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    Tour de France Pro Bikes are HEAVY! Here’s Why…



    Surely a lighter bike is a faster bike? If so, then why do pro bikes often weigh more than yours and mine? The simple answer would be aerodynamics, but is there more to it than that?

    In this video, we tell you why weight doesn’t always matter, at least for WorldTour pros.

    Do you prefer a heavier aero bike or a lightweight bike? Let us know in the comments 👇

    #tourdefrance #cycling #lightweight

    Chapters
    00:00 Intro
    00:27 How Much Do Pro Bikes Weigh?
    02:28 Why Are Pro Bikes So Heavy?
    04:59 Why Did Weight Become So Important?
    06:55 Will The UCI Weight Limit Ever Change?
    08:09 Will Rim Brakes Return?
    08:51 Why Don’t Pros Ride Lighter Bikes?

    Image Credits:
    JASPER JACOBS / Contributor
    ANNE-CHRISTINE POUJOULAT / Contributor
    Michael Steele / Staff
    Tim de Waele / Staff
    Chris Graythen / Staff
    Marka / Contributor
    Matt Turner / Staff
    KENZO TRIBOUILLARD / Contributor
    Gary M. Prior / Staff
    Jean-Yves Ruszniewski / Contributor
    STRINGER / Contributor
    Keystone / Stringer
    MARCO BERTORELLO / Contributor
    Andreas Rentz / Staff
    Bryn Lennon / Staff
    RvS.Media/Basile Barbey / Contributor
    Michael Steele / Staff
    Dario Belingheri / Stringer

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    Related

    View 44 Comments

    44 Comments

    4. Jonathan Z on

      Brand won’t start building light bikes again if the limit goes away. Do you remember the tarmac sl7 recall, or the canyon aeroad stop ride recall? If there was any way to make them lighter without being weaker they would. The negative publicity risk is too great.

    5. iMadrid on

      Pro bikes are heavier today because that’s what their equipment sponsors tells teams to ride.

      There are no more rim brake pro bikes today because the groupset makers no longer provides that option for you on high end electronic groupsets.

    6. XxxxTxTxxxX on

      They are not heavy 7,5kg is not heavy, especially on flat stages where it don't even matter. But the reason some bikes weight more than the others, is simply manufacturers. Bikes cost money, and bike parts and components cost money. If you aren't the best of the best, you can't modify your bike with all the expensive stuff. You go aero, or lightweight. Pogacar has some 3d printed carbon stuff on his bike to make it close to the UCI weight limit. Vingegaard also has his bike modified to be close to the limit. I'd guess many of the GC riders have some stuff done to their bikes. At the highest level, if you are in a team but not the GC rider, then usually you opt for the more aero bike, since you need all the help you can get to pull your team, or group or whatever.

    9. The Bull and Terrier on

      It’s worth remembering that the weight quoted by manufacturers are for bikes without pedals, bottle cages etc, when pro bikes are weighed they have these things fitted, meaning they’re 3-400 grams heavier than the quoted weights we’re used to.

    10. chrisjie on

      Because manufacturers force them, so they can sell more technology that is useless for road cycling such as disc brakes for 2-3 times the price.

    12. Patrick Lino on

      Pro Bikes are heavy because they are NOT using the same retail-spec level frames as us mere mortals. The amount of wear and tear pro riders put on their frames, you can imagine that the frames are reinforced with a different carbon layup.

    16. X on

      What most people dont understand is that riders must consider 2 factors against their power input. Weight and aero drag. Weight is a constant regarless of the speed but aero increase the faster you go. Putting it simple it will be ideal to have a light bike in the mountain stages but the faster you go the more drag you face, since most areas are flat or with little % hills then is better to have an aero bike. If TDF was a pure uphill race then lightness will be the priority.

    19. James Moros on

      Lol, try 9.8 kg then add pedals and 2 water bottles and your looking at 11-12 kg that’s what the majority of Aero rd bikes weigh in the local group ride. 😂

    20. Magic Knight on

      My S3 is about 7.9Kg with 60mm wheels, lighter with my Durace c24s of course but doesn't look right 🙂 When i let non cyclists pick it up they are stunned at how light it is compared to their bike at home. Picking it up with one finger always impresses.

    26. Leo on

      Welcome to Newton's first Law of Inertia.

      Heavier bikes will hold their momentum easier .. GCN did a video on this regarding heavier aero wheels

    31. richard carr on

      LITE WEIGHT ALL DAY LONG aero may help on flat stages but THAT more to do with you on the bike and aero wheels ,40mm MAX ,maybe oval downtube . l still feel disc brakes lock up too fast and cause more crashes watching the close up videos of TDF proves it !! Disc brakes require way tire contact grip to be safe on a road bike something gravel/MTB bikes provide !! Now l know disc brakes on wet raods n carbon wheels work better BUT l argue then use alloy wheels ,there s still lightweight options that work great with RIM BRAKES they have for decades !!

    32. richard carr on

      ALL THIS AERO ,DISC hard to work on BRAKES ,CARBON EVERYTHING is too expensive ,unsafe for us average cyclists !! ITS ALL SALES GIMICKS TO STEAL YOUR MONEY . GO BUY A GREAT USED RACE STYLE BIKE FROM 10 YRS ago or more 7kg or less for a fraction the price and have fun first !!

    33. Zaahier Stanley on

      They say 1kg is around 7 watts. Uphill it matters for sure … It's basic science. In a bunch better wheels helps and weight could matter less. The GC riders go for the lightest bikes as we see now. They trying to shave off every gram and massive costs using components

    34. dan hug hes on

      Disks ! Disks ! Disks ! It’s because weight got under 6k and ballast had to be re added. Thus add disks and heavier frames cope with disks and he presto. Re set weight game. Now it’s just under 8kilo. Performance bike. That’s a good 5-7 years get back to 6kilo or the 6.8 UCI for a mid range road bike.

    42. Reymon Reyes on

      7+ kg bike is already heavy? My previous road bike was 11+ kg, when I built a new steel bike that weighs just over 10 kg and it already feels light for me.

    44. Alex Peuhs on

      If you watched the Tour, you might have noticed Israel Premier Tech did not ride the newly released O2 VAM on the mountain stages. Michael Woods rode the Ostro VAM on his way to the win up Puy de Dome. They didn't even ride them on the queen stage. I paid very close attention to this because I own an Ostro VAM and wanted to see the new O2 VAM in action. I could only assume the Ostro is a stiffer bike and they were able to get it down to an acceptable weight. Not much of a vote of confidence for the climbing bike from a pro sponsored team.

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