Why are new bikes so heavy?

[Osiris]

Back in 2011 I decided to get back into cycling after a thirty year absence. The bike I ended up buying was the Trek Madone, which weighed a feathery 16 lbs. I had expected something more like my 1975 Fuji 12 speed, which tipped the scales at 25 lbs, so I was amazed at how far technology had come. After that, Trek introduced the Emonda, which in it's lightest iteration was something close to 10 lbs. I was well aware by then that riders were spending hundreds if not thousands of dollars to shave off every extra gram of weight from their bikes, so the emergence of an ultra-light bike like the Emonda didn't come as much of a surprise.

But last week I was once again at the same Trek store, just to have a look around. On the floor was the latest Madone, now fully equipped with the latest carbon frame technology, disk brakes, and electronic shifting. Beside it was the Domane, a more user friendly model that I test rode a number of years ago when it first came out. I lifted it off the ground, expecting it to feel even lighter than the old model, but instead it felt like it was made of lead! I asked one of the salesmen, and was told, "It's around 20 lbs"(!) That's almost the weight of my mountain bike. How did this thing gain so much extra flab? The 2020 Madone also felt heavier than my 2011 model, and the salesman refused my request to put it on the scale. My guess is that the culprit is those disk brakes and electronic shifters. No doubt the forks and chain stays have had to be beefed up as well in order to withstand the bending forces put on them by the disk brakes. Other than that, I can't see what else would account for it. One wonders how they advertise these new bikes, given that manufacturers have spent years telling us that lighter is better, only to now be producing bikes substantially heavier than the ones that came out a decade ago. No thanks.

 

[3bs]

i doubt you could make a large tire/rim disc brake bike under 14 lbs. the lightest bike i ever heard of was around 10.00 lbs. seems like someone had one just barely under 10.

i have a couple friends who are serious riders with disposable income and their bikes are right at 14.

every bent i have is over 20

 

[cpml123]

I would be ecstatic if I can just get my S40 below 30lb with the disc brakes and other accessories!

 

[Osiris]

i have a couple friends who are serious riders with disposable income and their bikes are right at 14.

Not only are the newest models substantially heavier than ones from a decade ago, they also cost a ton more. My top of the line 2011 Madone sold for $7,400. The new top of the line Madone costs $12,000; $5000 more than I paid for my first car.

 

[RojoRacing]

My domane with lights, cameras, aero bars and two position seat post comes in at over 22lbs. When out on group rides people go to pick it up and are amazed I ride such a heavy bike so quickly. Bike weight plays a very small roll in how good a rider is so I've never put much weight into it. The fact that the UCI has a minimum weight of like 16 lbs probably gives less incentive to make every bike ultra light. There are plenty of lightweight bikes out there today but there are ever more that aren't in favor of utility and style. The emonde is still just as light as it ever was, the domane goes for utility over weight and the madone chooses areo and style over weight. What we have these days is not heavy bikes but more options to choose from.

Compare apples with apples and oranges with oranges and it all makes sense.

 

[Osiris]

The fact that the UCI has a minimum weight of like 16 lbs probably gives less incentive to make every bike ultra light.

Manufacturers have for at least a decade managed to make bikes that weigh less than the UCI minimum weight. The incentive to buy a new bike is that it's going to be faster/lighter than the old one; that's why manufacturers have been shaving every spare gram of weight off for years, and it's why the average rider who can afford it has been willing to spend hundreds if not thousands of dollars to buy the lightest components. Only a tiny fraction of bike owners ever race them. UCI minimum weight limits mean nothing to the vast majority their customers, so that's not even a relevant consideration for manufacturers.

The emonde is still just as light as it ever was, the domane goes for utility over weight and the madone chooses areo and style over weight. What we have these days is not heavy bikes but more options to choose from.

It's patently obvious that bikes have gotten heavier. The Madone and Domane have both gotten heavier. So has my Specialized Roubaix and Venge, and the same would be true of the Emonda if it's development has gone down the same path. Any time you add disk brakes and have to beef up the frame and wheels to cope with the additional stresses disk brakes create, it's going to increase the weight of the bike. Switch to electronic shifting and you've added even more weight. The only thing that gets lighter as a result is the buyer's wallet.

 

[velocio]

It's patently obvious that bikes have gotten heavier. The Madone and Domane have both gotten heavier. So has my Specialized Roubaix and Venge, and the same would be true of the Emonda if it's development has gone down the same path. Any time you add disk brakes and have to beef up the frame and wheels to cope with the additional stresses disk brakes create, it's going to increase the weight of the bike. Switch to electronic shifting and you've added even more weight. The only thing that gets lighter as a result is the buyer's wallet.

According to Trek's website the Madone frame gained 100g in moving from rim to disk brakes, so, yes, Osiris' assertion is correct on that. Whether 100g is worth all the gnashing of teeth and hyperpole is left to the individual to decide for herself.

The movement of road bikes rim brakes to disk brakes has been coincident with a trend towards larger tires as well. Larger tires also add weight (slightly to frame, to rims, to the tire itself), but are a good trade-off for most recreational cyclists, who gain comfort, traction, fewer flats. Disk brakes, though slightly heavier, also add functionality for a small weight gain. Weight matters, but it's not the sole metric by which an informed cyclist should judge his velocipede. I'm thrilled with the changes I see in mainstream recreational bikes over the last few years as the products are more appropriate for the bulk of riders on the bulk of roads on which they ride, even if the resulting bike weighs a skoosh more.

-Jack K.

 

[Osiris]

According to Trek's website the Madone frame gained 100g in moving from rim to disk brakes, so, yes, Osiris' assertion is correct on that. Whether 100g is worth all the gnashing of teeth and hyperpole is left to the individual to decide for herself.

Just so we're making an accurate comparison, my 2011 56cm Madone 9.9 tipped the scales at the shop at right around 16 lbs. According to Trek's website, the new top of the line 56cm Madone SLR 9 weighs 17.6 lbs. A gain of 1.6 lbs over the span of a decade is pretty substantial, especially in view of the fact that prior to this, the trend had been to make each new model lighter, not heavier. My 2012 Specialized S-works Venge weighed 14.8 lbs. without pedals. The Venge was one of the first bikes to have an aero-frame, which made it slightly heavier, but it was still lighter than my conventional framed 2011 Madone. Back then, weight savings was all the rage. People were willing to pay top dollar for the lightest frames and components, so it seemed like a logical development for Trek to come out with the no holds barred 10 lb Emonda, despite it's ludicrous price tag of $15,000. It's in this context that I find a complete reversal of this long trend so surprising. I have to wonder what salesman are telling prospective customers now, having spent more than a decade convincing people that lighter is better. FWIW, I've done test rides on the new Trek Madone and Specialized Roubaix. Even if I had been in the market, I didn't find any reason to want to trade my older models for them.

 

[3bs]

i have ridden both domane and roubaix on cycling trips in the last few years both nice comfortable easy to ride bikes. my old allez was just over 20, also a fine ride.
when it comes to bents, bikes are low mid 20's to low mid 30's. my combined body and bike weight is where the real problem is and the body is where the real savings can be made for the least investment.

 

[Osiris]

i have ridden both domane and roubaix on cycling trips in the last few years both nice comfortable easy to ride bikes. my old allez was just over 20, also a fine ride.
when it comes to bents, bikes are low mid 20's to low mid 30's. my combined body and bike weight is where the real problem is and the body is where the real savings can be made for the least investment.

That depends. Over the past three years or so I've gone from 180 lbs to my current 157 lbs. by just eliminating soft drinks from my diet. Unfortunately that weight loss has also resulted in a power loss, especially at the top end. I'm not sure why, because I push myself just as hard as I ever did when out riding. On my test hill, my best average speed from 2011 was 17 mph. On the same bike today, my best average speed is still 17 mph, despite weighing 23 lbs less.

 

[BikeGary]

I've always said I won't buy a ligher..x .. component until I lose some weight off the "main frame" ie my body. So far that has never happened. Although I don't drink soft drinks I am still slowly adding mass to the frame. Some from obviously food, but some from doing weight work, and other sports than riding. So I have muscles which are not really useful for riding but make my life better by being stronger.

I figure unless I'm training for some olympic sport it's better to be overall strong than single sport strong. Makes things like lifting a heavy suitcase, groceries, that bag of compost, etc less likely to injure myself.

 

[bladderhead]

A gain of 1.6 lbs over the span of a decade is pretty substantial

I have gained a lot more than that. I have to stop eating all these disk brakes and DI2 components.

 

[3bs]

I am not a good example of healthy eating, but many aspects are now diets. My eating style for most of my life has been Mediterranean/Asian/keto/fasting mashed together out of necessity before they were actual diets. So I eat once or twice a day, more proteins and fats than other stuff, and a lot off caffeine.

I was 190 from 1986 to 2006, then 200 till 2016. Since then I range between 205 and 220. Body not of a cyclist but rather all around. I feel like I have lost about 10 lbs of muscle but gained 20 of fat.
So in theory I could add back muscle and subtract fat and it would be better for riding, better overall, and maybe live longer.

and probably all i have to do is eliminate stress and add exercise.....okay well, maybe when i retire if i live that long.

 

[paco1961]

I would be ecstatic if I can just get my S40 below 30lb with the disc brakes and other accessories!

My S40 w TRP Spyre mechanical discs, 155 crank set and 48/34 - 11-36 set up weighs in at 25.8 lbs and that’s w pedals, 1 bottle cage and 60mm rims. And that’s without trying very hard to go light. Always feels much heavier though. When I pull out my 19 lb Ti framed Singlespeed and carry it up the basement stairs it feels like half my CB. Probably due to the cumbersome nature of the CB.

 

[cpml123]

My S40 w TRP Spyre mechanical discs, 155 crank set and 48/34 - 11-36 set up weighs in at 25.8 lbs and that’s w pedals, 1 bottle cage and 60mm rims. And that’s without trying very hard to go light. Always feels much heavier though. When I pull out my 19 lb Ti framed Singlespeed and carry it up the basement stairs it feels like half my CB. Probably due to the cumbersome nature of the CB.

That makes sense. I included the weight of front camera, back camera, Vario, mirrors, bike computer, 2 bottle cages, and a sling pack of tools and tube. I have 11-40 cassette and Aileron wheels, and they are pretty heavy as well. This is before adding in sports drinks in the bottles and granola bars and other snacks.

 

[3bs]

You made me go check. My v20 with force 22 wifli / rim brakes and renyolds assault/ schwalbe ones. Stock seat /wedge /k ventisit 2 ply and tooltire kit

25 lbs

 

[DavidCH]

I am not a good example of healthy eating, but many aspects are now diets. My eating style for most of my life has been Mediterranean/Asian/keto/fasting mashed together out of necessity before they were actual diets. So I eat once or twice a day, more proteins and fats than other stuff, and a lot off caffeine.

I was 190 from 1986 to 2006, then 200 till 2016. Since then I range between 205 and 220. Body not of a cyclist but rather all around. I feel like I have lost about 10 lbs of muscle but gained 20 of fat.
So in theory I could add back muscle and subtract fat and it would be better for riding, better overall, and maybe live longer.

and probably all i have to do is eliminate stress and add exercise.....okay well, maybe when i retire if i live that long.

Muscle comes back into shape quickly and water retention will fall off and the fat collapse... it wont take long at all.

 

[DavidCH]

That depends. Over the past three years or so I've gone from 180 lbs to my current 157 lbs. by just eliminating soft drinks from my diet. Unfortunately that weight loss has also resulted in a power loss, especially at the top end. I'm not sure why, because I push myself just as hard as I ever did when out riding. On my test hill, my best average speed from 2011 was 17 mph. On the same bike today, my best average speed is still 17 mph, despite weighing 23 lbs less.

Eat a pizza for lunch and do your check in the evening. Most riders are stronger later in the day.

 

[jond]

Extra weight on me or the bike “make you faster downhill.” Salesperson yak.

interesting discussion of weight ,value, efficacy,dollars per gram and tech advances here.

go light go fast. Yeah I’m a guilty bling thing really.

The benefit of disc brakes is worth the weight. I’ve never used di2 etc and stuck with mechanical.

the tell is that my fastest df was ultegra equipped .

osiris perhaps the new portly weights are a new marketing starting point from which trek etc can offer the new lighter model every year.

Heck they have to do something since all those very sexy bikes look the same same same.

 

[ak-tux]

My S40 w TRP Spyre mechanical discs, 155 crank set and 48/34 - 11-36 set up weighs in at 25.8 lbs and that’s w pedals, 1 bottle cage and 60mm rims. And that’s without trying very hard to go light. Always feels much heavier though. When I pull out my 19 lb Ti framed Singlespeed and carry it up the basement stairs it feels like half my CB. Probably due to the cumbersome nature of the CB.

25.8 lbs for an alloy recumbent with disc brakes and pedals is not bad at all! I wonder how low it can get with a climbing wheelset and 1x drivetrain? Can it get to 22 or 23 lbs?

When I first built my homemade MBB, it weighed more than 19Kgs (41lbs). Funny how our perception of weight changes each time we get something lighter, becuase our bodies adapt to the load we place on them. Now, after much fine tuning and a wooden seat , it weighs about 16.5 Kgs ( 36.3 lbs) . Now I can keep up with or even challenge most amateur roadies on flat sections. But I loose my advantage after any speed bump or when the road gets steeper than 2% or so. It is noticeably slow to accelerate. The inertia kills the legs.

My personal theory for optimal performance is that, if you are already lean with a good healthy BMI , a sporty performance bike should not exceed 15% of your body weight unless you are underweight. I have no facts, just my observation. The bigger and stronger you are the less of a difference a slight increase/decrease in bicycle weight makes. For a light weight rider, however, any extra 2 or 3 pounds seem to have a noticeable effect.
For UCI racing professionals, it seems, every marginal difference counts. Most of us are not professionals, but I believe, we'd all appreciate a responsive bike.