Frame weight in proper perspective: Bikefanclub.com

I came across an article on the Rivendell Bicycle Works web site and sent an email asking for permission to post it on web boards. I was given permission to freely post it. This puts frame weights into a perspective most people will agree with and clarify somthing about the industry quest for lower frame weights.

?The campaign to sell light weight relies heavily on the misleading practice of comparing frame weights and converting the difference to a percentage?this frame is 30 percent lighter than that one, and so on. Consider: A 2.8-pound carbon fiber frame is 35 percent lighter than a 4.25-pound steel frame. That 35 percent sounds like a lot, but you can?t ride a frame. Add 17 pounds of parts to each frame to make them bikes, and now the difference (21.25lb vs. 19.8lb) shrinks to 7 percent. But what?s a bike without a rider? Add a 170 lb rider, and now the difference (191.25lb vs. 189.8 pounds) is just three quarters of one percent?and you give up longevity to get it.?

Rivendell Bicycle Works