Losing a bike’s worth……. and other simplified goals

[RPS]

Like many I was once a little obsessed with light weight parts and bikes – I’d guess we’ve all probably gone through that cycling stage at some point. After not riding much for a year, I decided to throw bike-weight caution to the wind and focus on losing a bike’s worth of weight instead. Why try to save 10 or 20 grams off a stem or bars when I could lose an entire bike? :rolleyes:

To help stay focused I took an old spread sheet with bike weights and arranged it in order of heaviest to lightest, and started to mark them off as I eliminated a bike one piece at a time. First came the frame, then rear wheel, etc... Last week during Texas Hell Week I completed the virtual 7,000-gram bike by losing the last 1800 grams.

Bottom line: Seems easier and maybe faster to accomplish weight goals by riding than by spending time and cash on new parts. However, I now need a new goal. Should I set time to build a new lighter bike or invest the time riding? :confused: Obviously there is now less to shed, but still plenty to target – far more than differences between bikes.

I’m curious if others also have simplified goals? Do you target low-lying fruit first, or are you temped to save 100 grams on new cranks while carrying an extra 5,000 or more around the middle? What drives your goals?

[Karin Kirk]

Nice going Rick! That's a great way to frame your goal.

I did the same thing last fall when I was planning my Swiss Alps trip. My Euro bike is 5 lbs heavier than my JK Special and I was bummed about carrying additional weight up the climbs. (I had other motivations to lose weight too. I was having a decade birthday and I wanted to start the new decade at the same weight that I began the previous decade with.) So I lost slightly more weight than the difference between the two bikes, and the problem was solved nicely! The best part was after the trip - getting back on my light bike, being lighter myself and also stronger from the trip. The result felt sublime! :banana:

Good for you to have accomplished your goal!

[EDS]

My rule is no bling until my riding abilities are bling worthy. Kind of a subjective test but at least it gives me something to shoot for. For now I am a "105/Rival/Centaur" rider, but I have short term aspirations of being a "105/Rival/Centaur" rider with nice carbon wheels!

[Gothard]

My rule is no bling until my riding abilities are bling worthy. Kind of a subjective test but at least it gives me something to shoot for. For now I am a "105/Rival/Centaur" rider, but I have short term aspirations of being a "105/Rival/Centaur" rider with nice carbon wheels!

I am a Sora rider myself, but I find it more rewarding to sweat on Record... :p

[Samster]

I decided to throw bike-weight caution to the wind and focus on losing a bike’s worth of weight instead. Why try to save 10 or 20 grams off a stem or bars when I could lose an entire bike? :rolleyes:
my goal is to weigh as much as my bike. ;)
i think you have a better approach.

[false_Aest]

Dewd, you rock!

[RPS]

Nice going Rick! That's a great way to frame your goal.Thanks Karin, but weight in itself is not the issue that interests me – I hated to use it as an example for fear it would come across that way. I’m more interested by what drives our goals when there are competing options we can compromise on. And not necessarily limited to cycling or fitness.

For instance, I set a completely “arbitrary” goal to ride a certain number of miles during the week knowing that I would likely have to ride slower than normal to make the goal while out of shape. When confronted with the option of riding more miles at slower speed or pushing harder and having to take rest days, I went with volume over speed and it worked out nicely because I got to see something amazing I had never seen before. On the last day, I was riding the long route with 5 others and we saw a herd of about 50 deer cross the road in front of us (too many to count). I had seen a few at a time, but never that many. By pure luck I chose wisely that day.

[RPS]

my goal is to weigh as much as my bike. ;)
i think you have a better approach.I have that covered -- often ride a tandem with my wife when she doesn't feel like pedaling.

[Samster]

I have that covered -- often ride a tandem with my wife when she doesn't feel like pedaling.
ha! that's good.

[1centaur]

How do I set goals?

I try to set goals that I can achieve, first, that are worth the effort, second, and that are not mind numbing. Above all I set goals, because goalless riding means I don't achieve something I care about, and I'm all about achievement (as my personality tests in college proved).

So, I won't try to ride a course in X time one week and ride it in X-5% the next week, because that's same old same old. Cycling is my stress reliever, so I hardly want to load stress into the activity (no pain coffin for me). Typical goals involve technique variations, route discovery, or distance without limping home.

I'm light and thin, and only live once (I believe), so buying bling and shaving grams is what I'll do until riding 'aint my thing anymore. Sameness is boring and bike bling keeps it fresh.

[Peter P.]

RPS-that was a BRILLIANT way to reach your weight goal! I am truly impressed.

It's been said it's better to set a series of smaller, attainable goals and never reach your ultimate goal. If you just set the one, end goal you're more likely never to attain it and they call that "striving for failure".

For me to reach goals I try to avoid looking at the goals and focusing on the process. For instance, if I want to reach a certain time for a time trial course, I don't focus on how many seconds I need to improve. I focus on each training session-each of which I consider a success. If I were you and wanted to lose weight, I wouldn't have set the mini-goals like you did (but I think your method was again, brilliant, and something I NEVER would have thought of) but I would have focused on the REGIMEN of food and exercise I established to reach that goal, and thrived on the spartan discipline of living within the limitations I set.

[PCR]

Well done RPS! So, how did you loose the weight? More riding = expending more calories only? Did you switch to a raw food diet? How did you plan your meals? I think your vision of bike parts= weight to loose is brilliant. :D

[Ray]

I don't have any quantifiable riding goals anymore. When I did, it was usually just total miles for the year, often with being in shape in time for a particular tour mixed in. I usually hit them except for a couple of years where circumstances intervened. When I hit those targets, things like weight took care of themselves and, by virtue of riding so much, I was at my peak as a rider for several of those years. And I wanted nice gear both to be durable enough for all of that riding and to make it slightly more pleasant - and I could justify it based on how much I was riding. Now I still have the nice gear, but I ride much less. I'm not in nearly the same riding shape - 40 miles is a long ride for me now and I feel it in ways it used to take twice that to feel. But I'm probably in better overall shape. I still enjoy the hell out of riding, but I don't have any goals for it these days. The goals kept me motivated for years, but eventually turned into a grind and started to be a drag instead of motivation.

-Ray

[Elefantino]

Light bikes + overweight people kind of reminds one of the "I'll have two Big Macs, large fries and a Diet Coke" syndrome.

It's all about the engine.

[LesMiner]

Thanks Karin, but weight in itself is not the issue that interests me – I hated to use it as an example for fear it would come across that way. I’m more interested by what drives our goals when there are competing options we can compromise on. And not necessarily limited to cycling or fitness.

For instance, I set a completely “arbitrary” goal to ride a certain number of miles during the week knowing that I would likely have to ride slower than normal to make the goal while out of shape. When confronted with the option of riding more miles at slower speed or pushing harder and having to take rest days, I went with volume over speed and it worked out nicely because I got to see something amazing I had never seen before. On the last day, I was riding the long route with 5 others and we saw a herd of about 50 deer cross the road in front of us (too many to count). I had seen a few at a time, but never that many. By pure luck I chose wisely that day.

Here is a couple of analogies that may be to your point. I recall a scene from "A Beautiful Mind". In a bar on the college campus the group including Russell Crow is considering the hot girl. From there Russell comes up with the idea of not going for the hot one but going for a lesser one because of the higher chance of success. Another from Star Trek Next Generation. Data challenges this super stratagema game player who has never been defeated. In the first round Data loses miserably even though he clearly has a superior ability to process and react to input. In the rematch Data goes for a different goal. Rather than trying to win he instead goes for blocking the super player from winning. Data does successfully block him and in a way wins because the super player could not.

So in today's economy should we spend even more and reduce the already low 0.7% savings rate? Or should we be like the Chinese and save 25%? I wonder if anyone has studied obeseity in China? I was there recently and the Chinese looked more on the skinny side but my sample size is less than a millionth. Will the next Lance come from China? Will cycling competition come down to body weight loss versus lighter weight bikes?

[RPS]

So, how did you loose the weight? More riding = expending more calories only? Did you switch to a raw food diet? How did you plan your meals?The bike part weight analogy was mostly poking fun at myself for having been obsessive about bike weight in the first place. Puts reality in perspective.

I didn’t do anything too different to lose the extra fat other than return to my normal lifestyle (I’ve never been all that heavy in the first place, with 164 being my all time high). From an eating standpoint my wife and I actually eat fairly well all the time (OK, most of the time) so I can’t blame poor eating for weight gain.

The only significant change was an injury to my eyesight which prevented me from riding +/- 10,000 miles a year or so; which resulted in steady weight gain over the year I was mostly off the bike. As soon as I recovered and started riding again the weight started coming off (although I rode for fun and wellness, not to lose weight). That’s the only real variable worth mentioning – ride more and eat the same. Nothing magical there.

[Tobias]

Bike bling can’t make a slow rider fast any more than diamonds make an ugly woman beautiful. :rolleyes:

So yeah, riding more not only makes most of us lose more weight than we can take off the bike but also makes us stronger, more powerful, and with added endurance. In order of priority these should come first for sure.

I see little correlation in the general population between equipment and performance (money is a different issue). How many times have we been passed on a climb by some fit guy riding an old steel touring frame loaded with panniers, or passed some out-of-shape dude or dudette riding the latest bike bling money can buy?

For me fitness over equipment any day. Money can only buy so much speed.

[Tobias]

Last week during Texas Hell Week I completed the virtual 7,000-gram bike by losing the last 1800 grams.Did you ride the Ruby, and if so, how did it work out? Not to change subject, so send me a PM if you prefer.

[RPS]

Tobias, I only took my Schneider so except for a short 34-mile ride on tandem all mileage was with the Ruby. On the weight front it was worth every gram of the extra pound; if nothing else as a test to experience the difference. Plus it was fun.

Two things jumped out at me. For the first time in many years I increased mileage significantly over a single week and had zero problems with my hands. My neck also got less tired than it usually does when I increase mileage too quickly.

The second was added confidence over rough terrain. I found myself hitting cattle guards and rough (dry) water crossings at much higher speed than I would have otherwise. And because of the added shock absorption I used lighter wheels on the bike for most of the week.

The only disappointment was what I perceived as less-than-ideal capability to isolate rough chip-and-seal pavement. Much of that vibration seems to transmit through the fork anyway. In fairness I’d have to do back-to-back comparisons to differentiate more accurately, and also should disassemble and inspect the fork to make sure it’s working as intended. However, I think normal stiction is enough to pass low-amplitude vibration on to the bars. OTOH the fact that my hands were not affected by the rough roads and higher mileage probably means it isolated more vibration than I perceived.

[Nathanrtaylor]

I recall a scene from "A Beautiful Mind". In a bar on the college campus the group including Russell Crow is considering the hot girl. From there Russell comes up with the idea of not going for the hot one but going for a lesser one because of the higher chance of success.

Nash Equilibrium theory at work there. I can imagine that the real life John Nash formulated the theory under similar circumstances.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nash_equilibrium

[android]

Bottom line: Seems easier and maybe faster to accomplish weight goals by riding than by spending time and cash on new parts. However, I now need a new goal. Should I set time to build a new lighter bike or invest the time riding? :confused: Obviously there is now less to shed, but still plenty to target – far more than differences between bikes.

I’m curious if others also have simplified goals? Do you target low-lying fruit first, or are you temped to save 100 grams on new cranks while carrying an extra 5,000 or more around the middle? What drives your goals?

Now that you are a few bikes lighter, work on being a few bikes stronger. How many bikes (15 pounders) can you bench press or leg press?