What would I notice riding a very light carbon bike?

[dddd]

What you might notice is a hole in a main tube or a cracked seatstay, if even a slight tip-over occurs (either you or the guy coming to a stop next to you).

I've been really surprised by how easily that two fellow club rider's carbon bikes (Pinarello, Specialized) ended up needing a significant repair by Calfee after such minor sorts of zero-mph tip-overs. Both of these riders are light.

I did an "adventure" club ride on Saturday, and the usual talk of buying a gravel bike ensued. When asked, I said that for gravel I would only buy a relatively tough and inexpensive bike like the old Pro-Tour I was riding.

Of the carbon road bikes that I own, some have better ride qualities than others, but it's just a bit of this and a bit of that between them. The bikes with shock-absorbing features can feel different in a good way, and I am not heavy enough to detect any sort of flex problems. Differences in stability can come down to just a 1cm change in stem length, so the frame's sizing can enter the picture in this regard.

[uber]

Obviously, geometry, stiffness, material and weight will influence how a frame will feel riding it. Your same Firefly at some pounds lighter would likely feel like it accelerates faster, and might not be as confidence inspiring on a fast downhill. I personally don't feel that 3 pounds off of bike weight vs rider weight feels the same. i can't agree more with the other members who suggested to ride as many of these bikes to decide how they feel to you and if you enjoy the difference. You might also consider an aero carbon bike that might not be the absolute lightest but might be faster for your riding. So many bikes, so little time...
My Cervelo R3SL in the day was sub 15 lbs, and was just ok. I prefer a 16 lb steel or Ti bike most times. I hope to add a slightly heavier aero carbon bike to my stable and see if I like that.

[oldpotatoe]

Originally Posted by gibbo

I'm not sure what wheels you are running in the FF but perhaps treating yourself to some uber light carbon tubulars for climbing days would be better than a new bike since it sounds like you already like the ride and handling of the FF? I had a set of AX-Lightness 24 wheels that came in around 800 grams and you defiantly notice the deference between that and a set of 1500 gram wheels!

I'll opine that what you feel is the stiffness of the carbon-carbon wheels, not the weight and certainly not the flywheel' effect, which is mostly lost in the noise.

Even 700g, less than 2 pounds, on a 87,000+ gram bike and rider 'package' means not much.

As for the OP, raw weight savings as it applies to ride qualities and 'feel' is impossible to qualtify..It's subjective 101 with a YUGE amount of 'placebo' thrown in..Throwing a leg over a $15,000 'grail' bike that weighs less than the UCI minimum..gotta be amazing, right? Not necessarily.

Hopefully yer not that guy who BUYS one, tells everybody at the coffee shop how it makes you feel like putnameofskinnyprohere, best $15K you ever spent.......Then sit in garage Monday, looking at it and saying to yourself, 'feels like crap, worse $15k I ever spent..how am I gonna sell it?"..then swing leg over your 15yo steel bike with DT shifters..with a smile....

[Mikej]

You would know why the used ti market is so low.

[mcteague]

Do you notice a difference with one full water bottle vs two? I mean, if you stop really thinking about it do you still detect a difference? I find I pretty much have the same average speed on a known loop whether I had one bottle or two. Remember, the bike is not riding itself, you are along for the ride and weigh a lot more than the bike.

OTOH, I do notice an increase in frame stiffness when climbing and carbon frames may assist there.

Tim

[Black Dog]

Originally Posted by mcteague

Do you notice a difference with one full water bottle vs two? I mean, if you stop really thinking about it do you still detect a difference? I find I pretty much have the same average speed on a known loop whether I had one bottle or two. Remember, the bike is not riding itself, you are along for the ride and weigh a lot more than the bike.

OTOH, I do notice an increase in frame stiffness when climbing and carbon frames may assist there.

Tim

The extra stiffness may not actually make you climb faster. Really no evidence to suggest that frame stiffness makes a bike faster under load.

[texbike]

Originally Posted by Mikej

You would know why the used ti market is so low.

^Ha!

Texbike

[terry]

I’m pretty much in the same situation as you; 69, ride exclusively by myself now, live down the cape (falmouth) and occasionally ride over the Vineyard, where I believe you are. So the riding is flat/rolling and at times, pretty windy. I ride carbon, ti, steel and aluminum all on conti comp 23/25 tubulars.
I’ve got some deep section carbon wheels and some Ambrosio Nemesis Record hub wheels. Each bike feels different but it’s a subtle difference and I happen to like all and enjoy each. The biggest difference is when I switch wheels. I happen to like the distinct feel of the carbon wheels as compared to the box section aluminum wheels. I don’t think I’m faster but I think they’re stiffer and that’s probably the difference. They look cooler too!
Like others have said if you’ve got the itch go for a carbon bike but the biggest impact will be some nice carbon deep section tubulars (of course this setup is old school now with everyone extolling the virtues of tubeless) and I guarantee you’ll be passing more old ladies than ever befor.

[NHAero]

Do you get blown around with the deep section carbon wheels?
For the record here, the wheels on the Firefly are White Industry T11 hubs laced 28/32 to HED Belgium rims, running 28mm Corsa G+ with tubes at 80 rear 75 front. So, sticking with clinchers, but considering tubeless, perhaps drop how much off the wheels - 500g? More?

Originally Posted by terry

I’m pretty much in the same situation as you; 69, ride exclusively by myself now, live down the cape (falmouth) and occasionally ride over the Vineyard, where I believe you are. So the riding is flat/rolling and at times, pretty windy. I ride carbon, ti, steel and aluminum all on conti comp 23/25 tubulars.
I’ve got some deep section carbon wheels and some Ambrosio Nemesis Record hub wheels. Each bike feels different but it’s a subtle difference and I happen to like all and enjoy each. The biggest difference is when I switch wheels. I happen to like the distinct feel of the carbon wheels as compared to the box section aluminum wheels. I don’t think I’m faster but I think they’re stiffer and that’s probably the difference. They look cooler too!
Like others have said if you’ve got the itch go for a carbon bike but the biggest impact will be some nice carbon deep section tubulars (of course this setup is old school now with everyone extolling the virtues of tubeless) and I guarantee you’ll be passing more old ladies than ever befor.

[oldpotatoe]

of course this setup is old school now with everyone extolling the virtues of tubeless

Not everyone and tubeless has their own 'dedication required', with less payback, IMHO. "Most" who bad mouth tubulars do so based on 4th/5th/10th hand info on the interweb..and 'most' have never even seen a tubular, let alone actually use them.

There is NO compelling reason for me to use tubeless or clincher...

[buddybikes]

Enjoy your FF (as a fellow FF owner) and forget about it. Ya, perhaps some lighter wheels, cockpit but at our age...why? Remember the FF isn't just ti - it is worked heavily. Now if perhaps yours was made for a 250lb guy - then it isn't very optimized for you.

Keep your toolbag light also, bet that will save you some weight

[R3awak3n]

I think big difference between a 15lb bike and a 25lb bike. Between 18 and 15 not so much. I think you would feel more a difference of materials then the 3lb weight. Carbon rides differently than titanium. Wheels is where you feel the most difference and I like a light wheelset but I am gonna agree with potato on that the stiffness in carbon wheels is where the feels faster to spin up comes from.

But of course its paceline, where anything you ask is met with your bike is fine you are ridiculous in wondering or wanting to try something else. I no longer have my 15lb parlee but that bike was amazing, very fast and rode incredible. That said, so does my alum rock lobster that weights 16lbs. Very different ridding bikes and I am glad I got to ride both, its nice to try different things... like discs, tubular tires, dt shifters, e shifting, carbon wheels, alum wheels, fat bikes, gravel bikes, list goes on.... we have a lot of opinions here about things people never even tried so its hard to listen to the opinion on what a light bike feels like from someone who has never ridden one.

[R3awak3n]

Originally Posted by oldpotatoe

Not everyone and tubeless has their own 'dedication required', with less payback, IMHO. "Most" who bad mouth tubulars do so based on 4th/5th/10th hand info on the interweb..and 'most' have never even seen a tubular, let alone actually use them.

There is NO compelling reason for me to use tubeless or clincher...

I think people are different. I like to try different things. There was no compeling reason for me to try tubulars or dt shifters, but I tried both of those in the last year. Glad I did because I thought both had their merits but neither is for me at the point in my life. But it was neat to try it and learn about it

[dgauthier]

Originally Posted by dddd

What you might notice is a hole in a main tube or a cracked seatstay, if even a slight tip-over occurs (either you or the guy coming to a stop next to you). (...)

Aw, you beat me to it!

To the original poster, I ask: why do you want to introduce aggravation into your life? Your Ti Firefly will last forever. How many threads have you seen where someone asks "is this Ti frame safe to ride"?

You are very light, but still a lighter bike is a weaker, flexier bike. A strong bike is stable. A strong bike tracks straight. A strong bike is confidence inspiring on a descent. That strength costs only a couple of pounds.

You're not racing. You compete only with yourself. A bike is *sports equipment*. Ride a bike you don't have to baby.

[R3awak3n]

Originally Posted by dgauthier

Aw, you beat me to it!

To the original poster, I ask: why do you want to introduce aggravation into your life? Your Ti Firefly will last forever. How many threads have you seen where someone asks "is this Ti frame safe to ride"?

You are very light, but still a lighter bike is a weaker, flexier bike. A strong bike is stable. A strong bike tracks straight. A strong bike is confidence inspiring on a descent. That strength costs only a couple of pounds.

You're not racing. You compete only with yourself. A bike is *sports equipment*. Ride a bike you don't have to baby.

This is not at all how bikes work.