Would a modern lighter bike make me cycle faster

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johnnyb47

Guru
Location
Wales
Hi and hope your all well.
Currently my daily ride is an early steel framed Peugeot road bike weighing in at around 13 kg,s. It's now covered many thousands of miles of trouble free cycling with its simple design of friction gears and rock solid frame ,but curiosity is now starting to get the better of me of how much better would a new bike be. About three years back I decided to dip my toe back into cycling again and simply just got out there riding solo around the country side with the soul intent to lose weight and live a better overall lifestyle. As time's gone by though ,cycling has evolved into doing bigger challenges and becoming more sociable with other cyclists. I can quite happily ride all day long on my Peugeot without feeling to fatigued at around 16/17 mph avg, which ain't to shabby:-)
Just the over day I did a charity ride of around 60 miles with around 170 other cyclists. At the start of the ride I was doing the usual admiring look around of all the nice bikes on display and soon came to the conclusion that my bike was hopelessly out classed by modern standards. Carbon framed bikes, and the absence of down tube shifters made my old steel bike look very retro indeed. At the time I thought these other cyclists where going to eat me for breakfast within a few miles of setting off.
To my surprise though this wasn't the case. For the first 20 miles i kept up quite comfortably somewhere at the front, and when the hills started to get more aggressive many of the group started to get dropped. Bearing in mind even though it was a charity ride, it still turned into a good natured race between us. Eventually I slowly got dropped climbing over the steep hills of Wales by these guys on there super lightweight bikes and modern gears. I did manage to get back around 15/20th down on the leaders a bait completely knackered lol.
So it begs the question would a more modern lighter bike make that much of a difference?. Would a 13kg bike be that much slower than an modern 11 kg Carrera Vanquish disc braked road bike currently tempted with at the moment. As for the charity ride I thoroughly enjoyed it and made many new friends along the way. Its a great way to raise money for the needy whilst enjoying something by getting out there with others who also embrace pedal power :-)
 

RoubaixCube

~Tribanese~
Location
London, UK
I'd say definitely yes. You will definitely notice it when climbing hills at least. 2kg is quite a substantial amount.

I think you're better of spending your money on a triban though
 

Brandane

Legendary Member
Location
Costa Clyde
From my own experience, having treated myself to a carbon framed Merida Ride 4000 early this year.... A lighter bike (8.3 kg according to Merida) is really only an advantage going up hills. Coming down them, obviously the heavier the better (my fastest ever speed on a bike was on a fully laden tourer going down a long hill somewhere on The Way of the Roses). We do have a lot of hilly routes in my local area, so I considered it a worthwhile purchase. My average speed on the Merida tends to vary between 15/17 mph; whereas on my steel framed Genesis Croix de Fer it's about 13/15 mph... So not a great deal of difference but having said that I am too lazy to really push myself on any bike! I prefer to enjoy the ride and appreciate cycling for what it is.
The advantages of the Merida and it's carbon frame are not just about speed though. It gives a nicer ride, which is harder to explain. Maybe it's the different geometry, frame material, wheels, groupset, etc. which all combine to give a better handling and nicer bike to ride. But I still won't part with the Genesis; I love riding it too (and the 3 others!).
 
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Cycleops

Legendary Member
Location
Accra, Ghana
Sure it'll make you faster and more attractive to women. I'm not gonna give you any reason not to.
 
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OP
johnnyb47

johnnyb47

Guru
Location
Wales
Just having a look around the classifieds on the internet I've spotted a rather nice looking Giant defy 5 selling for £100. The choice out there is mind boggling to say the least :-)
 
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