How to weigh a bike

Here's the cheap scale: http://www.sethsbikehacks.com/product/hanging-scale/
And here's a nice one: http://www.sethsbikehacks.com/product/park-tool-scale/

So today I received this hanging scale which is actually designed for fishing. It even has a measuring tape built into it. The reason I ordered this is because I’m going to use it to weigh bikes. Sure, the one park tools makes is way nicer, but this one is only $10 bucks on Amazon, and comes with dented up dong batteries…. We’ll test how accurate it is in a moment.

First, let’s try weighing my BMX. Okay this isn’t going to work. There we go, this makes much more sense. We’ll call it 23.8 pounds. That sounds right since the manufacturer advertises 25, and I’ve since taken off the brakes and pegs.

Let’s check the accuracy compared to my bathroom scale. First I’ll step on the scale while holding my bike, and record the weight. Now I’ll just weigh myself, and then subtract that number from the combined weight. My bathroom scale is giving us 27.6 pounds. I honestly thought it was a couple of pounds lighter for some reason. Well let’s check it with the fish scale. I’m getting 27.3, which is pretty close to what the bathroom scale said. We have no way of knowing which scale is off, but this is close enough for me.

The main reason to weigh your bike is to check how much you saved or gained when changing parts. As long as you’re using the same scale each time, you can get a reasonably accurate comparison. Again, this is a $10 scale so we’re not expecting lab certified accuracy.

Let’s weigh my Inspired Fourplay. I’m guessing 24 pounds. 25.8, I was off by almost two pounds, but that’s still pretty light for something so robust.

Now for the road bike, which I’m guessing is 19 pounds. Wow, we’ll call it 18.2, that’s pretty light for an aluminum road bike, but it is a size small.

Now for Amie’s bike which is made of steel, so I’m guessing 25 pounds. Whoah, 22.8, again I’m really surprised. I don’t know why I thought this bike was so heavy.

Now just for fun let’s weigh my Panasonic, which I figure has got to be 28 pounds. Wow, let’s call it 25.8, I’m surprised.

So, that was fun. I usually don’t think too much about weight because I’m not into racing or riding competitively. In terms having good control over a bike I feel like geometry and frame size are much more important than weight. On a mountain bike, I’ll usually put my dollars towards reliability before weight reduction. If you have the budget to play with though, a scale can help you keep track of which parts are saving grams and ounces.

Thanks for riding with me today, and I’ll see you next time.