Is it really 95% the Rider and 5% the Bike...

[Hip Priest]

Take two riders with the same bikes and the one with the best legs will always win, full stop.

That is surely so obvious as to go without saying.

 

[Citius]

See regular posts saying a better bike won't make any difference, but this certainly suggests otherwise.

As someone else pointed out, being better than a 100 year-old, over-geared, over-weight single speed isn't really proof of anything. GCN did a similar video which made a lot more sense...

 

[Citius]

I see from your avatar you seem rather partial l to a Porsche where as Ford Ka would be far more efficient in getting from A to B in terms of costs so what's the point in a Porsche?

Depends on your definition of efficiency. If speed is a critical consideration, then the Porsche would undoubtedly be more efficient than the Ka. Unless you meant to say 'cheaper'...

 

[Lonestar]

That's not quite true though with all those "jokers" who want to race me on boris bikes against my fixie.Push to the front at the lights and get nowhere.Not meant in a bad way but it's happened so many times.

 

[bpsmith]

Take two riders with the same bikes and the one with the best legs will always win, full stop.

There's no question about that. No argument at all, and I have always said the same.

My point is that with the same legs, you Can go faster on a better bike. That's always argued against when people ask on here and it's factually incorrect.

 

[Hip Priest]

Why the assumption that everyone wants to be a better rider?

Not everyone does. I've got club mates who can afford a nice bike and just want to ride it to the cafe, which is cool. On the other hand, I know people who are overweight and don't train, who fret about their time trial PBs and continue to throw money at the problem to try and improve, when reducing their calorie intake and going on the turbo 2 hours a week would cut massive chunks off their times.

 

[Hip Priest]

My point is that with the same legs, you Can go faster on a better bike. That's always argued against when people ask on here and it's factually incorrect.

Yep. Take two evenly matched riders, and the one with the better kit will win. That's why things get pricey at the sharp end!

 

[Citius]

My point is that with the same legs, you Can go faster on a better bike

ep. Take two evenly matched riders, and the one with the better kit will win

Define 'better'...??? You're laying out a bit of a minefield for yourselves with statements like that..

 

[Tin Pot]

Why the assumption that everyone wants to be a better rider? Out of interest what bike do you ride? I see from your avatar you seem rather partial l to a Porsche where as Ford Ka would be far more efficient in getting from A to B in terms of costs so what's the point in a Porsche?

Why the assumption that I want everyone to be better riders?

Why promote uneccesary expenditure?

 

[Lonestar]

Although what I mean though is if the boris bike riders were riding an identical bike to mine they'd probably mostly beat me.

 

[Hip Priest]

Define 'better'...??? You're layinig out a bit of a minefield for yourself with statements like that..

Presumably he meant a bike better suited to the task in hand. A Cervelo P5 is better than a £300 MTB, but presumably not on the trails.

 

[Andrew_P]

Depends on your definition of efficiency. If speed is a critical consideration, then the Porsche would undoubtedly be more efficient than the Ka. Unless you meant to say 'cheaper'...

Did you not read the post I defined efficient? "far more efficient in getting from A to B in terms of costs so what's the point in a Porsche?"
I was waiting for the speed counter perhaps you would like to tell me with how much quicker a car that has the BHP of a Porsche gets from London to Brighton observing the speed limits and with the limitations of normal traffic conditions. Not a lot is the right answer.

 

[Citius]

Did you not read the post I defined efficient? "far more efficient in getting from A to B in terms of costs so what's the point in a Porsche?"

That's a measure of cost-effectiveness - not 'efficiency'.

I was waiting for the speed counter perhaps you would like to tell me with how much quicker a car that has the BHP of a Porsche gets from London to Brighton observing the speed limits and with the limitations of normal traffic conditions. Not a lot is the right answer.

Nice of you to belatedly impose your own parameters on an argument, in order to avoid losing it..

 

[bpsmith]

Presumably he meant a bike better suited to the task in hand. A Cervelo P5 is better than a £300 MTB, but presumably not on the trails.

I would have thought that this was pretty obvious, don't you think. Daft question tbh.

 

[Hip Priest]

Given that the whole premise of the thread is about competition, going faster, and the importance of the bicyclie in achieving this aim, I'm not sure how we've spent so much time talking about how some people don't care about going fast. Good for them, but it's hardly relevant.