Looking for a lighter bike

[Dartmoorcf]

I bought a Marin hybrid bike earlier in the year. SanRafael ds1
However now I've done alot more cycling, I'm in the market for something a bit better. The Marin (San Rafael) at 14.5kg is pretty heavy on the hills.
I offer free bike delivery service on orders on our sites so have clocked up a thousand or so miles already )!

I am ideally looking for a flat bar road/ gravel bike if such a thing exists.
The lighter the better.

I borrowed a friends drop handlebar bike which had very skinny tyres 25mm and it was very scary coming down off the moor and I felt every pothole. Plus the brakes felt miles away!
I'm getting on a bit and I am not sure I like the racing position of a drop bar bike. I prefer to be more upright. I remember having a drop bike with brakes on the flat part of the handlebars but haven't see any drop bikes which have these anymore

The Marin I have is a bit clunky and sometimes it also jumps gears on the middle cog which can be frustrating. It probably just needs adjusting.

I've been doing some research and the bikes I am looking at are...

Specialized Sirrus Elite Alloy 2020
BOARDMAN 8.8 HYBRID
GIANT FASTROAD SL
ORBEA VECTOR
MERIDA SPEEDER 400
I am sure there are others ie Cannondale Quick

I like Marins but the equivalent model to these weights over 12.5kg.

It Is difficult sometimes getting the weights of bikes. I am on a fitness kick and have lost 20kg over the last 2 years so ideally I'm looking for something as light as possible!


My budget is about £1000 to 1200.
I'd like the tyres to have good protection and not be too narrow which is why I was looking at gravel type bikes.

I will be pretty much all on roads....although some of the roads round here are pretty poor as you know!
I would appreciate any advice/links etc
I am 6ft 2 so it would be an xl frame/22/23 inches.

Not in a massive rush
I am prepared to wait for the right bike.

With best wishes

 

[vickster]

Whyte Stirling...job done (although it has a single chainring, check that the gear ratios will suffice)
https://www.rutlandcycling.com/bike...VjevtCh07xAmSEAQYASABEgJQRfD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

Or if you want drops, you can simply just add crosslever brakes as you describe but NOT with hydraulic disc brakes (only mechanical discs or rim brakes). I use the Tektro R721s, cost £20 or so

View: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Tektro-Bicycle-Levers-Silver-31-8MM/dp/B01MUO6MCB/ref=pd_lpo_200_t_2/257-3844876-4247968

 

[Dartmoorcf]

Thanks. I will check this out.

 

[Milkfloat]

If you are delivering goods by bike then a KG of weight on the bike won't matter too much. Of more concern would be comfort and fit together with practicalities such as rack/pannier fitment and mudguards.

 

[Dartmoorcf]

99% of the time, it'll just be me. When I'm delivering I'll take the Marin.
I am thinking about dartmoor hills. A lighter bike would be easier I guess. However as my fitness improves I am finding my times are getting quicker.

 

[cougie uk]

If you look at the scheme of things - you are transporting your weight plus the bike plus your deliveries.
So any weight reduction on the bike is a very small percentage and see only a small improvement.

Smooth tyres on your hybrid might help if you have knobblies on ?

 

[Dartmoorcf]

Yep thanks. I've put Schwalbe marathons on rather than knobblees which were originally fitted

 

[Gunk]

Best value IMO is a used Boardman Team Carbon Bike, just convert it to flat bars

 

[wafter]

Good work with the weight loss!

14.5kg sounds pretty hefty and certainly no fun to lug around when off-bike (and light bikes often ride a bit nicer over rough stuff), but tbh I'd question the value in replacing the bike to save maybe 4kg.

If you consider your mass and that of what you're carrying (let's say you're 85kg clothed and shod with luggage) that 4kg saving is about 4% of your total mass.

By all means get yourself a nicer bike but I think if you're selling the idea on mass-saving alone you're going to be disappointed. If hills are an issue you may also want to consider something with nice low gearing.

Also, if looking at flat-bar bikes these are typically aimed at the Hybrid market (although Genesis do a flat-bar Croix de Fer steel gravel bike, at about 12kg) and I think you're going to struggle to get the weight down that much as a result as it's not a huge selling point in the hybrid market. If you're really keen on mass reduction, as Gunk suggests your best bet might be to do a flat-bar conversion on a CFRP road frame; although again you'll most likely be stuck with the skinny tyres and while do-able this wouldn't be particularly cheap or straightforward.

A difficult set of criteria!

 

[Cycleops]

You could also consider one of these:
https://www.decathlon.co.uk/p/triban-rc500-flat-bar/_/R-p-306215?mc=8548314

 

[Dartmoorcf]

Thanks for the replies.
My friend is lending me his spare Trek 2.5 alpha roadbike. It is a dropbar and weighs considerably less than my Marin.
I've had a dropbar in my youth (Dawes Fox) but we lived in the suburbs rather than in the middle of nowhere with more pot holes roads.
Hopefully this will change my mindset about dropbar being less stable and see if it makes differences to my times on strava.

 

[vickster]

Lord, that Decathlon model is a dull looking bike!!

 

[vickster]

Thanks for the replies.
My friend is lending me his spare Trek 2.5 alpha roadbike. It is a dropbar and weighs considerably less than my Marin.
I've had a dropbar in my youth (Dawes Fox) but we lived in the suburbs rather than in the middle of nowhere with more pot holes roads.
Hopefully this will change my mindset about dropbar being less stable and see if it makes differences to my times on strava.

Try to put some fatter tyres on it if you can, especially if it’s on 23mm ones

 

[Dartmoorcf]

It is on 25mms apparently. I guess I'd need to change the wheels if I wanted to go bigger than 28s. Need to see what the max width I can fit. The marin is about 40mm so it's going to he a big change.

 

[vickster]

It is on 25mms apparently. I guess I'd need to change the wheels if I wanted to go bigger than 28s. Need to see what the max width I can fit. The marin is about 40mm so it's going to he a big change.

It’s not about the wheels on a roadbike, more frame clearance. On my carbon bike with 23mm tyres, I might be able to have enough clearance With 25s or the rear tyre might rub the seat tube!