I had a friend buy the new all carbon Kestrel talon . He said they told him it was a 17 lb bike. It had Dura ace 10 speed everything, aero bars,bar end shifters, zipp 404. Does anyone know where to find the weights for duraace tribikes where weights are listed for a comparison? I know arodynamics is what you look for on a tri bike . It makes me wonder why this shop sold a tri bike by talking weight and not how slippery it is through the air. They told him they could get the weight down to 16 pounds. Sounds very light for a tri bike.
www.weightweenies.starbike.com Has a lot of component weights but you will need to add it all up.
You can, indeed, make these bikes very light. The 404s go A LOOOOOONG way to reducing the weight. My SL with DA 9, Hed aero bars, SLR saddle, and H3s comes in at 17.4 lbs. Swap out to the Alps and I’m down to just over 17. If I slapped a pair of 404s on there I’d be well within the 16s. And that is with using the boat-anchor aero post. Now that I’ve dialed in my position I’m going to swap out that post with a USE Alien and drop about a 1/2 of a pound. That said, when I’m set up full race with the Renn 575 and H3 front wheelset I’m at about 17.55 lbs. That is a reasonably light. . . very durable. . .and very rideable bike. I could definitely drop the weight with a 909 set and new seat post to about 16 something and still have a very durable, very rideable bike.
BUT. . .you are correct in that the weight is not an overriding concern for most of us on our tri bikes. Of course, aero also takes a back seat as well. . .in Tom D’s immortal words. . .“Its the FIT. . .Stupid!” To be fair, though. . . its far, far easier to market to the weight and aero weenies.