old verses new

[donal brogan]

I have just bought a new bike fondriest r10. Im very disappointed with my spin this morning. I used to have a scott speedster 40 and have a route I do. 30 miles. On the scott I set a time of 1hr 40 min. Thought I'd take a few minutes of that time on a full carbon bike but was slower. Gutted.

 

[vickster]

Were the road and weather conditions identical? Why did you think you'd be quicker on a carbon bike....speed is 99% the rider...so unless you've got quicker...

 

[the_mikey]

Important bike related factors to consider:

Is the rider position identical to the last bike? If not, what has changed? Seat height, saddle position, stem length/height? Bicycle geometry?

Then there are components: Wheels and tyres, are these the same?

Psychological barriers? Are you afraid to push it as hard as your old bike?

 

[raleighnut]

Why do people think carbon is better, or crackaminium for that matter. Have a look at some of the handbuilt Reynolds 953 frames but sit down first.

 

[donal brogan]

post: 3243842, member: 31454"]Why do people think carbon is better, or crackaminium for that matter. Have a look at some of the handbuilt Reynolds 953 frames but sit down first.[/QUOTE]
I was layed to believe that a lighter frame with better running gear would make a difference. Don't get me wrong. It was a lot easier to do the miles but thought I'd be quicker.

 

[screenman]

If it was easier surely you were not pushing as hard.

 

[bpsmith]

Yup. There's a sliding scale on it being easier vs you being faster.

I don't agree with it being 99% the rider though. I am finding my new bike quite a bit faster than my old one. I haven't really blasted the new one for all it's worth, like I did on my old one, but pushing it fairly quickly and seeing better times without question. Certainly more than a fraction of 1% improvement!

 

[nick.b]

sometimes its more about the route you take also,

i brought a Boardman team hybrid for £350 and it gets me to work 5 minutes faster then my £2.5k racer just because im more comfortable throwing it around.

but yeah, cycling should never get easier, the rider just gets faster.

 

[Saluki]

My carbon bike is faster but then it has better wheels. I tried other carbon bikes and they didn't seem that great compared to my Aluminium Defy 2 until I tried the one that I bought. The wheels on the PX are a lot better than my Aksiums on the Defy which is why the carbon bike is faster. Also, it's lighter so getting up hills is better.

 

[Oldbloke]

Same happened to me when I changed my Trek Alpha for my first Roubaix, I put it down to being more upright and comfortable on the latter, which in turn brought on a lazier riding style.