# How light do bikes get?



## Peter_Klim (Oct 7, 2007)

Just wondering how light a complete bike can get and which ones weigh so little and how much they cost?

If we could also break it down for bikes under and over $3K (@ MSRP).


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## kbiker3111 (Nov 7, 2006)

Under 3k? 15lbs
Over 3k? um, I think there was something at interbike that was around 6 lbs?


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## California L33 (Jan 20, 2006)

I've never heard of a 6 lbs. bike- but I wasn't at Interbike 

I know that for around 20K you can get a sub 10 pound bike, but I thought it was pretty close to 10 pounds.


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## Juanmoretime (Nov 24, 2001)

Very light although the process to get there will lighten your wallet and children's college fund even more!


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## DIRT BOY (Aug 22, 2002)

California L33 said:


> I've never heard of a 6 lbs. bike- but I wasn't at Interbike
> 
> I know that for around 20K you can get a sub 10 pound bike, but I thought it was pretty close to 10 pounds.


There was one at Euro Bike. Yes the bike is a joke and not an everyday durable bike.

* SPIN Project 3.3

* 









You can build a 12lb durable everday bike for under $5000 if you try hard or get parts at clost/wholseale/pro/team deals.


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## DIRT BOY (Aug 22, 2002)

Peter_Klim said:


> Just wondering how light a complete bike can get and which ones weigh so little and how much they cost?


How light? Here: www.light-bikes.com


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## Kenacycle (May 28, 2006)

This one is 7.84 lbs https://www.light-bikes.com/bikegallery/BikeListing.asp?id=747


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## Chompers (Feb 3, 2004)

As far as some of these "Light Bikes" goes, if you have to go to the "Friction" shifting card, then your bike isn't really keeping with contemparary standards. Yea the Huret, Jubilie is light weight, and wwrked well in it's time, but who would really use it to race these days. Why stop there, what about a 3 speed cassette? Use oil instead of grease? 

. . . and since it's friction, you could take a deraileur cable and strip off some of the outer wires to save weight, Where does it end?


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## CoLiKe20 (Jan 30, 2006)

Chompers said:


> . . . and since it's friction, you could take a deraileur cable and strip off some of the outer wires to save weight, Where does it end?


fixed gear. no dérailleurs, no shifters, no brakes, no cables, save even more weight. I bet a fixie can break 3kg.


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## djg (Nov 27, 2001)

Chompers said:


> As far as some of these "Light Bikes" goes, if you have to go to the "Friction" shifting card, then your bike isn't really keeping with contemparary standards. Yea the Huret, Jubilie is light weight, and wwrked well in it's time, but who would really use it to race these days. Why stop there, what about a 3 speed cassette? Use oil instead of grease?
> 
> . . . and since it's friction, you could take a deraileur cable and strip off some of the outer wires to save weight, Where does it end?


Yeah, at some point it's not a bike anybody could ride. And then why not a 20 cm model? All of these things raise a sort of continuum of questions about trading weight for other virtues in a bike. Surely the thing has to be able to make it around the block to count, but that's not much of a test. When I see a picture of a bike with no bar tape or plugs, and no water bottle cage, and a saddle that looks like it came from some weird fetish catalogue, I see something I just wouldn't want in that form -- I'm not taking it on a short twenty-mile spin, much less a long ride, and I'm not going to try to race it either. And if my first race bike had a regina 6 speed freewheel in the back and a French rear derailleur (honestly), I don't want one like that anymore. Carbon rims -- cool. Carbon rims and uber-light track tubulars (pinks, say) -- fuhgettaboutit. Frankly, we can get a lot more realistic in terms of stock available construction and build and find things that behave in ways lots of us might not like at all pushing hard through a corner or trying to sprint (and with me it's a "try" more than really do). 

At the same time, advances have been made that really are advances in one way or another and it's interesting to see what people can do. So what are the criteria for a light bike that's still a road bike? Is there some sense that it ought to be a certain size frame? (I mean, it's hard not to build a light 48 cm frame with contemporary materials, and very hard to do it right at 60 cm -- is 54 or 55 a good middle ground?) Surely it should have tape and bar plugs, no? Brifters and at least 9 speeds? (pretty darn common, and 10 has all but taken over on the road, OTOH, there still are folks who ride other setups).


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## shaunx (Jan 7, 2008)

*It depends upon the metal*

It depends upon th metal they are using..if they use cast iron the weight can vary to a great extent...


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## jlebens (Jan 28, 2008)

*11 lb fixie, etc*

The builder DeSalvo out of Ashland had a 11 lb. ti fixie he was taking to shows last year. I rode a Scott last summer that was less than 12 lbs. according to the shop. I did not weigh it to make sure, but it was a feather light to pick up. It seems that Sub 16 is fairly easy and sub 14 is possible for a number of carbon frames.


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## yankeesuperfan (Sep 24, 2007)

Hey I got an idea, we can fill our tires with helium!!!!


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## California L33 (Jan 20, 2006)

yankeesuperfan said:


> Hey I got an idea, we can fill our tires with helium!!!!


I have seen that suggested, quite seriously. 


Then someone always points out that hydrogen is lighter. No smoking while filling the tires.


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## otakunorth (Jan 12, 2008)

yankeesuperfan said:


> Hey I got an idea, we can fill our tires with helium!!!!


back when i did trick bmx we did that to get our bikes as light as possible, only prob is it loses pressure 10x faster then air good for a day or so


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## bartmanthebiker (Jan 27, 2008)

kdub said:


> This one is 7.84 lbs https://www.light-bikes.com/bikegallery/BikeListing.asp?id=747


NEWSFLASH....THIS JUST IN>>>

Man's butthole impaled by carbon fiber seatpost that broke when he was pedaling his ultralight bike up Mt. Washington. Oh, this just in too, he broke out all of his teeth when the ultralight bar broke and he lunged forward and ate the road for breakfast. 

Later in the hospital, the man, who only weighs 73.8 pounds (former horse jockey) admitted he was overweight and that was why the components broke...he assumes complete responsiblity.


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## Davoosie (Mar 17, 2007)

bartmanthebiker said:


> NEWSFLASH....THIS JUST IN>>>
> 
> Man's butthole impaled by carbon fiber seatpost that broke when he was pedaling his ultralight bike up Mt. Washington. Oh, this just in too, he broke out all of his teeth when the ultralight bar broke and he lunged forward and ate the road for breakfast.
> 
> Later in the hospital, the man, who only weighs 73.8 pounds (former horse jockey) admitted he was overweight and that was why the components broke...he assumes complete responsiblity.


I disagree. 

From what I hear the guys bike was shattered when a small gust of wind propelled a mosquito into the stem, leading to the complete disintegration of the bike.

Sorry but I take my life seriously and won't trust it to some sub 16 pound show piece.


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## Forrest Root (Dec 22, 2006)

Davoosie said:


> Sorry but I take my life seriously and won't trust it to some sub 16 pound show piece.


*QUICK! EVERYONE ON A SUB-16LB BIKE IMMEDIATELY GET OFF AND PROPERLY DISPOSE OF SAID BIKE! THEY'RE MIGHTY DANGEROUS*......or so Davoosie says.


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## Juanmoretime (Nov 24, 2001)

Forrest Root said:


> *QUICK! EVERYONE ON A SUB-16LB BIKE IMMEDIATELY GET OFF AND PROPERLY DISPOSE OF SAID BIKE! THEY'RE MIGHTY DANGEROUS*......or so Davoosie says.


Lead frames. Will they make a come back? If not, how about solid steel bars instead of tubes?


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## DIRT BOY (Aug 22, 2002)

Forrest Root said:


> *QUICK! EVERYONE ON A SUB-16LB BIKE IMMEDIATELY GET OFF AND PROPERLY DISPOSE OF SAID BIKE! THEY'RE MIGHTY DANGEROUS*......or so Davoosie says.


Mine started dissolving on my ride yesterday. Hitting the pavemnet hurt....


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## carbonfibrekid (Feb 26, 2008)

Davoosie said:


> I disagree.
> 
> sub 16 pound show piece.


My bike (fuji sl1 w/sram force) is 15.3 lbs with bottle cages, pedals and cyclocomputer.
I had to switch out the stock stem and bar to account for the weight of my selle san marco concor light saddle but the light ALUMINUM bars I put on were accually cheaper than the stock ones(the stock ones were ritchey 4-axis carbon matrix stem and wcs evo bar, I put on the new deda zero100 sevizo corse stem and newton bar) i ride this bike every day( well I don't use my kysrium ES's everyday so I can train witha heavier bike) I use $55 wheels I got off a $350 Diamond back Interval (they add a bit of wieght)


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## DIRT BOY (Aug 22, 2002)

Davoosie said:


> I disagree.
> Sorry but I take my life seriously and won't trust it to some sub 16 pound show piece.


Boy, you are not to bright are you??

So Pro riding 15lb bikes are risking there life's riding harder and stronger than you ever will? Lot's of those 15lb bike have weight added to make them UCI Legal. sub 16lb bikes are now standard and common with higher end bikes with nothing too flashy or WW'ish.

A nice CF frame, stasdard componets and SRAM RED parts will come in under 16bs easliy!


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## ttug (May 14, 2004)

*hang on folks*

I think that again, Dirt Boy has hit the mail on the head.

When its all said and done, its how you ride the bike. If the design is bad, its bad. 


Bike weight can however be a significant precursor to bike choice.

Me? I would never ride a sub 16 pound bike. I do not play nice with equipment and as such at 195 and 6'1.5", I am very very hard on equipment. BUT, thats me. 

There are some freakishly great machines in the weight range. The issue is when folks say, oh, they are too fragile or oh anybody can ride that.

IMO, not so. Its the way you ride that will govern how long a machine lasts and most of all, what bike you should ride. ASSUMING the bike fits of course...


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## airs0ft3r (Feb 28, 2008)

Edit: didn't read the rest of this thread, only the last post. Sory


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## phoehn9111 (May 11, 2005)

I think any behavior taken to extreme can be detrimental, my bike is plenty light, and at one time I even individually inventoried and weighed all the parts. Then, I started thinking that this was borderline OCD and what really mattered was the experience of riding. I can have a most enjoyable ride on my 21 pound steel bike. In retrospect, I think it was a phase I went through, part of 'growing up'. That having been said, my main bike is 15.25 lbs and I wouldn't like it to be any heavier. Old habits die hard.


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## mrfixit (Sep 10, 2004)

DIRT BOY said:


> There was one at Euro Bike. Yes the bike is a joke and not an everyday durable bike.
> 
> * SPIN Project 3.3
> 
> ...


It does not appear to be a joke, and the owner claims to ride it. 7lbs.  

https://www.velonews.com/article/73034


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## DIRT BOY (Aug 22, 2002)

mrfixit said:


> It does not appear to be a joke, and the owner claims to ride it. 7lbs.
> 
> http://www.velonews.com/article/73034


Yes he claims that. But how durable is it? He says 621+ mles a week it. So he is riding close too 90 miles every day? I wonder @ 150lbs how often does this bike break down.

Well, at least it's nice to have a link to my site. 3rd time on Velo News.com!!


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## California L33 (Jan 20, 2006)

The ultimate lightweight-

According to the Cambria website, the Ultegra equipped Talons have a 2.4 lbs. frame, but the bike itself is 0 lbs. 

http://www.cambriabike.com/shopexd.asp?id=51112&page=KESTREL+TALON+SL+DURA-ACE+ROAD+BIKE

The must be doing something with the helium filled tires. Maybe they could make it lighter, but it would float away.


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## SpencerM (Dec 5, 2007)

http://www.light-bikes.com/BikeGallery/

Now these are probably for "little people" but are still impressive. Frames look a wee bit small. 

:thumbsup: :thumbsup:


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## sbglax13 (Apr 21, 2008)

I have heard of people putting helium in car tires. not really to save weight but because the molecules in helium are bigger than in oxygen and therefore escapes from the tires more slowly resulting in prolonged tire pressure. i am not a chemist so heck if i know- read it in a magazine if it works in cars why not bikes?


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## SleeveleSS (Jun 3, 2007)

sbglax13 said:


> I have heard of people putting helium in car tires. not really to save weight but because the molecules in helium are bigger than in oxygen and therefore escapes from the tires more slowly resulting in prolonged tire pressure. i am not a chemist so heck if i know- read it in a magazine if it works in cars why not bikes?


They put nitrogen, not helium, AFAIK.


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## Forrest Root (Dec 22, 2006)

sbglax13 said:


> I have heard of people putting helium in car tires. not really to save weight but because the molecules in helium are bigger than in oxygen and therefore escapes from the tires more slowly resulting in prolonged tire pressure. i am not a chemist so heck if i know- read it in a magazine if it works in cars why not bikes?


Nope. In fact, helium is the most difficult gas to contain. Sealed tanks will hold it, and saranex, aka saran wrap, will hold it.....for a while.


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## jkuo (Mar 30, 2008)

Some shops and race teams will use nitrogen because it is more inert than regular air and won't change in pressure as much due to temperature fluctuations.



sbglax13 said:


> I have heard of people putting helium in car tires. not really to save weight but because the molecules in helium are bigger than in oxygen and therefore escapes from the tires more slowly resulting in prolonged tire pressure. i am not a chemist so heck if i know- read it in a magazine if it works in cars why not bikes?


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## bdc88 (Apr 14, 2006)

*12.80 lbs. / 5810g* with 20 gears and Dura-Ace shifters. I am not a fly weight by any means either.

Just look in this forum at my RS2 build.

http://forums.roadbikereview.com/showthread.php?t=128659

It shows 12.83 but I did some quick changes over the last few days to drop it a very little bit.


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## homebrew (Oct 28, 2004)

Some have suggested friction shifters make a bike unsutable for riding. Such rubbish. I would not have any issue riding a local crit with downtube shifters. Its a skill that cyclist used to be proud of. As to durability, some 20 lb bikes have more issues then the lightweights. I just don't understand the mentality of attacking someones bike becouse it does not fit YOUR needs. Ride what you want. If you enjoy your $20,000 dollar bike or your $20 fixed dumpster find frame, all have the ability to carry us to new places and meet new challenges


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## CactusJackSlade (Jul 3, 2004)

bartmanthebiker said:


> NEWSFLASH....THIS JUST IN>>>
> 
> Man's butthole impaled by carbon fiber seatpost that broke when he was pedaling his ultralight bike up Mt. Washington. Oh, this just in too, he broke out all of his teeth when the ultralight bar broke and he lunged forward and ate the road for breakfast.
> 
> Later in the hospital, the man, who only weighs 73.8 pounds (former horse jockey) admitted he was overweight and that was why the components broke...he assumes complete responsiblity.



You all do know this was just a project bike right? An experiment in what can be achieved.

The bike I'm building now I have targeted around 12.5 lbs and will be plenty durable, clinchers and all. Some of the technologies in a project like this bike filter down for better lighter products for us all.

Would I ride that sub 8 lb bike? Heck yes, but maybe only once to see how it rides Up...UP...and AWAY!


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## bdc88 (Apr 14, 2006)

12.5 lbs is a great weight with clinchers and durable parts. My new Pedal Force RS2 has clinchers and heavier parts to come in at 12.88 with computer and bottle cage. Without computer and bottle cage the bike weighs in at 12.73 lbs. Now I could just go out and buy SRAM RED and drop the weight down to just over 12 lbs with little problems and there is still room to drop down to under 12 lbs. with a rideable strong bike.


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