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Spending Big Bucks for a Light Bike? Don’t Forget SHOES
Shoes are rotating weight. And they count every bit as much as the weight of the bike when grinding uphill, except that they are also rotating weight which makes them more important than static frame weight.
I weighed my current Sidi Pro Carbon Road Cycling Shoes with eSoles foot supports against the Giro Prolight SLX shoes.
238g difference = 0.52 pounds
That's over HALF A POUND, or 1/4 pound per foot. I can feel the difference, and my feet are happy, and my SRM power meter says I’m generating just as much power.
Cycling magazines go ape-shit over 1/2 pound savings on a road bike over another model, but can’t figure out that shorts and shoes and jerseys and water bottles add up to a lot more weight. And you’re spinning your feet in circles tens of thousands of times on a long ride.
So get real— 1/2 pound on a bike might cost you $2K or $3K for that fancy new frame, or you can buy a new pair of shoes. And the best place to save weight is on wheels and tires (shoes aside), not the frame.
