# Ever ridden a really light racing bicycle? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [July 26, 2005, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-ridden-a-really-light-racing-bicycle/314263 "2005-07-26T17:53:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Evil\_Captor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f17d59/32.png) [@Evil\_Captor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Captor)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2005, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-ridden-a-really-light-racing-bicycle/314263/21 "2005-07-27T18:13:47Z")
> [@Rick](#): > > **Evil Captor** Where the hell were you riding? I go an average of 500 miles between flats on my road bike. I can live with that. Just some suburban streets around Atlanta. Neither paved with gold nor paved with caltrips. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Lance\_Murdoch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/47e85d/32.png) [@Captain\_Lance\_Murdoch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Lance_Murdoch)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2005, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-ridden-a-really-light-racing-bicycle/314263/22 "2005-07-27T20:18:06Z")
I used to have constant problems with flats on a road bike I had 15 years ago. I have a new one this year and have had no issues with it. I think the technology has improved a great deal. Look for a liner between the rim and the inner-tube. I got an aluminum/carbon frame this year and it has worked really well for me. It cost under a thousand bucks, so it’s not anywhere near TdF worthy, but it’s a pretty good ride. If I were to race someone on a cheap Wal-Mart type bike I’d kill them though. Those bikes are so heavy and have so many other negatives that it would really slow you down. ---
**Author:** ![Dag\_Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@Dag\_Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dag_Otto)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2005, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-ridden-a-really-light-racing-bicycle/314263/23 "2005-07-27T20:38:40Z")
> [@Knorf](#): > > Sure, if you rarely ride it and never crash it. Again, you don’t know what you are talking about. While a crash can certainly take out any bike, normal training and racing will not hurt it at all. I raced my last bike, a Masi 3V with True Temper OX3 tubing (not near as tough as a 531 frame) for 10 years, put about 60,000 miles on it in that time, and had my share of crashes. Your claim that _“an elite racer’s bike is not meant to last for longer than at most a 3-week stage race”_ is just flat out wrong. As **casdave** pointed out, the bikes need to be able to take some abuse. Do you really think that anyone is going to descend on narrow mountain roads at 60 mph on a bike that isn’t meant to last for more than 3,000 miles? ---
**Author:** ![Dag\_Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@Dag\_Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dag_Otto)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2005, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-ridden-a-really-light-racing-bicycle/314263/24 "2005-07-27T20:52:51Z")
Since I’m pointing out that you are wrong, I’ll have to include this: > [@Knorf](#): > > For example, the difference in weight my bike’s frame (a steel, Chromium-Molybdenum alloy frame) versus a comparable carbon-fiber frame is maybe 2 lbs. > > That is less than the weight of one full 20oz water bottle. So, a 20 ounce water bottle tops out at over 2 pounds, huh? ---
**Author:** ![Rick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9f8e36/32.png) [@Rick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2005, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-ridden-a-really-light-racing-bicycle/314263/25 "2005-07-27T21:31:25Z")
Sure, a pint’s a pound the world around. so 16 oz = weighs 16 oz. Now if you fill the last 4 ozs with heavy water… 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Dag\_Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@Dag\_Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dag_Otto)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2005, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-ridden-a-really-light-racing-bicycle/314263/26 "2005-07-27T21:35:32Z")
Sure. Besides, this isn’t GQ, so I guess my last post was a bit out of line. ---
**Author:** ![DougC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7feea3/32.png) [@DougC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DougC)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2005, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-ridden-a-really-light-racing-bicycle/314263/27 "2005-07-28T01:38:17Z")
- - - Anyway-- uh, , , -I really think that the lightness of the wheels/tires causes the bike to feel “lively”. Not necessarily to cause much improvement over the long run, as a heavier bike will (in theory) have more intertia and coast more. …But when you stand on a light upright bike and pedal, you get the feeling of the bike surging forward under you. This is a lot like the difference in feel you get with a MTB, when you first try riding it with 2-wide+heavy knobby tires, and then switch to narrower 1.3-inch slicks. So I’d bet it’s mostly a perception of the weight of the wheels and tires. ~ ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Captor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f17d59/32.png) [@Evil\_Captor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Captor)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2005, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-ridden-a-really-light-racing-bicycle/314263/28 "2005-07-29T02:08:54Z")
I have to lose … ahem … SEVERAL racing bicycle’s worth of weight before the weight of the bike makes a bit of difference, so I get to keep riding the cheap bikes! And they said there were no upsides to being overweight. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-ridden-a-really-light-racing-bicycle/314263.md?page=1)