Reasonable weight for a MTB?

[Silver940]

Looking at getting a new hardtail soon, not a big budget compared to many on here ( Less than £500 ) but what is a sensible weight to look for. Weighed my old Carrera the other day and it comes in at 36lb's. Many seem to be around the 30lb mark. Is that about typical?

[mk1fan]

Vast majority would not be affected by the weight. Unless you're a skinny whippet then I wouldn't worry about it at all. Test ride a few and pick the one you like the most.

[anonymous-user]

yeah thats about right give or take a pound or two but dont get hung up on weight, by the time you have a camelbak on with a multi tool, a spare tube, some food and a litre of water you are looking at a fair buit more weight.

also manufacturers figures are very sketchy, some weigh them without pedals, some weigh a small frame size etc etc...

[curlie467]

30lbs and under for that budget and you are fine but as others have said, dont get too hung up about it, just get out riding.

[HowMuchLonger]

Weight should only be an issue for people racing.

But to answer you question:
fully rigid sub 20lbs
Hardtail low 20s

There are some sub 16lb hard tails out there but these will cost lots and lots of money. They will also be unrideable unless you weigh next to nothing.

[Comfortably Dumb]

As others have said around 130 newtons should be fine if you're using it on Earth: you might want to look for something of a lower weight if you're planning to use it on the moon...

[Silver940]

Thanks all!

[nammynake]

I partially agree with the above comments but disagree that light bikes are only for racers. A lighter bike is simply more enjoyable to ride over long distances as you don't have to haul as much metal around. I recently changed bikes and the drop of 4 lbs is immediately noticeable and makes my rides even more enjoyable. Obviously it's a personal thing and your fitness will be more influential than the weight of your bike. As a rough guide though you should be looking at 30 lbs max.

[Beyond Rational]

I wouldn't go by set rules when looking at £500 bikes; I'd much prefer a 32lb bike with a lighter wheelset and a decent coil fork to a bike lighter in other areas with a sub standard air sprung offering. I'd also rather have a stiffer frame than a noodley offering.

[h0b0]

I noticed the difference when I went to a lighter bike a few years ago so I prefer to go lighter. My current bike is full suspension an is 28.8lbs according to the manufacturer and I have just weighed it (on our bathroom scales so don't tell the wife) at 30lbs. That include a saddle bag and a tool so pretty accurate from the manufacturers numbers.

With a relatively low budget though I would be suspicious of where the bug weight savings are being made so in your case I wouldn't get hung up on it.

[Ironballs]

About 30 pounds will be fine, you can fret all day long about saving a few grams here and there (pounds/grams? must have a word with myself). You can save far more weight by ensuring you have a good dump before your ride

[Silver940]

Current bike is 36 pounds!

[dudleybloke]

go old skool and get a grifter.
300lb of good old british pig iron!