Reducing weight... what about my hair?

[RoadRaven]

So... when I start to get really pedantic about weight on the bike, and the extra weight I could get rid of when going up a hill...

well... how much does hair weigh? Mine is quite thick and is longish, sitting between/past my shoulderblades...

And what about on a hot day when I sweat - or a wet day when it rains?

How much does wet hair weigh?

Should I chop it all off again?

[KnottedYet]

I chopped mine off so I had very nifty lil' butchy 1 1/2 inch red spikes.

Can't say I noticed it speeding me up any, but it sure kept the barber in business. (had to maintain the cut every month.)

Longer hair is cheaper for me, only getting it cut once or twice a year now.

[LBTC]

I cut my hair twice last year, taking off a total of 24 inches or so; and kept both braids. We weighed them together and they totaled, dry, approx. 17 grams.

Personally, I'd rather save the money at the hairdresser and keep the long hair if it feels comfortable enough when you ride. No point in cutting it unless you *want* to.

Hugs and light butterflies,
~T~

[Dianyla]

I have ankle-length hair that is quite thick and coarse. It weighs about 14 ounces (~395 g).

I still think it's more convenient to just lose a pound of fat or water weight. :rolleyes:

[lph]

Thick, ankle-length hair?! Wow!!

Mine is very fine, curly and shoulderlength, and no amount of pampering will convince it to grow any longer. I was born to look like a hobbit :p

signed,
extremely jealous in Norway

[mimitabby]

THICK ANKLE LENGTH HAIR?? In my DREAMS!!

I have envied you all my life. I can remember when i was 5 years old, when another little girl had thick fat braids and i had... well, pigtails... and now
I can't even grow it long.


Yes, thanks for posting here; your hair isn't going to slow you down, unless
it gets caught in your spokes!

:eek: :eek: :eek:

[madscot13]

Thick, ankle-length hair?! Wow!!

Mine is very fine, curly and shoulderlength, and no amount of pampering will convince it to grow any longer. I was born to look like a hobbit :p

signed,
extremely jealous in Norway

yes very hobbit like

[RoadRaven]

So... dry, hair doesn't weigh much... might see if I can find out how much more wet hair weighs...


Thanks for the responses, hobbits'n'all!
:p

[bcipam]

Road...that is probably the most "weight weinie" question I have ever heard! Instead of chopping off that beautiful hair can you lose a 1/2 lb instead??? If I could, I would proudly wear my thick beautiful hair - long! :-)

[RoadRaven]

BC - cracked up when i read your post!!!
:D :) :D :) :D
I know its a bit "anal" but (here comes the justification!) my hair is long, and thick, and when wet must weigh alot, and when climbing a hill every kilogram makes significant seconds difference - enough to mean being a leeetle bit dropped but still in with a chance... or completely irrevocably dropped....

I want to get to the point where I can keep up on hills... if the hair weight was significant I'd lose it. Def easier to lose hair then weight... (although I am slowly dropping my weight... but it takes soooo loooong!

[Dianyla]

Well, why don't you weigh your hair then? I weigh mine by leaning my head near a kitchen scale (the kind that just do oz/g) and letting my hair lay on the balance. You could compare wet vs. dry weight, as well. Also, compare the weight of your hair to the weight of everything else on your bike and your person.

For cycling, I'm much less anal about weight. But.. backpacking! That's when my inner gram weenie comes out to play. I have a backpack inventory with every piece of gear weighed on my kitchen scale down to the ounce. Then, when I'm looking for something to reduce or eliminate, I know where the big pig items are at. Other people I know just randomly chuck stuff out of their backpack until the weight feels right, but they're often eliminating the wrong gear.

Anyways, if it's really about the gram weenie thing then do the measurements and see how it fits into the big picture. But, maybe it's not about that. I kinda get the impression that you're interested in chopping your hair off and enjoying a daringly short haircut, but you're looking for the justification to take the plunge. I say go do what you want, who cares if it only saves you a few dozen grams? It's just hair, and it'll grow back! :D

[RoadRaven]

:( No scales in my kitchen

I did send an email yesterday to the hairdressing tutors on campus - but they don't know!!!

Am getting a trim and tidy on Monday - so will ask my hairdresser!!!

I am just really interested now... been thinking about it too long and I WANT an answer!

LOL Dianyla... I have had "daringly short"haircuts before... in 1996, at the ripe old age of 31, to celebrate my graduation (DipTeach) I had a number 1! My classmates didn't believe I was gonna do it... but I did!

It was the best haircut ever - no need to brush, no products - excellent (though I did need to wear scarves on mild summer days til I adapted!

[Kano]

So I've been thinking about this wet hair thing -- if we sweat and get our hair soggy, yes, it may weigh more than it did while it was dry, but the sweat WAS inside of us before it got on our hair, so we're not really changing weight at all, y'know?

My hair's not real long (yet) but I don't notice that the part outside my helmet stays very damp except for the bit that's secured in the pony tail holder -- though that could be a desert kind of thing?

Karen in Boise

[RoadRaven]

DOH!
You are soooo right Kano!
Half of my question is redundant!

But... what about when it rains... hair holds that moisture and it wasn't there to begin with....

Hmmm.... tricky?

[Kano]

DOH!
You are soooo right Kano!
Half of my question is redundant!

But... what about when it rains... hair holds that moisture and it wasn't there to begin with....

Hmmm.... tricky?

Doesn't happen here in Boise -- but I think if it did, I'd free the pony tail for a bit and let the wind handle it!

Hmmm, but if it rains, your clothes also gets wet, going to ride nekkid to avoid tha weight?

Rainy conditions adda new dimension to road safety as well...

Karen in Boise

[RoadRaven]

Hmmm... you might be on to something here, Kano...

If I bike nekkid, not only would I be lighter but I would give everyone else such a fright it would throw them off their game! ;)

So... always train with clothes on because you carry that extra weight...

:rolleyes: And always race nekkid (except for helmet and gloves of course! got to have some decorum, and riding a bike without a helmet would just feel wrong!) because not only will I be seconds faster with reduced weight, but everyone else in the pack will lose valuable time/momentum being stunned and I will be able to make a clean break...

Oh, and as I type... I just realised, it would be a huge time advantage in toilet stops too! ;) (In fact, you could do the Tour de France thing, and not even get off the bike - that could ensure the gap stays big too!!!!
ROFLMFAO

*Rave wanders away thoughfully.... hmmm.... :cool: I don't think there's anything in BikeNZ rules or UCI regs stipulating you HAVE to wear clothes, just what clothing you are NOT allowed...*

[csr1210]

Too funny - I am rofl about potty stops (and stunning the competition)- what a great solution;)

[annie]

If you ride fast enough - sans clothing and hair -- they won't even see that you're naked!! You'll be a blur of motion! LOL!

Seriously, here's what I think about the hair. It won't make enough of a diff to be noticeable. BUT, but, but! It could make you FEEL faster and more dedicated to speed! And part of this is mental, you know. If you feel faster and think faster, in all likelihood, you will ride faster. Besides, hair will grow back. Why not give it a try?

Annie

[RoadRaven]

LOL Annie... I think I am leaning towards chopping it off, you are so right - so much competitive stuff is mental... not just physical...

...but prolly not til our spring/summer... its too darn cold to lose my natural warmth at the moment! ;)

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Don't forget to take out your false teeth and your glass eye before a race...and of course leave the gel-filled WonderBra at home...

[RoadRaven]

Don't have false teeth, or glasses or glass eye or any prosthetics...

But... if I take this further... mebbe if a shave off :eek: ALL :eek: body hair... you know, turn up to a race like Pink in Pink Floyds "The Wall" :cool: - not only would I freak everyone out, but I must - surely MUST be lighter!!!

:D

[Starfish]

What about a colonic purge with a quick refill of Gu? :p

[Kano]

Well, now, how about making sure to exfoliate all over the night before the race too -- all those dead skin cells, you know...

Oh, and wax your arms, and well, let's see, where else do you have body hair???

Karen in Boise

[Caecilia]

Eyelashes and eyebrows definitely have to go, then. And can you trim your nails just a bit farther? :)

FWIW, I have the hobbit hair too - once it gets an inch or two below my shoulders, it stops growing longer and just gets bushier. Last month I had a few inches chopped off and the rest thinned. Two days later at my weekly weigh-in, I was down four pounds! Usual is 1-1.5, so I figure about 2.5 pounds of that was hair.

[rapid cycler]

OK, cycling isn't the totality of my reasoning for keeping my head shorn, but the lack of helmet hair is a nice side benefit.

[RoadRaven]

Rapid... I had that haircut about 9 years ago - it was brilliant. I wasn't cycling, but it brilliant!

DaqDaq... my hair sits between my shoulders at the moment. For training rides and bunch road races I just tie it in a ponytail, and I also wear a head band or tie a silk scark as if it were a head band. That way i don't get hair flicking into my face.

In a Time Trial I plait it and tie it in a sort-of-bun, then I have a wide silk scarf I tie right over my hair to hold everything in place and (hopefully) increase my aerodynamics.


As for the wieght of hair - its actually hard to find this out.
I have found that one person believes her hair, which reached down to the middle of her back (a bit longer than mine) weighed 1/4 of a pound. So thats like a quarterpounder... not worth worring about really... Someone else thought 1/2 a pound...

OK... so maybe I stop obsessing... :p BUT!!! how much water does hair hold? Not my sweat... as kano already so wisely pointed out, I was already carrying that with me... but when it rains, how much 'extra' do I carry with me in my hair???

Hmmmm... no need for me to relinquish my anal-retentiveness about this YET!
;)

[Eden]

OK... so maybe I stop obsessing... :p BUT!!! how much water does hair hold? Not my sweat... as kano already so wisely pointed out, I was already carrying that with me... but when it rains, how much 'extra' do I carry with me in my hair???

Hmmmm... no need for me to relinquish my anal-retentiveness about this YET!
;)

Well looking at the bicycle speed and power calculator ( http://www.kreuzotter.de/english/espeed.htm ) a 1/2 lb loss in weight for me on a long climb would mean about a minute difference in my climbing speed (I've used a 24.5 mile, 4,300 foot race that I do in September as my example since that's where weight is likely to play the biggest role for me - on a flat course I doubt this would make a difference...) hmmmm maybe I should try to find a lighter stem - and cut my hair
(yup on the flats it would take about 12 extra pounds to make a 1 minute difference in my speed over 24.5 miles)

[smilingcat]

Well looking at the bicycle speed and power calculator ( http://www.kreuzotter.de/english/espeed.htm ) a 1/2 lb loss in weight for me on a long climb would mean about a minute difference in my climbing speed (I've used a 24.5 mile, 4,300 foot race that I do in September as my example since that's where weight is likely to play the biggest role for me - on a flat course I doubt this would make a difference...) hmmmm maybe I should try to find a lighter stem - and cut my hair
(yup on the flats it would take about 12 extra pounds to make a 1 minute difference in my speed over 24.5 miles)

dump excess water out your water bottle and get a new bottle at the top of your climb. You want to be out of water totally near the top of your climb but still hydrated. And this also assume that you can get a fresh bottle of water at the top.

quart is roughly a liter, which is a kilo or 2.2lb so a pint would weigh whopping 1.1lb. Serious weight in them water bottles :eek:


BTW love that Rapidcylcer's ORBEA ... I wish my ORBEA was the same model... snif..

Smilingcat

[RoadRaven]

OK... I have been meaning to BUMP this thread for a while now...

Just before the Road Cycling Nationals last year (October 2007) my son (competing in U17 time trial and road race) asked me to cut his hair. I think this decision was based on aerodynamics rather than weight.

I really didn't want too, he looked great with long hair... It was down between his shoulders... measuring from the base of his hairline on his neck it was just on 10cm long.

So I gave him a number 4... arrrgh... it was hard...

But we gathered it all up and weighed it. Dry it was 250grams.
Unfortunately, it was thrown out before I could weigh it wet :(

So there you go... 1/2pound or 250grams if your hair is below your shoulders (and dry)...

[RoadRaven]

Well looking at the bicycle speed and power calculator ( http://www.kreuzotter.de/english/espeed.htm ) a 1/2 lb loss in weight for me on a long climb would mean about a minute difference in my climbing speed (I've used a 24.5 mile, 4,300 foot race that I do in September as my example since that's where weight is likely to play the biggest role for me - on a flat course I doubt this would make a difference...) hmmmm maybe I should try to find a lighter stem - and cut my hair
(yup on the flats it would take about 12 extra pounds to make a 1 minute difference in my speed over 24.5 miles)

Well... 1/2pound of hair gone from my son...
Its official - if you want to be even faster up those hills Eden, your gonna be cutting your hair!

[lph]

ok, Raven, there has GOT to be a big difference in how much hair weighs. I have shoulderlength hair too, and bunching it up in my hand I can barely FEEL it! There is just no way this fluffy stuff weighs 250 grams.

(On the other hand, on majorly frizzy days it'll swell up all afrolike and could pose a serious threat to aerodynamics... hm... :D )

[Andrea]

I chopped all of mine off so that I wouldn't have to wear it in a pony tail when I rode. I've never gone back- I looooove having short hair, although a couple of my lesbian friends started calling me a cl*t tease...:D

Here's a pic- it's a bit dark, but it's the only decent one I've got

http://a131.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images01/34/l_e7f70d3038a7f277f0e754efd43a049a.jpg

[RoadRaven]

Well, my son's hair is thick, but very fine. I was really surprised that it weighed that much.

Also, LPH, his hair was not to his shoulders, it was between his shoulders blades, so there will have been maybe twice (?) the hair you have...


Andrea... whats the tat on your back? Looks big but I can't quite work it out... foliage? or something's hair?

[Andrea]

Andrea... whats the tat on your back? Looks big but I can't quite work it out... foliage? or something's hair?
It's a phoenix! I just got it finished a few weeks ago and posted it up here: http://forums.teamestrogen.com/showthread.php?t=20440

[RoadRaven]

OK... I just went to the thread... I remember reading it now, but the pic wouldn't load for me then. It loaded today - that is stunning! I love the "wisps" backgrounding it - they complete it.

And that will be why your website is andreaandthephoenix... although it wont load for me today... gargh, the hassles of dial-up... :mad: