Component weight
The new parts are in. As you can see, Bryce has inspected the new Maxxis Hookworm tires. I asked him if they were Bryce approved, and he nodded yes.
Something that shows up a lot in cycling-related blogs is concerns about weight. Road bike guys go crazy about weight. It makes me giggle when I see a road bike person that has clearly spent some money on their light ride but could drop 20 lbs. from themselves, but I digress.
The 2003 Main Street Pedicab Classic is my sport rickshaw. It’s notably lighter than the Rickshaw I’ve had for half a decade now. It’s also more capable (stability, high speed handling, brakes, gearing). So, when I went to order parts, was I thinking “How much is that going to weigh?” No. I’m more concerned about function and look, in that order.
Still, this a cycling blog, so I should weigh parts at least once, right?! Why not. Here’s a few:
| Component | Weight each | Qty. | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Maxxis Hookworm Tire | 2lbs 6oz | 3 | 7lbs 2oz |
| Wald 5 inch rise handlebar | 1lbs 8oz | 1 | 1lbs 8oz |
| Ergon grip | 2.9oz | 2 | 6oz (rounded) |
I’m not taking the shifter out of the packaging to weigh it, so there you go. Three tires, handlebar, and grips weigh in at nine pounds.
Let’s compare to some road bike component weights I grabbed from Weight Weenies:
| Component | Weight each |
|---|---|
| Maxxis Hookworm Tire | 2lbs 6oz |
| Maxxis Xenith Equipe Legere | 148g (5.2oz) |
| Difference in Weight | 2lbs 0.8oz |
| Component | Weight each |
|---|---|
| Wald 5 inch rise handlebar | 1lbs 8oz |
| Kestrel EMS Pro/SL (42 cm (c-c)) | 175.7g (6.2oz) |
| Difference in Weight | 1lbs 1.8oz |
So, notably less weight for both. Sure the road bike parts are also far smaller, but the priorities are different. Still, my handlebars weigh over three an a half times what the road bike ones do, and each Hookworm tire weighs about seven and a half times what a road bike tire from the same company weighs.
Road bikes don’t have the added weight of a third wheel, let alone passengers. The priorities are different.