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I was wondering if any one has an idea of how much more weight a larger size bike weighs. Specifically S-works Tarmac. So for example what would the difference in weight be between a 56 compared to a 61? 100g, 400g any idea?

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    Perhaps you could explain what possible difference it could make. Are you considering purchasing a mis-sized bike in order to shave 40 grams?
    – Daniel R Hicks
    Commented Nov 3, 2015 at 12:49
  • @DanielRHicks that's ok I am sure you can make a smaller frame fit with a 140 mm stem! No negatives on weight distribution or handling either. /s
    – Rider_X
    Commented Nov 3, 2015 at 13:38
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    I'd rather ride a 20 kilo gaspipe frame than a lightweight frame that is too small, at least after the first half-hour.
    – Criggie ♦
    Commented Nov 3, 2015 at 20:31
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    The only sane reason most people are concerned with bicycle weight is it is easy to measure, quantitative value and makes a (arguably poor) proxy for quality, which is immensely hard to measure and subjective. Same model bike will have same quality no matter what the size, so weight is a pointless measure.
    – mattnz
    Commented Nov 3, 2015 at 20:41
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    The entire focus on weight is completely misguided: Even if you manage to shave 800g off a frame, that's only 1% of the total weight. (At best. I'd need to shave more as I'm not a 70kg fly-weight...) True, this makes it 1% harder to climb a mountain. However, you are mostly fighting air resistance on all other parts of your ride, and for that, weight is not even a factor. So, my advise: Forget about weight, and enjoy riding your bike!
    – cmaster - reinstate monica
    Commented Mar 16, 2019 at 8:04

5 Answers 5

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The important thing to remember is that on a modern road bike, the frame is actually a small percentage of the overall weight of the bike. This frame, including the fork, is advertised at 3 pounds, while a bike built on the frame weighs in at 16.69 pounds. The frame is only 18% of the weight of the bike. Even if the frame which was a bigger size weighed 20% more, It would only bring the weight of the bike up by 3.6%.

The weight for the above bike also includes the weight of the fork in the weight of the frame. Since the same fork is used for bikes of different sizes, the actual frame weight will contribute even less to the total weight of the bike. What mainly changes between different sizes is the size of the main triangle. I couldn't see the weight of 2 different frame sizes making up more than half a pound.

I would recommend buying the bike that actually fits the best. Weight doesn't make as much as a difference as you think, especially if you aren't competing at the top level.

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    Well, most people can't ride a 56 and 61 frame in the same model line comfortably, so the whole question is useless to begin with.
    – Batman
    Commented Nov 3, 2015 at 17:38
  • Actually I own a 61 road bike and a 56 cx bike. Both have enough in them to fit me perfectly. So your assumption is wrong. Take a look at pro cyclist, most of them ride very small bikes when they could fit on much larger sized frames if they desired.
    – Robaggs
    Commented Nov 4, 2015 at 8:48
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    @Robaggs, The two bikes you own are different models, so I don't think that really applies directly to the question. A frame of the incorrect size could be adjusted using the seat post and stem to fit different sized riders, but that doesn't mean it's ideal. Also, I personally try not to pay attention to what the pros do. What makes sense at that level of competition often doesn't apply to every day riders, even if they race competitively.
    – Kibbee
    Commented Nov 4, 2015 at 13:50
  • I agree @Kibbee, just getting annoyed at the off topic ranting going on.
    – Robaggs
    Commented Nov 4, 2015 at 20:04
  • @Robaggs Conversely, I was jut reading Phil Gaimon's book where he mentions that a sponsor gave him a custom-painted bike but he hardly ever rode it because it was too much hassle to get the 58 frame to fit, compared to all the set-up he'd done on his 56. (Granted, most "real-world" riders probalby aren't that fussy about exact set-up.)
    – David Richerby
    Commented Mar 16, 2019 at 10:14
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According to the Weight Weenies.com web site listed weight can differ from actual weight by as much as 10-13%. One thing you should be aware of is there is some variations between identical frames due to manufacturing tolerances. Most weights listed in advertising literature are not for large frame sizes. Looking at the listings on the site it appears that a 20-40 gram difference between carbon frame sizes is about the average.

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  • Hey Mike, cheers. Where are you finding frame weight on the Specialized site? Can you provide a link? Cheers mate :)
    – Robaggs
    Commented Nov 3, 2015 at 11:24
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    You need to go to a bike shop and weigh them on a scale by yourself (e.g. with a fishing scale).
    – Batman
    Commented Nov 3, 2015 at 17:38
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    Weight Weenies in an independent site that has a data base of the actual weight members have submitted and compares this to the manufacturers published weights for frames, components and complete bikes.
    – mikes
    Commented Nov 3, 2015 at 20:57
  • Thanks mike I'm familiar with weight weenies. It's a good idea to look at the different frame sizes there. Thanks for your answer :)
    – Robaggs
    Commented Nov 4, 2015 at 8:52
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This is a very good question. I recently bought a Specialized Tarmac. In the shop, I weighed the exact model that I wanted to get that happened to be a size 56. It weighed 14.3 lbs. I ordered my size, which is 61. When I got it, I weighed it and it weighed 16.3 lbs! Part of this was because I got disc brakes instead of rim brakes (the ONLY difference in components), which would add 285 grams, a little more than half a pound. I compared the frames side by side and the tubes on my frame are MUCH larger than on the small frame but I'm not sure how this could add that much weight.

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    Gidday and welcome to the site. Your answer starts well, but then veers off into chattiness. Do please have a browse of our tour which shows that its all about the question and its answers. Comments are ephemeral and exist to clarify and improve the Question and its Answers. Welcome to the site, and I look forward to your future contributions.
    – Criggie ♦
    Commented Jul 13, 2017 at 5:19
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    I edited out the chat. Note also that clinchers are a kind of tyre (the sort that require an inner tube), not a type of brake.
    – David Richerby
    Commented Jul 13, 2017 at 12:03
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    Disk brakes put a LOT of stress both on the fork and on the rear stays (?) - maybe up to 10 times more than rim brakes. As such, the frame/fork must be a lot stronger. I remember in the early days of MTB frames with both disk and rim brake mounting options, failure of the rear stays with disk brake installed was pretty frequent (at least in discussions). Also, I'm not sure you've quantified both the extra weight of the brakes and of the brake levers. The wheel hubs might be heavier too - the braking torque goes through the hubs, spokes, rim and tires so there's extra tangential torque.
    – Calin Ceteras
    Commented Mar 18, 2019 at 11:42
  • I've always found it odd that weight weenies are usually the first to jump on disk brakes. Disk brakes add a lot of weight, enough to actually be significant in some cases.
    – Daniel R Hicks
    Commented Mar 18, 2019 at 11:56
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Carbon Road

Panda Podium has listed weights for each frame size. These are all "monocoque" carbon frames designed and manufactured in China. Below are the average weight differences between sizes for a few frames.

Aluminum Road

We can do a rough calculation using typical round tube dimensions from BikeFabSupply, which sells aluminum, titanium, and steel bicycle tubing. Assume typical tube length changes from a 2cm frame size gap (e.g. 56cm to 58cm), and that the length of the butted middle section (if any) does not change. The bottom bracket, chainstays, dropouts, and mounts do not change significantly.

Aluminum frames from large brands often have custom non-round shapes, which is harder to estimate.

7005 aluminum is 2.8g/cm^3.

  • HT 50.0mm OD, 3.5mm wall, +17mm per size → 24g
  • ST 35.0mm OD, 1.5mm wall, +20mm per size → 9g
  • DT 42.0mm OD, 1.5mm wall, +11mm per size → 6g
  • TT 35.0mm OD, 1.4mm wall, +9mm per size → 4g
  • SS 19.0mm OD, 1.2mm wall, +15mm per size → 5g

Total: 48g per size (~52g with paint)

Titanium Road

3/2.5V titanium is 4.5g/cm^3.

  • HT 48.0mm OD, 2.3mmwall, +17mm per size → 25g
  • ST 31.7mm OD, 0.9mm wall, +20mm per size → 8g
  • DT 41.5mm OD, 0.9mm wall, +11mm per size → 6g
  • TT 34.9mm OD, 0.9mm wall, +9mm per size → 4g
  • SS 16.0mm OD, 0.8mm wall, +15mm per size → 5g

Total: 48g per size (~52g with paint)

Steel Road

Assuming a mid-high end custom steel frame (Columbus Zona tubeset) with oversized tubing.

4130 steel is 7.8g/cm^3.

  • HT 47.0mm OD, 1.6mm wall, +17mm per size → 30g
  • ST 28.4mm OD, 1.0mm wall, +20mm per size → 13g
  • DT 34.9mm OD, 0.8mm wall, +11mm per size → 7g
  • TT 31.8mm OD, 0.8mm wall, +9mm per size → 5g
  • SS 12.0mm OD, 0.7mm wall, +15mm per size → 6g

Total: 61g per size (~65g with paint)

Carbon Fork Steerer Length

Carbon, aluminum, titanium, and even high-end steel frames usually come with carbon forks.

The main body of the fork is identical across frame sizes, but the steerer will generally be cut longer on larger sizes. If we assume a 28.6mm carbon steerer with 2.2mm wall thickness (cross section 1.8cm^2) and a density of 1.6g/cm^3 for carbon fiber composite, the steerer is 2.9g per 1cm length.

Then assuming the same exposed steerer length (say, slammed) and a 17mm increase in head tube length per frame size, we get 4.9g per size.

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Weights are extremely hard to find - the manufacturer doesn't seem to publish them directly, just making statements like "x00 grams lighter than last year's"

Full bikes offered to reviewers seem to ALL be 56 cm. I cannot find a review that mentions weight that is for any other frame size.

Reviewers don't review bare frames. I think you'll have to try contacting Specialized directly, OR try to get in contact with the distributor for your country/region.

Collected results data points:

s-works disc 2019 dura ace di2 and roval wheels - Weight 6.69 kg (56 cm)
Frame only 800g
s-works rim 2019 dura ace di2 and roval wheels - Weight 6.38 kg (56 cm)
Frame only 733g
from https://granfondo-cycling.com/review-specialized-s-works-tarmac-disc/

Specialized Tarmac S-Works Ultralight Rim 2018 weight 6.30 kg (56 cm)
Frame only 733g
from https://granfondo-cycling.com/review-new-specialized-tarmac-s-works-ultralight-2018-visionary-bike/

Many statements here but not a lot of detail about exactly what frame size people have weighed. Take it with salt: https://weightweenies.starbike.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=154296

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  • This is a sub-optimal answer - It really needs a frame weight for a 54 or a 58 cm frame to compare to the given 56cm frame.
    – Criggie ♦
    Commented Mar 19, 2019 at 7:50

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