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Weigh bike with bathroom scale?

Old 09-14-20, 09:53 AM
  #26  
ClydeClydeson
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Also, most bike manufactures don't publish weights for their bikes, and they haven't for at least as long as I have been peripheral to the bike industry (ca. 1990).

And what weights are published were weighed on a scale owned by the company selling the bike, and that bike was a certain size (probably 'Small'), probably had no pedals or water bottle bolts or reflectors installed, and may have had aftermarket tires that were installed when the demo model was assembled some time before production began. The tires alone, if you compare aftermarket tires with the OEM models that otherwise look similar, are likely to change the weight by a pound or more. Also, since the vast majority of bikes are made by contract manufacturers, there might be unseen changes that happen during production runs that the company whose name is on the frame is not aware of.
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Old 09-14-20, 10:32 AM
  #27  
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I suggest buying a bike scale for your brother's birthday gift, but first weighing all your bike stuff yourself before wrapping it up.
Posting for a friend.
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Old 09-14-20, 10:34 AM
  #28  
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I always weigh the bikes I work on(rehab) as received and complete, ready to ride , with all components and any extras I feel like installing. The lightest bike I have ever weighed was a Vitus 979? with aluminum frame that came in at just about 20 lb ready to ride. Next was a lugged steel Bianchi at about 22.5 lbs. I just weighed a Lemond Tourmalet at about the same. Most light bikes have a frame that weighs about 4.5 -5.0 lbs. The total weight depends on the gear you install on it. If I get an older bike with average(heavy) gear I can often reduce the ready to ride weight by 3-5 lbs. Substituting a Suntour Gt derailleur at 450 grams for a cyclone at 183 grams and an old set of steel wheels for newer aluminum ones , an aluminum bar and stem for old steel, and an aluminum crank for an old cottered steel one and there you go. From there on out you get into weight weenie territory.
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Old 09-14-20, 11:11 AM
  #29  
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Originally Posted by ClydeClydeson
Also, most bike manufactures don't publish weights for their bikes, and they haven't for at least as long as I have been peripheral to the bike industry (ca. 1990).
I think this is some kind of over-cautious policy created by marketing people who think they understand legal pitfalls. Like they think they might be sued if they sell a frame that's a few grams more than advertised. And the competition probably lists their bike's weight with bottle cage bolts excluded so their's "seems" lighter so everyone needs to not play the game at all.

Real estate agents do this too - "1600 square feet*"...
*disclaimer, not responsible for (6 lines of small print).

I've seen lots of bike stores with scales you can hang your bike from, or compare models on the floor that are available for purchase.
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Old 09-14-20, 11:51 AM
  #30  
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Originally Posted by 5 mph
My wife wakes up some mornings now, and I see her heading to the bathroom (to weigh herself) and a few seconds later she automatically goes down to the garage.
Is that where you store your whips and self flogging tools?
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Old 09-14-20, 12:03 PM
  #31  
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Originally Posted by SurferRosa
Is that where you store your whips and self flogging tools?

I doubt many folks here are as knowledgeable about dom/sub relationships as you, so who's the joke for?
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Old 09-14-20, 12:15 PM
  #32  
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Originally Posted by Unca_Sam

... who's the joke for?
All my demented uncles.
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Old 09-15-20, 12:20 AM
  #33  
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You can get luggage scales for under 10 bucks great for weighing panniers and backpacks too.

This one is 6.99 at amazon.
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Old 09-15-20, 11:41 AM
  #34  
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Originally Posted by ClydeClydeson
I carry my bike into the grocery store and hang it from the scale by the oranges.
you gotta help me out here. Where on the bike are it's "oranges" located?
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Old 09-15-20, 11:42 AM
  #35  
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Originally Posted by Thruhiker
You can get luggage scales for under 10 bucks great for weighing panniers and backpacks too.

This one is 6.99 at amazon.
I have that exact scale. it's good enough so I can weigh wheels with confidence to ±100 grams. Not good enough for a weight weenie, but good enough for me.
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Old 09-15-20, 11:45 AM
  #36  
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Didn't any one get their GED?


1, Stand on scale, holding bike, 2. stand on scale without bike .. subtract your weight , & weight of bike remains ..
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Old 09-15-20, 12:14 PM
  #37  
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Originally Posted by fietsbob
Didn't any one get their GED?


1, Stand on scale, holding bike, 2. stand on scale without bike .. subtract your weight , & weight of bike remains ..
A bathroom scale isn't sensitive enough to tell me if the alloy bolts in my carbon bottle cage and chainring saved enough grams for my sub 7kg bike build!
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Old 09-15-20, 12:27 PM
  #38  
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need treatment for the OCD ..

postal scale weigh each individual bolt & nut. I see a lot of photos posted, of their latest Ti / Carbon Bit , displayed on a digital postal scale..
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Old 09-15-20, 12:34 PM
  #39  
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Originally Posted by fietsbob
Didn't any one get their GED?


1, Stand on scale, holding bike, 2. stand on scale without bike .. subtract your weight , & weight of bike remains ..
Problems with that:

Bathroom scale is two flights up from the bike room. A cheap luggage scale saves me a whole lot of schlepping the scale back and forth.
My bathroom scale is an old analog thing. ±1 lb on a good day, and only if I squint carefully from the same central position each time.
Never mind snark about carbon bolts, bathroom scale isn't precise enough to give approximate weights of wheels and other significant components.

Luggage scales are cheap and more sensitive.
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Old 09-15-20, 01:01 PM
  #40  
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If you care about weight enough to weigh your bike then I'm sure you would care if its accurate. The bathroom scale will get with in a few pounds. I used that method for a long time to weigh my backpacks for hiking. Depending on how you hold the backpack/bike you will get different readings. And this was done on a garmin smart scale. For me I'm only a weight weenie when I'm on a multi day hiking trip. One day if I lose 100 pounds I'm going to buy an awesome super light road bike.
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Old 09-15-20, 01:25 PM
  #41  
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Originally Posted by MinnMan
I have that exact scale. it's good enough so I can weigh wheels with confidence to ±100 grams. Not good enough for a weight weenie, but good enough for me.
Spend a wee bit more for +/- 5 gram increments... at least up to 10kg items, then it's supposedly +/- 10 gram accuracy

https://www.amazon.com/Upgraded-Dr-m...b_title_sports
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Old 09-15-20, 01:30 PM
  #42  
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Originally Posted by Sy Reene
Spend a wee bit more for +/- 5 gram increments... at least up to 10kg items, then it's supposedly +/- 10 gram accuracy

https://www.amazon.com/Upgraded-Dr-m...b_title_sports
Good tip. thanks.
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Old 09-15-20, 01:34 PM
  #43  
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Actually, reading more - that fish scale and my luggage scale both claim ±10 g, but I don't find the luggage scale reproducible at that precision.
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Old 09-15-20, 02:03 PM
  #44  
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Originally Posted by MinnMan
you gotta help me out here. Where on the bike are it's "oranges" located?
Bike Balls ? Bike Balls


Originally Posted by Unca_Sam
A bathroom scale isn't sensitive enough to tell me if the alloy bolts in my carbon bottle cage and chainring saved enough grams for my sub 7kg bike build!
You need to change the water bottle bolts on about a hundred bikes then weigh them all at once. You can then divide by the number of bikes to get the average weight savings per bike.
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Old 09-15-20, 03:19 PM
  #45  
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Originally Posted by MinnMan
Actually, reading more - that fish scale and my luggage scale both claim ±10 g, but I don't find the luggage scale reproducible at that precision.
Maybe it can weigh with that precision, but is limited because they only have one space available available after the decimal point on their display? My fish scale goes to .000 on the Kg setting.
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Old 05-12-22, 05:23 AM
  #46  
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It makes me laugh. I thought I was the only one who weighed myself and my bike on a bathroom scale. I used a smart scale I bought on https://www.vont.com/product/smart-s...-weight-scale/. I made several attempts to get an average result. But the bike came with all the accessories. Naturally, if the manufacturer indicates the weight, it is the net weight with all standard bike accessories. But we need to add some of our equipment, such as a computer. And I can weigh all kinds of small parts on a kitchen scale.

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Old 05-12-22, 06:22 AM
  #47  
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I used to do it all the time until I got a luggage scale like shown above.
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Old 05-12-22, 07:20 AM
  #48  
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Originally Posted by 5 mph
I've tried to weigh my bike with a bathrooms scale by getting on it by myself to get my weight and then getting off to zero it and then getting back on with my bike held as close to my body as possible and centered and doing the subtraction. Sounds goofy but not everyone likes to visit the bike shop. One of my bikes weighed close enough to specs, but the other two came in 4 to 5 pounds heavy, Does this method give an accurate weight or are the OEM specifics off. The two heavier bikes "feel" heavier than the OEM listed weight.
a bathroom scale won’t give you the accuracy you need. I use a 2x4 jutting out from a workbench (some weight on the inner end to stop it tipping). Small digital kitchen scale (10 kg capacity) sitting on end of 2x4, kitchen towel or something to prevent scratching, zero the balance then “hang” the bike on the balance by the top tube - accurate to within an ounce and repeatable
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Old 05-14-22, 06:16 AM
  #49  
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Accuracy and Precision

These are the two concepts barely understood in this thread and misunderstood by most who attempted to explain their measurements.

^ the immediately-above response has to do with precision, not accuracy. Precision is how small a variation the scale will measure, and (if digital) will round to. For a bathroom scale, precision will vary. Mine is +/- 0.5 lbs, which is too coarse for bike measurements.

Accuracy is how close a measurement comes to the true weight. It's a measure of error, and it will vary depending on the scale mechanism and with absolute weight. Someone posted about 3% accuracy for body weight measurements. That seems high to me.

Either way, bathroom scales aren't meant for bicycles. Buy a decent luggage scale. Both accurate and precise enough (+/- 0.1 lb) for this type of work.

Last edited by Phil_gretz; 05-14-22 at 07:44 AM. Reason: "Course" to "coarse", of course
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Old 05-14-22, 07:03 AM
  #50  
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Originally Posted by Phil_gretz
These are the two concepts barely understood in this thread and misunderstood by most who attempted to explain their measurements.

^ the immediately-above response has to do with precision, not accuracy. Precision is how small a variation the scale will measure, and (if digital) will round to. For a bathroom scale, precision will vary. Mine is +/- 0.5 lbs, which is too course for bike measurements.
.
Of course, it's not too coarse if you feel that this amount of precision is good enough.
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