Why do people want lighter bikes?

[beany_bot]

Always this has confused me.

I run a pig iron heavy road bike I got off Amazon for £150 about 5 years ago, I've done well over 10,000 miles on it and love it. But fairly often people say to me "oh you want to get a new bike mate". I ask why. "well, that ones so heavy".

Other than for actual racing, I just don't get this?
For commuting & leisure riding surely you want a heavier bike?

Positives of a heavier bike

• Makes you stronger than a lighter bike
• Makes you fitter than a lighter bike
• Burns more calories than a lighter bike (more cake for me)
• Slightly slower therefore more time riding.
• Cheaper than a lighter bike.
• Higher heart rate uphill than on a lighter bike.
• Often more robust than a lighter bike.
• Less likely to be stolen than a lighter bike.
  
  Really the list goes on.

So why is it the obsession with a lighter / more expensive bike for those who are not competitively racing?
The big one for me is fitness. I'm fitter and stronger commuting on my £150 bike than I would be commuting on a £2000 bike.

 

[Sharky]

Your arguments about making you stronger/fitter are flawed. On a lighter bike, you just put it into a higher gear, increasing the load and go a bit faster. The workout would be the same.
If you were to ride in a group though and you were able to keep up with riders on lighter bikes, then you would be working harder and would be making you fitter.

 

[the snail]

Hard to argue with any of your points, but if I had two otherwise similar bikes, the heavier one would probably be the one gathering dust in the shed.

 

[MontyVeda]

My MTB isn't the lightest but it's light enough... i wouldn't want to carry a heavy clunker up and down a flight of stairs every day.

 

[Threevok]

I own a light Kinesis single speed (avatar) and a very heavy On One Inbred 3x10.

For weight loss reasons, I am currently commuting on the single speed as I was getting lazy on the 3x10

As @Sharky said, you just change gears to accommodate

 

[FishFright]

Always this has confused me.

I run a pig iron heavy road bike I got off Amazon for £150 about 5 years ago, I've done well over 10,000 miles on it and love it. But fairly often people say to me "oh you want to get a new bike mate". I ask why. "well, that ones so heavy".

Other than for actual racing, I just don't get this?
For commuting & leisure riding surely you want a heavier bike?

Positives of a heavier bike

• Makes you stronger than a lighter bike -
• Makes you fitter than a lighter bike
• Burns more calories than a lighter bike (more cake for me)
• Slightly slower therefore more time riding. -
• Cheaper than a lighter bike.
• Higher heart rate uphill than on a lighter bike.
• Often more robust than a lighter bike. -
• Less likely to be stolen than a lighter bike. -
  
  Really the list goes on.

So why is it the obsession with a lighter / more expensive bike for those who are not competitively racing?
The big one for me is fitness. I'm fitter and stronger commuting on my £150 bike than I would be commuting on a £2000 bike.

No

• Makes you stronger than a lighter bike - No , you just go slower for the same calories burned
• Makes you fitter than a lighter bike - No , see above
• Burns more calories than a lighter bike (more cake for me) - Mmm cake but you get to the cake quicker on a light bike
• Slightly slower therefore more time riding. - You go further in the time
• Cheaper than a lighter bike. - Usually true
• Higher heart rate uphill than on a lighter bike. - Putting the same effort means the HR will be equal
• Often more robust than a lighter bike. - BSO are heavy as lead and not at all robust
• Less likely to be stolen than a lighter bike. - Sadly thieves steal whatever is handy
  
  Really the fallacies go on.

 

[Milkfloat]

I commute on a converted 90's steel MTB. It is a short commute with no massive hills. I also have a fixed gear bike with panniers and guards if I want to go the long way round. However, for my weekend riding I prefer light sleek and chuckable. The right bike for the right kind of ride. Being honest, I have 7 bikes and am considering one more, after all you can never have too many.

 

[gbb]

A lot of what you speak of is unquantifiable (in a scientific sense)

I used to have a Raleigh Chimera, Cro-mo, straight steel forks, heavy but very sturdy, did many thousands of miles on it, sold it...probably still going now, marvelous VFM but quite jarring on the road.
Progressed to a Bianchi alloy (long since gone, now ride carbon)...but...the Bianchi was a revelation. Comfortable, infinately smoother and less jarring than the Chimera, nicer to look at, just all round a nicer bike to own and get pleasure from.

But (again)....when i look back at my ride times on say 30 to 50 mile rides, there was virtually no difference in times taken for the same ride...over and over again, so it wasnt wind, elevation, fitness etc etc that skewed the times.

In simple terms a lighter bike is simply more enjoyable to ride.

 

[MichaelW2]

Light bikes are easier to carry and move, esp useful for smaller riders.
Light bikes accelerate more quickly for a safe getaway at lights and junctions.
Light bikes make climbing easier and more fun.
An everyday bike should weigh what it needs to but no more.

 

[Ming the Merciless]

Supertankers are great for going in straight lines and transporting oil. If I want to have fun on the ocean I get a lightweight sailing boat.

 

[Dogtrousers]

As noted above, you get out what you put in. You don't get more out of riding a heavier bike for the same input. But you can't ride it as far or as fast.

If you want to ride further/faster as part of your recreation - which I do (well, further anyway - faster is a bit of a folorn hope) then choosing the heaviest bike possible is not a good strategy.

That, in general, is why. There are, of course, other factors - like comfort and practicality. A very light but uncomfortable and impractical bike would be a crap thing to have. And at the extremes - people searching for special titanium bottle cage bolts, well - that's just because people get interested in stuff for no particular reason.

Balancing the above factors - lightness, comfort and practicality mean that my bike isn't actually particularly light. It wasn't particularly cheap either.

 

[biggs682]

Being honest, I have 7 bikes and am considering one more, after all you can never have too many.

That's just being greedy

@beany_bot as long as you are happy and enjoy riding your bike that's all that matters think and believe what you want people will always argue different .

 

[vickster]

Why make cycling harder and potentially less enjoyable than it needs to be? There are a lot of good light bikes between the £150 "BSO" and a £2k+ carbon race geometry bike

Lighter bikes are easier to carry up and down stairs at stations for example even with panniers on the bike

 

[beany_bot]

Why make cycling harder and potentially less enjoyable than it needs to be? There are a lot of good light bikes between the £150 "BSO" and a £2k+ carbon race geometry bike

Lighter bikes are easier to carry up and down stairs at stations for example even with panniers on the bike

Why is harder less enjoyable?
Don't we cycle at least in part for fitness? I run. Running is hard. I still enjoy it.
As for carrying it up the stairs. Again. Fitness and strength.

I'll bet there are people who buy a light bike for carrying up the stairs then proceed to go to the gym and lift very heavy weights.

 

[beany_bot]

A lot of people saying you go further for the same effort on a light bike. 100% true.

On my commute? Yeah. I only go "x" distance. With the heavier bike I burn more calories doing it. or I burn the same calories but have more saddle time than the light bike. either way its a win for the heavier bike!