Jun 22

Racing Bikes Lighter Than Ever Before

Its an amazing fact but sometimes in road racing, a few grams can mean the difference between winning and losing. Pro cyclists are on very strict diets and watch their weight very carefully, but the racing bikes also need to pretty trim. Over the years the weight of time trials bikes had dropped quite dramatically, around 50g average over 5 years. This may not sound a lot but it the racing world it’s huge. So what are the latest developments to come on scene, aimed at shaving another few pounds off?

Carbon fiber shoes. When it comes to cycle clothing, light and strong is the key. Racers want their shoes to be very firm so that none of the energy that they generate is lost and instead all past into the crank. Traditionally there has been a tossup between using hard materials which were usually heavy or lighter ones that softer and not as effective. New carbon fiber shoes however solve the problem by being very light but also incredibly strong

Lightest spokes. Spokes may look pretty small and insignificant but the combined weight of all of them can make quite a difference. Some spokes are now being made out of carbon fiber but they have to be thicker in order to have adequate strength. The preferred option is now titanium spokes Zipp wheels now use and can be made to the same size steel ones, but are around half the weight.

Carbon fiber bikes. The ultimate in performance racing is the bike made almost completely from carbon fiber. As mentioned previously, this makes the bike incredibly strong but does not compromise on weight. Riders report that the ride comfort is also superb on carbon bikes, which bodes well if you are having to cover made kilometers on them at a time.where carbon fiber does currently slip up is the price of the stuff. Until the price of carbon fiber comes down dramatically, it will always the material of the elite.

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