# losing 1 lb = ??



## 2wd (Oct 26, 2008)

I would like to get my bike to be a little faster/make long distance riding a little easier, on a very tight budget (oh the economy!)

The cheapeast and easiest for me would be to get new tires (have wire bead now) and getting rid of my metal w/plastic body peadals with toeclips.

I am looking at the Conti GP force and attack tires and some Crank bros eggbeater pedals. This will lighten up my drivetrain by a good pound, maybe even slightly more. Any ideas on what to expect in speed, effort? 

Most of my riding is in the mountains, starting at 6300' above sea level up to about 8-9000' asl. So I am thinking that a pound off the drivetrain would make a big difference.

Thanks from a roadbike newbie.


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## chirider990 (Apr 18, 2004)

I found that Tubes are cheap way to save weight and money. Try performance Lunar Light tubes. I have used them and they see to be a good price to pound saver. I also have used Kenda Kalente light tires. These are super light and pretty inexpensive. I noticed a small difference due to the rotating weight. clipless peds are never a bad idea for performance.


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## 2wd (Oct 26, 2008)

Thanks for the input. This may sound odd but I had some concerns with going with lightweight tubes considering out here in the desert sw we have lot of thorns/stickers and such. Always have to run heavy thorn-proof tubes on the mtb. does the puncture protection on most roadbike tires make the "goathead" stickers a non issue?


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## JCavilia (Sep 12, 2005)

*I question your premise*



> Most of my riding is in the mountains, starting at 6300' above sea level up to about 8-9000' asl. So I am thinking that a pound off the drivetrain would make a big difference.


It won't make a "big difference." And the altitude is pretty much irrelevant. A pound won't appreciably affect your climbing. I know nothing about your physique, but most people can stand to lose a pound or two off their bodies, and that's probably the cheapest way.

On the other hand, some of your ideas have merit for other reasons. If you're riding with conventional cage pedals with toeclips (and presumably some sort of sneakers?), getting clipless pedals and real rigid-soled cycling shoes will make a genuine difference in performance.

On the other other hand, getting extremely light tires and tubes doesn't seem so smart in an area with road hazards. And to answer your final question, goatheads are nuisance with road tires, which really don't have much "puncture protection."


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## fireplug (Nov 19, 2008)

JCavilia said:


> but most people can stand to lose a pound or two off their bodies, and that's probably the cheapest way.


Well that is not as fun as buying something new though


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## 2wd (Oct 26, 2008)

Thanks again for the reply's. 

JC, I guess my premise would be for just trying to gain some in avg speed, not be so "wasted" after climbing for 10-15 miles and generally just give me a small advantage for the biking portion of a triathlon I am going to have "fun" doing. No need to be the first or fastest, just an inexpensive upgrade for my roadbike. It would be very hard for me to drop much weight, 165-168 lbs 5' 11 1/2" depeding on the day and for the 'average' person I would probably fall in the very fit end of the scale.

The most bang for the buck is basically what I am after, I had not bought a new bike in over 15 years and sure I had some sticker shock but it would be much quieter at home if I can keep the costs down as much as reasonable. Appreciate your response and it seems while I am waiting for the mileage to wear out my existing tires the pedals and some shoes should be the ticket.


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## Camilo (Jun 23, 2007)

2wd said:


> Thanks again for the reply's.
> 
> JC, I guess my premise would be for just trying to gain some in avg speed, not be so "wasted" after climbing for 10-15 miles and generally just give me a small advantage for the biking portion of a triathlon I am going to have "fun" doing. No need to be the first or fastest, just an inexpensive upgrade for my roadbike. It would be very hard for me to drop much weight, 165-168 lbs 5' 11 1/2" depeding on the day and for the 'average' person I would probably fall in the very fit end of the scale.
> 
> The most bang for the buck is basically what I am after, I had not bought a new bike in over 15 years and sure I had some sticker shock but it would be much quieter at home if I can keep the costs down as much as reasonable. Appreciate your response and it seems while I am waiting for the mileage to wear out my existing tires the pedals and some shoes should be the ticket.


My prediction is that you could not even measure any difference a pound will make. The only possible advantage it will have is if you are an elite athlete, racing against another elite athlete and the sprint comes down to a few centimeters at the end of a long race.

You might notice a 3-5 pound difference, but again will you actually notice it or will it make a noticable difference? not likely. 

On the other hand, I changed from heavy tires and tubes to light tires and tubes (Mich PR2 and Performance light tubes) and they just "feel" better - better ride, smoother, feel surer on the corners. I don't believe the weight of the tube has much at all to do with puncture resistance, because anything that goes through a tire will go through any tube you have inside there (at least that's my thought).

So, changing tires to good quality/ lighter and tubes to light weight is not a dumb idea regardless of your quest to drop a pound.... and it will probably get you 1/2 way there for a very low $/gram cost. It is money well spent regardless of your motivation, and you might actually notice it.

In my opinion, the pedals and shoes is a good idea regardless of weight savings as well. Interestingly, if you go to weightweenies.com, you'll find that there's several SPD-type pedals that are lighter than the cromoly eggbeaters. I was kind of surprised that they aren't a little lighter than they are. I have some Wellgo magnesium one-sided (i.e. "road") SPD type pedals and I believe they're lighter than egg beaters. They work fine so far (1200 miles), without a hitch.


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## ericm979 (Jun 26, 2005)

Clipless pedals and road shoes will be a serious performance and comfort improvement. If you are worried about weight don't forget to weigh the cleats as well as the pedals.. SPD and Speedplay make for light pedals but have heavy cleats with a lot of metal. Plastic cleats like Look and SPD-SL are lighter. Even though I race and am a bit of a weight weenie I like the SPD-SL pedals- they clip in and out easily and the large platform makes for a comfortable pedal. They are not the lightest but are reasonably light.

You won't notice any difference in speed by losing a pound. Average speed is a poor way to measure performance differences. Try measuring your time up a climb instead.

Chances are you have some body fat that you can lose, if you really want to get serious. There's normal people fit and then there's bike racer fit.


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## moabbiker (Sep 11, 2002)

Lightweight wheelset makes the most noticeable difference to me on the climbs. The difference between a cheapo 2000g 105-groupo wheelset vs a 1500g $350 wheelset is like night and day when it gets >8%.


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## Dave Hickey (Jan 27, 2002)

1lb= 3500 calories.. It is by far the cheapest way to lose a pound...


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## 2wd (Oct 26, 2008)

Ok, looks like 3500 calories. Wow I just did the math, that is alot of beer 

Realistically it appears that minus the few beers the pedals and shoes would make the biggest difference. I live in the mountains, dirt driveway, dirt road to rural hiway (about 2.5 tenths mile) so for me too be able to walk the bike up the road to ride I would have to have mtb shoes (thus my thinking eggbeater pedals, debris, etc..). Is there a big difference in rigidity between a mtb and road shoe?


Again, thanks for takeing the time.:thumbsup:


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## Camilo (Jun 23, 2007)

2wd said:


> . I live in the mountains, dirt driveway, dirt road to rural hiway (about 2.5 tenths mile) so for me too be able to walk the bike up the road to ride I would have to have mtb shoes (thus my thinking eggbeater pedals, debris, etc..)...:


Why would you walk your bike to the pavement? I ride a light road bike with lightweight wheels, racing tires, and lightweight tubes. I ride about 3/4 mile to and from pavement from my house on pretty bad gravel roads. This is very steep and pretty rough (actually the ride on the steep uphill home on this shortish section is exactly why I love my Ultegra triple) I just take it easy and usually clean the tires with my gloved hand when I get to the pavement. But I don't think that really matters. I've never gotten a flat attibutable to this road. Every flat I've had in the past few years is directly related to a pinch or glass or other sharps I've hit on the paved road. 

Sometimes I think people believe their road bikes - even really light weight ones - are much more fragile and fussy than they really are. Take a look at some Paris-Roubaix footage sometime, you'll never hesitate to ride your bike on that dirt road again. (unless the dirt is just too soft for skinny tires).



2wd said:


> ... Is there a big difference in rigidity between a mtb and road shoe?...


A top quality mtb and road shoe will be equivalent in stiffness. FWIW, I've had two sets of clipless pedals/shoes for my road bike in the past 15 years. First set was 'real' road shoes. Current set is SPD-type pedals and MTB shoes. I can't tell any difference other than the slightly heavier weight (when I lift them, not when I'm riding) and the fact that the MTB shoes are just easy to walk in. I have not noticed any "hot spots" or any performance degradation. I'm not a racer though.


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## JCavilia (Sep 12, 2005)

*Well said, Camilo*



> Sometimes I think people believe their road bikes - even really light weight ones - are much more fragile and fussy than they really are. Take a look at some Paris-Roubaix footage sometime, you'll never hesitate to ride your bike on that dirt road again. (unless the dirt is just too soft for skinny tires).


I make a point of riding some dirt road stretches in my town occasionally. It's fun, and great for the bike-handling skills.


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## 2wd (Oct 26, 2008)

I was under the impression that I would pinchflat easy or damage a wheel riding "off road" on the roadbike. I will have to try it, hope it works because walking down the steep hill after a long ride is not fun. Thanks again for the info!


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## kregg (Nov 29, 2008)

*Pedals*

Want cheap lite pedals? Check these:

http://cgi.ebay.com/WELLGO-MG-8-SPD...9|66:2|65:12|39:1|240:1318|301:1|293:1|294:50

$34 shipped and they weigh 240g and add 50 grams for the cleats. They are SPD so if you have SPD mtn shoes you can use those.... 

my 2 cents....


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## kregg (Nov 29, 2008)

*My 2 cents*

Want cheap lite pedals? Check these:

http://cgi.ebay.com/WELLGO-MG-8-SPD...9|66:2|65:12|39:1|240:1318|301:1|293:1|294:50

$34 shipped, new, and they weigh 240g and add 50 grams for the cleats. They are SPD so if you have SPD mtn shoes you can use those.... 

I bought some to replace my times and wound up dropping 160 grams. Also went from ultegra cranks to FSA carbons for less than $130. With a little luck, and if you dont mind buying used ebay is great. Altogether I dropped over 2.5 lbs for less than $300....


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## Squidward (Dec 18, 2005)

Camilo said:


> You might notice a 3-5 pound difference, but again will you actually notice it or will it make a noticable difference? not likely.


I know that I can't feel a difference between my old steel bike (just under 21 lbs) and my carbon bike (just over 16 lbs) when climbing the local hills. I don't know if my times are the same or not but I put the same amount of hurt on my riding buddy, and him to me, regardless of which bike I'm riding.

I *do* feel the difference between my road bikes and my commuter, though, at 27 lbs. This might have more to do with the crappy tires I have on that bike, though.


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## lalahsghost (Aug 27, 2007)

moabbiker said:


> Lightweight wheelset makes the most noticeable difference to me on the climbs. The difference between a cheapo 2000g 105-groupo wheelset vs a 1500g $350 wheelset is like night and day when it gets >8%.


I went from generic 36 spoke wheels to Neuvation m28 aero 3's (not even the lightest neuvation wheel) and like he said.... it's totally night and day.


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## chirider990 (Apr 18, 2004)

I would also say there is a huge difference between my Alex chepo wheel set with heavy tubes. And my carbon tubulars when it comes to climbing. They are just over a pound and a half difference.


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## pigpen (Sep 28, 2005)

Dave Hickey said:


> 1lb= 3500 calories.. It is by far the cheapest way to lose a pound...


Damn, I have to lose 105,000 calories.


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