LESS IS MORE

... MARGINAL LOSSES - HOW SMALL WEIGHT REDUCTIONS HERE AND THERE CAN ADD UP TO BIG GAINS ...

- Hannah Bussey

The simple equation of power overweight is an inescapable limiter for our ability to climb hills. We all need more power and less weight in order to climb faster, that's where training comes in. But the weight of the bike you’re riding (and everything you’re wearing) is also a factor. So how can you realistically limit that weight? From where on the bike should and could you lose that weight, what will that cost, and how much difference will it make?

Since the invention of the bicycle, the desire to reduce excess ballast has been consistent. A rough history of the bicycle frame material timeline would read something like wood, steel, lighter steel, aluminum, titanium and carbon fibre, with each material jockeying for ‘the lightest yet’ title when introduced to the cycling world. Engineering processes have come a long way since then, making lightweight bikes and components much more commonplace. It seems that anyone, with a degree from the University of YouTube, can make a bike or bike bits as bespoke and as lightweight as imaginable.

The importance of safety is partly why we have the UCI and its regulations, namely Principle 1.3. and its various articles, most of which are there to prevent us riding human torpedoes, made in garden sheds, down mountain ranges with no guarantee that it will reach the bottom still in one piece.

It’s these principles that also prevent you buying unsafe products.