‘Traforato’, if Google Translate can be believed, means ‘perforated’ in Italian. I’m assuming it’s in these holes that I just lost 78 grams off my bike weight. This purchase was the latest in my attempt this year to get my Colnago down to below the UCI legal weight limit (6.8 kg). I don’t know why I waited so long because this bar tape costs only €10 and, like I said, is a 78 gram savings over my old one (also Deda). This is a very cheap 13 centimes on the €/gr scale.

After changing my tape, tubes, skewers and water bottle holders, I’m now down a whopping 371 grams, at a reasonable €.80/gram. I may now have run out of cheap ways to shed pounds; everything else I have on my list is at least €4/gram – a big ask in Covid times.

The good news is that I am somewhere between 6.8kg and 6.9kg now, so nearly there. Other than drilling holes in my carbon frame, I’m out of good ideas. What am I missing?