Originally Posted by Archinutt
No one chimed in on what "not as fast" means. Any thoughts?
Well, when I say "not as fast," what I'm actually referring to is acceleration and gearing.
In general, racing bikes tend to have taller gears. Taller gears=more speed, assuming that you can pedal that the same RPM on all of your gears. As for acceleration, racing bikes have skinnier tires. Skinnier tires=quicker acceleration due to having less rolling resistance. Also, racing bikes are lighter weight. It's easier to accelerate when you have less weight to pull, don'cha think?
Touring bikes have smaller gears for climbing and hauling loads of stuff. They have fatter tires for more comfort.
I hope that clears it up for you.