Drop 300g per foot!?!

velobob said:

Given our feet go up and down at 90rpm this drop in weight (at the foot) should be quite noticeable - no?

This reminds me of that wheel thread :p

velobob said:

Given our feet go up and down at 90rpm this drop in weight should be quite noticeable - no?

Relative to the masses and accelerations of the other parts of your legs, 300g at the shoe/pedal end isn't going to make a huge difference in the dynamic behavior of the overall system. And that's assuming perfectly constant angular velocity of the cranks.

53-11 said:

This reminds me of that wheel thread :p

reminds me of those adverts selling " light weight " clothing to go with light weight bikes . :p

el Inglés said:

reminds me of those adverts selling " light weight " clothing to go with light weight bikes . :p

Those shorts must be so light you can't even see them... No, the guy is really just riding naked. :eek:

velobob said:

Given our feet go up and down at 90rpm this drop in weight should be quite noticeable - no?

Pedaling that rear wheel on a stand with no resistance...maybe.

On the street with the tire connected to solid ground I highly doubt it. You won't be feeling the weight of the shoes/pedals, but you will feel the weight of your body/bike/rolling resistance/air resistance when you turn the crank.

53-11 said:

Pedaling that rear wheel on a stand with no resistance...maybe.

On the street with the tire connected to solid ground I highly doubt it. You won't be feeling the weight of the shoes/pedals, but you will feel the weight of your body/bike/rolling resistance/air resistance when you turn the crank.

The issue isn't really resistance. The thigh-shin-crank-seat tube system is a crank rocker mechanism, and in theory the less mass you have in the moving parts the more smoothly the rocking input gets converted to the angular output. In this case, there are two sticking points. First, when you add up the rest of your leg, 300g isn't really a lot of mass. Secondly, you're actuating at two of the pins (hip and knee) instead of just twisting at the fulcrum of the rocker (hip). This makes actuation a much bigger factor than weight to begin with. So, you can spend a bunch of money getting a minimal improvement from the weight savings, or you can go out and work on your pedal stroke for free.

artmichalek said:

Relative to the masses and accelerations of the other parts of your legs, 300g at the shoe/pedal end isn't going to make a huge difference in the dynamic behavior of the overall system. And that's assuming perfectly constant angular velocity of the cranks.

But just imagine how much faster those heavy pedals are when you are out of the saddle, gravity is helping you pedal.. 🙄
😄

Must agree, with other posters here, the real only difference will be the total weight savings. If dropping 600grams off your body/bike weight matters, it will matter. But it isn't like a pair of running shoes where you would see a huge difference in effort required. If you are looking for an easy way to drop some weight off your bike, go for it. If you are thinking about this because it will make pedaling easier or something related to that, forget it.

no takers hey! well how about adding 300g per foot - would you notice that in a 15min climb? what weighs 300g - 5 powerbars - so tape 5 powerbars on each foot and go for a climb ;>😉

velobob said:

no takers hey! well how about adding 300g per foot - would you notice that in a 15min climb? what weighs 300g - 5 powerbars - so tape 5 powerbars on each foot and go for a climb ;>😉

That might have a good psychological effect. I'd want to get to the top of the hill before anyone saw me.🙂

velobob said:

This is not so much a question as an observation and I guess I wonder if anyone else has any comments. I currently have an old set of Look pedals and Sidi shoes which according to Weight Weenies weigh in at 400g per pair for the pedals and 800g per pair for the shoes for a total of 1200g or 600g per foot. I was just checking out the new DMT Kyoma shoes which supposedly weigh 418g and the new Time RXS Carbon Ti pedals which weight 195g a pair for a total of 613g or 307g per foot - which would be almost 300g per foot lighter than what I have now. Given our feet go up and down at 90rpm this drop in weight should be quite noticeable - no?

Glad you looked at the weight of your pedals and shoes. It's surprising to me how many people obsess about wheel or component weight, and then put on a pair of 800 gram shoes with 400 gram pedals, never bothering to check the weight of these.

I noticed shoe weight when I got my Carnacs...they weigh about 880 grams/pair vs the Shimano carbons I'd worn out at just over 600. Kindof shoots the savings from my speedplay pedals vs the old Look/Shimano ones.

I'd say you could probably feel the difference here: the bike would just feel a bit snappier on initial accelerations. But, like wheels, the actual performance advantage would be small....about like leaving one 600 gram water bottle at home.

dhk said:

I'd say you could probably feel the difference here: the bike would just feel a bit snappier on initial accelerations. But, like wheels, the actual performance advantage would be small....about like leaving one 600 gram water bottle at home.

And of course weight isn't the only thing that matters. I remember reading an article a few years ago about pedals and two things that stuck out for me were: Speedplay pedals save you no weight because you are simply putting the platform on your shoe (duh), and that Time and Look pedals were the most effiecient in part due to the platform size and it more than compensated for the weight. Of course with the lighter platform pedals available today, you probably are not losing in one area to gain in another...

I am sure that 99% of it is psychological, but I do feel so much slower when I wear a set of heavy waterproof neoprene booties, vs. something thinner and lighter.

artmichalek said:

Those shorts must be so light you can't even see them... No, the guy is really just riding naked. :eek:

Hans Christian Andersen's - The King's New Clothes (I think that is the title of the story)

wilmar13 said:

And of course weight isn't the only thing that matters. I remember reading an article a few years ago about pedals and two things that stuck out for me were: Speedplay pedals save you no weight because you are simply putting the platform on your shoe (duh), and that Time and Look pedals were the most effiecient in part due to the platform size and it more than compensated for the weight. Of course with the lighter platform pedals available today, you probably are not losing in one area to gain in another...

I am sure that 99% of it is psychological, but I do feel so much slower when I wear a set of heavy waterproof neoprene booties, vs. something thinner and lighter.

Good point; the weight of the cleat/pedal combo is what counts. Here are the numbers I found when looking at speedplay vs look pedal/cleats for my new bike:

Speedplay Zero SS ( 206 gms) + Cleats(4 hole) (70 gms) = 276 grams
Look A5.1 (360 gms) + Cleats (94 gms) = 454 grams

If I got something wrong here, would appreciate a correction.

dhk said:

Good point; the weight of the cleat/pedal combo is what counts. Here are the numbers I found when looking at speedplay vs look pedal/cleats for my new bike:

Speedplay Zero SS ( 206 gms) + Cleats(4 hole) (70 gms) = 276 grams
Look A5.1 (360 gms) + Cleats (94 gms) = 454 grams

If I got something wrong here, would appreciate a correction.

Wow speedplay cleats have gotten a lot lighter since the good old days. I don't use them, but my girlfreind does and that huge metal platform on her shoes has to weigh at least twice what the new one does.

wilmar13 said:

Wow speedplay cleats have gotten a lot lighter since the good old days. I don't use them, but my girlfreind does and that huge metal platform on her shoes has to weigh at least twice what the new one does.

Oh GOD... Here we go again. Good luck man.. I'm with ya.. 😄

personally i would just chop off my toes.I mean surely for the set of 10 is atleast 1000grams,dont need them for cycling,🙂

jrstang473 said:

personally i would just chop off my toes.I mean surely for the set of 10 is atleast 1000grams,dont need them for cycling,🙂

If your toes weigh 2.5 lbs you have a problem... but of course the smaller shoes will be lighter as well. Hey do you really need both arms to ride a bike?Now there is some serious weight savings. What about lopping off the nose? Sure not much weight, but think about the advantage of the RAM air effect a la Pontiac Trans-Am...