# Why do road bikers care less about weight than mountain bikers?



## skyliner1004

Is it because mountain bikers have more to gain by dropping weight since they're always climbing and descending (varying terrain)?

I notice the mtbr weight weenie subforum is much more active than this one.


----------



## been200mph

:wink: But not everyone on RBR falls into the 'cares less' catagory. I've done a reasonable job of building a light road bike with parts that won't fail. Same with the mtb. But you're right it seems... more mtb folks are weight weenies it seems.


----------



## chenhy

I am a roadie and used to be quite particular about bike weight. I bought some pretty light stuffs (e.g. Selle Italia Teknologika saddle, Ritchey Carbon Evolution handlebar, etc.). Costs a lot of $$$.

However, after riding more, I am convinced that those weight weenie stuffs dont make me better. My mate riding a steel Colnago is faster than me in most rides. Plus for long rides, adding two water bottles will easily add more than 1kg to my bike.

Anyway, I still prefer to have light bike


----------



## spookyload

If you aren't careful on a roadbike with weight, your bike will be in the 18-20 pound range. If you aren't careful on a MTB, your bike will be 27 pounds plus very easily. It is easier to get way out of hand on a Mountain bike. I also think it is more of a challenge to go WW on a MTB and still find it durable enough to trust. On a road bike, light is usually fairly safe. More to talk about I guess is the point here.


----------



## filtersweep

My opinion is that weight weenism and mtn biking are odd bedfellows. It is almost certain that everyone will eventually crash on a mtn bike, if they really ride it off-road. Last thing I want is a fragile (and expensive) mtn bike. I have broken all sorts of parts mountain biking.

A friend purchased a carbon mtn bike--- the frame is actually heavier than his old aluminum bike. 

I would not want ultra-light brakes on a mtn bike, either. Hydraulic discs are the way to go--- would happily pay the weight penalty.


----------



## ljfran2383

One huge reason is that a weight on a road bike only mattter accelerating and climbing. Otherwise , according to physics, it doesn't matter at all. 

On a mtn bike, you are moving the bike much more than a road bike, the lighter the bike is, the better it responds to your movements.

And yes, on a mtn bike I would definatly sacrifice weight on brakes and forks etc, but also you can save tons of weight were you can. 

For reference, my road bike is 18.5lbs ready to ride, no bottles, lowish end with 105, carbon frame., my mtn bike is 19.8, high end spec, carbon everything.

Also, idk if its just me, but it is much easier to gain weight on a mtn bike. 1900gram wheels with a 4.5 lb fork a 7 pound frame, 700gram tires, sh## adds up fast. And none of that stuff is terrible heavy or light.


----------



## c_kyle

It could be that road bikes already seem light. Coming from the mtb world, and being somewhat of a WW, I was impressed to find a plethora of road bikes under 20lbs for very cheap. Now, 20lbs for a road bike is probably considered mildly heavy, but for the money, you can buy an already light road bike, whereas a mtb will cost much more to get sub-20lbs.


----------



## skyliner1004

my mtb (hardtail) is a 25 lbs, and my road bike is a 18lbs with pedals and cages. 

Which of these two bikes seems more overweight?


----------



## ljfran2383

skyliner1004 said:


> my mtb (hardtail) is a 25 lbs, and my road bike is a 18lbs with pedals and cages.
> 
> Which of these two bikes seems more overweight?


Those are about dead equal on relative weight. But If I had to choose, the mtb is a tad fatter.


----------



## MattSoutherden

The weenie forum here isn't that busy, as most weenies frequent, errr, Weight Weenies. 

Believe me. Roadie weenieism is a HUGE business.


----------



## ghost6

Here's some evidence of weight weenie enthusiasm/obsession from roadies: 
http://weightweenies.starbike.com/forum/viewforum.php?f=3


----------



## peterk

My mountain bike weighs 39lbs. I used to have a lighter one; it broke.


----------



## mendo

I feel like the most extreme, radical weenie-ism is practiced by road cyclists building up project bikes.

The UCI 6.7 Kg rule makes weight-weenie-ism less of an issue for professionals, since stock bikes with high-end specs often have to have weight added to make the cut.

I don't know what the rules are for professional mtbers.


----------



## Camilo

skyliner1004 said:


> Is it because mountain bikers have more to gain by dropping weight since they're always climbing and descending (varying terrain)?
> 
> I notice the mtbr weight weenie subforum is much more active than this one.


Seriously? 

http://weightweenies.starbike.com/forum/viewforum.php?f=3&sid=81c8007fade0fb645640afa6384dbf07


----------



## sanrensho

Road bikes are already light, and on top of that, it's much more widely accepted to search for weight savings. Hence no need for a "weight weenie" sub-segment.


----------



## skyliner1004

Camilo said:


> Seriously?
> 
> http://weightweenies.starbike.com/forum/viewforum.php?f=3&sid=81c8007fade0fb645640afa6384dbf07


yes, seriously. does me posting a link to this neutralize your argument? http://weightweenies.starbike.com/forum/viewforum.php?f=1

tell me which subforum has more weight weenie activity, RBR or MTBR.


----------



## JChasse

skyliner1004 said:


> my mtb (hardtail) is a 25 lbs, and my road bike is a 18lbs with pedals and cages.
> 
> Which of these two bikes seems more overweight?


I'd have to say your mtb by a fair margin. my 5.5 inch travel mtb weighs 26.4 lbs, while my fairly new Waterford road bike is heavier than yours...

Id say an 18lb road bike is respectable, where a 25 lb hardtail is pretty portly.


----------



## been200mph

There are still huge weight drops in many road bikes to be found. It wasn't too difficult to drop my TCR down to right at 15 even while still using a heavy saddle and Ultegra parts. My full-suspension mtb on the other hand to get into the sub-21 lb mode was a bit more of a challenge monetarily at least.


----------



## skyliner1004

JChasse said:


> I'd have to say your mtb by a fair margin. my 5.5 inch travel mtb weighs 26.4 lbs, while my fairly new Waterford road bike is heavier than yours...
> 
> Id say an 18lb road bike is respectable, where a 25 lb hardtail is pretty portly.


you're right, my mtb only cost me $1300 though, as opposed to my $2400 road bike. i bet i can drop 1.5-2lbs off my mtb with $1100. but i'm not going to, lol.


----------



## CurbDestroyer

Weight Schmeight . . . You have to look at the total package . . . Bicycle + You + Your Gear. 18 + 165 + 5? = 188 Lbs. even if I lost 5lbs. that's still only 3%. What's 3% of your weight going to do for you in the long run? Then you have to think about how the pace is dictated. If you on the road your in a pace line, and there are some places on the trail that you are limited to how fast you can go. Things to think about.


----------



## spade2you

CurbDestroyer said:


> Weight Schmeight . . . You have to look at the total package . . . Bicycle + You + Your Gear. 18 + 165 + 5? = 188 Lbs. even if I lost 5lbs. that's still only 3%. What's 3% of your weight going to do for you in the long run? Then you have to think about how the pace is dictated. If you on the road your in a pace line, and there are some places on the trail that you are limited to how fast you can go. Things to think about.


120lbs+13.96lb bike= 

I climb fast.


----------



## tommyrhodes

I'm not a frequent mtbr. But when I do I'm usually barreling down a trail and praying the bike does not fall apart. 

My guess is mtbr are more cautious about buying lightweight products. Since mtb parts are regularly subject to abuse. Whereas on a roadbike a won't even ride over a curb without babying the bike.


----------



## stover

tommyrhodes said:


> My guess is mtbr are more cautious about buying lightweight products. Since mtb parts are regularly subject to abuse. Whereas on a roadbike a won't even ride over a curb without babying the bike.


As a mtb rider I can tell you that light is great on the climbs but too light can have some dangers on a mtb bke. I'm my case I have a Stumpjumper which is mostly XT/XTR so its both strong and relatively light about 26lbs. I feel confident I can do jumps, drops etc without the fear of breaking it. On all full out XC carbon race bike that weighs 18lbs or less I'd be a little cautious about doing anything other then the usual single track/fire road races we have out here. Basically the weight thing comes down to what type of mtb riding you are focused on: XC, AM, Downhill, etc.


----------



## natrab

Since I'm still primarily a mountain biker (and I have considerably better mountain bikes than my roadie), I'll chime in. My main bike I built up with all top end parts and a custom frame/wheels for my size/weight. It's a full suspension 29er built for a 200lb rider with light-weight, but tough parts. It comes in just under 25 lbs at a cost of around $5k. My 29er hard tail weighs around 20 with a fairly light build (it's a 1x9) and cost around $3k. My road bike cost $1750 fully assembled and weighs 16.5 lbs stock.

My first mountain bike was an '89 Trek 7000 rigid aluminum bike weighing in at 31 lbs. On single track where you have fast changes from descending to really steep climbing over roots and off-camber trails, the change in weight is very dramatic. Meanwhile I've had no inkling to try and lighten up my road bike (though now I've finally made the upgrade to a carbon frame and some nice wheels).


----------



## skyliner1004

yea it looks like saving weight with the road bike crowd isn't as popular/fun as with a mountain bike. 

Reasons, IMO:
1. more climbing with mtbs/more steep hills/obstacles where a light bike will help more than climbing a long, not-steep hill on a road bike
2. losing weight on a mtb & gaining functionality at the same time is more fun/challenging. for example: Choosing light, yet grippy tires for your specific trail terrain that will still make a significant difference over your stock tires. All road tires generally do the same thing. 90% (?) of road bikers in a blind test will not be able to tell the difference between $15 road slicks and $50 road slicks.
Same goes for forks. Upgraded MTB forks can help a rider get over obstacles and the upgrades can be felt immediately. Someone chime in about road forks: can the upgrade be felt immediately?
3. MTB Upgrades look better. More bling. A fox fork on any frame looks good. An aftermarket road fork on my LOOK 566 will look very out of place.

in the end, it looks like its true that MTBers are much more concerned about the weight of their bike than road bikers.


----------



## JacoStillLives

spade2you said:


> 120lbs+13.96lb bike=
> 
> I climb fast.



haha every time weight is mentioned you always throw in the fact that you're 120 lbs... 

you sound like my GF.



Oh and on the part about MTBers vs. roadies being weight weenies. I think weight weenie syndrome is WAY worse in road culture than MTB.


----------



## tommyrhodes

You've been here since may and you've already got it figured out lol


----------



## Camilo

> yes, seriously. does me posting a link to this neutralize your argument? http://weightweenies.starbike.com/forum/viewforum.php?f=1
> 
> tell me which subforum has more weight weenie activity, RBR or MTBR.


..Huh?


----------



## dysfunction

I wouldn't base your opinion on whether weight reduction is popular on the activity level of an Internet forum.


----------



## skyliner1004

Camilo said:


> ..Huh?


which subforum has more activity? more replies to posts?

the "save some weight" in RBR or "weight weenies" on MTBR? is it too complicated of a question for you?

This stupid thread in rbr gets more action than other weight savings threads, and this thread isn't even related to bike parts or the weight of my bike.


----------



## Oracle7775

dysfunction said:


> I wouldn't base your opinion on whether weight reduction is popular on the activity level of an Internet forum.


Yes. You have to take into account that MTBR is overall a far more active forum than RBR.


----------



## spade2you

JacoStillLives said:


> haha every time weight is mentioned you always throw in the fact that you're 120 lbs...
> 
> you sound like my GF.


Hopefully your GF isn't dropping ya in the hills.  I just take sick pleasue in knowing that I can drop people in the hills despite having meager power.


----------



## JacoStillLives

spade2you said:


> Hopefully your GF isn't dropping ya in the hills.  I just take sick pleasue in knowing that I can drop people in the hills despite having meager power.


Haha! No way. I'm a skinny lad myself. I tried to get my GF to start riding, but it seems like a lost cause.


----------



## spade2you

JacoStillLives said:


> Haha! No way. I'm a skinny lad myself. I tried to get my GF to start riding, but it seems like a lost cause.


Same here. I'm trying to get her on the bike, although she's only interested in lower paced chica rides.


----------



## Camilo

skyliner1004 said:


> which subforum has more activity? more replies to posts?
> 
> the "save some weight" in RBR or "weight weenies" on MTBR? is it too complicated of a question for you?
> 
> This stupid thread in rbr gets more action than other weight savings threads, and this thread isn't even related to bike parts or the weight of my bike.


Why would I know anything about MTBR? I have never been there, never read anything there.

I pointed to the "Road Bike" subforum of the Weight Weenies website. That's all I intended to do, point you to a site totally dedicated to road bike weight weeniesm to show you that road bikers are indeed weight conscious and there is a large weight weenie road bike culture out there.

Now, this forum (road bike reviews) has very little weight weenie action, but that doesn't mean there isn't a lot of it going on out there.

You can go ahead and make the comparison you're asking for, for yourself. You don't need me to do your research and thinking for you. BUT - at the Weight Weenies forum, the Road Bike subforum has more than 4X the number of posts as the MTB subforum (350,000+ vs 80,000+) Again my point was that roadies are major weight weenies.


----------



## Fai Mao

The road bike I ride the most weighs 28 lbs.

Lugged steel frame
Brooks saddle
Racks
Fenders
38 mm wide 650B wheels & tires
lights
Panniers
pump

Light for a hard core commuter!


----------



## been200mph

Fai Mao said:


> The road bike I ride the most weighs 28 lbs.
> 
> Lugged steel frame
> Brooks saddle
> Racks
> Fenders
> 38 mm wide 650B wheels & tires
> lights
> Panniers
> pump
> 
> Light for a hard core commuter!


You should check out the new freeride/am roadbike forum! :lol:


----------



## pacificaslim

CurbDestroyer said:


> Weight Schmeight . . . You have to look at the total package . . . Bicycle + You + Your Gear. 18 + 165 + 5? = 188 Lbs. even if I lost 5lbs. that's still only 3%. What's 3% of your weight going to do for you in the long run?


This concept is posted in every thread about weight, but repetition doesn't make it any more correct than it was the first time. 

There are large differences in how a bicycle performs based on how much it weighs and where that weight is distributed (whereas extra/less weight on a human is usually pretty much from the core of the body). Would you rather ride with 5 lbs. strapped around your waist, or with wheels/tires that weight 5 lbs. more? Or with 5 lbs. hanging off the end of the bike? You'll feel the bike weight every time you accelerate or change direction much more than you'll feel the body weight.


----------



## Mr. Scary

tommyrhodes said:


> I'm not a frequent mtbr. But when I do I'm usually barreling down a trail and praying the bike does not fall apart.
> 
> My guess is mtbr are more cautious about buying lightweight products. Since mtb parts are regularly subject to abuse. Whereas on a roadbike a won't even ride over a curb without babying the bike.


Apparently you haven't read that forum ever, they shave chainrings, argue incessantly over Nino's new 50g mtb tubes that cost $80USD and how quickly they will flat, use presses to tighten down headsets to lose the starnut and top cap, etc. It is quite insane there as opposed to this forum.


----------



## skyliner1004

Mr. Scary said:


> Apparently you haven't read that forum ever, they shave chainrings, argue incessantly over Nino's new 50g mtb tubes that cost $80USD and how quickly they will flat, use presses to tighten down headsets to lose the starnut and top cap, etc. It is quite insane there as opposed to this forum.


that basically sums it up. MTBR weight weenis are more hardcore than RBR weight weenies.
I really wish there was more activity in this subforum, i love discussions on how to lower the weight of our bikes.


----------



## been200mph

Mr. Scary said:


> Apparently you haven't read that forum ever, they shave chainrings, argue incessantly over Nino's new 50g mtb tubes that cost $80USD and how quickly they will flat, use presses to tighten down headsets to lose the starnut and top cap, etc. It is quite insane there as opposed to this forum.


Yep. I was able to drop my full-suspension mtb down to the middle 20 lb range. But I gave in and put a more comfortable seat (same WTB Rocket V Stealth I have on the road bike now!), beefier tires, better performing brake rotors, and bar ends back on after my project was at the limit of what I'd do/spend. I'm somewhat weight conscious with the road bike too. Dropping weight with road bikes can get expensive as well!


----------



## old_fuji

Mr. Scary said:


> Apparently you haven't read that forum ever, they shave chainrings, argue incessantly over Nino's new 50g mtb tubes that cost $80USD and how quickly they will flat, use presses to tighten down headsets to lose the starnut and top cap, etc. It is quite insane there as opposed to this forum.


You forgot eliminating 100 grams by stripping the paint off the frame.


I still can't get over that.


----------



## jtrain

I always thought that road bikers were way more concerned about weight than mountain bikers. I guess I figured since I was going to be tossing my bike off of things that weight wasn't a huge deal in that I didn't want the bike to break. Now that being said, I wasn't outfitting my mountain bike with the heaviest components I could find (and in fact as I broke things and upgraded, my bike's weight went down), but it wasn't a key factor.

I also figure that, in the end, the engine is the thing that's going to matter the most. Oh and taking a crap in the morning! That'll lose those grams


----------



## Camilo

skyliner1004 said:


> that basically sums it up. MTBR weight weenis are more hardcore than RBR weight weenies.
> I really wish there was more activity in this subforum, i love discussions on how to lower the weight of our bikes.


Go to the above referenced weight weenies forums - it's a great forum with discussions as well as real-world component weights.


----------



## Zachariah

Here is my 19.7lb MTB. Combined with a 12-27 DA cassette and 44/32/20 rings...the bike practically climbs steep pitches by itself:










And the 16.5lb roadie. I'm just a hopeless weight weenie:


----------



## skyliner1004

Zachariah said:


> Here is my 19.7lb MTB. Combined with a 12-27 DA cassette and 44/32/20 rings...the bike practically climbs steep pitches by itself:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> And the 16.5lb roadie. I'm just a hopeless weight weenie:


per weight weenie standards, your MTB is a much lighter bike compared to other hardtail MTBs. a $2000 Stumpjumper HT will weigh ~24lbs. Dropping that down to ~19 is very tough.
Getting a road bike to the ~16.5 lb range isn't so hard. my gf's Scott Contessa CR1 comes in at 16lbs, 14oz with pedals, with bottle cage. (small size frame). My $2400 LOOK weighs ~17lbs stock


----------



## Zachariah

skyliner1004 said:


> Getting a road bike to the ~16.5 lb range isn't so hard. my gf's Scott Contessa CR1 comes in at 16lbs, 14oz with pedals, with bottle cage. (small size frame). My $2400 LOOK weighs ~17lbs stock


True...but my road bike cost me just under $1300.


----------



## rydbyk

peterk said:


> My mountain bike weighs 39lbs. I used to have a lighter one; it broke.



I am pretty sure the OP was referring to XC race bikes. Who should care about losing 1 lb on a DH bike?

Answer: Nobody on planet earth.

Nice pics of you jumping for us though.


----------



## 56cbr600rr

My mtb bike; Which I ride very hard and race is 23.6 full suspension - Giant Anthem x2 with carbon bars, seatpost, Mavic SLR wheels has been totally relieable. And the weight saving; especially in the wheels has helped immensely. 

For my road bike; It's 17 even. It's a stock 2010 Specialized comp rival with Kysrium ES wheels. I'd really like to get it to 16.5ish; just not sure how to affordably.

And I do agree, it seems the mtb ww crowd is a little more intense.


----------



## MisterC

The reason mtbers care more is because of weight regulations, there ain't none.

Another big reason is, even the top tier mtbs from the manufacturers were pretty heavy out of the box until recently with Cannondale blowing the world away with the Flash. They came with heavy saddles and heavy brake rotors, heavy tires heavy grips. Fairly cheap items to drop weight. When I switched to Scrub rotors from Avid I dropped over 100g.

Even though I might never be subject to their regulations, I have my road bike at 15lbs and there it shall stay. Call me crazy.

It's just like cat 3 cyclocross racers having UCI compliant tires and brakes and whatever.

Another phenomenon over on MTBR is the frequency of guys who build these super light machines that have no idea how to ride them.

I'm fairly new to RBR but I hope you WW guys at least ride your light bikes.


----------



## been200mph

MisterC said:


> The reason mtbers care more is because of weight regulations, there ain't none.
> 
> Another big reason is, even the top tier mtbs from the manufacturers were pretty heavy out of the box until recently with Cannondale blowing the world away with the Flash. They came with heavy saddles and heavy brake rotors, heavy tires heavy grips. Fairly cheap items to drop weight. When I switched to Scrub rotors from Avid I dropped over 100g.
> 
> Even though I might never be subject to their regulations, I have my road bike at 15lbs and there it shall stay. Call me crazy.
> 
> It's just like cat 3 cyclocross racers having UCI compliant tires and brakes and whatever.
> 
> Another phenomenon over on MTBR is the frequency of guys who build these super light machines that have no idea how to ride them.
> 
> I'm fairly new to RBR but I hope you WW guys at least ride your light bikes.


There have been plenty of stock bikes that are quite lightweight dating far earlier than the Cdale you mention.


----------



## Mr. Scary

MisterC said:


> The reason mtbers care more is because of weight regulations, there ain't none.
> 
> Another big reason is, even the top tier mtbs from the manufacturers were pretty heavy out of the box until recently with Cannondale blowing the world away with the Flash. They came with heavy saddles and heavy brake rotors, heavy tires heavy grips. Fairly cheap items to drop weight. When I switched to Scrub rotors from Avid I dropped over 100g.
> 
> Even though I might never be subject to their regulations, I have my road bike at 15lbs and there it shall stay. Call me crazy.
> 
> It's just like cat 3 cyclocross racers having UCI compliant tires and brakes and whatever.
> 
> Another phenomenon over on MTBR is the frequency of guys who build these super light machines that have no idea how to ride them.
> 
> I'm fairly new to RBR but I hope you WW guys at least ride your light bikes.


What are you saying that Nino doesn't ride his bikes? C'mon he doesn't wrap tape on the drops he is so serious!!


----------



## roadie01

I couldn't resist chiming in on this one. Weight of your road bike is relative to what you want to do with it / where you live. 

If you live in a mountainous area having a lighter bike is worth the expense especially if you are racing and the difference between first place and the fist looser is less than 1 minute. This is exactly why the pros ride bikes with multi thousand dollar wheels and switch wheels for climbing stages vs. flat stages. 

Further the lighter your bike is before adding essentials for your ride i.e. water, spare tube, your butt, the less you have to carry up the side of that mountain. This is also why pros pay very close attention to their body weight. 

The same holds true on a mountain bike less weight going up means faster times, just as long as it doesn't come at the price of durability and being able to go downhill reasonably quickly.

One example is a guy in the club I ride with, he can cruse along at 30 MPH with a mild head wind, but at just over 6' tall and I imagine close to 200 lbs. he can't hang with the guys he puts the hurt on while on the flats. 

The last point I would like to make is why spend your hard earned cash to be below the UCI leagal limit of 6.8KG or 14.99 lbs. and no you can't count water bottles, tool bags, pumps, etc.. in the total. 
http://www.usacycling.org/forms/uci/UCIBicycleRegulations.pdf


----------



## Hank Stamper

skyliner1004 said:


> Is it because mountain bikers have more to gain by dropping weight since they're always climbing and descending (varying terrain)?
> 
> I notice the mtbr weight weenie subforum is much more active than this one.


Forum activity just shows which group has the most participants with the most free time to waste on the internet. It says nothing about caring really.

Do you think pros care about their bikes? Do you think they all post on the internet about it?


----------



## estone2

skyliner1004 said:


> which subforum has more activity? more replies to posts?
> 
> the "save some weight" in RBR or "weight weenies" on MTBR? is it too complicated of a question for you?
> 
> This stupid thread in rbr gets more action than other weight savings threads, and this thread isn't even related to bike parts or the weight of my bike.


It's truly remarkable how quickly you get pissed off and worked up, while often completely missing the gist of what people say.


----------



## truble930

been200mph said:


> There have been plenty of stock bikes that are quite lightweight dating far earlier than the Cdale you mention.


Ya, when did Cannondale 'blow away the world'? I guess I missed that.


----------



## been200mph

roadie01 said:


> The last point I would like to make is why spend your hard earned cash to be below the UCI leagal limit of 6.8KG or 14.99 lbs. and no you can't count water bottles, tool bags, pumps, etc.. in the total.
> http://www.usacycling.org/forms/uci/UCIBicycleRegulations.pdf


Due to the fact that many on here don't race sanctioned events.


----------



## estone2

been200mph said:


> Due to the fact that many on here don't race sanctioned events.


And, furthermore, UCI isn't enforced at USCF events with the exception of State and National Championships. And I've never seen it enforced at States.

Not to mention that the UCI events I've been to weren't weighing bikes, they were much more occupied with position.


----------



## Bill Bikie

*I think it boils down to the racing heritage of the road bike...quick acceleration!*

I think it boils down to the type of riding or racing. The road bike needs to accelerate quickly, thus weight is more critical. 

In mountain bike races you're rarely in a peleton trying to break away. Mostly you're single-tracking. But even if you're not racing on a road bike, but on a club ride, you'll want a bike that will accelerate quickly, and climb nimbly.

Weight (less) is important for climbing in any cycling venue, wheel weight is the most inportant. The less rotating weight, the easier it is to overcome inertia move the bike forward.

In Paris-Robiax the road bikes and wheels tend to be a little heavier so as to ride the cobbles better, and also to hold-up better. This extra weight would be a burden in the mountains. And I wouldn't want to ride a 14lb mountain bike
on a rough trail..it would bounce all over the place.:mad2:

Is the MTB the SUV and the road bike the Porsche?


----------



## Bill Bikie

MisterC said:


> The reason mtbers care more is because of weight regulations, there ain't none.QUOTE]
> 
> Good point! There is a minimum competition weight limit for road bikes in Europe and the US. I once questioned a mechanic at a criterium about the mixing of Ultegra and Dura Ace components on a very high-end pro rider's bike. He said the complete Dura-Ace grouppo made the bike too light, therefore some Dura-Ace parts were substituted for Ultegra.
> 
> I'm sure some of you saw Contador's time trial bike being weighed before the last time trial.


----------



## MisterC

I stand by my original argument.

15lb UCI weight limit gives road bikers a solid argument for their rationalization machines that their bike need not get lighter.


----------

