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Whenever i see things like this, i immediatly think "Audiophile". you know, the $238 "Directionally balanced" Ethernet cables, or the "low oxygen" copper. Onc

Whenever i see things like this, i immediatly think "Audiophile". you know, the $238 "Directionally balanced" Ethernet cables, or the "low oxygen" copper. Once people take their hobby too far, you will end up with things like this. For $2K you can buy our (exotic and unnecessarily expensive metal) chain, which reduces friction to 0 and lasts forever. I ride a fair amount (150-200KM a week in the summers) and am always surprized to see everything on a bike is measured in grams, except the biggest impact, the rider itself? Sure i shaved 4g on my $400 waterbottle holder.... but when i weight 80KG.. and have another 2kg of water with me, does that 4g really matter?

iambateman 6y ago
It’s not odd for a professional rider to optimize to that level, though. The article spent most of the words focused on high-performance racing.
loeg 6y ago
This is more like "random concept car" / F1 than audiophilia. The idea here, if it is sound and measures well, is basically only useful to track racers (because they race single-speed bicycles). Current chains are extremely efficient, and mostly compatible at the same nominal width (expressed as 10-speed, 11-speed, 12-speed). And they are very cheap. People do spend absurd money shaving grams on bikes, but this product is not really in that space. It requires an IGH or a single-speed and isn't compatible with any other high-end drivetrain components on the market. That's a non-starter even for the people spending $15k on a bicycle. Here's a better "audiophile" example in vogue in cycling at the moment: ceramic bearings. These cost a lot more than high-quality steel bearings and quickly become less efficient than steel ones because the hard ceramic bearing destroys the softer steel races.
- kevin_thibedeau 6y ago
  It can also have industrial applications if their claims are true. That's a bigger market than a single bicycling niche.
deleted 6y ago
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lanius 6y ago
>Sure i shaved 4g on my $400 waterbottle holder.... but when i weight 80KG.. and have another 2kg of water with me, does that 4g really matter? Plus don't cycling competitions set a minimum bike weight anyways?
KSteffensen 6y ago
It requires less effort to buy a $400 waterbottle holder than to change your diet to loose a couple of kilos. And you can show off gear, you can't show off weight loss.
- patrec 6y ago
  Not being overweight is nowadays a prime status marker, so you can absolutely show it off! Once you start shaving off 4g at a time, it's probably time to switch to gear though.

iambateman 6y ago

It’s not odd for a professional rider to optimize to that level, though. The article spent most of the words focused on high-performance racing.

loeg 6y ago

This is more like "random concept car" / F1 than audiophilia. The idea here, if it is sound and measures well, is basically only useful to track racers (because they race single-speed bicycles). Current chains are extremely efficient, and mostly compatible at the same nominal width (expressed as 10-speed, 11-speed, 12-speed). And they are very cheap. People do spend absurd money shaving grams on bikes, but this product is not really in that space. It requires an IGH or a single-speed and isn't compatible with any other high-end drivetrain components on the market. That's a non-starter even for the people spending $15k on a bicycle. Here's a better "audiophile" example in vogue in cycling at the moment: ceramic bearings. These cost a lot more than high-quality steel bearings and quickly become less efficient than steel ones because the hard ceramic bearing destroys the softer steel races.

kevin_thibedeau 6y ago
It can also have industrial applications if their claims are true. That's a bigger market than a single bicycling niche.

deleted 6y ago

[deleted]

lanius 6y ago

>Sure i shaved 4g on my $400 waterbottle holder.... but when i weight 80KG.. and have another 2kg of water with me, does that 4g really matter? Plus don't cycling competitions set a minimum bike weight anyways?

KSteffensen 6y ago

It requires less effort to buy a $400 waterbottle holder than to change your diet to loose a couple of kilos. And you can show off gear, you can't show off weight loss.

patrec 6y ago
Not being overweight is nowadays a prime status marker, so you can absolutely show it off! Once you start shaving off 4g at a time, it's probably time to switch to gear though.