Weight Weenies
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For those who think shaving weight of your MTB is easier than loosing body weight! :)
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Passionated by MTB, I create this website to share my research with people. Mon goal : help you out choosing bike components with the value to weight ratio.
Whatever bike you are looking for, your tastes, your practice, your budget, you will find a wide choice of components from more than 200 brands. This website is purely informative and mistakes might be found. Failing to find the rare pearl, I hope you find the content entertaining anyway.
Weight weenies is a cyclist concerned with optimizing the weight of his bike in order to obtain the best performance. This site is not a store and has no sales objective. The goal is to bring together enthusiasts and share information with a community. Show us your bike!
Enjoy your time here!
Bike – utility, leisure or sports, an ideal means of transport !
Bike, short for bicycle, is also known as a velocipede. Its invention dates back to the beginning of the 19th century. Initially without pedal, the propulsion of the cycle was based on the principle of our current balance bikes. The use of the bicycle allowed a considerable reduction in travel time compared to walking. Its marketing experienced real enthusiasm and its practice beacame more democratic, before experiencing a decline in attractiveness at the end of the 19th century due to the number of accidents it generates.
The appearance of the Tour de France at the beginning of the 20th century gave impetus to the cycle industry. It's a real free outdoor show. It makes spectators aware of its use, the bike goes from leisure to sport! Today the Tour de France is broadcast in 190 countries and generates a cumulative number of viewers, over the 3 weeks of its broadcast, of 3.5 billion!
At the same time, the famous arms factory of Saint-Etienne (France) diversified by developing a whole range of velocipedes. The company then became Manufrance and made the use of bicycles accessible to all. Symbol of “Made in France”, renowned for its manufacturing quality, the range of bikes is available according to everyone's budget: from the model for the craftsman / worker to the very high-end model for the wealthiest. This company, flagship of French industry, experienced a gradual decline following the Second World War and the oil shock of the 1970s.
Bike – from velocipede to electric bicycle…
The design of a bicycle remains generally the same:
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Frame
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Fork
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Running gear: set of wheels and tires or tubulars
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Cockpit: handlebar and stem assembly
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Transmission: crankset, chain / belt and cassette / derailleur or gearbox
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Braking system: disc brakes or rims brakes
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Peripherals: pedals, saddle, seat post, etc.
Nevertheless, based on these components, many variations have been created. While it is difficult to completely segment them, here is a brief overview:
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Road bike: use on the road for leisure or sports. Alternatively use as a cyclo-cross bike for specific winter training, cyclo-cross has become a discipline in its own right. It consists of riding on circuits with uneven terrain with a slightly modified road bike.
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Urban bike: utility or leisure use on the road in town or on the outskirts.
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Mountain bike (MTB): sporting or leisure use on uneven paths. This practice is split in different formats depending on the level of commitment needed to ride the paths:
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Cross-country (XC): not very difficult terrain but this discipline requires more endurance and power
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All Mountain or enduro: varied terrain favoring downhill and technical parts
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Downhill (DH): the most spectacular discipline in terms of the terrain difficulty
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All-terrain bike: utility use or leisure travel (hiking or trekking), a mix between an urban bike and mountain bike. It’s now becoming the gravel bike category.
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Electrically-assisted bicycle more commonly known as an electric bicycle: many of the bicycles above are available in an electric version.
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Other bikes: BMX for urban freestyle or track racing, freestyle or slopestyle mountain biking for performing tricks, etc.
After two centuries of transformations, the bicycle continues to evolve. This soft mode of transport will have to face tomorrow challenges, by returning to a local industry, and will perhaps be one of the ecological response for a more virtuous world...