A seven-pound bicycle?

Posted at 02:45PM on Mar 28, 2008 by web

It boggles the mind.

James over at [Bicycle Design] has a blog entry on the world's first [7-pound road bicycle]. Check it out if you dare. Racing types and amateur 'weight weenies' have been shaving grams off their rides for decades, replacing solid-but-heavy steel with aluminum, titanium, and exotic carbon composites. These replacements don't come cheap. This guy's custom wheels would run you fifteen thousand dollars. But let's get back to the seven-pound part of this story.

Most bikes on the road are well above twenty pounds. A twenty-pound bike is a light city bike. If you own a 'cruiser' style bike you probably push around thirty pounds or more. Bikes, at least the ones we see in the city, just don't weigh anything near seven pounds.

What does weigh seven pounds? I've provided some photos for reference. This is Cream Puff, a seven-pound calico cat with a loving new owner:

This is a nine-pound newborn baby. Mine, actually. (He weighs more now):

Try to picture flying up Saint-Laurent on either of these creatures. Now imagine hefting one onto your shoulder as you head up some stairs. See? Boggles the mind.