Lacking

Hello,

This is my first thread so please don't hesitate to correct me.

I am riding a Sirrus hybrid sport right now, but am about to get a entry level road bike. Something like an Allez or Sectuer, I have seen some good deals on them.

My main question is, How much efficient will my riding be compared to what it is now? The main changes will be that I will have the ability to go to the drops and also I will have clipless pedals.

Right now I have cages and a straight handle bar set up. With that I average about 17 mph an average cadence of 80.

Should I expect any immediate improvement or will I have to work at it like everyone else?

garysol1 

I would bet you will see an immediate improvement. It may take some time for you to adjust to the new fit and position on the new bike but your efficiency should pretty dramatically go up.

Yaniel

with just the pedals you should see an immediate improvement, but it won't be anything drastic either. if you want to be as fast as a lot of other people you will have to work as hard as a lot of other people.

mustang1

I've been riding an allez for 3 years. Recently I test rode a Sirrus. It was a fine bike. Efficiency wise though, yeah, you'll see an improvement with the new geo (and obviously going to clipless - oh yeah let us know how many time syou fall). Agrees with garysol1.

waterrockets 

Pedals make about a 10% power increase for me in hard 5' efforts (like up a steep hill).

Riding in the drops can make significant difference if your shoulders are going significantly lower.

Don't sweat it, and just have fun for now.

Lacking

I'll keep you updated on the number of falls with the clipless. So far I have only fallen once on my Sirris. I was talking to a friend going to class and I went a little to slow and couldn't pull my foot out of the cage in time. The Sirrus is a great commuting and fitness bike imo.

acaurora

Hi Lacking,

I actually was in your very situation 5 months ago, when I also had a Sirrus. I was finding I was riding for recreation/exercise and going faster and faster. Switching to the road bike setup for me actually was more comfortable... I was getting cramps in my wrists on the Sirrus after extended periods of time (could have been the fit haha). I switched to an Allez and once I got my pedals, the difference was pretty phenomenal.

Now wait til you get your first CF bike like I did >

DaveSSS 

A very long time ago, about 1992, I bought a 26 lb. Specialized hybrid to ride slowly with my wife, mainly on local bike trails. I occasionally took it out on a serious ride, just for kicks, and found my average speed about 1.5mph slower that my C'dale 2.8, which was a high level road bike of the day.

bismillah

Cycling is very hard to compare day to day. Factors like wind, natural things changing in your body, variability (sprints, fast tempo) of your effort, will play roles in your average speed.

ElJamoquio

A better position should be worth a couple of MPH.

The better shoes weren't worth any speed to me in normal (not-sprinting) situations, but they were worth a ton of comfort.