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Road Bike Weight
Road bikes perform at high speeds and are great for pavement and other challenging terrain including up hills and grass.
They are typically built with a light weight body equipped to endure a full professional racing experience, biking over epic distances or transporting loads to farther places.
Some road bikes are also designed for riding around town or for leisure biking too.
Lightweight Bikes
Having a lightweight frame is the quality that road bikes are most popularly known for. The weightis important in terms of speed and performance of road bikes. A light road bike means a good bicycle without looking to other qualities. But is it good enough to just be lightweight?
Does a Lighter Bike Make You Faster?
Does a road bike with lighter weight make you faster? Not as much as you think. Let us give an instance. Perhaps you have been biking for hours. You encounter a steep hill; it may slow you down because you feel the weight of the bike.
Thus, does buying a lighter bike save you time? Not as much. And a much lighter bike is more expensive. Buying these kinds of high end bikes will just save you few seconds but it is not cost effective or efficient for a slightly faster speed.
Comparison With Different Bike Weights
Top of the line carbon and aluminium road bikes are expensive compared to entry level road bikes or hybrid bikes. And they are about three pound lighter that entry level road bikes. A study that was conducted looked at how a 15- , 16-, 17-, and 18- pound bike performed when climbing up a one mile hill.
The two heaviest bikes took the same amount of time with only a 2.5 second difference. The 15- pound bike reached the hill top at 7.5 seconds faster than the 18- pound bike. Over hours of racing, a few seconds of difference is not a big deal and are only worth it if you are into neck to neck bike racing.
Other Weight on the Bike
A few second difference between road bike weights is not the only reason why weight matters. You can’t say that you are saving 15 percent of the weight if you choose a 15 pound bike over a 20 pound one.
It is important to take into consideration the other weights on the bike. The other weight includes your own body weight, your water bottle, smart watch, and other stuff you have on your bike.
Decreasing Road Bike Weight
Buying lighter and more expensive road bikes is not always the answer to having a lighter bike. To decrease the weight of your road bike, shedding your own body weight is the most economical and more efficient.
Losing your own weight doesn’t only reduce your overall weight but it will also increase your VO2 max which will eventually give you more energy. Body strength, especially legs, is important to so you can bike at a higher speed.
The Secret of Aerodynamics
Another technique to go faster on a road bike is aerodynamics. Aerodynamics outdoes weight. You can create an aerodynamic position by using an aerodynamic helmet, aerodynamic frame, or shaving your legs.
You can also add aero bars or adjust your seating position to increase your speed. If you lessen your frontal area by 10 percent, you will also lessen the drag by 10 percent.
Little things like positioning your elbow pads and the way you hold your head are effective ways to have more aerodynamic positioning.
Bottom Line – Road Bike Weight
An expensive road bike may have more features or may be made from high quality materials. But road bikes are not all about these components. It’s the weight that is most important.
And expensive bikes don’t mean they are lighter than entry level bikes. The difference of speed between these two kinds of bikes is only a few seconds.
Plus, there are other factors that make up the total weight of the bike such as your body weight, water bottle, and other things you put on your bike.
