A noticeable upgrade?

bartersb

So guys & gals I am considering upgrading to a dream bike (from an already great bike) & was wondering if anyone has ever done this & was disappointed with lack of appreciable gains?

My current ride is a 2012 Scott CR1 SL http://www.scott-sports.com/us/en/produ ... sl-20-m54/
Only modification is the inclusion of a DA 7900 Stages power meter. Weight is bang on 7kg with pedals, cages, k-edge garmin mount.
In terms of position I am 187cm, ride a 58cm with the stem slammed (2mm spacer under) so it is as aggressive a position as it is ever going to be.

I have ridden this bike now for 18 months. I set myself some performance targets that I needed to hit before I could consider spending more on kit. Well, I actually did meet my objectives--dropped 18kg, developed my FTP to 4w/kg, & went from placing bottom 20% in etape du tour last year to top 10% this year.

So it's not autumn yet but I am off the bike due to bronchitis this weekend. So I am planning already goals & kit for 2015.

The build I am thinking about is
1. Pinarello Dogma F8 frameset--my friend has one already & loves it. However, I will wait for the review from Tour magazine.
2. Dura ace 9070 DI2 group set.
3. Zipp 404 tubulars
4. Cockpit, saddle etc--haven't looked into that yet.

Obviously on paper (& on the bank balance) this bike is a savage. The question I have is does anyone have any experience upgrading from an already pretty top spec bike such as mine & think to themselves that they didn't notice much difference?

crikey

A 'savage'?
Dogma plus Di2 plus Zipps sounds like a dentists bike to me...

You probably won't get much in the way of gains because you can't buy them only work for them, which it sounds like you already have done to a very impressive extent. Buy a cheap 105 aluminium bike and start racing; you'll get quicker much quicker.

bartersb

Funny, I live in Geneva & was just checking out the Prologue of the Haute Route yesterday. I rode down & felt almost embarrassed on my 7900 group set!

You are right on only being able to buy so much improvement. That is why this year I bought the power meter & took on the services of a coach.

dowtcha

Sounds like you already have had a big upgrade already.

robbo2011

Hi Bartersb,

Tell me about this coach. Is he Swiss?

After being disappointed in the marginal gains i have made over last years performances despite a lot of riding, I am clearly not doing something right. I think I need a more targeted approach for next year.

ugo.santalucia

bartersb wrote:

developed my FTP to 4w/kg, & went from placing bottom 20% in etape du tour last year to top 10% this year.

4 W/kg get you to the top 10% of the tape? I should be around that number but I don't think I'll finish in the top 10% at the Etape... no way... :shock:

robbo2011

It's all those dentists on their Pinarellos that enter these events nowadays

ugo.santalucia

robbo2011 wrote:

It's all those dentists on their Pinarellos that enter these events nowadays

I'm pretty sure I'd be in the top 50%, but there are some serious riders... people over 5 W/Kg... to be frank with my nearly 4 W/Kg looking at the times people post on Strava, I can't even fit in the top 2,000 up Box Hill... :roll:

bartersb

My numbers are weight 79kg (+ bike of 7kg), 20 min wattage threshold of 335w. So perhaps 4w/kg isn't super high but absolute wattage is high enough & the first 80km of this year's etape was pretty flat so I was able to motor on. As I was low placed in the etape last year I started in the 7000 pen so was unable to find any pelotons going at my pace so I was literally on a Jens Voight solo break the entire way & passed thousands of riders.
Generally on a HC or cat 1 climb I ascend at a vam of 1000.

What I would say about the etape is that a) it's huge (13,000) b) there are a lot of riders on it carrying a bit of excess timber c) a lot of riders don't have any experience on how to descend.

Now box hill is only 2.5km @ 5%. So FTP of 4w/kg for 1 hour would be too long a period to look at your wattage output over. I imagine on that climb you are talking 6-7 minutes--I can hold closer to 5w/kg for that.

My coach is Italian. Connected via Training Peaks. I just upload my Garmin data & he sends me a training plan & answers any questions. Money well spent.

ugo.santalucia

bartersb wrote:

My numbers are weight 79kg (+ bike of 7kg), 20 min wattage threshold of 335w. So perhaps 4w/kg isn't super high but absolute wattage is high enough & the first 80km of this year's etape was pretty flat so I was able to motor on. As I was low placed in the etape last year I started in the 7000 pen so was unable to find any pelotons going at my pace so I was literally on a Jens Voight solo break the entire way & passed thousands of riders.
Generally on a HC or cat 1 climb I ascend at a vam of 1000.

What I would say about the etape is that a) it's huge (13,000) b) there are a lot of riders on it carrying a bit of excess timber c) a lot of riders don't have any experience on how to descend.

Now box hill is only 2.5km @ 5%. So FTP of 4w/kg for 1 hour would be too long a period to look at your wattage output over. I imagine on that climb you are talking 6-7 minutes--I can hold closer to 5w/kg for that.

My coach is Italian. Connected via Training Peaks. I just upload my Garmin data & he sends me a training plan & answers any questions. Money well spent.

I normally do an alpine climb HC or so with a VAM of 920-940, so not horribly far off. Climbs like Box Hill more like 1100

cycleclinic

I don't think you will be climbing much faster on the Pinarello compared to what you have. Ultimatley you have to deliver the power.

jameses

I can't see it making the slightest bit of difference to your times, given you're already riding a pretty damn high spec machine. It may put a bit more of a smile on your face, though.

Mccaria

Having gone through a similar iteration I would expect there to be limited performance upside from the change. But that's not why we do it !

Having been out of road riding for 10 years I bought a Planet X Pro, moved onto a Cervelo RS and now amongst others I have a Dogma 65.1 with 9070 and bling wheels. Performance wise there is very little difference vs the influence of other factors such as time available, diet/weight, enthusiasm etc

bartersb

Yeah, that's what I figured. However, as I sit here unable to ride due to bronchitis & with shorter evenings drawing in & the transition to autumn & winter it is good to have a "project" to keep one interested. Especially when there are a great deal of evenings on the turbo coming.

Having looked around today I am actually now even considering the 2015 Specialized S-Works Tarmac frameset. Compared to the Dogma F8 it almost looks like a bargain.

Frankly I think what will deliver me the biggest gain will be a frame with a shorter head tube that allows me to get down into a more aero position.

Anyways, there will be many months to carefully deliberate over every component. However, the frame I must get right.

Anyone have the S-Works Tarmac?

Mccaria

If you want a lower head tube have a look at the Cannondales. Plenty of good offers around on 2014 bikes and framesets and the geometry lets you get a very low front end position.

sloppyschleckonds

ugo.santalucia wrote:

bartersb wrote:

developed my FTP to 4w/kg, & went from placing bottom 20% in etape du tour last year to top 10% this year.

4 W/kg get you to the top 10% of the tape? I should be around that number but I don't think I'll finish in the top 10% at the Etape... no way... :shock:

May be you should get a coach?

bartersb

I did like the look of CANNONDALE Supersix Evo Nano Frameset

Mccaria

This is my Nano, it builds into a ridiculously light bike if you want to go that way. Qwerty Cycles are doing the 2014 frame at £2700 (which includes the SISL2 chainset), seems cheap by comparison to the F8 !

bartersb

That's a beauty!

Thanks for the tip. Just looked them up.

That's then basically the same money as the 2015 S-Works Tarmac.

Should I worry about the chain set? I'd prefer a Dura Ace compact for the alps.

Mccaria

It may be worth chatting to them to see if they will supply it with compact rings as the Sisl2 takes both standard and compact rings. I know at one point the Nano was sold with both standard and compact rings and you just used the ones you wanted, not sure if they still do that.

Having used both 9000 and SISL chainsets, there isn't much between them, they are both excellent.
One other thought, if you are set on Di2 is to check if the Nano is compatible with Di2, mine is mechanical only but is the older 2013 model.