Weights of MTBs?

I'm not a new cyclist but am new to mountain biking. Being used to the weights of road bikes, obviously mountain bikes are in a completely different ballpark. I've ridden a few times with a friend who has an older full-suspension bike that is slightly lighter than my entry-level hardtail (a Novara Bonita), and she flies by me on the hills. Yes, part of that is simply aerobic fitness, to be sure, but she weighs more than me and has a slightly lighter bike, so that's part of it too.

So, I got curious and weighed my bike today. 32 lbs (33.5 with my seatbag)! Oh my. Now I know why I have trouble even getting it into the back of my Honda Element! My road bikes weigh in at 18-21 lbs, and I knew my MTB was heavy, but I had no idea how bad it was. I'd always heard how "light" hardtails were! Guess that's true only at a certain price point. :confused:

So, I started looking around online at various sites, and it seems to be almost impossible to find weights for mountain bikes on the manufacturer's sites. For instance, I looked at some of the women's Specialized Stumpjumpers, no weights given. Same for Santa Cruz Juliana, though it's called "Superlight". How does one find out the weights for mountain bikes? And, is a, say $1200 hardtail going to be lighter than a more expensive ($2000-3000) full suspension, just because it's a hardtail? Does a Stumpjumper weigh less than a Juliana, or a Titus Race X? Or do they weigh less even though they're full-susp, because they're pricier and have a better component line?

I guess what it really comes down to for me is that I know I am going to need to upgrade eventually, and my gut tells me I want a full-suspension for comfort, but is a quality hardtail going to be lighter than a quality fullie? If I did upgrade to a nicer hardtail, I would want to put a (heavy) Thudbuster seatpost on it for comfort, as the trails around here have roots and rocks, and I am no spring chicken (age 45). So I have to add the seatpost weight into the equation.

I weigh 103-105, so I can't lose much weight to help with this situation, either!

Any advice welcome. And if you know the weight of your bike, I'd be interested to hear what it is. I'm just trying to educate myself here! :confused:

Thanks much,
Emily

I have a fs, all mountain, Marin, just under 32 pounds, I weigh 113. Yikes. I am currently shopping for a lighter bike. Then, look out.............

light and fast....................


Ha Ha Ha Ha:p :p :p :p :p :p :p :p

Ruth

I've got a 16" Giant Trance 3. It weighs 13.5kg (29.76lb) and that's with a oversize hussefelt bar & stem (heavier than stock easton ea30) and Panaracer Fire XC typres (heavier than the stock bulldogs).
I reckon that's pretty darn good as my entry level hardtail weighed about the same (but it was half the price of the Trance - it was a Specialized Hardrock Comp 01 model 17").
My husbands Specialized Hardrock Comp 19" weighs 13.5kg (29.76lb) but it has an alloy rack for a baby seat on it at the moment.

So to complicate things obviously it also depends on the frame size - that will affect the weight of the bike. I know I could lighten the Trance up by getting differen wheelset and other bits and peices, but for me it's not worth the expense, it only would be if I was into serious racing which I'm not.

Hardtails at the same price point will weigh less because they generally come with better components (fork & wheelset). Some brands frames are heavier than others also (The Trance & Reign are said to be on the heavy side frame wise).

It's easy to drop 1 - 2lb in weight simply by buying a better fork. Next biggest place to save is generally tyres & wheels, stem, bar, seatpost and I think after that it's fiddly & expensive. Mind you the fork & wheels are the two most expensive components to save weight on so usually people will change the stem, bar etc first.

From what I understand I reckon around 30lb for a dually is respectable, 28lb is considered very much on the light side, and 33lb is getting towards the heavy side. I don't think I'd want my Trance to weigh much more than 14kg (31lb). I think my old Wallmart type bike used to weigh around 41lb!

For a longer travel duallie (more than 4's) I would expect weight of 31lb plus - probably more around 33lb.

But hey I'm definitely no weight weenie. Well not yet anyway.

I just converted my weight from kg's to lb's and got a shock 58kg seems light to me but turns out to equal 128lb! Now that sounds heavy!

My Titus Racer X is around 22-23 lbs. I think the lbs told me it weighed 24 lbs but I changed the stock wheels to Cane Creek Zonos and shaved some weight.

Mtn bikes are like road bikes, lighter components and wheels shave a lot of weight off the bike.