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The cost of bicycle weight saving

Published: 22 April 2011
Last updated: 06 March 2023
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The price of bicycle weight savings

I would like to determine what amount of money is still useful to invest into bike weight reduction. Lightweight bikes of less than 10kg, in the upmarket, cost about € 200/kg. The last kilos weight reduction are paid dearly. The price difference of a 9kg bike and a 10kg bike can be € 500/kg. When replacing bike parts for lighter ones, an investment between €200/kg and €500/kg is thus reasonable. In comparison, the aeronautics industry is willing to spend 250 to 750 Euros for every kilogram saved.

Every little bit helps

Sometimes we can realize somewhere a weight reduction of 50g. This does not seem much, but 50g is substantial. You have to do this only 10 times to reduce the weight 0.5 kg. If we want to spend €500 per kilo weight saving, then a weight saving of 50g should not cost more than €25.

An example of a lightweight tube

What may a light weight tube cost more than an ordinary one. The Schwalbe tube SV18 weighs 105g and costs € 8.10. An ordinary tube weighs 200g and costs € 4. The extra costs are just € 40/kg, which is far less than €200/kg. Thus, it is sure a useful investment.

Example: the cost of weight savings of a Shimano XTR disk brake set

I wanted to know if it makes sense to buy the lighter Shimano XTR disc brake set instead of the Deore XT.

  • Flat mount Shimano Deore XT BL-M8100 + BR-M8110
  • Flat mount Shimano XTR BL-M9100 + BR-M9100

Cost of weight savings of a Shimano XTR disk brake setCost of weight savings of a Shimano XTR disk brake set

The weight difference is 563g-420g=143g
The price difference €392-€207=€185

The weight saving therefore costs €185 / 143g = €1300/kg, which is much more than the maximum of 500/kg and is therefore too expensive.

Lightweight high pressure bicycle hand pump Lezyne Road Drive M

Mini hand pumps save weight, but most of them are unsuitable to pump up bicycle tires hard enough. CO2 tire inflators are small and lightweight, but you need many cartridges to play it safe on a trip. In the world of mini hand pumps there are however some exceptions that work well: for instance the Lezyne Road Drive M. It has a weight of just 96g and you can pump up a tire without extreme effort to 8 bar. Due to the use of a rubber hose, the pump is easy to use too.

The price of bicycle weight savingsThe price of bicycle weight savings

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