Your frame may be a little heavy, but I'm guessing that most of the "excess" weight is tied up in things like heavy seats, bottom backets (I bet you have one of those old shimano 2 pound jobbies) seatposts and stems. Those are parts that you can probably get used and shave a pound or two off without much expense. Hell, I have a couple of light stems (threaded and threadless) that I'm willing to send if you know what size you need. If there is a bike swap nearby, you can probably pick some that stuff up for less than $10. Sure, weight isn't the most important thing, but if you can shave a couple of pounds off for what it would cost to go out for a dinner you don't need, it sounds like a plan to me.

If you train daily, you deserve the lightest, fastest equipment you can get your hands on.

Ziva, I'd say that 23 lbs is a tank, 20 is average, and under 18 is good. And I'm talking about size 56, yours should be lighter. Go get yourself a new bicycle. You deserve it!

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''Sweeney - you can both crush your AG *and* cruise in dead last!! 😂 '' Murphy's Law

I wish that I could get my bike DOWN to 23 lbs. But then again I ride and ancient Softride Power V and have made zero efforts to go lightweight on any of my components. It's a combination of feeling that aero trumps weight and being cheap.

My 2002 Fondriest Megalu weighs 27lbs pre IM loaded (water bottles empty).

- 54 Aluminium frame.

- Shimano 105's.

- Profile Carbon-X.

- X-Lab Saddle wing.

- Duke wheels.

Including rib crushing wipe-out at the 20km mark, breaking two ribs and tearing cartlidge , squeezed out a 6.07 ( including transition ) at IMWA.

Just got a Blade as a gift to myself. Can't wait to see the difference.

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"You are never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream" - Les Brown
"Discipline is the bridge between goals and accomplishment" - Jim Rohn

Lightweight bikes ARE more fun, even if it is tough to prove they're faster. They accelerate faster, and thats more of a kick in the pants than a heavier bike that will roll a bit longer. They also go uphill faster than a heavier one, and its more fun to inflict pain on your buds on hills than anywhere else.

You can debate whether the weight savings is worth the sacrifice in durability (or even whether there IS a sacrifice), you can debate whether your money would be better spent on your retirement or on race entry fees or maybe Gatorade for that matter. But very few people opt for heavier bikes given the choice.

Your lightweight body is a great candidate for a lightweight bike.

I'm 140 pounds, and my 51cm Calfee weighs 15.6 pounds. It is by far the most enjoyable thing I've ever ridden, its done several IMs and it is my daily training bike. That thing is rock solid.

Your 23 pound bike is hugely heavy. I bet if you list out the exact components we can shave quite a few pounds without sacrificing too many greenbacks.

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Elivis needs boats.

heavy bikes build character. I won some of my most convincing victories on a 25 lb bike, and I only weighed about 130 being on a 54cm. Get out and train, get some lightweight wheels, and lett'r' rip!!!

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Call me Big Dick

"Lightweight bikes ARE more fun, even if it is tough to prove ....."

The biggest advantages of lightweight bikes are they're easier to lift into your mini-van, move around, carry up stairs, etc. These factors outweigh any miniscule performance advantages.

OK, let's see how many lbs you can find:

Component-wise I am riding what the bike came with when I bought it in 98. Only things I switched are the stem and seat. It's a cromoly steel frame, size 49.

Campy Mirage wheel hubs on Mavic Cxp21 rims

Campy Mirage cranks/shift levers/derailleurs

Campy Avanti breaks

Seat is a Selle Italia SLR trans-am gel flow, the seatpost is not identifiable, something in aluminum (I hope it's not steel)

Profile design 60mm H20 quill stem.

Your Steven Seiler link was an example of 'classic' physiology data, it's always based on a 70kg man.

I wonder what the result would be if they compared the 23vs17lbs bikes riden by a 50kg woman? Do you think there would be a larger time difference in lbs vs weight? The much smaller woman would already present less drag with her frontal area than the man to begin with, but the bike weights (23lbs and 17lbs) would represent about 5% more compared to her body weight. What would the results be with a 100kg man? Does the relative bike weight vs body weight make a difference, or is it the absolute bike weight only that is important? I would assume a heavier bike would be a lot harder for a smaller person to accelerate, and vice versa, making a considerable difference in a non-TT format race.

Would you happen to have a link re: lighter/more aero wheels?

Those wheels are boat-anchors. Probably well over 2000g...

If you have one of those behind-the-saddle bottle launchers...you can drop a lb just by going to frame cages.

The H20 stem is a boat anchor (though it is dependable and rock solid)...you can pick up a Ritchey WCS for $20 or so on Ebay if you are patient...drops about 1/4 lb off the H2O and is still reliable...

Your bars are probably heavy as well...again...Ritchey WCS is easy to find fairly cheap...

Its a 1998 low-end cro-moly frame...you are going to have a tough time getting that bike very light, at least for any reasonable amount of $...the frame itself is probably 4.5 lbs ...and the fork is probably at least 1.5 lbs That's 6lbs total...at least...the light bikes everyone is talking about here are coming in well under 4 lbs for frame and fork...some as light as 3 lbs.

Frankly...if the bike is working for you, fit wise...the only thing I'd do is get a decent set of wheels...the rest can wait until you upgrade the entire bike...

Lets just start with the saddle. Yours clocks in at 278g. The same saddle without the gel - 135g. Thats 5 ounces. Brakes - campy avantis 388 each! Get yourself an old pair of Records and you can save another 6 ounces. You can shed the rest of that first pound with a wipperman chain.

Assuming the seatpost is average, that puts it at about 300g. Get a Thomson Masterpiece - nice, light, very good clamping mechanism - shave another 150 grams or 5.5 ounces.

We're doing this on a budget, so shift levers are probably out of range but they're heavy suckers, too.

Pedals can be a huge savings in weight. You don't mention what you're on but I ride on titanium Speedplays and they're so light as to not even bother mentioning. (but $$). I bet another half pound goes there. Your stem is extremely heavy, but I don't think its the most wise move to save weight on the stem.

Handlebars - you didn't mention, TTT prima bars are not that expensive and they're very lightweight, they compare well with easton carbon bars. big savings can be found in light bars. I bet that rear cassette is no feather either.

To get really freaky - which is ridiculous considering your chromoly frame, weight weenies like me even go with lightweight bar tape and cable housing, bottle cages, even nuts and bolts, but we think of lightbikes as a hobby in itself, hunting for light stuff is like antiquing for sedentary folks.

I bet we could reasonably get your bike under 20 pounds with a well placed $600, but you'd be better off investing it in a new bike.

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Elivis needs boats.

Thanks guys,

that pretty much answers it.

$600 is a little less than I payed for the bike, no way will I invest that much into something that may not make more than 1min difference in a race.

I will ride the tank, until I upgrade my motor. :)

Thanks to all

Z