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Who Cares How Light Your Bike Is? Just Ride


dinneR

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That's basically what the young, competitive mountain bike rider who worked at Dick's Sporting Goods said to me when I wanted to get my first bike since I was a kid.

I was looking at hybrids around $450 and an older salesman was trying to sell me one. The younger guy was giving me "don't buy it" signs.  So I didn't, came back later and the young guy said, "We have a bike with much better parts, disc brakes, and it's a $499 bike on sale for $299 and it's a mountain bike.  It's only a few pounds heavier than a hybrid but since you said you only want to ride for exercise, it fits you perfectly."

Of course, a $499 bike is far from top of the line, but it's worked out fine.  The greater tendency for things to need occasional adjusting has resulted in me spending time to learn how to do all that - to the point where I've put the bike on the cheap rack I bought and just practiced doing stuff with derailleurs, brakes, etc.

So now, I basically take it out and ride.  If I do more cycling this year, I may but a lighter bike in order to go on Saturday rides with a group, but the bike I have now is just fine.

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My bike must be light enough for me to lift onto a bike rack....on a bus. :)  

I really mean this.  And some bike racks that are wall mounted, I can't deal with that for a heavy bike. Heck being 5'1" makes it awkward to deal with bikes at times.  No, I don't have arm muscle power like petite.

It's more the gearing I'm interested in..it is nice to little me, if the bike is not too heavy. Some of those fat bikes are great for stability. But a bear for me to lift..

 

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I have a light bike. It’s great! But I also realize I need to lose the weight of my bike and that would be more significant even on my old, slightly heavier bike. I have just as much fun on my other heavier bikes. We had a blast riding heavy fat bikes along river trails in the dark last night! It’s not just the weight of the bike. 

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42 minutes ago, Dottles said:

Yep. Your boy is on it.

Try a century on a "crappy" bike.  Then motivate yourself for a second one using that experience.  :D

We'll always come back to the "beer is beer" or "coffee is coffee" crowd.  Same as a "car is a car" or a "bike is a bike".

I'm FIRMLY in the "just ride" column first and foremost, but I guess 300 days in a saddle each year make me also appreciate "get a good bike(s)"!

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27 minutes ago, Razors Edge said:

Try a century on a "crappy" bike.  Then motivate yourself for a second one using that experience.  :D

We'll always come back to the "beer is beer" or "coffee is coffee" crowd.  Same as a "car is a car" or a "bike is a bike".

I'm FIRMLY in the "just ride" column first and foremost, but I guess 300 days in a saddle each year make me also appreciate "get a good bike(s)"!

Just lose a couple pounds.

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1 minute ago, Dottles said:

Just lose a couple pounds.

FTR, some of us don't want to or need to lose weight.  But that usually ties back to the "ride often" part.  It really isn't rocket science. 

But I am also a wild man in that I often ride with TWO FULL water bottles!!! And a spare tube and mini-pump!  I get laughed at for being such an anti-weightweenie!

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Screw you all, you gotta be a damn moran to think lighter isn’t better at all times and all conditions, everything else being equal. It is no damn badge of honor to ride a heavy bike. You are stoic if you ride in blizzards, not because you ride a POS.  

You don’t NEED a light bike to enjoy cycling or to go fast, but lighter bikes are always more enjoyable. 

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4 minutes ago, Randomguy said:

Screw you all, you gotta be a damn moran to think lighter isn’t better at all times and all conditions, everything else being equal. It is no damn badge of honor to ride a heavy bike. You are stoic if you ride in blizzards, not because you ride a POS.  

You don’t NEED a light bike to enjoy cycling or to go fast, but lighter bikes are always more enjoyable. 

But how do you feel about the beer is beer argument? Cheap beer, light beer, craft beer, it's all just beer and folks are idiotic to pay more than a few bucks for a case????

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Just now, dennis said:

I'm curious how many of you watched the video?

How many of you have built a new set of wheels because you found lighter spoke nipples?

Anyone remember the Grewals?

I like lycra.

I would - if given an option - opt for lighter wheels that met my needs. 

I "remember" it only in the sense that I remember hearing about Alexi Grewal, but never saw him in the Olympics.  Thank god for the modern Internet, because it does make this stuff way easier to follow.

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4 minutes ago, dennis said:

Anyone remember the Grewals?

Man, someone needs to work on his Wiki page :(

But reading it, I realize that this quote is likely why I remember the name: "On September 25, 2010, VeloNews announced that Grewal would be making a comeback at age 50, targeting the Quiznos Pro Challenge in Colorado in 2011".

And this part looks like why he might be relevant today: " However, he was not on the start list and did not complete this race. He instead turned his focus to non-professional gravel and gran fondo rides, such as the Snowmass-Aspen Gran Fondo Italia, finishing fourth out of 125 riders in one race. "

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3 hours ago, Razors Edge said:

FTR, some of us don't want to or need to lose weight.  But that usually ties back to the "ride often" part.  It really isn't rocket science. 

But I am also a wild man in that I often ride with TWO FULL water bottles!!! And a spare tube and mini-pump!  I get laughed at for being such an anti-weightweenie!

Yeah it's important to always give the message to your riding peers that their opinions don't matter. In fact, if you can throw in a cigarette or two just to piss them off -- you're doing it right.

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