Is there a mph benefit of spending more on a bike?

AllezAllezAllez

I've had my Trek 1.2 for around 3 years and racked up 7000+ miles. So I've had good value for my £700 or so pounds and I'm now toying with the idea of a new road bike.

What are the real benefits of spending £1800 versus a £700 on a bike. I guess smoother gear changes, more comfort, a lighter bike, etc, etc? Will this translate to a higher average mph?

Presumably if I'm riding with someone on a more expensive bike I'll have to put more effort to keep up?

Advice or views?

rolf_f

There will be an effect but you'll have to take detailed records of the weather to tell from the stats. The weather will be a far greater influence on speed than the bike. If you want to increase your average speed more cheaply, only go out when it is warm or there is no wind.

trek_dan

Average speed is all in the legs. Only time the bike makes a bit of a difference is time trialing, but even then you're talking seconds not minutes. In reality most (me included) have expensive bikes because we work hard and like to have something that rides/looks/feels nice, but it really doesn't make you faster.

iPete

The answer is probably not. Your position on the bike will make a bigger difference. There are of course many other tangible reasons for nicer kit.

ugo.santalucia

There are expensive frames that are not designed to be fast at all. As your nick name suggest, you might look into a Specialized Allez, which is a pretty nippy frame that doesn't break the bank. I had an Allez in the past and it was a pretty damn fast bike. The groupset doesn't contribute to any speed benefit, so no point in wasting money there (Tiagra is pretty good and reliable anyway) and a decent set of wheels built on good hubs and light rims... you don't have to spend a fortune to be on pair with those boys on Dogma

slowbike

ugo.santalucia wrote:

you don't have to spend a fortune to be on pair with those boys on Dogma

I'd say that for many it wouldn't take much to be faster than those on a Dogma ... not the pros - the wannabes ...
The ones to be warey of are those on 80's road bikes that look like they've seen better days ... if they've kept them that long then they're likely to be dam quick!

night_porter

I would expect it to make a difference if you ride solo rather than in a group but as others have said to do that you would need to buy a more aero bike maybe a tt bike.

There again if you are riding in a group then pride in your new bike will make you push harder so effectively you will go faster.

You may of course find that you go slower but you will be happy that your gear changes are slicker so it was worth spending the money.

housemunkey

I guess it's like a posh car, you don't really get there any faster but it was a much nicer experience.

mpie

I think the thing most people miss is that worrying-about-it takes energy and energy equal mass (Einstein). So as long as you don't worry-about-it (or even worse, start trying to measure it - quantum), then you will definately go faster. Worry-about-it and all the advatages will be wasted.

ai_1

Depends why the bike is more expensive! Money itself has no impact on physics

In general you pay more for a bike that is either lighter, uses more shaping of frame or wheels for aero benefits or is just a more prestigous brand. Lower weight will make you a little faster on the climbs, more aerodynamic will make you slightly faster on the flat, the brand will only make a difference to your ego.
The weight difference between a £700 bike and a £1800 bike will vary dramatically depending on a bunch of other factors but could be 1.5kg or so. I'm not going to try and quantify the speed difference this will make when climbing but it's probably only about 2.5% of your all up weight if you're a very light guy or closer to 1.5% if your around 88kg like me. It's not going to be very noticeable.
Aerodynamic gains due to the bike tube/wheel shaping will also be small especially if you're not travelling at high speed. Your position and even your helmet will make a bigger difference.

DiscoBoy

"Don't buy upgrades; ride up grades." Eddie Merckx

ai_1

DiscoBoy wrote:

"Don't buy upgrades; ride up grades." Eddie Merckx

That really doesn't answer the question he asked though, does it?
It seems anyone who asks about improving the weight or aerodynamics of their bike in pursuit of performance improvements on this forum is told to lose weight and train harder. I think we all realise that the rider is the most important factor but that doesn't make all other questions silly or misguided. There's no reason why someone shouldn't look for equipment based gains until they've exhausted all training related possibilities. Insinuating that they should is just ignorant.

gotwood25

I have just upgraded from a Boardman CX Team to a Scott Foil 15 and my answer is thus...

Initially I gained no additional speed, if anything I was a little bit slower as I found climbing a bit harder. I mainly put this down to a more aggressive gearing on my rear cassette which I wasn't used to. However after a couple of weeks I noticed changes, I noticed a decent jump in my overall fitness and more power in the legs at a higher cadence and thats just in a few weeks.

This could be down to the bike, it could be a mental thing in that I want to go faster due to it being a better bike (and how much it cost!!) or a combination of the two.

I think making this jump to a 'better bike' will improve my fitness quicker than the Boardman. My average now has gone up about 0.5mph over 20 miles although weather conditions have been shocking since I got it so not a like for like comparison. But my top speed has gone through the roof, the bike can go quicker as well, it is just my bottle I need to work on.

goonz

Course there is bruv! My £10k weapon will destroy you £1k jobbie!

southdownswolf

The expensive bike will only be quicker if it is red.

smidsy

The only thing that will go quicker by spending more on a bike is your bank balance (downwards).

markhewitt1978

AllezAllezAllez wrote:

I've had my Trek 1.2 for around 3 years and racked up 7000+ miles. So I've had good value for my £700 or so pounds and I'm now toying with the idea of a new road bike.

1.2 is a nice starter bike but you've rightly concluded there is better to have.

What are the real benefits of spending £1800 versus a £700 on a bike. I guess smoother gear changes, more comfort, a lighter bike, etc, etc? Will this translate to a higher average mph?

tbh, While £1,800 is a good budget I think you're going to have to spend more to make it a worthwhile upgrade to your 1.2, e.g. If you were to get a Madone 3.5, yes it would be an improvement, but not a massive one, you want to be looking more at Madone 4 series level.

You will get better gear changes, the bike will be lighter, more comfortable? Perhaps, especially if you get the likes of a Domane. But the biggest difference I've found is with power transfer, much more of the energy you put into a pedal stroke is transferred to the road and this is where the increase in speed will come from.

You will get a higher mph, however the biggest difference is nicer bikes are much more fun to ride and inspire you to ride harder.

PS. There will always be loads saying the bike makes no difference, however it really does, just probably not as big a difference as you might be hoping for.

mpie

Ai_1 wrote:

DiscoBoy wrote:

"Don't buy upgrades; ride up grades." Eddie Merckx

That really doesn't answer the question he asked though, does it?
It seems anyone who asks about improving the weight or aerodynamics of their bike in pursuit of performance improvements on this forum is told to lose weight and train harder. I think we all realise that the rider is the most important factor but that doesn't make all other questions silly or misguided. There's no reason why someone shouldn't look for equipment based gains until they've exhausted all training related possibilities. Insinuating that they should is just ignorant.

I think you're confusing this internet forum (a virtual pub chat) with a science dissertation.
Statistically the answer to the OP's question is almost certainly 'yes'. Most (>50%) people who buy more expensive bike probably go faster than before. The interesting part of the answer (for most people) however relates to the underlying mechanisms, which could be:
[*]The rider was getting fitter/faster anyway and a new more expensive bike is an 'effect' rather than a 'cause',
[*]The rider is inspired by a new bike to get out more and hence gets fitter/lighter,
[*]The bike is inherently more efficient (weight/aero/rolling-resistance) so the rider gets faster.
I don't think there's anything particularly controversial about the above till you try quantifying or even ordering them. Then in practice it becomes personal with a sample of one - i.e., statistics become meaningless.

mfin

DiscoBoy wrote:

"Don't buy upgrades; ride up grades." Eddie Merckx

Says Eddie Merckx, the same Eddie Merckx who'd sit in the Colnago factory having frame upon frame made trying to find the perfect one.

markhewitt1978

mfin wrote:

DiscoBoy wrote:

"Don't buy upgrades; ride up grades." Eddie Merckx

Says Eddie Merckx, the same Eddie Merckx who'd sit in the Colnago factory having frame upon frame made trying to find the perfect one.

. By definition the pros get the top of the range bikes anyway, so they aren't in a position to comment.

DiscoBoy

mfin wrote:

DiscoBoy wrote:

"Don't buy upgrades; ride up grades." Eddie Merckx

Says Eddie Merckx, the same Eddie Merckx who'd sit in the Colnago factory having frame upon frame made trying to find the perfect one.

And now has his name on bikes costing ££££££s

But it is still true to say that time invested on the bike is much more effective than money invested on the bike.

ai_1

DiscoBoy wrote:

mfin wrote:

DiscoBoy wrote:

"Don't buy upgrades; ride up grades." Eddie Merckx

Says Eddie Merckx, the same Eddie Merckx who'd sit in the Colnago factory having frame upon frame made trying to find the perfect one.

And now has his name on bikes costing ££££££s

But it is still true to say that time invested on the bike is much more effective than money invested on the bike.

That I can agree with

magoo289

Personally it's in the head. I've been cycling for the same time as you, and 6 months ago started using the big ring. Previously used the small ring 95%. Now use big ring 99% of the time and now see 2-3 mph average speed improvement.

If you think spending more on a new bike will improve your performance then chances it will.