[hoffbrandm]

OK. Help.

So I have no idea what kind of impact weight will have and could use some advice!

How important is weight on the bike – should I invest £80 to save 1.2kg?

 

So I commute daily (8-13 miles ish) and occasioanlly go out on the weekend when I get a chance.

I’ve got a lynskey sportive, no particular effort to be lightweight, its a do it all bike for me.

but for commuting, I use Marathon plus – 1kg each.

Now I could move to Schwalbe one tubeless – seems like a great option and would save about a kilo.

But I have loads of other stuff on the bike, lights, rack, camera on the front, my 1kg lock is on the back and I’ll have a pannier or backpack, sometimes with a laptop, ontop of loads of other daily stuff.

 

So should I just ignore it and recognise that I’m still faster than the guy next to me 😉 or actually bite the bullet at change the bike.

weight of bike + weight of extra equipment = current feel of bike + current speed of bike

(Weight of bike + weight of extra equipment) – estimated weight save of tubless tyres (1.2kg) = …?

 

 

Topic

[StraelGuy]

Totally agree with fenix. You

Totally agree with fenix. You can get a set of Hunt basic winter wheels for £229 and they’re top notch. Fit a set of decent tyres (generally 200-250g each) and they’ll transform your ‘leisure’ rides at the weekend. Other wheels are available, I’m just a happy customer .

[fenix]

I have marathon plus on my
I have marathon plus on my winter bike. Man they’re heavy BUT I haven’t had a p******** in years with them.

If it’s a commuter bike then that’s probably important for you.

If you have just the one bike I’d be getting some weekend wheels and tyres for leisure rides once all the weight is off the bike.

[Danger Dicko]

Do you park your bike at

Do you park your bike at different places everyday?

If not and it’s always on the same rack, could you not leave the lock with the rack and not carry it everywhere?

[MoutonDeMontagne]

I’ve just started running

I’ve just started running Schwalbe G-ones on my steel Charge plug, which I’ve nicknamed the ‘pig’ due to the weight. Even though they’re 38mm compared to the stock 28’s they feel noiticably quicker. Not sure its the weight, although saved a few grams, but they just roll better, faster and more smoothly, so the extra speed comes from the bike ploughing through things smoothly rather than skipping and rattling over stuff, hence you spend more time pedaling and less time holding on for dear life. 

Added bonus of increase puncture resistance, and potentially more fun off road/accross parks too. 

[Dnnnnnn]

P3t3 wrote:

P3t3 wrote:

1: Just wear out the current tyres first

Generally good advice but those Marathon Plus buggers last for years!

I’ll be interested to know how the OP finds the swap if they go for it. I like the tank-like qualities of my M+ shod commuter but its acceleration is best measured on a calendar.

[Swiss]

Just get the best tyres you
Just get the best tyres you can. The difference between good and bad is immense. On my station bike I changed the cheap original tyres it came with for continentals and the bike felt transformed. This is on a budget carrera hybrid bought new. I only kept the original tyres for a month. Tyres and contact points make a bike for me.

[P3t3]

1: Just wear out the current
1: Just wear out the current tyres first, they are no use once taken off the bike and sitting in the shed and it’s wasteful.

2: As AKH says, you will get more advantage from the fact they are a more supple tyre (assuming the size of tyre is the same). In fact, if you can fit them then go for the biggest most supple tyre you can find and run at lower pressure, faster AND a lot more comfortable. Try compass or grand Bois for supple, get the biggest that fit.

3: It’s a very good weight saving g/£, I doubt there are many ways you can do that!

4: Will you notice? Yeah, the bike will probably”feel” faster. But any difference in overall weight of you+ machine is essentially so small as to be irrelevant. Since cycling is limited by aerodynamics the tyre will make very little difference to your commute speed*. Especially since in start stop conditions you are limited by the stops anyway.

5: I’d change out of vanity, enjoy the comfort of a big supple tyre at low pressure but at the same time regret the wastefulness every time I saw the old tyrse I couldn’t bear to throw away lying around in the shed….

*Apart from the first day- you’ll be trying harder to “test them out”. Compare 10 days commute data before/after and I’ll bet there is no difference.

[peted76]

You have a lovely bike with

You have a lovely bike with the Lynksey.  If there are some hills on your commute any ‘significant’ weight, like a kilo, you loose you should feel a difference with. However I ‘fear’ with your current set up you’re probably into about 15kg’s all told, so 1kg off 15kg’s isn’t going to imact you hugely, however 1kg off a 9kg bike (rough guess your bike without the paraphernalia) would be much nicer. 

Loosing weight from tyres will be mainly noticeable from a standing start. Losing weight ‘generally’ off the bike will be most noticeable 1) getting up to speed and 2) going uphill.

Personally, the bit which would make me want to ‘loose weight’ from your post is the ‘going out at the weekend when you get chance’ part. Once you’ve removed your panniers, backpack, lock etc etc.. you’ve probably lost five kilos(?)

I would however suggest in this case, your £80 would be well spent, as those marathons, I would guess roll on tarmac like dog doo. So in conclusion, spending a bit more to get  a ‘quality’ better rolling tubeless tyre will make you happier riding to work.

 

 

 

[AKH]

I wouldn’t even think of it
I wouldn’t even think of it as a weight saving, I’d be thinking more along the lines of “are supple, high end tyres nicer to ride than cheaper durability focused tyres?”. The answer that that is a definite yes.
To answer the weight question specifically, work out 1.2kg as a percentage of total bike + rider weight. So maybe 1.4% if the all in weight is 85kg. You’ll go about that much quicker uphill. On level ground it’ll make no difference. There will be some miniscule benefits under acceleration, but I’m not sure that’s relevant.

[Author]

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