A 7-pound road bike

I have posted about lightweight bikes in the past, most notably a sub 7 pound Crumpton fixed gear. A 7-pound fixie is one thing, but a 7-pound complete road bike is just unbelievable. German cyclist Gunter Mai built just such a bike (3195 grams to be exact) and claims to ride it up to 1,000 kilometers a week. Read more about Gunter’s bike including the component specs at this VeloNews tech article.

Gunter’s bike may be custom all the way, but like me most of you probably ride stock bikes. If you own a bike from one of the big manufacturers and you are wondering where it was made, check out this site. Not all bike manufacturers are included, but it is a pretty comprehensive list and it is quite interesting to read. I should note that by posting this I am not implying that any bikes or brands are inferior just because they are made in Asia. Giant makes some great bikes under their own brand and for other brands in their Taiwanese and Chinese factories. I am certainly not bothered by the fact that my own Specialized S-Works road bike was made in Taiwan out of Italian tubing. As long as the frame is well designed and well made, the country of origin doesn’t matter that much to me. Still, it is better to know ahead of time than to find out after your purchase that your beloved Spanish or Italian racing bike actually was born in Asia. It is always better for manufacturers to be forthcoming.

Photo credit: Nils Wiedemann for VeloNews


Posted

in

by

Comments

13 responses to “A 7-pound road bike”

  1. Ron Avatar
    Ron

    I agree with you. As long as design and manufacturing are excellent, where a bicycle comes from hardly matters.

    I liked the bicycle make link, I think they missed out on Lynskey Ti Bikes.

  2. Ron Avatar
    Ron

    And BH, Argon 18,Wilier!! Premier models..

  3. Fritz Avatar
    Fritz

    More here on Gunter’s 7 lb bike. His clothes probably weight more than the bike does.

  4. erik k Avatar
    erik k

    interesting post, I would love to see what that bike rides like, I would probably have to ride it with a different saddle though, I think I can handle the weight penalty, hey not only is that a world record bike but the wheel set he is rolling on is also worlds lightest

  5. Ron Avatar
    Ron

    Fritz,

    I had noticed the link before. The bike looks very scary. The big picture I want to ask this guy is “WHATS the point?!”

  6. jimmythefly Avatar
    jimmythefly

    Hmm, the lightest track bike seems easier to judge than this..Downtube shifters? 6-speed cassette? Certainly this is an amazing bike, but part of me feels that not having at least 9 cogs in back is a little like cheating. Plus, those wheels are only certified for his 150lbs, so even if I had the money I couldn’t hope to replicate this bike and use it!

  7. Anonymous Avatar
    Anonymous

    Dude that is a light-ass bike! more

  8. C Avatar
    C

    I question how durable it is for daily use. The 6 speed cluster isn’t an issue – people who object to that don’t know what they’re talking about (Merckx used 5 cogs and it didn’t seem to get in his way!)

    However, tubular tires and an alloy cassette are not exactly what you’d call durable enough for daily use. Most alloy cassettes I’ve seen are only good for maybe 5,000km assuming you keep the chain in pristine shape. They’re fine for time trials and racing but not for daily use.

  9. Jimmythefly Avatar
    Jimmythefly

    Just to be clear, I’m not concerned that a 6-speed casette isn’t enough gearing, nor that downtube shifters are unuseable. It’s just that as this sort of thing becomes a competition for the lightest bike, the “rules” get a bit blurred. I know they’re aren’t any hard and fast rules, and making an objective set for something like useability and durability would be near-impossible anyhows. We’re already hearing talk of downhill racing bikes that are good for only a few runs, and without the UCI’s weight minimum, we’d have the same in road bikes, too.

  10. bikesgonewild Avatar
    bikesgonewild

    …james…i am SO one of THE long winded guys on yer site but i’ve only got one question here…

    …how many of you would wanna regularly scream down a twisty mountain descent while maybe hitting speeds of 50 mph on the straightaways, on a 7 lb bicycle ???…

    …thank you !!!…

  11. Victor Avatar
    Victor

    To each his own I guess but I cannot imagine commuting anywhere on a 7 pound bicycle. My daily driver (lugged steel fixed gear conversion road bike) weighs 3 times that and it suits me just fine.

  12. mathew watson Avatar
    mathew watson

    7 pounds..its really light..can it withstand human weight..

  13. […] indeed. I have touched on this subject on the blog before, and I agree that it is time to dispel the myth that Asian […]

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *