Originally Posted by
datlas
I am no longer a GCN fanboy but I still sometimes watch their videos.
There is a recent one where Si rides a couple courses with his 10-year old bike and his current one, and in both cases he was about 3KPH faster on the newer bike.
As a retrogrouch, I like to think it's 99% the engine, and I reconcile the moderate difference in the video based on sample error, placebo effect, more aggressive (aero) body position, and possibly aero wheels.
Any thoughts?
As you know, I went from a very nice custom steel classic to a soulless plastic bike, shedding a few lbs of system weight in the bargain. My estimate is that there was about a 6% increase in speed across the board and I picked up another percent or two when I upgraded the wheels. I think this was a combination of placebo, weight, aerodynamics (mainly rider position), and the modern fit. The newer bike is also much more comfortable, despite, and maybe even partly because of, the greater drop.