# His bike is lighter in the rear!!!



## AlanS (Feb 5, 2003)

My bike stats (that are improtant to this post)... Ultegra rear del., 9sp...Ultegra cassette 27/12, older style Helium wheels, super lite skewer...
Now, a friend stops by...his bike is 1.5 pounds lighter than mine,,,but I realize when picking it up, that my rear section is heavier. 
His bike...new C-dale Synapse...10spd Durace, Helium wheels, compact cassette, whatever carbon 'style' brakes C-dale gives you. 
Now, it could just be that my rear triangle is heavier...but can the part difference make that much difference?


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## Albino (Mar 24, 2007)

How do you know it's the rear? Did you cut them in half? If so did you cut them evenly? Yes, I'm being a bit of a smarty, but honestly I don't know how to know if it's the rear half that's lighter.


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## Bob Ross (Apr 18, 2006)

This is just a guess -- I haven't done nearly enough empirical research (but I do own a Cannondale Synapse Carbon, so perhaps that's germane...) -- but I'm pretty sure the things that will most effect overall bike weight after the frame are going to be the wheels and the crankset.

Wheels are evenly distributed between front & back, and the crankset is pretty much right up the middle.

So if your buddy's Synapse seems lighter than your bike in the rear only, I suspect either A) one of you guys has a mismatched set of wheels; or (more likely) B) your frame does, as you've surmised, have a heavier rear triangle. 

Unless of course it's C) you're mistaken.


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## Jack Hammer (Mar 31, 2007)

The weight difference could be in the wheels and tires, not just the components. It may also be a combo of his being a little lighter in the rear and yours in the front. Maybe you have a lighter fork than he does, which makes your rear seem heavier.

If you really want to know the front/rear weight of each bike, set two identical bathroom scales about 3' apart on a level surface. Take your whole bike and place one wheel on each scale. Balance the bike, let go, read scales, catch bike before it falls over. It's not 100% perfect, but it's close enough. Do that for your bike and your friends bike. You can get a % weight distribution and compare that or convert it to even out any differences in bikes.


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