Originally Posted by
meanwhile
You should - you're more experienced, so you'll have bought a bike that fits better and that's the biggest factor in comfort and hence performance over distance.
CF bikes can be excellent, but when they are that's mostly because they're well-designed bikes and the owner has made sure they've bought the right fit with the right components. Tyres, which people usually ignore, are critical. Inner tubes can have an effect too. A lot of the old marketing claims - eg that CF frames go faster because of losses in pedaling energy in metal ones - have been proven to be untrue. (That one quickly vanished under powertap testing!)
I can't disagree with all that you have said (I suppose that makes a pleasant change). Although 2% can be quite significant over 1200km. On the flats, yes, once rolling, the energy required to move along is not great, but if there are stops and starts (traffic lights, checking route directions, making turns, pee stops) the acceleration factor comes into play. And I don't recall ever riding a 1200 on totally flat roads, even the Last Chance through Colorado and into Kansas.
Comfort is critical. There is no point riding at 20mph for two hours, then spend the next two at 12 because your butt hurts like hell, your shoulders and legs are in pain, and your lower back is knackered.
I found out a long time ago that wider profile tyres at lower pressures than maximum provide more returns on comfort. And it is likely that Route66 is riding the CF frame more often and further than the aluminium one simply because it is more comfortable through improved frame design (19 years has been a long time in product development for bikes).
By the way, the lawyers at Specialized have been notified and they are preparing a brief to sue you for using a diminutive term in referencing their brand name.
