Originally Posted by
Stucky
Ecept, you forgot to mention that "faster" as it pertains to bikes (as opposed to riders) is measured in terms of fractions of a second difference per mile. Not as in "Oh, man, I can only do 12MPH on that bike, but I can do 27MPH on that one!". It's more like: Every thousand dollars you spend above two grand, will buy you maybe 1/2 a second per mile...if that; and if you're a really strong rider...because the benefits are less at slower speeds.
2 lbs saved for a 160 lb rider going up a 2 mile long hill can easily save 6 seconds which can be the difference between staying with the group and being dropped. The net result will be much bigger than 6 seconds if you lose contact with a group. Even 2 seconds at 20kph is a 10m gap which is huge in the middle of a race.