Unveiling the Weighty Battle of WorldTour Pro Bikes: Light as Feathers vs. Heavy Hitters on the Road to Victory

Cycling as a sport has revolutionized significantly. Gone are the days when cyclists would just get onto some random bikes and try their best to pedal through with force. In recent times, athletes have been equipped with the most updated technologies and equipment to help them perform better. Ranking at the top of the chart are the state-of-the-art bikes. 

Every manufacturer is on a mission to produce the latest and best bikes to cater to the needs of the athletes. The variable that is considered as the most important is how lightweight and speedy the bikes are. While the minimum weight of a bike stated by the UCI is 6.8kg, surprisingly, not many manufacturers are able to get even close to the cut-off weight. On this note, to determine the heaviest and the most lightweight cycles, a recent survey was conducted that weighed all the bikes used at the Santos Tour Down Under. 

The heaviest and the lightweight bikes of the World Tour 

An interesting scrutiny conducted by Ollie and Alex from GCN revealed a shocking truth. Contrary to expectations, most of the bikes weighed way more than 7kg. Even the team that manufactured the most lightweight bike weighed in at just a few grams shy of the 7kg mark. 

This is quite contrary to what the scenario was five years ago. Back in the day, the bikes constantly had to be redesigned to make them heavier as they failed to touch the designated 6.8kg mark. 

However, the increase in weight can be attributed to some new-age additions to the bikes in order to make them more tech-savvy. These include non-tubular tyres, the addition of disc brakes, and aerodynamic optimization. Such a technology more or less takes the weight factor of the bikes out of the picture without affecting the performance. 

Getting straight to work, the representatives weighed each of the 18 bikes from all the teams who are currently participating in the men’s world. So, without further ado, let’s dive into revealing the winner of the most lightweight bike. 

Here’s a list of the bikes and their weights: 

1. Bora-Hansgrohe / Specialized SL8 / 6.98kg
2. Groupama-FDJ / Wilier Filante SLR / 7.08kg
3. Soudal Quick-Step / Specialized SL8 / 7.17kg
4. Jayco AlUla / Giant Propel / 7.24kg 
5. DSM-Firmenich PostNL / Scott Foil / 7.28kg
6. Cofidis / Look 795 Blade RS / 7.32kg 
7. Ineos Grenadiers / Pinarello Dogma F / 7.35kg 
8. UAE Team Emirates / Colnago V4RS / 7.4kg 
9. Arkéa-B&B Hotels / Bianchi Specialissima / 7.41kg
10. Bahrain Victorious / Merida Reacto / 7.43kg 
11. Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale / Van Rysel RSR / 7.45kg 
12. Alpecin-Deceuninck / Canyon Ultimate / 7.48kg 
13. Movistar / Canyon Aeroad / 7.54kg
14. Astana Qazaqstan / Wilier Filante SLR / 7.57kg
15. Visma-Lease a Bike / Cervélo S5 / 7.59kg
16. Lidl-Trek / Trek Madone / 7.61kg
17. Intermarché-Wanty / Cube Litening Aero / 7.76kg
18. EF Education-EasyPost / Cannondale SystemSix / 7.78kg

With these results, most of you must be wondering, how much of a difference can the weight of a bike make in a crucial race?

Lightweight or Heavyweight- Does it make a difference? 

The difference of a kilogram between a heavyweight bicycle and a lightweight one may seem substantial. But the exact impact that this difference of a kilogram might have on the peloton was taken up by chemist turned cyclist Ollie, Oliver Bridgewood. He calculated the difference it would have for a 70 kg rider while competing in the Tour de France’s iconic climb at Alpe d’Huez at an output of approximately 6 watts per kilogram.

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The results did not turn out to be groundbreaking, yet it might drastically alter the final outcome. With the same power, the heavier bike would require 26 seconds more than the lighter one to complete the ride. Thus, a mere 4-watt difference can make a major impact.

This impact might not be noticeable for a single climb, but the final outcome of a complete tour might get altered for these minor differences.

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