Care to guess what effect upgrade to full carbon and SRAM red will have?

jeffwode

What difference will an upgrade from a no-suspension MTB on 35mm slicks to full carbon Planet X with SRAM Red and 25mm Schwalbe Blizzards make to a regular 33 km training lap?

I started cycling at the start of the summer and have graduated to 80km - 90km spins at the weekend with 30, 40 and 50 km spins midweek as I can fit them in. A staple spin is a 33km loop which I do at least once a week and probably twice a week. My average speed on this lap is around 27kph. I know that's not fast but there's a few hills. And I'm old and fat.

I've attached a shot of the bike I've been doing it on: It's not a bad basic MTB for commuting, spinning about. Shimano Deore 21 7 speed cassette and a triple.

I've ordered this and I can't wait for it to arrive. http://www.planet-x-bikes.co.uk/i/q/CBPXSLPR/sl-pro-carbon-sram-red

My question is this. How much time do you think the new bike will shave off my time? Will it add 1km /hr to my speed? More? Has anyone any experience of this? At the moment I'm doing 33 km in around 1 hr 10 mins. Any guesses as to what the new bike will shave off that time? The reason I chose such a short ride is because it's probably the one I do most often.

Would love to hear what you guys think.

Karagesh

Will save you a few minutes, maybe up to 5. The fit is important. I moved from my Dads old 90's racer (too big) to a nice new Cube and saved about that. The better bike encouraged me to do more cycling so that was probably the biggest benefit.

If someone is 30 seconds up the road, it can be a job catching them

on_the_nickel

My regular week-day lap is 33km, I did it this evening on my new carbon Orbea Onix, as opposed to aluminium, entry level, Enol. Also Ultegra v Sora and Kysriums v Mavic entry level wheels.

I timed myself going up the airport hill in Cork, which is about 3k and I knocked 34 seconds off my best time on the Enol. Can't really do a like for like on the rest of the lap unfortunately as I got stuck in a lot of traffic and there was a big head wind on the way back home, but I came home in 1:07:23. My best on the Enol is 1:06:58.

I can only say that on the open road, anytime I looked at the speedo, I was doing 2-3km/h quicker than I usually would be. I'll be interested in seeing how the time compares on a quiet, less windy day. I'd be hopeful of getting below 1:05 before the winter sets in.

That difference is on approx 2kg weight. Going from a mountain bike to a road bike would be huge - weight, aero position, gearing, tyres will all make a massive difference. I'd say you'll be knocking at least 10% off it.

sy

Make sure and take time to get the right setup/position before you start trying to better your MTB times.
You will take a little time to get used to different position, feel,handling but on your quoted stats I reckon you will, with a little practice, cover your 33km in an hour or very close to it.

Lovely bike and best of luck with it

papac

Should be a pretty noticable difference I'd say.
Its important imo to train in the drops.When you are in the aero tuck you use different muscles so its important to gradually build them up I reckon.
Its getting more aerodynamic that will make the biggest difference to your times.
Enjoy your new bike.

blorg

As Papac says it is the more aero position attainable on a road bike that will make the difference and it could be significant, certainly more than 1km/h. SRAM Red will get you 0km/h but is certainly nice to have; the lighter bike will help a bit on hills but not as much as the aero benefit. A properly fitting road bike should be more comfortable over distance too.

jeffwode

Thanks guys. I think the improved position will help, and the tyres. I also hope that better geometry and fit will let me cycle harder and longer, so the engine will improve too. After 2 hours on the MTB, my bones start to creak and ache. I'm hoping carbon and a better fit will help me go longer.

Just got an email today to say that it will be built in the first week in October. Was hoping I'd have it by then. Anyway, it's not too long. I suppose.

blorg

If you currently have slicks the tyres moving from 35mm to 25mm will make no significant difference. Correct inflation pressure is important. Moving from knobblies to slicks does make a difference, losing 10mm not so much. The Blizzards are very much entry-level not great tyres, upgrading them to something like Schwalbe Ultremos would affect the feel of the bike but the Blizzards are certainly fine to start on especially in the winter.

Position really is the biggie. I have done long road spins on my MTB in winter and there is too much pressure on my arse and the hands get sore due to the position. A properly fitting road bike will balance you more between the bars, pedals and saddle so you don't have excessive pressure on the bars and saddle. Apart from the comfort I really do feel the aero drag cycling out to trails; this will be massively reduced on the road bike, particularly at higher speeds, and should certainly be noticable if you are averaging 27km/h on the MTB which is fast enough.

It is definitely a good idea to get a road bike for road riding, no question, it is far better suited to it. I have a PX myself and it is a very nice and comfortable bike.

jeffwode

So I got me new bike (finally). It's a beaut. I love it. Light, responsive and FAST. I love the SRAM gears. So precise. A real pleasure

I did my regular 33km spin today. Conditions were ok, the road was wet but there was very little wind. I did the lap pretty fast, but without killing myself and my average speed was 30.4 km/h. This contrasts with around 27 kph on my MTB. Really pleased with that result. I didn't expect such a significant increase. Knocked about 6 or 7 minutes off my time. Very pleased.