Just me, but anytime you can cut some time off one aspect of the tri competition, it may not seem like much to the individual running it. But 5-10 minutes off the cycling time translates to 5-10 minutes devoted to the next phase of the tri. It's a matter of what the competition/opponents are in terms of hope and the demoralizing effects it has on their psyche too. Let's say you can pedal the bike 25 mph and the bike upgrade gets you to 27 or 28 mph ? In an hour that's 2-3 miles you are ahead of the competition, at that point, they can't see you, they won't be able to see you when they do the swim or run either. There's nothing more demoralizing than having your best run on the bike turn into a run away victory by your opponent. The best that you can do is not panic and hope you catch or make up that time in one of the other events. The water might become thicker soup for the competition and the run might become more difficult as the day wears on too ? When the other guy crosses the finish line and he's thinking how far ahead you were, how long had you finished before he got there ?