If there's one thing that obsesses a certain type of cyclist it's weight. An entire part of the industry is based around making things lighter and lighter with the aim of making these particular cyclists feel like they can go faster and faster by simply spending money.
Luckily one doctor with a long commute to kill time with thinking has set out to bring down this entire market. Jeremy Groves had two bikes, one steel and one made of lighter carbon. He rode a random choice of these bikes each day and monitored the time it took him to cover the 15 miles to work. His conclusions are that the weight of the bike made nowhere near as much difference as his fitness. Perhaps finally we can say with some authority that hard work leads to more progress than just throwing money at your bike.
A group of people who might want to pay attention to these findings are the Met Police. It's been revealed that the weight of some bike-mounted officers has been contributing to a large number of broken back wheels on their Smith and Wesson bikes. The Met are investing in new Trek bikes, although maybe they should also be getting the officers to ride a bit more to lose some weight.
In the end, for the rest of us, these findings simply prove that any gains you might make with a new lighter bike at Christmas will be more than cancelled out by the amount you will eat and drink over the festive period.
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