Although I agree that lighter bikes may offer some increased speed advantages, if you look at average TDF speeds, you will be surprised how some of those "heavier" bike years had some comparable average speeds over the duration of the whole Tour. Lemond still has the fastest TT I think.
Originally Posted by
patentcad
That's how much Lance says his Treks weighed in 1999 and then in 2005 (I'm sure he meant 14.9 lbs or whatever the UCI limit is) in the recent Outside Magazine interview (fascinating read by the way). Bicycle technology really did ramp up between '99 and '05. Interestingly enough, those are the years I was out of cycling completely (2000 through early 2005 actually) and when I returned to rides with the Road Nazis, the Nyack Ride seemed to have gotten faster. Everybody was riding bikes that were 3-5 lbs lighter with light Zipp style CF wheels.
Kind of makes you wonder if they can make that kind of advancement in the art in the next five years, but they would appear to be pushing the envelope a bit.