How Heavy is too Heavy?

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fluffybunnyuk
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Re: How Heavy is too Heavy?

Post by fluffybunnyuk »

I'd pay good money to time wiggo climbing boxhill on a fully loaded tourer would put to bed alot of weight questions :lol:
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Vantage
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Re: How Heavy is too Heavy?

Post by Vantage »

Weight is definitely an issue with this bike. As said, 31lb off the shelf isn't a good start. Add lights, dynamo hub, front rack, heavier rear rack, suspension post and heavy leather saddle, computer, garmin, airzound, kickstand, big mudflaps and bottles and cages and that's before all the stuff in the saddlebag and gravity isn't exactly on my side.
When I decided to get back into cycling I had two choices, road bike or tourer. Mountain bikes didn't even enter into my thoughts at that time and as I was in no hurry to get anywhere, the tourer won. I couldn't give a monkeys about training, I'm no time trialist. And therein lies a problem...finding a club for cyclists rather than racers. There's nothing round these parts.
I did start getting fitter the last time I was with the club and at one point I was able to keep up with the slower group but then the issues with my legs raised their ugly heads and I left. I think I'll probably get fitter again, but no way will I ever be in the other members class.
Anyhoo, off out on another club run now. I might mention my concerns to the club president......more than likely though I'll just keep quiet and suck it up like usual.
Bill


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[XAP]Bob
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Re: How Heavy is too Heavy?

Post by [XAP]Bob »

fluffybunnyuk wrote:I'd pay good money to time wiggo climbing boxhill on a fully loaded tourer would put to bed alot of weight questions :lol:

He'd still beat me, even if I was on a motorbike...
A shortcut has to be a challenge, otherwise it would just be the way. No situation is so dire that panic cannot make it worse.
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Tigerbiten
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Re: How Heavy is too Heavy?

Post by Tigerbiten »

From my experience and from all the reports I've read on the net ......

About 20 lb extra weight slows you down by around 1 mph.

So dropping from a 50 lb bike to a 30 lb bike will not make that much of a difference.
Unless you are riding right on the edge of what you can do ....... :D
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al_yrpal
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Re: How Heavy is too Heavy?

Post by al_yrpal »

Just a thought, what tyres have you got and are they inflated properly?

Al
Reuse, recycle, thus do your bit to save the planet.... Get stuff at auctions, Dump, Charity Shops, Facebook Marketplace, Ebay, Car Boots. Choose an Old House, and a Banger ..... And cycle as often as you can......
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mjr
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Re: How Heavy is too Heavy?

Post by mjr »

Vantage wrote:I couldn't give a monkeys about training, I'm no time trialist. And therein lies a problem...finding a club for cyclists rather than racers. There's nothing round these parts.

These parts being Urmston or Bolton?

In the wider area, there's a few rides shown in GMCC's Ride newsletter but they've all passed and the next edition (covering March to June) isn't published for a few weeks. Keep an eye on it? Some look relaxed, but there's no indication of pace. Searching The Fine Web for the ride names, it looks like some are organised by Saddleworth Clarion http://www.saddleworthclarion.co.uk/skyrides.htm - 20 to 25 miles over 2.5 hours, looped route so could be halved if wanted. On the CTC website, there's a listing for an affiliated group in Wigan http://trails4us.co.uk/ which look pretty relaxed although they seem bad about requiring helmets and membership fees. I don't know if either of those are practical for you.

I didn't find anything nearby on BC's Ride Social, which is surprising and disappointing. There's a lot on http://www.manchesterfoe.org.uk/loveyou ... -calendar/ but it'd take some sifting and more local knowledge than I have.

You could post a few notices online and see if there's anyone nearby willing to help organise an easy-riding group. Once again, there don't appear to be many nearby on Ride Social. I don't think CTC has a similar social-rider locator, does it?
MJR, mostly pedalling 3-speed roadsters. KL+West Norfolk BUG incl social easy rides http://www.klwnbug.co.uk
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NATURAL ANKLING
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Re: How Heavy is too Heavy?

Post by NATURAL ANKLING »

Hi,
Tigerbiten wrote:From my experience and from all the reports I've read on the net ......

About 20 lb extra weight slows you down by around 1 mph.

So dropping from a 50 lb bike to a 30 lb bike will not make that much of a difference.
Unless you are riding right on the edge of what you can do ....... :D

Except for the hills.
NA Thinks Just End 2 End Return + Bivvy - Some day Soon I hope
You'll Still Find Me At The Top Of A Hill
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fluffybunnyuk
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Re: How Heavy is too Heavy?

Post by fluffybunnyuk »

to the OP. you seem like the sort of person i'd like to go riding with. Shame im nowhere near you. Not sure I have any solutions either. Best of luck sorting things out.
pwa
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Re: How Heavy is too Heavy?

Post by pwa »

50lb sounds a lot to me. I have a touring tandem that weighs about the same!

Just because your set-up is a bit heavy doesn't mean that you should worry too much about it. Carry as much stuff as you like. But if you want to keep up with others on anything other than flat roads you will find losing 10lbs would allow you to crest hills with a bit less effort.

Lighter tyres would have more effect then weight loss elsewhere because weight on the outside of a wheel has to be pushed around by your legs, as well as adding to the mass to be pushed uphill.

As for the lock, I carry a flimsy cable jobby on day rides as a deterrent against casual theft, but I don't go far from the bike and I leave it where it can be seen by lots of people. Typically I leave it outside a café I am visiting. It is a compromise.
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Vantage
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Re: How Heavy is too Heavy?

Post by Vantage »

al_yrpal wrote:Just a thought, what tyres have you got and are they inflated properly?

Al


Voyager Hypers al, according to my new pump...45psi front pretty much all the time and I vary the rear between 50 and 70psi depending on if I want more comfort or less drag. Todays 70psi had the rear bouncing all over the place on that wretched chip'n'seal but gliding along on the smoother back lanes.

mjr wrote:These parts being Urmston or Bolton?



Very much Bolton for now. Urmston is a possibility in time depending on how things go with my much prettier other half. I'm only in that area a couple days every other week, at least until she gets her backside in gear and starts riding that flippin bike!
Further afield clubs are an idea but the extra distance to their meeting points puts me off. I'm maybe half an hour at most from any of my current clubs meeting points. Offroading clubs are also off the menu as whilst I enjoy a bit of wilderness riding, my mountain biking skills have gone walkabout and getting the bike filthy isn't ideal considering where I live, a fourth floor flat. I doubt the caretaker would be happy with me dragging a mud plastered bike through his recently cleaned floor and I'd rather not mess up the carpet. I'm also somewhat loyal. Joining another club? That'd make me a traitor! Nah!
There was a rather surprising turn of events during todays club ride though.

fluffybunnyuk wrote:to the OP. you seem like the sort of person i'd like to go riding with. Shame im nowhere near you. Not sure I have any solutions either. Best of luck sorting things out.


Thankyou fluffybunny :)

pwa wrote:50lb sounds a lot to me. I have a touring tandem that weighs about the same!

Just because your set-up is a bit heavy doesn't mean that you should worry too much about it. Carry as much stuff as you like. But if you want to keep up with others on anything other than flat roads you will find losing 10lbs would allow you to crest hills with a bit less effort.

Lighter tyres would have more effect then weight loss elsewhere because weight on the outside of a wheel has to be pushed around by your legs, as well as adding to the mass to be pushed uphill.

As for the lock, I carry a flimsy cable jobby on day rides as a deterrent against casual theft, but I don't go far from the bike and I leave it where it can be seen by lots of people. Typically I leave it outside a café I am visiting. It is a compromise.


I'm not really worried by the weight as such, just wondered if I was the only one that dragged that sort of lump around for little more than day rides. It seems we are a rare bunch of numpties :)
My own personal reasoning is that basically, I'm a scaredy cat. All that stuff in the bag reassures me that should the worst happen, in most cases I'm adequately covered. According to the doc, along with all the other medical issues I have, I suffer from what he calls...a coping disorder. Basically, the smallest thing goes wrong and I panic and get flustered. It's a wonder I get out of bed for fear of falling out and breaking my neck :lol:
The tyres I'm running atm as far as I can tell, considering the bike, are about as light and quick rolling as they come, so not much chance of improving things there. As for the lock, well I love my bike and theres as much chance of me entrusting something flimsier to secure it as me leaving my daughters with a complete stranger in their car. Not gonna happen :)


But todays club ride! There's light at the end of the pit! There was only the three of us out today, the club president being one of them. Joking that I might bring a bottle jack incase of a rear flat on the clubs page may have contributed to it, but I was made official pace setter for the day after falling behind slightly when the bigger hills started, him shouting directions from behind and this worked out quiet well during the 38 mile ride. I worked as hard as my wussy little legs would allow so no-one froze but not to the point that I was done in a quarter of the way round.
Falling membership numbers came up in conversation (we've one of the lowest (if not THE lowest) member counts in the national clarion). Apparently, it was said by another member that the club needed people who could ride their bikes and that anyone unable to keep up should leave. This hasn't gone down well.
I believe that problem will be brought up at the next club meeting.
Got home and fell asleep on the couch while still in my cycling gear though :lol:
Bill


“Ride as much or as little, or as long or as short as you feel. But ride.” ~ Eddy Merckx
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mjr
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Re: How Heavy is too Heavy?

Post by mjr »

Oh wow. I wouldn't have guessed from the earlier description that it was a clarion! I thought they were inclusive fellowship type clubs, not the racing- focused one I thought you were describing.
MJR, mostly pedalling 3-speed roadsters. KL+West Norfolk BUG incl social easy rides http://www.klwnbug.co.uk
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al_yrpal
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Re: How Heavy is too Heavy?

Post by al_yrpal »

In my experience there is always a lot of joshing between various groups in a cycling club "dont go with that lot they go so slow they are always in danger of them toppling off" - "that lot, they are all mad you will come back knackered and covered in mud" - ”that crowd, they revel in doing 65 miles but they never see anything!". And as for that bloke who reckons slowcoaches should get out, he's a total disgrace to your club. When I ride with groups we never leave anyone behind, we always let the last people recover at stops properly, thats the way it should be in any sort of decent club.

Al
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Vantage
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Re: How Heavy is too Heavy?

Post by Vantage »

mjr wrote:Oh wow. I wouldn't have guessed from the earlier description that it was a clarion! I thought they were inclusive fellowship type clubs, not the racing- focused one I thought you were describing.


I first joined the local clarion when I was in my early 20's. Back then, I don't remember any talk of racing, turbo trainers, time trials and club rides seemed easier and more relaxed. Granted I was in much better shape and on a much lighter bike.
Where it all went wrong I've no idea.
Back then, a very nice lady called Amy took me under her wing and looked after me and made sure things stayed friendly. She has sadly since passed but the club boss did say today, if she'd heard talk of booting members for being slow, she'd have done her nut.
Bill


“Ride as much or as little, or as long or as short as you feel. But ride.” ~ Eddy Merckx
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Vantage
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Re: How Heavy is too Heavy?

Post by Vantage »

Agreed al. Completely.
Bill


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Re: How Heavy is too Heavy?

Post by Vorpal »

Vantage wrote: I have a love/hate relationship with Voyagers. I love how light, fast and supple they are (I'm a good 1mph on avg faster with them) but recently had a series of neverending pu**tures and I do feel uneasy using them for that reason. On club runs though, they're definitely required.

You could try some other tyres? I love my Continental 4 seasons. I've not punctured on them, except when they were so worn, I should've replaced them, even before I had the puncture, and they are light and fast, as well. Not cheap, and not hard wearing, but I guess you can't have everything in a tyre :)
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