LBS that it weighs about 17.5 pounds because it's a small frame. A large framed Roubaix Comp comes in about 18.5 pounds. With road shoes and clipless pedals it came to about $3000+ . The more agressive geometry Tarmac Comp would be about about a pound less and it would have cost me the same.

If I went to a pair of more expensive wheels (say $1500 - 3000 ), carbon fiber handlebars and went to a Shimano Dura Ace groupset ( another $2500+ ) from the Shimano 105, then yeah sure I could get the weight down a couple of pounds. Keep in mind that a full water bottle weighs about 2.5 pounds. Would I notice the difference ? Maybe a little bit when climbing hills, otherwise it's a very expensive extra water bottle.

My advice ? Don't sweat it. If you feel that the bike is too heavy, then you'll have to spend more money on a better bike.

AdelaaR

No offence intended but that is probably the worst picture ever of a bike.

giantcfr1

Thanks for the pic. I'd be happy if it was mine because I think it has potential. I personally would change / adjust / remove just a few things to suit me.

PS. don't fret about the weight. It's fine.

LesterOfPuppets

For a bike with MSRP of $400 that regularly retails for less, I'd say 29 is quite respectable. My favorite rigid MTB weighs 25 lbs, but MSRP was $750. The last sub-$400 hybrid I had must've been a bit over 30 lbs. Novarra Expresso, or something like that.

I'd guess the biggest weight offenders would be found in the seatpost, wheels and crankset area of your bike - just a guess on the last two, though.

First thing I'd do is pull the seatpost again and look for the diameter stamped in it. It's usually denoted by a circle with a slash through it followed by a number, eg: 26.8, 27.2 something like that.

Then hit up your local bike shops and see if they have a used seatpost bin and you should be able to shed about a pound by selecting a good rigid seatpost. There should be a couple of good used parts shops in your town, but seatpost takeoffs are usually easy to find at new-bike shops. Hopefully for around $5.

I'd not obsess over the weight. I ride 30 pound rigid MTBs all the time and they still ride really nice. I only really feel the bulk when I try to get air on 'em.

AlphaDogg

I actually got the bike for $299 on sale from $399. I really only feel the weight of this bike is when I attempt to get air on it (which I really shouldn't do on a rigid bike), and I only get about 1"-2" of air. On my old MTB with a suspension, I only really got about 6 inches of air on it, maybe a little more... But then again, it was a small bike (got it when I was 10).

Here's a picture of my old bike:


As my hybrid bike gets older, I will replace parts with lighter ones. Can I put a carbon fork on it, or am I stuck with the aluminum fork forever?

AdelaaR

One of the heaviest things is a suspension fork.
By changing it to a rigid fork one can shave off a few pounds.
Why would you be stuck with the aluminum fork? If you want to change it it's a relatively simple swap.
Wheels are something to look at ... heavy wheels will make your ride less smooth.
When counting weight ... count the wheels double.

AlphaDogg

I can't take a ride today, because of the weather and I got new tires. I installed the new tires, but the SLiME sealant (that I had installed in the tubes) got the schrader valve on the rear tube clogged. The bead came off the rim in one small spot as I was inflating it, so I took a pencil and pushed on the pin in the valve to release air. I had the valve standing at 12 o'clock. SLiME started coming out of the valve and clogged it, so I can't inflate it. Once my dad gets home, we will go to our LBS. I called them and they said that it would be best to get a new tube (as opposed to extracting the valve and cleaning it), because SLiME is not that great. They gave me the option of a 700c tube with TrueGoo in it, or a Tuffyliner. Which would be best in your opinions? Also: sorry for the slight threadjack...

Candlejack is not at all like a threadja

Talldog

The reality is that it is a $300 bike. There is no point in upgrading it. It's actually silly, . A carbon fork would cost 2/3's of the original price of the bike. A decent wheelset would cost more than the bike. If his budget for a bike is $300 then be happy with a $300 bike. It makes little sense to buy a $300 bike and spend $500 or more upgrading it. If his budget was really $800 then start with an $800 bike. Piecemealing it after the fact cost twice as much to obtain the same components that were readily available on a slightly more expensive bike to start with. Unless of course he knows a legitimate way to get the parts for no cost. Maybe the lawsuit over the front tire will be turn into an unexpected financial windfall,

qmsdc15

A hybrid bike should weigh as much or more than 18% of it's rider's weight.

AlphaDogg

My old MTB has a suspension fork. My hybrid is rigid.


I didn't realize how expensive those parts would be. I think I will just use this bike until a lot of things fail, and the cost of parts would outweigh the price of the bike. Please don't mention the potential lawsuit with SA. It was stupid when I thought I could sue them, and it's stupid now. But if you must humiliate me, go ahead.


My hybrid weighs roughly 21% of my weight... I think it's alright... Also, did you just pull that number from thin air?


Also, I took the rear wheel to my LBS and the guy in the service dept. extracted the valve, cleaned it, put the valve back on, and inflated it to 80psi (the highest pressure the tire can handle). I took the bike for a test ride, and these tires are great! I can maintain a higher speed with the new tires (I guess it has lower rolling resistance?).