Front/Rear bike weight

bicycle_disciple said:

I have a 3.5 pound alu frame on my road bike. it came with budget
parts, stems, handlebars etc. I recently discovered these parts weigh
like boulders, so i got myself lightweight carbon stem and handlebars.
I mean, LIGHTWEIGHT...really.

I ride HED aero wheels during races, with the front wheel considerably
lighter than the rear.

Now im a little worried about the whole front and rear weight
balance.

Does anyone feel lightening the front portion of the bike considerably
as opposed to rear will make a poor climber than before, although it
sounds counter-intuitive since I'm lessening the total weight of the
bike anyway? Yet I can conjure up an image of me dragging a lot of
weight on my rear side up a climb in a situation like that.

How about control, probably having a lighter front end can make it
easier to bob the bike while climbing?

I've ridden the same bike with and without a front GH6 Dynohub ("boat
anchor"😉. There's no real problem much though some riders may
imagine/discuss/obsess over one.
--
Andrew Muzi
www.yellowjersey.org
Open every day since 1 April, 1971

bicycle_disciple said:

I have a 3.5 pound alu frame on my road bike. it came with budget
parts, stems, handlebars etc. I recently discovered these parts weigh
like boulders, so i got myself lightweight carbon stem and handlebars.
I mean, LIGHTWEIGHT...really.

I ride HED aero wheels during races, with the front wheel considerably
lighter than the rear.

Now im a little worried about the whole front and rear weight
balance.

Does anyone feel lightening the front portion of the bike considerably
as opposed to rear will make a poor climber than before, although it
sounds counter-intuitive since I'm lessening the total weight of the
bike anyway? Yet I can conjure up an image of me dragging a lot of
weight on my rear side up a climb in a situation like that.

How about control, probably having a lighter front end can make it
easier to bob the bike while climbing?

Opinions are appreciated.

-BD

How much do you weigh yourselve?

Lou
--
Posted by news://news.nb.nu (http://www.nb.nu)

Lou Holtman said:

bicycle_disciple said:

I have a 3.5 pound alu frame on my road bike. it came with budget
parts, stems, handlebars etc. I recently discovered these parts weigh
like boulders, so i got myself lightweight carbon stem and handlebars.
I mean, LIGHTWEIGHT...really.

Quoted message said:

I ride HED aero wheels during races, with the front wheel considerably
lighter than the rear.

Quoted message said:

Now im a little worried about the whole front and rear weight
balance.

Quoted message said:

Does anyone feel lightening the front portion of the bike considerably
as opposed to rear will make a poor climber than before, although it
sounds counter-intuitive since I'm lessening the total weight of the
bike anyway? Yet I can conjure up an image of me dragging a lot of
weight on my rear side up a climb in a situation like that.

Quoted message said:

How about control, probably having a lighter front end can make it
easier to bob the bike while climbing?

Quoted message said:

Opinions are appreciated.

Quoted message said:

-BD

How much do you weigh yourselve?

Lou
--
Posted by news://news.nb.nu (http://www.nb.nu)- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

The last time I checked, fasting weight was 144. Thanks.

BD

In article <[email hidden]>,

bicycle_disciple said:

I have a 3.5 pound alu frame on my road bike. it came with budget
parts, stems, handlebars etc. I recently discovered these parts weigh
like boulders, so i got myself lightweight carbon stem and
handlebars. I mean, LIGHTWEIGHT...really.

Check those babies for cracks before every ride.

Quoted message said:

I ride HED aero wheels during races, with the front wheel
considerably lighter than the rear.

Now im a little worried about the whole front and rear weight
balance.

Does anyone feel lightening the front portion of the bike
considerably as opposed to rear will make a poor climber than before,

Yes, if you can take about 20 pounds off the front end of the bike.

Quoted message said:

How about control, probably having a lighter front end can make it
easier to bob the bike while climbing?

The problem with gram counting is that it makes you think grams actually
count.

The big problem causing poor climbing bikes is stupid geometry.
Too-short chainstays and too long top tubes- basically the normal
configuration for racing bikes these days- result in too much of the
rider's weight over the back wheel and too little on the front wheel.
The front wheel pops up off the road when climbing a steep pitch seated.
This affects tall riders more than short riders for geometric reasons.

bicycle_disciple said:

I have a 3.5 pound alu frame on my road bike. it came with budget
parts, stems, handlebars etc. I recently discovered these parts weigh
like boulders, so i got myself lightweight carbon stem and handlebars.
I mean, LIGHTWEIGHT...really.

I ride HED aero wheels during races, with the front wheel considerably
lighter than the rear.

Now im a little worried about the whole front and rear weight
balance.

Does anyone feel lightening the front portion of the bike considerably
as opposed to rear will make a poor climber than before, although it
sounds counter-intuitive since I'm lessening the total weight of the
bike anyway? Yet I can conjure up an image of me dragging a lot of
weight on my rear side up a climb in a situation like that.

How about control, probably having a lighter front end can make it
easier to bob the bike while climbing?

Opinions are appreciated.

-BD

Weight bias of the bicycle pales in comparison of weight bias when you
put a rider onto the bike. Whether the front wheel weighs 500
grams(light) or 1000 grams(way heavy), it is only about a pound on a
175-200 pound 'package'. Most front wheel differences are much less
than that..don't worry-just ride.