Travis44 said:
Carbon, titanium, grams and weight shaving: does it really make a difference? Will you really be able to tell the difference between a 16 lb bike and a 17 lb bike? I ride a 25 lb steel Scwhinn, so you can see that I am yet to experience this carbon obsession and such. I always hear people discussing how good a bike is just because of how much it weighs. My question: does it really matter? Does it effect riding on the flats as well as mountains? Or is it just a placebo, something that has a very minor effect but you "think" that your bike is lighter? Please respond, I want to get down to the bottom of this.
Do the arithmetic. Saving 2 pounds on a 200 pound package, rider and bike, is 1%. Not significant, not meaningful, not really anything of note. WAY to much emphasis on the bike and trying to lose grams, not pounds. 4 things make a SIGNIFICANT difference in cycling performance.
-Fit-does your bike fit ya
-Fitness-are you fit?
-Fat-lackthereof on you where you may be able to lose a SBW(standard bike weight-20 pounds)
-Finesse-riding and racing smart
Not the frame, not the wheels, not the machine really at all. Whether the bike is 18 pounds or 16 pounds, the bike only has a significant impact on riding performance is if something breaks, then it slows your ride down a lot.
But will somebody spec 32h wheels, even if they are .1 offa ton++? Just to save those 28 grams, yep. Will somebody buy a chain with holes in the plates and pins to save grams, yep.....so it goes, the daffy bike market.
Latest 'craze' is ceramic balls. Most engineers that have tested this say 1-2% more power..if it's worth the $400 or so for ceramics all the way thru-go ahead. I don't think so.