What difference does quality of bike make?

Gringo78

Take a sprint triathlon, 20km bike course, relatively flat. If you're averaging less than 36kph will changing from an entry level steel frame bike to a 2000euro bells & whistles model make any significant difference to your time? Or would it be max 30sec? Just thinking cheap bike and a turbo would be better buy than spending 1000euro on a 'better' bike.

shg101

At 36kph, wind resistance is pretty significant, so a TT/tri bike I would guess would benefit you by a couple of mins or more.

Gringo78

shg101 wrote: »

At 36kph, wind resistance is pretty significant, so a TT/tri bike I would guess would benefit you by a couple of mins or more.

But we're talking aero bars for that? Which i could also put on the cheaper bike. What i mean is carbon frame or top of the range gears aren't gonna make a difference to wind resistance???

pgibbo

I've been told that a TT bike with proper setup done on it can save you 2 minutes over 10 miles. I know someone that did this by going from a road bike to a Planet-X TT bike. They are damn sure it was down to the bike too and not any training effect.

To answer your other question. On a flat course, weight of the bike wouldn't be that significant. On hills, it sure would. I don't imagine that the weight of the components changes a huge amount. It;s reliability and switching that improves as you pay more money.

The other question is if going carbon to save weight is the best way to save weight. I know a few people that went that route when losing a few kilos would have been a better choice!

tunney

Gringo78 wrote: »

But we're talking aero bars for that? Which i could also put on the cheaper bike. What i mean is carbon frame or top of the range gears aren't gonna make a difference to wind resistance???

A Tri bike will allow you get the aero position without comprising power generation.

Gringo78

pgibbo wrote: »

The other question is if going carbon to save weight is the best way to save weight. I know a few people that went that route when losing a few kilos would have been a better choice!

tunney wrote: »

A Tri bike will allow you get the aero position without comprising power generation.

In summary then:

For the amateur cyclist, why pay 100's of euros extra on reducing bike weight by a few pounds when you could easily lose 14 pounds off yourself.

A TT frame WILL give you a significant aero advantage over that which is acheivable fitting aero bars to a road bike....doesn't need to be a mad expensive carbon frame though.

kennyb3

Gringo78 wrote: »

In summary then:

For the amateur cyclist, why pay 100's of euros extra on reducing bike weight by a few pounds when you could easily lose 14 pounds off yourself.

A TT frame WILL give you a significant aero advantage over that which is acheivable fitting aero bars to a road bike....doesn't need to be a mad expensive carbon frame though.

Yeah a well fitted cheapish TT bike much better than an expensive carbon frame road bike with no aero bars. However if you can set up a road bike with clip on aero bars properly this can be nearly as good.

For €/time saving you might consider a 2nd TT helmet and other such TT items

aero2k

Gringo78 wrote: »

In summary then:

For the amateur cyclist, why pay 100's of euros extra on reducing bike weight by a few pounds when you could easily lose 14 pounds off yourself.

A TT frame WILL give you a significant aero advantage over that which is acheivable fitting aero bars to a road bike....doesn't need to be a mad expensive carbon frame though.

My TT bike is based on a bike that would cost around €500 or less now. Small alu frame, aero bars, good aero position. Most of the bits were left over from other bikes or bought cheaply.

I could probably get a much more aero bike by spending a ton of money, but since it's the total drag of bike + rider that matters, the overall effect would be small.
As for aero position without compromising power generation, this is achievable on most road frames with the right seatpost, bars and stem, though in some cases they might be expensive.
If I was going to ride a lot of time trials and money was no object I'd probably buy a fancy bike - after I'd made all the improvements I could by training and tweaking position.

Weight is only a factor when accelerating or going uphill. There used to be a rule of thumb that starting with a middle of the road road bike, every kg weight reduction would cost approx €1,000 - or you could just have a good long piss.:D

tunney

kennyb3 wrote: »

Yeah a well fitted cheapish TT bike much better than an expensive carbon frame road bike with no aero bars. However if you can set up a road bike with clip on aero bars properly this can be nearly as good.

But then it can't fit as a road bike.

If it fits properly as a TT bike its off as a road bike and vice versa.

Gringo78

tunney wrote: »

But then it can't fit as a road bike.

If it fits properly as a TT bike its off as a road bike and vice versa.

Man this triathlon business is complicated. I had so much stuff to think of for my first tri last Saturday....running so much easier.

shg101

I bought a top carbon frame with ultegra groupset road bike second hand, and also a top carbon frame with dura ace groupset tri bike second hand. Not much more than (ok, a bit more than) 2k together.

Sure I could lose a few kilos in theory, but don't you know how HARD that is??