Am I Suffering 'Shiny New Kit' Syndrome.... ?

glauciaregina9
glauciaregina9 Posts: 259
edited April 2010 in MTB general
Snapped one of my old Race Face Turbine cranks on the weekend, so ordered new RF Atlas chainset....

Fitted last night, went out for a short road ride...

Now, is it just me suffering from 'shiny new kit' syndrome, whereby they feel so much smoother and stiffer than my previous chainset for no other reason than they are new therefore my brain is over-egging the difference?

Or could the new chainseet really be that much better ??

:)
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Comments

  • dan shard
    dan shard Posts: 722
    Every purchase or upgrade makes the bike 100 x better, 100x faster and 100x lighter.

    FACT :D
  • RealMan
    RealMan Posts: 2,166
    100x stronger, 100x more reliable, and 100x cooler too.
  • Anonymous
    Anonymous Posts: 79,667
    i find it hard to notice the difference in feel with cranks, they all feel the same. to me.
  • rudedog
    rudedog Posts: 523
    Its called the 'cashebo effect' :P
  • krissboo
    krissboo Posts: 23
    Even washing your bike makes it faster.

    But it probably is the "shiny new kit" effect. I've just replaced the grips on my bars and the bike felt so much better at the weekend. Obviously didn't have anything to do with it being the first dry weekend we've had for ages :wink:
    Critical faff - the act of constantly stopping to adjust seat posts, brakes, skewers, bars, pedals, gears, clothing, bags, food, helmets, gloves.........Says it all really.
    (Thanks to mtbwales for that one)
  • El Capitano
    El Capitano Posts: 6,401
    dan shard wrote:
    Every purchase or upgrade makes the bike 100 x better, 100x faster and 100x lighter.

    Indeedy. Although my latest upgrades have resulted in an even greater % improvement in lightness:

    New Skewers = 44g
    Old Skewers = 88g

    So we'll safely say that's a 100% improvement

    However...

    New Bar Ends = 46g
    Old Bar Ends = 135g

    Improvement level = 193.5%

    Granted my maths is probably wrong, but the bike will feel sooooo much quicker once they're fitted. :D
    1 2 3 4 (Dead)5 6
  • RealMan
    RealMan Posts: 2,166
    El Capitano wrote:
    New Skewers = 44g
    Old Skewers = 88g

    So we'll safely say that's a 100% improvement

    50%..

    El Capitano wrote:
    New Bar Ends = 46g
    Old Bar Ends = 135g

    Improvement level = 193.5%

    66%..
    El Capitano wrote:
    Granted my maths is probably wrong

    Correct! :D
  • El Capitano
    El Capitano Posts: 6,401
    :lol:
    1 2 3 4 (Dead)5 6
  • glauciaregina9
    glauciaregina9 Posts: 259
    If my speed is proportional to the spangly-ness of my bike's parts...

    1. I want to ride faster
    2. Shiny new kit makes my bike faster


    So, to follow this to it's logical conclusion:

    3. I must therefore regularly purchase blingy new kit


    As if I need an reason to justify new stuff... :D
    Earn Cashback @ Wiggle, CRC, Evans, AW Cycles, Alpine Bikes, ProBikeKit, Cycles UK :

    http://www.topcashback.co.uk/ref/stewartmead
  • timpop
    timpop Posts: 394
    I am finally getting a new rear hub this weekend, the improvement will be immeasurable. It sure will be faster... smiles all the way down the hill. :D
    Many happy trails!

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