What does a very light bike feel like?

[jtbadge]

Originally Posted by mhespenheide

6'4" and 185# here. ~30 years later and I'm still curious about trying an RB-1. I continually have to remind myself that I'm viewing them through nostalgia and that I'd be better off with a current road frame, or that they won't really be any better than the '87 Bianchi I already have.

Just save yourself the trouble and get a Black Mountain road or Mr. Pink if you're steel fat tire roadie-curious.

[mhespenheide]

Originally Posted by jtbadge

Just save yourself the trouble and get a Black Mountain road or Mr. Pink if you're steel fat tire roadie-curious.

I already had a framebuilder modify the Bianchi (dimpled chainstays, moved the brake bridge higher) and build a flat-crown steel fork. It now fits 700c x 33mm, so I've really already scratched that itch. Unless, like I say, I want a modern version (higher quality modern steel and tig or fillets).

But man, I must have imprinted on the Grant Peterson RB-1's early, helped by the glowing reviews in Bicycle Guide. Like I say, nostalgia.

[soulspinner]

Originally Posted by brewsmith

Just as another point of measurement, it is possible to get sub 16 lb without sacrificing much durability or $. Patience and ingenuity are key.

My 59cm vamoots sl comes in at 15.5 lb as pictured and it a hoot to ride. I've got under $2k in it, with nothing exotic. Red22 group, ciamillo brakes and Hermes wheels which weigh 1480g bare. It's stiff, and I have no worries that it's gonna fall apart on me any time soon.

That's nice in a lot of ways

[rlanger]

Originally Posted by oldpotatoe

But how did you reduce it those 1-2kgs? Could be a lot of things other than just 'lighter'....design, wheels, materials, etc..that makes the ride 'more fun', but also lighter but not necessarily funner cuz lighter. Generally speaking, lighter is just................
Lighter....

Very good point. It certainly isn't just the reduction in weight that makes the bike much more fun to ride. But I can definitely feel the difference that the reduced weight makes, and it feels better to me.

Most of the improvement in ride quality though comes from a big step up in the quality of the wheels. And moving from Ultegra 6800 mechanical to DA 9150 Di2 definitely increased the enjoyment level for me.

[mcc21]

all depends how much you weigh. I had a cannondale built under 14lbs. i am just 130lbs. it wasn't a fun ride going down hill or with big semi trucks/bus along you. The trucks/bus would pull me right up in the air into their air draft. No kidding here. once they pass u get drop back down. as for downhill its just very sketchy with the crosswinds as me and my bike is too light to handle.

[shoota]

Originally Posted by Clean39T

Decent going up, except for the inevitable creaks and wet-noodle feeling.

A nightmare going down, especially over rough roads.

The best riding light bike I've been on was an Emonda SLR - it was 13-ish without any compromise parts. It still felt unstable descending, or maybe not planted is a better descriptor.. But it was solid climbing.

I've been riding and enjoying steel bikes for most of the year though. I have very little desire to go back to a light bike, or carbon in general. And I now more notice the feel of steel dancing on a climb than I do it's weight drawing me backwards. Riding my Sachs out of the saddle up some climbs yesterday in the 39x23/25 was pure bliss. It probably weighs 19lbs.

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Old post but I can't agree more. This is EXACTLY where I'm at. My current favorite bike is a late 70s Windsor Profesional that I've converted to all road duty. It's a wet noodle but it's soooo much fun. The best carbon bike I've ridden lately is my new Salsa Warbird. Stable, decently light, feels fast, and compliant. As much of a Salsa hater as I was I've been very surprised by how much I like this bike.

[Mark McM]

Originally Posted by rlanger

Most of the improvement in ride quality though comes from a big step up in the quality of the wheels. And moving from Ultegra 6800 mechanical to DA 9150 Di2 definitely increased the enjoyment level for me.

What wheel parameters improves ride quality? Is it weight? Stiffness?

[shoota]

Originally Posted by Mark McM

What wheel parameters improves ride quality? Is it weight? Stiffness?

Depends on your riding style but, yes, weight is huge.

[CyclingOnTheMind]

I've got a BH ultralight that's just over 12lb with a 1070g set of Reynolds Thirty Two tubulars set up 1x with a 3T bailout 9-32 cassette.
Can't say I've ridden a modern, stiff, aero machine to compare it but I love the way it rides. Even going from a 1500g clincher wheelset down to 1070g it's night and day.

Hopping over potholes takes no effort. Actually I would hesitate to call it a hop. It feels like your center of gravity is moved upward and your body movements start to matter a whole lot more since the bike just moves where you tell it to; the bike is very sensitive to your movements since it's so light. The front end can be twitchy but it does exactly what you want it to do with very little resistance (I ride 35cm c-c shallow drop bars and have no problem with control). Light wheels, like others have said, carry much less angular momentum so they make your bike much more responsive and omg... the acceleration. You might not reach record speeds but being able to take off from the line or attack and be so agile is a really enjoyable experience.

Being a college student, I keep my bike in my room and regularly walk it through academic buildings. I can hold the bike with two fingers and a thumb and have total control over it.
Sometimes I'll hold it by the saddle a few inches off the ground as if I were walking it on the ground. People see the wheels not turning and it gets some head turns for sure.

I love my weight weenie bike, but it's definitely a labor of love.

Sent from my ONEPLUS A3000 using Tapatalk

[Ozz]

My bikes (with rider) are just touching 200 lbs....

Where I need to start trimming the weight is obvious....

[Hawker]

Originally Posted by BHulEvoBuild

I've got a BH ultralight that's just over 12lb with a 1070g set of Reynolds Thirty Two tubulars set up 1x with a 3T bailout 9-32 cassette.
Can't say I've ridden a modern, stiff, aero machine to compare it but I love the way it rides. Even going from a 1500g clincher wheelset down to 1070g it's night and day.

Hopping over potholes takes no effort. Actually I would hesitate to call it a hop. It feels like your center of gravity is moved upward and your body movements start to matter a whole lot more since the bike just moves where you tell it to; the bike is very sensitive to your movements since it's so light. The front end can be twitchy but it does exactly what you want it to do with very little resistance (I ride 35cm c-c shallow drop bars and have no problem with control). Light wheels, like others have said, carry much less angular momentum so they make your bike much more responsive and omg... the acceleration. You might not reach record speeds but being able to take off from the line or attack and be so agile is a really enjoyable experience.

Being a college student, I keep my bike in my room and regularly walk it through academic buildings. I can hold the bike with two fingers and a thumb and have total control over it.
Sometimes I'll hold it by the saddle a few inches off the ground as if I were walking it on the ground. People see the wheels not turning and it gets some head turns for sure.

I love my weight weenie bike, but it's definitely a labor of love.

Sent from my ONEPLUS A3000 using Tapatalk

Sounds great, post a pic. And don't forget you're there to study!

[martl]

Originally Posted by Fishbike

Over on the classifieds there is a thread about a fairly light parlee originally claimed to be 10 pounds but apparently actually 14 and change. But uber light bikes do exist. Anyone ride one? What does it feel like?

A super light bike feels amazing when all the factors in the equation (stiffness, rider position, function) are correct. It is very hard and expensive to achieve these factors when approaching the UCI limit and much harder when going under it significantly. In my weight weenie days around 2005 with the parts available then and no costs spared, the threshold was around 5.5kg, anything beating this was compromising on one of those factors. I imagine with today's available 700g frames, we can adjust that to maybe 500g less.