Why does almost everybody want his bike as light as possible?

No, not every rider is trying to get their bike as light as possible. Almost no one runs titanium parts on their bikes, loads of people ride pegs, etc.

But, yes, having a lighter bike simply makes tricks simpler, that's just a fact.

If you want to do tailwhips with a 25kg bike, be my guest. You're probably not gonna do them on such heavy shit though. Thank fuck bikes got lighter and people can actually push the sport further.

Because science..

Did you just assume my gender?

There's a happy medium between light and strong and that is also affected by one's pocketbook. Light is nice but not at the expense of strength. & while titanium parts are strong, there's a valid argument about their ability to have catastrophic failures. That said, I don't know that I would have complete faith in titanium if I regularly "go big".

Fatalize wrote:

No, not every rider is trying to get their bike as light as possible. Almost no one runs titanium parts on their bikes, loads of people ride pegs, etc.

But, yes, having a lighter bike simply makes tricks simpler, that's just a fact.

If you want to do tailwhips with a 25kg bike, be my guest. You're probably not gonna do them on such heavy shit though. Thank fuck bikes got lighter and people can actually push the sport further.

Haha, will change the title to almost everybody.

Wimps like me couldn't hack it before but now we can, say sump'n bout it

i'd rather have a heavier bike with geometry perfect for me as oppose to a lighter bike with geometry i hate.

You know you're right...

Why all this hate for weight?

Why do you think that everyone wants a light ass bike? Where did you get that information?
I only know 1 guy irl (yes, only 1!!!) who buys the lightest parts possible for his bike. The 15 other people I know off the top off my head just buy parts from brands they like with the geometry and/or features That they like. Myself included. My bike has weighed anywhere from 23lbs to 27lbs and it’s fine both ways. Some parts I have are lighter, some aren’t.

Personally, I prefer a bike a little on the heavier side. But that doesn’t mean I’m going to run archaic old school/mid school parts to achieve a heavy weight.

DanTheBikerMan wrote:

Why do you think that everyone wants a light ass bike? Where did you get that information?
I only know 1 guy irl (yes, only 1!!!) who buys the lightest parts possible for his bike. The 15 other people I know off the top off my head just buy parts from brands they like with the geometry and/or features That they like. Myself included. My bike has weighed anywhere from 23lbs to 27lbs and it’s fine both ways. Some parts I have are lighter, some aren’t.

Personally, I prefer a bike a little on the heavier side. But that doesn’t mean I’m going to run archaic old school/mid school parts to achieve a heavy weight.

Great to hear that.

Light bikes are easier to manuever, period. I started riding in '87 when bikes were light and snapped like twigs, and through the midschool years, when my personal ride weighed 45 lbs.! I had a Morales BTS frame that was like 9.5 lbs. by itself, but you could drive over it with a truck and it wouldn't bend. Now I have 2 bikes that are under 25 lbs. and I'd never go back to anything heavy. There's no point. As for building muscle, BMX never did anything for my upper body. My legs, yeah, but you're not working muscle groups to failure when you're bunnyhopping, etc. Unless that's all you do. Me, I lift weights to stay fit, and I enjoy being able to toss around my light weight but strong BMX bikes. Guess that's just my personal opinion, as someone who spends a crapload on Ti parts, lol.

Light is defiantly better for a lot of reasons. I've heard people say it's pointless to worry about it and, "Its like riding with a few quarters in your pocket."
That is total BULLSHIT. It may sound like solid logic but its not true.

One real positive with a lighter bike is you get tired less easily so you can ride longer.
You can accelerate quicker and easier so less runway is needed for things.
Hopping over stuff is obviously easier.
Not sure what tricks are better with heavier bikes. (Kickouts maybe?)
The average weight for a BMX these days is about 25lbs.

Way back in the mid-school it was considered crazy to have a frame under 7 lbs, and any bike under 30 lbs was considered really light XD.
In the end, a lighter bike is more responsive and easier to manipulate. It's worth dropping some oz's for flat ground 3's alone! They are waaay more fun on a lighter bike it just whips around.
Sure you can take anything too far but, id love to try Scotty Cranmers titanium bike setup or sure.

Interesting Read Here: Its all about bmx Racing but still applicable,
Racers REALLY get into the weight issues >>>>
https://www.rennendesigngroup.com/tech%20talk/January%20ABA%20Article%20Weight.pdf


Also this : WARNING Pixels needed,
Filmed with a potato :

Rotating Weight:




From article:

"Rotating weight is something that many people talk about, but few truly understand. It has to do with the mass of your wheels, more importantly the distribution of that mass on the wheel. Let's say you have two different wheelsets, which both are exactly the same mass. The first has a very heavy hub and has light rims/tires. The second wheel has a really light hubset but has heavy rims/tires. Even though these two wheels are equal in mass they will perform very differently. The second wheelset with the heavy rims/tires will not accelerate very well and will require more power from you in order to reach the same speed as the first wheelset.

As someone whose bike is in the 17lbs I guess I’ll chime in. I just turned 30. Started riding bmx in 2004 with. 35lb Dk step up. My favorite tricks are flairs and Tailwhips. Riding a lighter bike makes everything I love to do so much easier. When I do a single tailwhip the bike literally wants to do a double when I barley kick it. I spun a 900 on my airbag on accident. I pulled a 720 like I did on my chromoly bike and spun more. I haven’t tried a 1080 yet. Saving that for another session.

But I also ride a laird frame so my geometry was picked by me for how I like my bike to feel.

*Looks at my 30+lb bike*

Mulletsnax wrote:

As someone whose bike is in the 17lbs I guess I’ll chime in. I just turned 30. Started riding bmx in 2004 with. 35lb Dk step up. My favorite tricks are flairs and Tailwhips. Riding a lighter bike makes everything I love to do so much easier. When I do a single tailwhip the bike literally wants to do a double when I barley kick it. I spun a 900 on my airbag on accident. I pulled a 720 like I did on my chromoly bike and spun more. I haven’t tried a 1080 yet. Saving that for another session.

But I also ride a laird frame so my geometry was picked by me for how I like my bike to feel.

Thats awesome, do you have a bike check ?

Because men have less testosterone these days

Mulletsnax wrote:

As someone whose bike is in the 17lbs I guess I’ll chime in. I just turned 30. Started riding bmx in 2004 with. 35lb Dk step up. My favorite tricks are flairs and Tailwhips. Riding a lighter bike makes everything I love to do so much easier. When I do a single tailwhip the bike literally wants to do a double when I barley kick it. I spun a 900 on my airbag on accident. I pulled a 720 like I did on my chromoly bike and spun more. I haven’t tried a 1080 yet. Saving that for another session.

But I also ride a laird frame so my geometry was picked by me for how I like my bike to feel.

surrealsickness wrote:

Thats awesome, do you have a bike check ?

I don’t but it’s a typical park bike ha.
Working on some custom ti bars and forks
This picture is old. I’ve switched out a few things like running the old KHE Mac 1.5 tires that you can’t find anywhere anymore ha

I am much more concerned with geo and “feel” than weight. I actually went heavier and wider on my newest rims just because it feels/rides better.

vagabond wrote:

I am much more concerned with geo and “feel” than weight. I actually went heavier and wider on my newest rims just because it feels/rides better.

Same here, wider rims are also way stronger which is my 2nd biggest concern

im running a solid aluminum mag wheel up front and a ph48 out back so i dont think i have much to add

I don't really care how much my bike weighs, as long as it's not a tank. It's definitely lighter than my old next gen dirtbike, and thanks to technology, probably a lot stronger

crustypunk69 wrote:

im running a solid aluminum mag wheel up front and a ph48 out back so i dont think i have much to add

Please reveal this beast. Pics or it didn't happen

younggotti wrote:

Because men have less testosterone these days

How does it feel knowing that Krooked gets more pussy than you ever will?

I dont want a light bike and I dont want a heavy bike either. I do find myself wanting a lil lighter setup after riding consistently for a couple weeks, but that is normal. When Im fresh I like the weight of my setup because i feel like i can crank at boxjumps or quarters and not worry about pulling too hard off the lip like i would with a smaller wheelbase, light park setup.

I ride with a good mix of nitro circus style riders, street riders, new/school street ramp riders and its not really the weight of their bikes that make them good I don think. Its how they were brought up riding bikes that actually suited their riding, or geo that complimented their style, or they adapted to newer school setups. Ive tried riding what they ride but it's not my style, so i dont force it. I grew up on more traditional trail style setups.

Im heading to rays soon with a 20yr old who kills it on street, but rides ramps and does triple whips over box jumps brakeless, then another guy who rides everything who grew up w Sean Burns and has a similar go big style and is almost 40, and a trails rider who flows from NE trails. All diff setups, but all kill it in their own regard. None have light bikes, and the 20 yr old destroys parts, like exploding parts on a monthly basis.

I watched C Arehart, Matt Ray, Chris Childs, Jay Dalton do crazy combos this past week and month. The crazy thing is they all had under 13.5 chainstay, and most are brakeless and hitting the ceiling at the park.(which blows my mind w short chainstay n brakeless) Their bikes arent crazy light but they know how to ride em. And their geo suits what they do, the last 3 run similar setups too.

Its like watching old videos of Osato for example, there's clips of him n Miron filming for American
Muscle. The shit he was doing, is still mind blowing today...And he was doing it on a conservative 45 lb Schwinn. You want it bad enough, your ganna get it done regardless IMO. It's always been like that.

Where did you get this info my bike is really heavy and it's only getting heavier from time to time.

Airpipe wrote:

I have started riding BMX back in the year 2000, so the bikes were much heavier back then and I was building a lot muscles through that. For me BMX now is just a sport, the time I could have turned pro are long gone, still I love to ride my bike mostly every time, at least as long, as I don't get hurt.

Nowadays almost every rider is trying to get their ride as light as possible. Either most riders nowadays don't know that you are building more muscles with heavier bikes, or they are not as physical strong as the riders back then were. I can understand that the pros are riding as light bikes as possible, but if you are like me, who is riding for the sport and the fun, you don't need to pull of a triple tailwhip or a 1080.

I personally do not look that much into saving weight, I am just happy with a strong build in my ride. Bikes are way more reliable nowadays.

So why lifting weights, when a heavier BMX is doing the same and is even much more fun?
(There is one road fools episode out there, where a guy had welded his own bikes out of steel, he has so much muscles. Watch it, it proves my point)

He did not have a lot of muscle. That guy was lean. When a person has a very low body fat content, they look very strong. Doesn't mean they are. Derek Nelson is his name.

As to heavier bikes build muscle, true, you do get stronger, but you also fatigue SO much faster, so sessions tend to be shorter. Lines at a park or wherever are shorter or have more "filler" tricks because you are tired. They are not as comfortable to move around. You also risk hurting yourself by pulling muscles trying to force the bike around. Try riding a light bike for a few weeks, then get back on to a legit heavy setup.

Lifting weights is specifically to condition certain muscles. In some cases, it is to strengthen muscles that were injured and atrophied. In others, it is general fitness to look and feel good/strong, and doing so the correct way. You could be yanking on your bike in a way that is damaging your muscles and not even know it.

Suddenly, you hit 30 and your lower back gives out, causing you to struggle to stand, sit or walk for a week.

I can understand not wanting to go for like 17 lbs, but if you are intentionally trying to source the heaviest stuff out of the thought you will end up mega-strong, you might end up demotivated when you struggle to hop the bike up a 2 foot ledge, and some 10 year old kid does and 180 bars off.

I too don't AIM for the lightest stuff, but if I can shave half a pound and the parts are solid and still in my budget I am going to. I started on a 45 lb bike. Now mine is 23ish? I won't go back into the 30lbs range unless I have zero choice, or a fatbike.

younggotti wrote:

Because men have less testosterone these days

Xxohioanxx wrote:

How does it feel knowing that Krooked gets more pussy than you ever will?

ha, i wouldn't disrespect myself enough to go after the women he must get...i don't pick up women at the dollar store

balance is more important than weight

I'm 36 years old and I pulled a muscle in my back doing some jump last fall, my bike was 28 lbs. I switched to a 23 lbs bike and I can really feel the difference in my back.