"Come on fattie old chap...pedal harder!"

[iAmiAdam]

Besides, all of this is rubbish because if you're on a shopper, you're not going to be hanging on to a chain gang for long, so by time you've actually reached the hill, everyone else is already up it and enjoying the descent, after having had the picnic.

 

[Haitch]

Prey tell, where is the tough climb in the Netherlands?

There is actually a hill just round the corner from me with a gradient warning sign: 3.2%!

 

[Fnaar]

How about making bicycles shorter? I'll look into it and get back to you.

 

[ColinJ]

Prey tell, where is the tough climb in the Netherlands?

You have obviously never watched the Amstel Gold race!

 

[Paulus]

Ok Colin, point taken. I have watched the Amstel Gold, but the hills are very near to Belgium.

 

[Norm]

I think a few people have missed the mark with their side-tracking on the throw-away line on a perceived weight obsession by the OP.

The post, for me, highlights that the difference in the time taken between fighting to the top of a hill and having a much more pleasurable ramble to the top is not that large.

 

[Haitch]

There is actually a hill just round the corner from me with a gradient warning sign: 3.2%!

This is the one. Can anyone beat either the gradient or the accuracy?

 

[darkstar]

Bike weight is important if you're racing.

 

[Haitch]

Wooh. Scary, Alan!

It's even steeper coming up.

 

[XmisterIS]

IMHO, there are loads of factors that affect how fast and how far I can go on a bike, e.g. wheel size, gear ratios, frame geometry, the weight of the bike, etc, etc.

For example, I can cruise at about 20mph on my road bike but only 16mph on my mountain bike and I can ride my road bike twice as far as my mountain bike! The two bikes are completely separate and incomparable beasts!

 

[taxing]

My bike is a big heavy fatty and yesterday I had to get it up one of those stair bridges that go over railway lines, the kind with the thin metal slope at the side for your bike. That's when weight really matters.

 

[summerdays]

Can't say I've noticed any bike weight obsession on here.

I agree, there are also several Pashley owners themselves on the forum ... I don't even know the weight of my bike ... I think its somewhere between 11-14 kg ... but I could be out by miles.

This is the one. Can anyone beat either the gradient or the accuracy?

Wow ... we would need a lot of signs round here!

I think the thing that makes the most difference is the rider on a hill but not necessarily from a weight point of view ... more their physical build and their mental attitude. Me I've obviously got both wrong as I crawl up hills at about 3 or 4 mph and I'm not kidding... the fast rider could have eaten all the good bits of the picnic before I arrived. But hopefully they would be nice and wait for me to arrive before starting.

 

[Davidc]

On CC bike weighht only features where it matters - for competitive and fast riding. I've never seen it mentioned anywhere else.

The weight of the riders (forum members) gets plenty of mention. Too many of us have too much of it and want to reduce it. A heavy bike will contribute to that, but not much.

I'm far more interested in reducing my weight than that of my bike, and I'm only a bit heavier than I'd like to be.

As far as Pashley bikes go I was hoping to pick up one of those the Royal Mail use, when they did away with bike riding posties, but there seems to be a bit of a change of heart on that. They'd make a brilliant round town utility and shopping bike.

 

[palinurus]

I don't think there is a bike weight obsession here in general. Cyclists who are that way inclined post here

My commute bike is heavy, it's got 'guards, permanently attached dynamo lights, a rack.

My road and 'cross bikes are lightweight to the extent that those sort of bikes tend to be, but generally I go for durability over lightness. I wouldn't enjoy cycling if I thought I had to spend loads on it.

I'm lucky in that I don't weigh much myself (I go uphill well, but I'm crap on the flat)

 

[Yellow Fang]

As far as Pashley bikes go I was hoping to pick up one of those the Royal Mail use, when they did away with bike riding posties, but there seems to be a bit of a change of heart on that. They'd make a brilliant round town utility and shopping bike.

Don't want to go too far OT, but I'm sure you can buy civilian versions of these. (see here).