Originally Posted by
FrozenK
One often-repeated argument on these forums is that, while a lighter/more aero/newer bike may be faster in theory, you will not be able to see that in the real world. Hypno Toad's data provides a good glimpse into that. You can see that his fatbike is significantly slower than his road bikes on that segment. Whether it is because of weight, rolling resistance, aero or simply because he doesn't feel like pushing it when he is on the Pugs doesn't matter.
Does anybody really think a fatbike is as fast as a road bike with skinny tires in the real world? I haven't seen that come up in the forums. I certainly can tell the difference between even relatively similar bikes, such as when I switch with my girlfriend and ride her Cross bike with cross tires, and she rides my road bike. I have a really hard time keeping up with her, even though I can easily blow by her with little effort when I'm riding my own bike. I think the most interesting thing about the data is the difference between relatively similar bikes, where smaller variances would make a difference.