daoswald

Are you racing?

Here's my take: I've always felt that my Aluminum Cannondale Synapse was too heavy. Last year I lost about 30 pounds, and have leveled off down 25. But it was the bike that was too heavy.

This year I got a commuter; an Aluminum Cannondale Quick CX. I put fenders on it, a Tubus rack, and panniers. My commute home is +630 feet gain over about 4.2 miles. If I commute all the way (avoiding the light rail) it's 1650 ft gain over 18.5 miles. I've put a thousand miles on the commuter bike this doing just those sorts of rides; 4.1 miles to the train station, 4.2 to get home, or maybe 18.5 to get home. I still jump onto my road bike, the Synapse for fitness riding and exploring.

When I ride home, I ride home with one or sometimes even two laptops in the panniers, a change of clothes, headphones, and so on. The commuter bike is anything but lightweight. Some of the inclines along the 18.5 mile commute home reach 17%. I've also taken that bike up Little Cottonwood Canyon, which is a 3500 foot climb in about ten miles.

I've learned that my Synapse isn't too heavy. Neither is my Quick CX commuter. I am measurably slower on the Quick CX, but I still get there within a couple of minutes of when I would have arrived on the road bike (wherever here is).

Weight matters if you're trying to beat a competitor who is able to put out more watts per kilogram of total weight than you. ...when that happens, to keep up you have to either shed weight or increase power. This is where a lighter bike makes all the difference. But my loaded commuter is still fun to ride; you get used to the panniers, and barely even notice they're there.

This isn't to discount the notion that reducing weight in the bike helps. It does. But you can still have fun on a heavier bike.

jrhoneOC

Thanks foe all the responses. Im still learning alot about mountain biking and was wondering if weight would make a huge difference with all other things being equal or close to it. For my riding it really wont matter that much. Im losing weight. Down almost 40 pounds in 2 months. And thats making me climb better as well as just have more fun. I am just now starting to feel like i can confidently ride some local trails. Thats from a technical standpoint as well as a stamina and endurance standpoint.

pickettt

That's a bike and a half's worth of weight.

qclabrat

The biggest difference the lightest bikes have are featherweight wheels. If going faster is your top priority, first work on your personal engine then get a light race day wheelset. But as they say, light, strong, cheap: pick two. Even on $5K bikes the weakest link will be the wheels, that's why you often find mid to low range takeoff wheels for sale.

Weigh your wheels with tires and report back what they are. You can very easily drop 2-4 pounds in the wheels alone.

roadbuzz

This. I rode a Specialized Epic hardtail at a demo day a couple of weeks ago. Freaky light and nimble. Probably less than 20 lbs. $7500. I understand there's a more expensive model with bluetooth e-shifting. I expect there's a pretty light full squish somewhere around 5 figures.

TheMountBike

A mountain bike's weight affects the overall riding journey. If you go road riding, your bike weight significantly affects the whole vehicle's speed. Of course, your bike's weight and pedal play a role too. If your heavy bike is speeding, it won't preserve the speed. A bike 21% heavier was 3.3%slower for a 95kg rider. Once a bike is up to speed, it wants to stay at the rate. Heavier bikes will want more speed but are more challenging if you slow down.

veganbikes

Please keep in mind the date the thread was started and the last post if with a few months go for it if over years I would leave it alone and post a new thread if super crucial information or just wait to use that info for when it becomes relevant in active discussion.

DMC707

I took the light system off my 48 lb e-bike yesterday for a daytime rip and noticed it - it might weigh 3 lbs and the battery was strapped to the frame on the top tube

im also a significantly overweight gent.

This may be an anomaly for sure as I can detect a 2 psi air pressure difference in tires

—- but also - I’ve been known to run suspension long enough until it is significantly under pressured, as I just flip the compression up to trail, then climb and not worry about it

important note: no performance difference on Strava with any of my weird quirks,