I was browsing through my Facebook timeline yesterday when an article on BikeRumor.com caught my eye.
14.37lb Scott Scale SL – With Pedals, Bottle Cage & Bar Ends!
When I clicked on the link…I was greeted with this…
His Scott Scale SL race bike registers at just 6.52kg (14.37lbs) complete with pedals, bottle cage, bar ends and Acros’ hydraulic shifting system.
Don’t get me wrong…I am an obsessed cyclist to the max. Hell…I even started a website just so I could dive into the craziness in my head even more. But, there comes a time when obsession is counter productive to actually riding.
Yes, a mountain bike can be too light.
In this case, the bike is actually so light that it doesn’t accomplish the main goal…being ride-able. I have ridden a lot of mountain bikes. At one point in time, I actually even had an 18 pound custom steel hard tail…and I hated every second of it.
Unlike with road bikes, when you lighten up a mountain bike to the extreme, you actually decrease the ride quality of the bike to such an extreme that the decreased ride characteristics actually overtake the benefits you get from the weight savings. In simplier terms…the bike rides like such crap on the trail (unless it is so groomed you could ride a road bike on it) that you end up fighting for traction more. In turn, you lose the efficiency that you thought you gained by going crazy light to begin with.
This doesn’t even take into consideration the amount of money it takes to get to this weight or the replacement cost of simple components. You also get to multiply out that you have basically made the bike fragile further increasing the need to only taking it out on super groomed trails…like forest service roads (which even the gravel can be extremely dangerous to those wheels).
So I ask…what is the point other than having a bike to show off in forums? I don’t see any. This bike is ridiculous and not in a good way. This is just another case of online weight weenie contests that have no real practical application. If you are interested in the specs…they are below. You will notice he even when with the insanely expensive hydraulic shifting…
For this rider, this bike is everything that mountain biking is supposed to not be.
Frame: SCOTT SCALE SL
Headset: TUNE BUBU custom made
Stem: AX LIGHTNESS custom air brush painted 100mm
Fork: DT Swiss XRC Twin shoot custom brushed
Handlebar: Schmolke SL 600mm custom brushed
Barends: SLB CUSstom 90g
Grips: Extralite
Crank : THM Clavicula 42/32
Chainring: Carbon Ti
Cassette: SRAM XX 11-36
Chain: YBN TITAN
Seat:Parts od Passion
Seatpost: Schmolke TLO 400mm custom
Brake: Magura MT 8
Brakerotor: HOPE Race Edition
Derailleurs: Acros A GE
Bottle Cage: Tune
ALL Bolts and screws are made: Titan /ALU /bottecage carbon
Rims: AX Lightweight tubular brushed
Hubs: TUNE Princess SKYLINE
Hub: Tune Dezibel custom
Spokes: Sapin Superspoke carbon laminated