If you read the marketing materials for any new road bike launch, you’ll always find a line telling you how incredibly light it is.
And yet, every year, when we go to the Tour de France – the biggest and most important bike race of the year – we very rarely see bikes that hit pro cycling’s minimum bike weight of 6.8kg.
So what’s going on? In this video, Simon reveals the average weight of a pro bike in 2026 and why, almost three decades after road cycling’s minimum bike weight rule was imposed, so many brands still can’t make a bike that hits that limit ready-to-ride.
Listen to the BikeRadar Podcast
👉 https://www.bikeradar.com/bikeradar-podcast/
Follow BikeRadar on our social media channels:
👉 https://instagram.com/bikeradar
👉 https://facebook.com/bikeradar
👉 https://twitter.com/bikeradar
BikeRadar is supported by Mountain Biking UK and Cycling Plus Magazine –For more information and to subscribe please visit
👉 https://bit.ly/3nMr3Rn
For more content like this see our latest subscription offer –
👉 https://www.cyclingplus.com/subscribe-today/
👉 https://www.mbuk.com/subscribe-today/
24 Comments
I'd happily give up 200 grams for one of those awesome custom paint jobs that I drool over on my Instagram reel.
after 7.28 minutes later, the question still not answered properly.
Could it be…because it doesn't really matter? Makes the Wiebes fiasco seem even stupider, no? And then there's the pendulum – one decade it's weight, the next it's "aero". Rinse, repeat.
Bikes used must be commercially available? Name ONE time this rule has been enforced. How would the UCI even know if Pogacar's bike was a one-off, made-to-measure special just for him? These things are never revealed until years later when nobody cares….2008 World Road Champion's bike for example?
Low weight is actually quite overrated. It only matters slightly during acceleration. But when riding consistently, 500g or even a kilo plus it minus doesn't do much.
It does makes sense that pros would prefer a heavier bike. They’re pushing about twice the watts as most amateurs and ride at much higher speeds.
Vingegaard lost almost as much time in the descent in stage 6 this Tour than during the initial attack on the climb. I suspect the handling of the vittoria tires on their very wide wheels plays a part, they are not grippy nor confidence inspiring. Rider confidence matters
I'd be very happy with a 7.4kg bike. That's at least a full kilo lighter than my bike.
People will argue it, but weight does matter. It always will. Lighter bikes just feel better. This video fails to address the reason why. The numbers are still impressive. You have to acknowledge that the rules were made when bikes had rim brakes, which are much lighter. Go back 10-15 years ago. Many teams had to add weights to their bikes because the bikes were underweight. In came disc brakes. A disc brake Dura Ace bike used to weigh around what a rim brake 105 bike weighed. Tech has shaved off quite a bit of weight from disc brake bikes while they remain safe to ride. We can't ignore that
Because putting your bike at 6.8 risk getting disqualified
Disc brakes killed road bikes 😢
My aluminum Trek Emonda ALR5 weighs 16 pound ready to ride, minus my Garmin 1030 Plus head unit but with the mount and sensors and a light for safety. No water bottle but with water bottle cage.
Ultimately, it indicates that bike weight is not as important as other variables. 200g may make a slight measurable distance on a big climb, but otherwise it's negligible compared to aerodynamics, tyre drag, etc.
I watched a video a while back where Josh from Silca said that manufacturers weigh bikes after they come off the production line and decide which box to stick them in. I.e. this one’s an S-Works/this one’s a regular… 🤯Not sure how true that is, but what I can tell you for sure is I bought a discounted “fact 9” (as opposed to 10 for the “Pro” and 12 for the “S-Works”) Tarmac SL7 after the SL8 had come out and after changing the group set and wheels to match a “Pro” version, it now weighs less than an S-Works…
Also, my bike fitter designs and builds bikes and told me that a lot of the time the pros prefer heavier carbon layups because the bikes are more compliant/comfortable over long distances… Again, just people talking, but I wouldn’t be surprised if Evenepole’s SL9 is a regular old “Specialized” with an S-Works badge…
I stopped caring about bike weight a long time ago. My bike would be listed as 7.8kg on a website in my size, but once I add 350g pedals, a 700g water bottle and cage, a 150g of Garmin and mount, another 600g of under-saddle bag with a spare tube/mini-pump/multi-tool/quick-link/glueless patch kit it is no longer 7.8kg.
Should I leave my 225g phone behind? What about my 150g keychain with my house keys and bike store keys? There's definitely 400g of breakfast and 200g of coffee in my intestines, as well as anything I didn't donate to the porcelain throne from yesterday. Which shoes should I use, the 700g ones or the 500g ones? Do I need to bring gels or energy bars at 40-60g each?
So yeah, 7.8kg is a pointless number because for a typical ride I need pedals, water, and essential spares. I'm going to include the shoes too since it's an SPD system and you can't really use the pedals without them. My 7.8kg bike is actually 11.0kg and that doesn't matter because I'm a 193cm, 88kg sasquatch with the aero profile of an aircraft hangar.
Tells you everything wrong with the cycling industry/ media when a bike still under 8kg is still viewed as heavy………A reminder, it's not.
It's in the rules.
Why because it makes sense for the UCI because of safety. If the manufacturers don't have to chase each last gram for an atvantage, they can make the important bits stronger.
Useless disc brakes
it weighs more because of the hidden motor in the seat post
I'll tell you, lightweight is overrated.
What possible gain you could have on the ascent you'll lose on the descent compared to a decently light aero bike.
The racing teams have to use sponsored gear. They can't just use an ultra-light saddle from another company or a small-batch carbon crank.
If it's a common trope that pros get "special" bikes with custom geometry and/or improved carbon layup and/or whatever, why do so many people claim that unlike motorsports, the everyday cyclist can race the "same" bikes that the pros race?
I entered the road cycling "scene" a couple of years ago, heard/read the you-can-ride-what-the-pros-ride claim early, and the immediate bullshit aroma smelled worse than the typical Uber driver.
this video could literally have been 2min long for the same amount of information
these bikes are all heavy because they have e-motors in them.
Shimano cranks are too heavy, but there are sponsors so no way to ditch them.
So it must be internal motor doping if this guy can't explain it in more than 7 minutes