Bike Weight Myth

[linklemming]

 

[soyabean]

I often pedal my ebike with the battery removed (because it is conditioned charging indoors on my Grin), and notice its heavyweight allows me to maintain pedalling at a high velocty easily and minimal effort. A removed battery doesn't decrease the weight much since I have a ton of stuff bolted to it, pannier racks, bags, mp3 speaker, lamps...

On my aluminum hybride bike, I have to keep gunning it all the time to keep it above 20mph.

This may also explain why I've always owned police cruiser vehicles.

 

[RunForTheHills]

I don't think that many people on this forum obsess about weight. That is traditionally a roadie thing and MTB racers probably do it too. That said, a really heavy ebike can be hard to lift up into a work stand or a bike rack on a car. I do think that the pantographing and drillium they did in the 70's to reduce weight is pretty cool looking though.

 

[harryS]

The youtube guy plays in a different ball park. I take it the video is saying weight doesn't matter that much between a 10Kg bike and a 11 kg bike, one kilogram being 2.2 pounds. Mostly bragging rights.

How would he feel about riding a 70 pound ebike? I find that my lighter ebikes at half that weight are more fun.

 

[antboy]

I don't think that many people on this forum obsess about weight. That is traditionally a roadie thing and MTB racers probably do it too. That said, a really heavy ebike can be hard to lift up into a work stand or a bike rack on a car. I do think that the pantographing and drillium they did in the 70's to reduce weight is pretty cool looking though.

All that weight saving, then they go and add a few grams of paint? CRAZY!

 

[J.R.]

Weight matters when the difference is significant. For the average rider shaving a pound or two off is expensive and usually doesn't matter. Easier and cheaper for the rider to shave a few pounds off their body. I have a 63 pound ebike and a 49 pound ebike and the lighter bike is much better in every way. 14 pounds is significant.

 

[rich c]

My extremes are a 38 pound BMC and a 100 pound Fat Tad, tadpole style recumbent trike. Along with a couple in between. Riding in Eco mode on the BMC in the city accelerates like none of the others. Bike weight is not a myth.

 

[fooferdoggie]

it makes a big difference on the feel of a bike. even with my commuter e bike I like it better without a load of groceries it does not feel as good.

 

[ActionJackson]

My new Specialized Turbo Vado SL 5 EQ (L size) is about 16kg, whereas most of the competitors bikes (in Japan at least) are around 25kg. That 9kg makes a huge difference as I need to hoist the bike onto a roof mounted carrier 1.5 meters off the ground.

 

[AHicks]

My "go to" bike for the last few years is pushing 70 lbs (heavily modified RAD City). I loved it. My bikes are only loaded/transported on rare occasions, so little need to ever lift it. Who cares what it weighs? Same line of thought that applies to big motorcycle road bikes.

New bike, built to replace the "go to" bike, weighs 55 lbs. (Espin Sport, now also heavily modified). I didn't realize the weight difference would be so noticeable, but it sure is! New bike growing on me fast..... -Al

 

[soyabean]

I find that my lighter ebikes at half that weight are more fun.

Yes, physics always wins at the end, but a heavy ebike is also fine and not the end of the world.

I prefer ebikes that make great pedal bikes.

When I find an ebike that works like crap without the battery, it's not for me.

 

[Mr. Coffee]

If you have to get your bike up and over and obstacle like a fence or a downed tree even small amounts can matter a lot -- at some point you might need to disassemble the bike and if you don't have someone with you lifting the bike can become damned awkward:

Getting my bike through that hole involved a fair amount of blood loss and about fifteen miles worth of riding energy. Also my bike barely fit through that hole and had to be angled to pass through it. I am surprised whenever I look at that picture that I didn't manage to pop a tire.

Also, sometimes weight distribution can matter a lot too. If that extra kilogram or five is awkwardly placed it can turn the most nimble bike into a barge.

 

[PedalUma]

If you have to get your bike up and over and obstacle like a fence or a downed tree even small amounts can matter a lot -- at some point you might need to disassemble the bike and if you don't have someone with you lifting the bike can become damned awkward:

View attachment 91330

Getting my bike through that hole involved a fair amount of blood loss and about fifteen miles worth of riding energy. Also my bike barely fit through that hole and had to be angled to pass through it. I am surprised whenever I look at that picture that I didn't manage to pop a tire.

Also, sometimes weight distribution can matter a lot too. If that extra kilogram or five is awkwardly place it can turn the most nimble bike into a barge.

That is right. Put the 'fat kid' in the middle of the teeter tauter and it is not a big deal. If I can keep it under 40lbs and have the weight low and to the middle, I am happy with the ride feel. I have mentioned Dr. S. a physicist who purchased a 106lbs 20" fat bike without regard to the physics in motion. The spec sheet didn't mention that bit.

 

[J.R.]

If you have to get your bike up and over and obstacle like a fence or a downed tree even small amounts can matter a lot -- at some point you might need to disassemble the bike and if you don't have someone with you lifting the bike can become damned awkward:

View attachment 91330

Getting my bike through that hole involved a fair amount of blood loss and about fifteen miles worth of riding energy. Also my bike barely fit through that hole and had to be angled to pass through it. I am surprised whenever I look at that picture that I didn't manage to pop a tire.

Also, sometimes weight distribution can matter a lot too. If that extra kilogram or five is awkwardly place it can turn the most nimble bike into a barge.

Very true. I had a few instances where I had to carry my bike 'to the other side'.

The most difficult was the 3 story spiral staircase from the C&O trail to the pedestrian bridge over the Potomac River to Harpers Ferry.

We put one vehicle at Harpers Ferry and drove the bikes in a second vehicle 50 miles away to ride the trail. It was our first time doing that section, so we were unaware of the staircase. We had no choice but to cross to get to the vehicle, as we had neither the time or battery to ride 50 miles back.

The other two instances were trees down on the trail like your picture. One of those times was with my 63 pounder. I had to put the bike on my shoulder, carry it over some railroad tracks, down a hill, cross a stream and up the hill on the other side. Kept thinking I'm too old for this crap

 

[ActionJackson]

The most difficult was the 3 story spiral staircase from the C&O trail to the pedestrian bridge over the Potomac River to Harpers Ferry.

This is exactly why I was so excited about Vado SL! Here we don’t always have that extreme of a barrier, instead we have long steep steps up the river bank with an adjacent ramp. Vado SL light weight + Walk feature makes long riverbank rides very doable. Which comprises perhaps 90% of the best bike paths in Tokyo area. We also face this quite frequently:

 

[ebiker76]

I liked the Rad bikes but went with a Blix Vika+ because of the weight. I wanted to be able to put the ebike on a bus rack, but even the Vika+ is too heavy for me for that activity.

 

[PedalUma]

Here is one with 85Nm at the torque sensor mid-drive. It has through frame wiring and an easily removable three-pound battery. The weights shown are upside down and in Kg. The rear is 9.85Kg and the front 6.2, bringing total weight to 37.5 pounds. It is a ten-speed with an aluminum frame. The weight is low and centered with the balance point a few mm above the hubs so handling is neutral. It is Class 3. Sometimes homemade tastes better. For more clean builds that are not heavy see PedalUma.com
The sack has nothing to do with the build on this particular bike, though I do hide ugly connectors in these cellphone holders on Bafang builds to help them keep it clean.

 

[Art Deco]

Here is one with 85Nm at the torque sensor mid-drive. It has through frame wiring and an easily removable three-pound battery. The weights shown are upside down and in Kg. The rear is 9.85Kg and the front 6.2, bringing total weight to 37.5 pounds. It is a ten-speed with an aluminum frame. The weight is low and centered with the balance point a few mm above the hubs so handling is neutral. It is Class 3. Sometimes homemade tastes better.
The sack has nothing to do with the build on this particular bike, though I do hide ugly connectors in these on Bafang builds to help them keep it clean.

As much as I like @PedalUma 's builds, he never mentions that you need 40lbs of locks and chains to keep one.

 

[PedalUma]

All bikes weigh 50 pounds ...

web.mit.edu

 

[BigNerd]

Much harder to ride my 55lb Espin Sport with 0 power assist than my 30lb Trek Verve 2. Also harder to put on and off my car bike rack.

But... I find myself taking my Sport way more often than my Trek just because in most conditions (and I ride mainly flat routes)... that power assist is more useful.

So now I'm looking for a sub 40lb bike with a throttle. That's harder to find than @Taylor57's mid drive full suspension with throttle.