The 7 Best Bike Scales 2022

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Get an accurate weigh-in with one of these reliable, top-rated scales from Amazon.

Looking to shed some pounds off of your bicycle? You can do that with plenty of tinkering, but you’ll also need a tool that some bike owners likely don't own: a bike scale. These handy things can measure the weight of your bicycle while it's suspended in the air, helping you decide what to cut down on if you’re looking to minimize your bike's load. While the best bike scales are ones you can also mount to your repair stand, you can also get by with a fairly cheap fisherman's scale if you’re looking to save money. If you need to weigh in your bike before you take it on a ride, check out one of these handy bike scales you can grab right now on Amazon.

You’ve likely read it on several cycling message boards already: Bike scales are just glorified fishing scales. But that's only partially correct.

While most home-use luggage and fish scales are handheld and use a metal hook to dangle your payload on, bike scales are much longer, thanks to the addition of a stem piece that allows it to clamp onto a repair stand. Fish scales are often held by hand, making it quite difficult to balance a bike if you don't have a proper setup. In addition to a clamping stem, all bike scales include a large, strong nylon loop that can be used to safely hang it from a nub, tree branch, or hook without tearing.

Sure, but that measurement won't be quite as accurate as a dedicated bike scale's read will be. A bike scale is sensitive enough to provide the true weight of your ride, with many providing that measurement in pounds, grams, ounces, and kilograms, for easy conversions. Because they’re hooked, a bike scale can also account for anything that's off-balance while weighing with a regular scale. They’re also more practical to use than holding your bicycle while standing on a scale at home.

To find the best bike scales available on Amazon, we sifted through hundreds of user reviews. We considered things like portability, weight limits, batteries, and durability. Because very few bike brands sell bike-specific scales, we also combed through countless bestselling fishing and luggage scales that could double as bicycle scales and pored over user reviews to discover which scales actual buyers liked best for measuring bike weights, and all of the scales you'll find below have average customer ratings of 4 out of 5 stars or higher. Below, find our picks for the best bike scales on the market today.

Key Specs

Not all bike scales are as practical as the DS-1. While most scales only provide a single hook to mount your bike on, the DS-1 has two. And where most others are meant to be looped over a tree branch or held with your hand as you awkwardly fit your bike onto its hook, the DS-1 has a stem that can be clamped onto a repair stand, making for a sturdier mount.

The DS-1's dual hooks are wrapped in silicone to prevent your bike from getting scratched, and the tool can be programmed to measure weight between pounds and kilograms. Although the screen isn't backlit, its large LCD display is super easy to read.

Key Specs

If you’re looking for a slightly cheaper alternative to Park Tool's excellent bike scale, this one from Feedback Sports is a great pick. Similar to the DS-1, the Alpine Digital Scale has a nylon loop that you can hang from a branch or hook, in addition to a stem that's made for clamping. Its nylon loop is also fairly big, which makes it easy to lasso around a variety of nubs and pegs.

Although it only uses a single hook to hold your bike, it's coated in rubber to protect against scratching. The scale is also housed in a super tough rubber to help with the shock and damage, just in case it takes a fall. Plenty of reviewers love this scale for its easy-to-read LCD screen and its accurate measurements in kilograms or pounds.

Key Specs

If holding up a bike with the strength of a nylon loop is worrisome to you, you might find some peace of mind with a tough metal wire instead. This bike scale replaces that fabric loop with something a little brawnier, making it a tough digital scale that can handle up to 110 pounds of weight.

It has a pair of large vinyl-coated double hooks for an easier mount, a large backlit LCD screen, and it easily flips between pounds and ounces. For a dual-hooked bike scale, this is a solid package—especially at its price.

Key Specs

Do you have trouble remembering your bike's measurements? Get rid of that pen and notepad and reach for this scale instead. You can use its directional pad to navigate its internal menu and save up to eight different measurements in its bank.

It replaces a traditional hook with a squeezable clamp with double-hooked fangs, which you can use to grab hold of your bike frame and seat. Users love this scale for its large, easily readable display screen and ability to switch between pounds, ounces, decimal pounds, and kilograms.

If you're eager to grab a post-ride beer, it even has a built-in bottle opener. The only downside when it comes to weighing bikes, however, is a potentially troublesome hanging loop—because it's jagged, it may be tough to hang.

Key Specs

In the event your bicycle weighs more than 55 pounds, well, you’ve likely got an e-bike, and if you’re trying to scale back some weight off that hefty ride of yours, you can use this tool to help out. This digital scale can support up to a whopping 660 pounds of weight on its S-hook.

Its screen can display your bike's weight in pounds, newtons, and kilograms, and it even comes with a pack of batteries to save you the hassle of scrounging around your home for your own. An aluminum case makes it more durable than plastic found elsewhere, too.

Be mindful, however, that with its small metal loop, it may be tough to reliably dangle from a branch or other surface.

Key Specs

While not specifically designed for weighing bikes, this handheld scale can be carried with one hand and has a large fabric loop to dangle an object from. Although it's built for luggage and doesn't seem suited for bikes, you'll have luck attaching your own hook to it and mounting the scale somewhere high up.

Reviewers have commented and said they’ve used this handheld scale to weight their own bicycles, but caution against using the included hook because it's so tiny. Go for this tool if you’re looking to save money and find a workaround to the typical bike scale.

Key Specs

This small scale, while made for fishing, is small enough to shove into your pocket or bag while on the go. It has a large O-ring you can use to dangle it from a nail, and its hook is strong enough to support up to 400 pounds. It's got a durable plastic body, a backlight for its LCD screen, and a low power indicator to remind you to change its batteries.

Over 300 reviewers give this product a 4.5 out of 5-star average rating, saying it's very accurate and surprisingly durable out of the box, with no adjustments needed.

Kevin Cortez is a Commerce Editor for Popular Mechanics, Bicycling, and Runner's World. A culture and product journalist for over ten years, he's an expert in men's style, technology, gaming, coffee, e-bikes, hiking, gear, and all things outdoors. He was most recently the style editor for a leading product-recommendation site and previously covered music and podcasting at Mass Appeal, Genius, and The A.V. Club. His work can also be seen in WSJ, Leafly, Input, and Vulture. He enjoys reading graphic novels, birding, and taking long, meandering walks in his spare time.

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