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How much does weight matter?


niconj

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Just wondering. How much would a world class rider notice the difference in weight on a trials bike? I was thinking about weight differences like for example Der Kaiser Rammstein vs. Try All Sticky Light or front disc vs. front hs33 setup.

Taking these two together you'd get around 400gr. less with the lighter options. How much would it matter?

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for individual moves, in pure tgs context it probably doesn't have a massive bearing on things, but if your competing every gram less probably has a benefit in the later sections of an event

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Where you save the weight will play a really big part in how your bike feels, and on what moves you'll notice it in. For example, dropping the weight of a front disc setup to go front rim brake would probably feel much more noticeable when you're on the back wheel than losing that weight around, say, your crankset/BB.

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Where you save the weight will play a really big part in how your bike feels, and on what moves you'll notice it in. For example, dropping the weight of a front disc setup to go front rim brake would probably feel much more noticeable when you're on the back wheel than losing that weight around, say, your crankset/BB.

Never thought about this. Makes a lot of sense. Thanks.

very gram less probably has a benefit in the later sections of an event

(Y)

What about weight of the rider. I think losing some weight has much more of an effect than tuning your bike. What do you guys think?

Edited by niconj
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Depends on how strong you are and your technique. Trials is dominated by skinny f**kers whilst there's still the big boneded lads like Cocky and Damon who can go big no matter.

I guess when you are a very explosive type of rider doing a lot of squats and stuff, weight comes in handy as it's strength. Would be interesting to see guys like him with a perfect side hop technique...

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For natural riding and comp riding it makes a big difference. You can ride for longer. For individual moves though I find it doesn't make much difference. I've gone through a few radical weight saving stages back when I was a better rider, shedding even 1kg between rides. The difference is very noticeable during the first ride but as soon as you get used to the lighter bike, it feels exactly the same as before.

I guess if you're a TGS rider who gets very repeatable results every ride and knows exactly where your limits are, a lighter bike will make you go bigger. But I think that many of us can get better results through more dedication or a better diet and with these variables present, weight is not a significant contributing factor to overall performance.

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What about weight of the rider. I think losing some weight has much more of an effect than tuning your bike. What do you guys think?

From my own experience i can also say that your body weight have a much bigger difference in riding (also bodyweight difference can be much larger compeard to few grams on a bike vs up to 10kg of bw).

For example if i have the sweet body fat from cold winter and weight training on i weigh in about 95kg, there is TONS of power but riding is much much more fun when i'm down to ~85-87 kg.

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Yea i'm with Damon on this^^ The technique and power of a rider is the key to being good and plenty of practice :) A well set up bike will mean so much more than loosing a few grams. I suppose it would help if ur competing at the highest level in UCI but not just for going out for a ride....

Edited by Yorkshire Dale
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I think certainly at comp and maybe at street, that the moves the top guys are capable of now dictate the need for a very strong bike, with little flex. The hang on the front wheel up to back UCI sections also need a very strong front end, so weight perhaps is not a big a deal as it use to. If you are a youngster starting out then weight will be a big issue. There again Abel has just posted pics of his Clean with holes everywhere, so what do I know.

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All other things being equal, a lighter bike will feel better than a heavier bike, but the reality is that you need to consider performance over weight. By performance I mean the end result of everything like weight, strength, stiffness, price, size, etc. Look at a few aspects of the changes you were talking about for example: the Rammstein will be heavier, but have better pinch resistance than the Try All while an HS33 will be lighter than disc, but have no modulation. Are the trade-off's worth it? That's up to you.

Edited by DangerousDave
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Also, do not forget about the weight of your helmet.

For me, I notice a big difference in comfort between a sub 300 grams helmet, and a helmet that weighs more than 400grams.

Your head is the highest place of you and your body, so you want to shave off as much weight as possible there.

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Just to verify what you guys have said already. I went back to my Trialtech SL disc forks with all the other necessary alterations (coming from Try All Carbon Forks with Racing Line brake) and don't notice any difference. Then again, it's just around 250-300gr. added.

What I do notice is that the front end is stiffer even though I cannot explain why. The Try All Carbons should be stiffer than the Trialtech SLs.

Anyway... I get up as high as before, which really isn't a surprise. :)

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Weight? What is that?

In all seriousness though people worry far too much about how much stuff weighs, get parts that are reliable. Use the brake you prefer, use a tyre you prefer.

Also with tyres, my stiky lite has actually been incredible with puncture resistance considering it's the lightest stock tyre pretty much.

I do run the heaviest tubes I could find though. Kenda dh I think? 450g or something I dunno.

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Personally I have a fairly light bike, I've got ti bolts pretty much everywhere; I recently switched back to a set of Monty Pro Race tyres from a set of Creepy Crawlers and could feel the difference in the weight straight away. Whether it made anything easier or not is another matter.

I think for a top rider having a super light bike is a two fold thing, they're more likely to benefit from and notice lighter parts; but also it must add a psychological edge too. Not having the excuse of this part is too heavy etc.

Just to verify what you guys have said already. I went back to my Trialtech SL disc forks with all the other necessary alterations (coming from Try All Carbon Forks with Racing Line brake) and don't notice any difference. Then again, it's just around 250-300gr. added.

What I do notice is that the front end is stiffer even though I cannot explain why. The Try All Carbons should be stiffer than the Trialtech SLs.

Anyway... I get up as high as before, which really isn't a surprise. :)

Why do you say this? Thought it was a widely acknowledged thing that Karbons suffer from for/aft flex at the steerer/crown.

Also with tyres, my stiky lite has actually been incredible with puncture resistance considering it's the lightest stock tyre pretty much.
I do run the heaviest tubes I could find though. Kenda dh I think? 450g or something I dunno.

They're pretty damn good tyres for puncture resistance with a normal tube, but if you're running a tube that heavy i'm not surprised you're ok.

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