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.

[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

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!

[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

signed,
extremely jealous in Norway

yes very hobbit like

[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... 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... 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


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... )

[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...

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