Whenever I read about people shopping for a new bike, or planning to upgrade their current one, a main concern is weight. I knew that this was an important issue for roadies, but was mildly surprised when I first encountered this in mountain biking. I mean – why worry about a few hundred grams?
Many of those who are concerned are racers, and they feel that weight matters. Of course, the lighter, more high-tech the parts, the more expensive they are. When the discussion of weight vs. budget comes up on mountain bike forums (namely, the MTBR forums), one piece of advice that is always offered to the biker looking to drop grams from his (or her) ride without having to spend the cash to do so is: stop eating so much and ride more. The idea being, of course, that the body weight one loses will make up for the slightly heavier bike.
As for me, while I do need a new set of cranks, I am not very concerned about weight on my bike; let’s face it – I ride a single speed and am already past the race-age! However, I do worry about body weight, and in the last year or two, I’ve gained a few kilograms. And I realize it’s not just winter fat, and not going to go away overnight – so, I’ve had to start taking steps to reverse the trend. The major step is that I’ve quit drinking. Sad, but true. I realize I just can’t afford the extra 600 to 800 calories a day that alcohol was providing. My goal is to lose three kilos, and I think with the calorie reduction, coupled with regular rides, I should be able to achieve this within a few months.
4 comments:
I feel your pain. My goal this summer is to drop at least 3 kilos maybe 4 if I can swing it. Swim, bike, run - well lots of running and the other two to mix it up a bit. Keep us abreast of how it goes. Remember though it's about lifestyle not weight loss. Just losing pounds isn't of any use if you can't keep them off. Personally I would keep some booze and drop some meat from the diet. You only need about fifty grams of protein a day and by reducing meat you get reduce the fats that go with it.
Gotta love that Bernicky. Especially the "drop the meat and keep the alcohol" advice!
Hmmm...that IS good advice, and very tempting. But since I don't really eat much meat, I suppose I'll have to give up the potato chips:-)
If you don't race, then weight is not really an issue. Some people enjo climbing as fast as they can, even if they don't race, and they may still want to have a super light bike.
Some people just like cool, trick parts. If they don't mind spending more money, more power to them.
Weight is relative. If you have two people who both weigh the same, whether it is 250 lbs or 150 lbs, then the one with the lighter bike will climb faster is they are of roughly the same strength.
Post a Comment