bicycle repair Tip How to weigh a bike > Bicycle Repair Tips

 

So today I received this hanging scale which
is actually designed for fishing. It even
has a measuring tape built into it. The reason
I ordered this is because I’m going to use
it to weigh bikes. Sure, the one "Park Tool"
makes is way nicer, but this one is only 10
bucks on Amazon, and comes with dented up
dong batteries…. We’ll test how accurate
it is in a moment. First, let’s try weighing
my BMX. Okay this isn’t going to work. There
we go, this makes much more sense. We’ll
call it 23.8 pounds. That sounds right since
the manufacturer advertises 25, and I’ve
since taken off the brakes and pegs. Let’s
check the accuracy compared to my bathroom
scale. First I’ll step on the scale while
holding my bike, and record the weight. Now
I’ll just weigh myself, and then subtract
that number from the combined weight. My bathroom
scale is giving us 27.6 pounds. I honestly
thought it was a couple of pounds lighter
for some reason. Well let’s check it with
the fish scale.
I’m getting 27.3, which is pretty close
to what the bathroom scale said. We have no
way of knowing which scale is off, but this
is close enough for me. The main reason to
weigh your bike is to check how much you saved
or gained when changing parts. As long as
you’re using the same scale each time, you
can get a reasonably accurate comparison.
Again, this is a $10 scale so we’re not
expecting lab certified accuracy. Let’s
weigh my Inspired Fourplay. I’m guessing
24 pounds. 25.8, I was off by almost two pounds,
but that’s still pretty light for something
so robust. Now for the road bike, which I’m
guessing is 19 pounds. Wow, we’ll call it
18.2, that’s pretty light for an aluminum
road bike, but it is a size small. Now for
Amie’s bike which is made of steel, so I’m
guessing 25 pounds. Whoah, 22.8, again I’m
really surprised. I don’t know why I thought
this bike was so heavy. Now just for fun let’s
weigh my Panasonic, which I figure has got
to be 28 pounds. Wow, let’s call it 25.8,
I’m surprised. So, that was fun. I usually
don’t think too much about weight because
I’m not into racing or riding competitively.
In terms having good control over a bike I
feel like geometry and frame size are much
more important than weight. On a mountain
bike, I’ll usually put my dollars towards
reliability before weight reduction. If you
have the budget to play with though, a scale
can help you keep track of which parts are
saving grams and ounces. Thanks for riding
with me today, and I’ll see you next time.