Carbon v Alloy Commute (to impress the females)

[fossyant]

Yes... I guess the title should be Racing bike v commuter or something similar. The time saved is all down to weight and handling...

Oh, and...
Road - Continental Ultra Sport 700x23
CX - Continental Grand Prix 4 Season 700x23

That's odd. GP4 seasons are better than Ultra Sports - might not roll quite as well, but there should be little difference then.

GP4's £35 each and about 220g
Ultra Sport £15 each and 240g

Glad I've gone back to Michelin for commuting.

I recon it's the placebo effect - just went faster on the road bike.

 

[lejogger]

That's odd. GP4 seasons are better than Ultra Sports - might not roll quite as well, but there should be little difference then.

GP4's £35 each and about 220g
Ultra Sport £15 each and 240g

Glad I've gone back to Michelin for commuting.

I recon it's the placebo effect - just went faster on the road bike.

The CX is a huge amount heavier than the Carbon though. I find you climb a lot better if the weight is on the rider (rucksack) than if it's on the bike (pannier), so if you take the bike alone, as well as a heavier frame, heavier wheels, guards, rack, and rackbag there's also a suit, shoes, towel, toiletries etc all making the bike more of a pain to lug up hills and get round corners.
My commute isn't a flat one, and although my cruising speed on the flat wasn't a great deal higher than on the CX I flew up the hills a LOT faster. I like to get to the top of the 3rd climb of the day for 12 minutes on the clock, but today I was there at less than 10.

There might be a small psychological aspect but definitely not more than 4 minutes worth over the journey.

 

[lejogger]

That's odd. GP4 seasons are better than Ultra Sports - might not roll quite as well, but there should be little difference then.

GP4's £35 each and about 220g
Ultra Sport £15 each and 240g

Glad I've gone back to Michelin for commuting.

I recon it's the placebo effect - just went faster on the road bike.

Oh and yes, I could probably do with replacing the stock tyres on the TC.

 

[Andrew_P]

not about trying to top your best time like a TT. I do have to remind myself of this on a regular basis though!

I like to get to the top of the 3rd climb of the day for 12 minutes on the clock, but today I was there at less than 10.

 

[lejogger]

Haaaaa see here... I think I have a problem

 

[MattHB]

You need to snap her up immediately if she has an eye for a nice frame? That's if she has a suitably nice frame herself of course

 

[Andrew_P]

lol well done, I would drive to work on a Sunday (I Do) Leave a weeks worth of clothes etc and take the carbon.

I am forever chasing a PB either Strava sections or personal checkpoints and if it feels good and the time is right at half way I plant it. Keeps it entertaining. I have my Garmin set to auto stop so can compare direct moving times and enjoy the traffic light stops. I do take some rest days were I will take it easy but still might attack a Strava section or two.

 

[lejogger]

You need to span her up immediately if she has an eye for a nice frame? That's if she has a suitably nice frame herself of course

It's not too bad at all... I reckon she'd go quite well on a stiff monocoque...

... what? Not subtle enough?!

 

[RedRider]

It's not just a bike v bike exercise however, it's also a laden bike v laden rider challenge...
What would win??!

I'm deffo faster with my stuff on my back!!

It reminds me of a story told about Jacques Anquetil in this novel.

"A rider, Anquetil said, is made up of two parts, a person and a bike. The bike, of course, is the instrument the person uses to go faster, but its weight also slows him down. That really counts when the going gets tough, and in climbing the thing is to make sure the bike is as light as possible. A good way to do that is: take the bidon out of its holder.
...
"What Anquetil needed was faith. And nothing is better for a firm and solid faith than being in the wrong. [...] If they'd forbidden Anquetil to put his bidon in his back pocket, he would never have won the Tour de France."

There's another part to that Anquetil story, offered more than a hundred pages on. Krabbé had been told the tale by Geldermans but when he started to pay attention to pictures of Anquetil climbing, he noticed the bidon was always in its cage, not Anquetil's back pocket: "Geldermans' story strikes to the soul of the rider, and is therefore true. Those pictures are inaccurate."

( quoted from the review linked above.)

 

[fossyant]

I find you climb a lot better if the weight is on the rider (rucksack) than if it's on the bike (pannier), so if you take the bike alone, as well as a heavier frame, heavier wheels, guards, rack, and rackbag there's also a suit, shoes, towel, toiletries etc all making the bike more of a pain to lug up hills and get round corners.

I will add that a fully commute loaded fixed is nearly as fast as a lightweight road bike on certain climbs. I've equalled one climb which is a mare on 77" fixed, with that done on the road bike. OK I was trying on the fixed, and the road bike I did it before I used strava (uploaded older files from my Garmin) but a fixed is rather quick when climbing over geared. You don't feel it though, it's a right battle.