[Gary's bike channel]

 

  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K1GAT_Q0kS0

at 7minutes 20, you can see i got up ahead for a while. Really i think it was my usage of the shared path instead of the road that lost me the edge on those two. My question is- if im on a 375 quid bike, carrera vanquish, 11kg aluminium, not super dropped stem, and i were to be riding a much more expensive bike, 7kg, carbon fibre, aero wheels, is the performance gain really that large? How much faster is say a 2-3 grand road bike than a halfords road bike? I know its a piece of string question. But would like to ask anyhow. 

 

Topic

[OnTheRopes]

That will depend on what kind

That will depend on what kind of ride you join, just because they are a club that races doesn’t mean they will be riding at race speed, probably not unless you get on a fast evening chain gang. It will no doubt be fun though and may tell you if you are fit or not. Just enjoy it, but I imagine you need to learn to ride in a fast group first, not annoy everyone.

[EddyBerckx]

Genuinely…I believe between
Genuinely…I believe between 2-3mph or so depending on the bike.

That’s my experience over the last 8 years on a variety of bikes. If you like to put the effort in you will be rewarded…if you’re more of a cruiser then a lot less so unless we’re talking hills.

Also I’m assuming you’re comparing your heavy, cheap bike with something light, stiff and racy. It’ll also be a lot more fun to ride in my experience.

Yes…it is about the bike! (Within reason, sometimes 😉 )

[Boatsie]

I think so.
I think so.
I rode an $18000 tour bike during summer. Wow. Super light, super smooth, highly efficient. Even wheel changes were super quick when needed with a brake cable tension release button on brake lever assembly.
I ride a bought used alloy Avanti Blade. Build cost $600Aus (300 quid) which includes purchase of bike.
Using microshift 9 speed to get durability of a nice thick chain (that’s what I was hoping).. Doesn’t compare to shifts on modern shifters but I like it. Nice and cheap. Holds ratio. Good enough if into picking a ratio and maintaining use of. Sucks if into constantly shifting to maintain cadence, acceleration in a pack.
I use as a gravel bike but even if I put aero rims and skinny tyres onto that. No way that will catch that. No way..
I don’t care though.. Happy cyclist too bro.. Fast enough

[fukawitribe]

Cracking, go for it – that

Cracking, go for it – that way you can compare yourself to people that actually know they’re supposed to be racing, in an environment that’s safe(r) to do so. Plus it’ll be a laugh. Have fun.

[Gary's bike channel]

i’m thinking of joining or

i’m thinking of joining or going along to poole wheelers as theyre my local club. Just to see how i fare compared to their regular racers. 

[joeegg]

GCN did a video that you can
GCN did a video that you can see on YouTube.
Basic Ali Canyon compared to an aero Canyon that was 5 times the price. On a 7 minute climb the difference was 7 secs. Bigger difference though on the flat.You pays your money etc…

[wtjs]

I have been investigating

I have been investigating this question for a few weeks- using Strava and Fitbit, I have so far loosely  established that over 1-2 hours of hilly cycling in N Lancashire, a 9 speed triple Merlin titanium with 23 mm tubed tyres, stiff SPD shoes, standard twin caliper brakes is only 5% faster than my 9 speed double Vitus Substance steel framed gravel bike with excellent twin piston TRP Spyre brakes, 38 mm tyres with tubes, bendy SPD shoes

[alymac71]

A 1.1L Corsa can keep up with

A 1.1L Corsa can keep up with a Porsche if the Porsche isn’t trying to go fast. 

What is the question?

 

[don simon fbpe]

I once heard a fella say that

I once heard a fella say that it’s not about the bike. He was 100% correct.

[BBB]

In a context of non

In a context of non-competitive cycling, body position and tyre choice/setup will make almost all the difference. The rest is just noise. 
Also (virtual) GP5000s in 35mm would be faster than 25mm Gatorskins so let’s don’t compare apples to oranges when it comes to tyre width. 

[Simon E]

hawkinspeter wrote:

It’s the rider.

Absolutely.

At a decent speed the rider makes at least 80% of total drag so your position and clothing make more difference to your speed than anything else. Rim depth make a far smaller difference (and only if you’re moving quickly enough) while the frame drag is virtually irrelevant.

1kg lost from either the bike or rider will save ~2 secs per 100m of vertical ascent but 0 seconds on the flat.

If you want to find out how much faster you can get then riding in traffic along a busy road isn’t the place to obtain meaningful results. You’d ideally need a powermeter or HRM and perform your own tests on a strava segment or timed repeats on a stretch of open road.

[Tom_77]

Quote:

How much faster is say a 2-3 grand road bike than a halfords road bike?

Difficult to say, I’d guess maybe 20% quicker as a ball park figure.

If you can borrow or hire a more expensive bike and a power meter you could measure the difference to get a better idea. Like this – https://road.cc/content/blog/175749-buying-watts-how-much-difference-does-aero-bike-make

[hawkinspeter]

It’s the rider.

It’s the rider.

[OnTheRopes]

hmmm, so are you saying you

hmmm, so are you saying you were racing them and asking if you had a better bike could you have beaten them?

Well they don’t look like they were trying too hard for one, it looks like you were the only one racing plus in heavy traffic like that you cannot ride full gas and so cannot compare bikes. If you really want to know the answer, then enter a real race or time trial, then hire a better bike and try it on that.

[Author]

Replies