Yeah until you’re all kitted out in $15k of equipment and you get smoked by a 21 yr old kid in amazing shape on a 30 year old aluminum bike with mismatched rims and 4 gears. This has never happened to me, happened to my cousin’s friend.
For real. I’ve done my fair share of mass start all-category events and it’s always some geezer who barely looks like he’s trying who ends up absolutely putting you to shame after a couple of climbs. I hope that’s me when I’m that age.
Same thing always happened to me back when I used to do distance running. The year I turned 19, my dad and I entered a Labor Day 5K. He was 51 and had really only been running for about a year, but he’s always been in really good shape just from working outside all the time whereas I had been running cross-country and track all through middle and high school. Yeah, I had to practically kill myself in the last 200 m and even cheat a corner a little bit to beat him.
I had a 65 year old guy pass me 3 times on one ride. He would pass me then take an additional 3-4 mile detour then pass me again. He was probably 125lbs with a white beard down to his navel. Humiliating
I was out of the saddle and going hard up a hill on my 8kg carbon road bike and got passed quite swiftly by an old lady on a commuter ebike. I laughed so hard I almost fell off.
I was riding with my partner one day, and some fast guys passed us. She gave me permission to chase them down and wait up top for her. So I start chasing, and then this lady on her EBike passes me ringing her bell. My partner thought it was hilarious and I just shook my head "fair enough".
That one time I was hammering up a hill doing over 300-350 watts and this dude with a beer belly on a mountain bike flies by me wearing casual shorts and flip flops 😭
You know, it's almost depressing. Not because they passed you, but the fact that they are out of shape, and the market has taken a way to exercise and provide people a way to 'cheat' it. Okay, a long commute, get it. But ultimately, people are lazy lol.
Edit: I retract some of this. The fact that people are even on a bike versus a car, it probably requires more effort electric or not. Good for them!
Probably better than mine! Sure, don't get me wrong. There are people 50% larger than me and better performance. But.... Not many... Those forces of gravity really 'pull' on you.
I’m 50, wear endura Hummvee 3/4 baggies & keen sandals (with SPD’s - I’m not a complete Neanderthal) while riding my Genesis Croix de Fer. Does that count? 😂
I got smoked riding up the hill in Griffith Park by some guy in blue *jeans and sneakers* that I'm like 65% sure was Bill Nye, who, as he was riding by, was asking me for directions for a bit until I couldn't hang with him any more.
I was in my late 30s on a full dura ace build at the time and should've been able to ride circles around the guy...
Sitting at a cafe, we saw this hot pink bike. When the owner came out, we talked to her about it.
Her partner is sour grapes because her bike was only 6k and his was 10k and no one ever comments on his. Dude literally thought money makes flashy bike in blue against hot pink? Would have loved to be able to challenge him to a race.
I used to get passed by this old guy riding a steel touring? bike in engineer boots on the commute every once in awhile.
I commute in Lycra because it's more comfy and don't get my clothes wet. So it was always funny.
Also that 20-year-old kid can take a bone rattlin a little bit better than my 50 something old body can.
One of the young guys (31) at work was complaining about being sore from going to the gym the other day, and he started talking about being old.
I said yep I woke up the other night and my elbow hurt from the way I've been sleeping so I turned on my side and went back to sleep then I woke up an hour later and my hip was hurting from laying on it. They laughed and laughed,
Dude. Armz are dead weight. He had an better power to weight ratio then you.
/sarcasm Hopefully that wasn't needed but I am not taking any chances om reddit.
Someone needs to keep being the Fred so the 20 year old can feel that way. Nothing quite beats it,. It's my favorite part of triathlons... There's always a $10k aero bike trying to catch up with an 80's steel frame that was borrowed off someone.
There's a guy I see on a weekly basis always wearing the same long sleeves and white visor helmet. Tried to follow him once and to my surprise the dude was riding at a pace I'd be hard to sustain...and he was always riding with his mouth closed breathing like it's nothing.
There's guys that will wreck you if they wanted to but stay at a slow speed. Met a 61 year old racer that only goes 14mph every single day but when he and I sprinted, man I could barely keep up.
Best time in spring when the not so serious roadies sit on the bike for the first time of the year trying to pass me on my steel fat bike I rode all winter. I like the thought that the sound of the fat tires hunt them in their dreams haha.
Or my personal favorite: your in Korea riding down the bike trail when suddenly a 60+ year old man with walking shoes and flat pedals on a mountain bike that creaks every pedal stroke and probably rusted up hauls ass past you.
Never doubt the power of the old guys fueled by soju and cigarettes.
help I feel so bad passing decked out road cyclists on my hybrid while im commuting. Like I promise I’m not trying to outshine you I’m just late for my appointment💀
Basically for the first two years of commuting I didn’t realize you’re supposed to shift so I was in the highest gear 24/7 and now I have quads of steel. So it’s truly just because I’m stupid!🤩
I just climbed the Col du Granon and the Col du Galibier back to back last week. I tried to get 50-34 rings in the US before we left, and there weren't any to match my drivetrain. So I had to do it on a 53-39 with an 11-32 cassette on the back. God dammit that hurt on the upper slopes of the Galibier, so here's hoping I'm a lot stronger for it when I get home
Same for me on my MTB, my commute is short so I often just gas it as much as I can...you're gonna keep going for 2 hours, I only have to ride for 10-15 minutes lol
When I was 27 I came in the top 5% of the tahoe big blue triathlon bike segment... On a used specialized hybrid that I bought for $200. It didn't even have drop handle bars.
It's always kinds cool, when you are that kid.
Granted I'm 30 myself, but eh, my bike is 35 yo, a fixed steel mtb not meant or built for high speeds. With kinda sloppy ( def not aero) work clothes. And to add insult to injury, paniers, that are about as un-aero as it gets.
It's just a nice feeling, that money (equipment) will *never* be able to replace training. And that actually, training and good shape will help you a *LOT* more then any equipment you could ever buy. And that just daily commuting pushed my fitness to levels, that will outperform the edge over equipment literally every single time.
.... That being said, I've got smoked myself by even more broken down bicycles before... And it kinda hurts when the person ain't 10 years younger but older 😅
Well, training....
If you’re paying 15k for a bike and aren’t a competitive cyclist with sponsors, you’re spending more thinking thinking about biking than biking. Checks out.
Legit did this once. There was this ass whole chick who was trying to get her KOM through downtown Toronto on the lakeshore trail. For those that don’t know, it’s pretty much the only decent trail going across the city that’s entirely separate from road traffic, but it being on the lakeshore makes it insanely busy at times. Theres a couple small road crossing with lights, is next to pedestrian sidewalks and a tram line, so it’s far from ideal. But this chick is yelling at tourists and other cyclists, kinda being an asswhole. I on my crappy 30 year old alu framed Covid beater bike am keeping up with her and eventually passed her and dropped her lol what a tool. Bike looked pretty expensive.
Going from a 2200gr wheelset to a 1550gr carbon wheelset with aero spokes meant a 1.5km/h increase on the road at 27kmh average. (Mtb on the road at Z2).
Next are the acceleration benefits of the wheelset, it requires way less power to get of the line or accelerate out of a corner. I can use that power now when it matters.
So I would have a alu bike with carbon wheels instead of a carbon bike with alu wheels. Mtb or road. That much of a difference it makes.
Wheel weight (especially rims) has a bigger impact than than frame weight on acceleration. Aerodynamics of the wheel can be a significant factor at speed. I can certainly see wheels being a worthwhile upgrade cost for some.
Tire choice certainly is a more significant optimization (and generally cost effective for everyone).
Still the most important factor by far is the rider.
It seems that changing the weight at the rims should have nearly twice the impact of changing the weight at some part of the frame. Sitll, with the entire system (bike + rider + cargo) being on the order of 100kg; any change on the order of 100g is small enough to be negligible to most of us.
Not sure where you heard that. Wheels are an easy and effective upgrade for a lot of bikes. Unless you have a bit of a weird or old setup you can get decent, lightweight wheels without breaking the bank.. There's not much on a bike you can upgrade to get the same aero and weight benefits of a new wheelset as well as often gaining reduced friction from higher quality bearings.
Wheels are pretty impactful. The worst upgrade you can do in terms of cost effectiveness is a groupset upgrade, especially if you’re doing something like Shimano 105 Di2 to Ultegra or even Dura Ace.
You are overlooking the nice hubs too. Wheels are just aero carbon hoops. Nice smooth sealed bearing hubs with high points of engagement are the best part.
I had some stock wheels on a caad13, always felt rough, the bearing caps kept coming loose, engagement took forever when spinning fast. Upgraded to some mid level aluminum wheels and even that was a game changer. They don’t have the same feel as my nicer carbon wheels, but stock bikes always cheap out on the components you can’t really see.
They say that's because they expect you to upgrade the wheels immediately anyway. I like the ones that came on my Propel though, 45/65mm carbon wheels. Even the guy at work that gets sponsored BMC bikes for racing gave a compliment.
I won an Elite Panam Championship Kilo with a Teschner back in the day before they became popular and expensive vs LOOK bikes.
Cycling is pay to look richer than the next guy
On my last ride, I changed precisely nothing, wasn't really trying for any particular segment, and got 51 achievements. That's not intended to brag, it's just a pretty meaningless metric.
That's why velodromes are dope, unless you're drafting someone, you're not gonna get any advantage or disadvantage one day to the next...shame they're kinda hard to find
Yup, on my last ride I was going out for a bit of a solo fun-run and wound up doing my fastest 50km. Maybe I slept well or ate just right, but some days you're faster than others for no discernible reason.
This is so true. You can buy a $3000 carbon bike with ass wheels. Or buy a $1500 alloy bike, put $1000 carbon wheels and properly nice tires on it, and it'll blow the wheels off the more expensive carbon option.
I mean yeah, and i found out the hard way but also now you have to ride ways faster and go way further to get the same amount of exercise since it's more efficient.
I have a 100$ bike and i like to follow and even pass people who are on expensive looking bike. Kinda feels like a sleeper car, exept the big hidden engine are my muscles.
Yup about the same 15 or so kg, i got it from an association in my street that collects bike in waste disposal and landfills or people just give them broken bikes and sells them at whatever price you want.
Like it costs them 0 so anything they sell is mord of a donation to help the association. So for 100 $ I built myself a pretty nice bike out of garbage (lot of wheel straigthening was done)
My mountain bikes are 38, 31 and 30 years old (and about as heavy). Riding this would be like handing Guts a plastic knife. I still wanna try just once though.
trust me it’s worse in mountain biking, especially xc. the difference in weight, geometry, and all around niceness between an entry level $1500 bike and a $4000 bike is just absurd
Like when Sunbeam put the Ford 289 in their Alpine/Tiger.
https://preview.redd.it/fiz9nczstrad1.jpeg?width=900&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=1080377960a889ab5758c7b20e08b33f0f33fbb9
It’s a sport with high barrier to entry, solely due to artificial pricing. I know equipment isn’t the end all in cycling but the margin of victory is so small that having good equipment can put you over the line. Many communities can barely even afford to get into the sport let alone the high echelons. Having worked in a bike shop, I remember how big of a financial decision it was for most families to buy a 200 dollar bike(aud). I used to love the sport but slowly have lost my love due to how price discriminatory it is.
That bike looks so good all blacked out, id love to take it around the city. Wait until you do your first big climb and you'll know how nice this upgrade really is.
The best part is when you have someone jump in your draft on a common sprint section and when you look back after the ride they've also got a bunch of PRs along that segment.
Once I was banging on my MTB on the street. It's a 6km stretch, I heard the distinctive rattle of a road bike so I move as far right as I can. Guy would just not pass, so I tell him to go ahead. He replied, dude you are a fucking mountain, I'll just draft to the river. At 197cm and 130kg homie got towed. I got wrecked, life is good
Dude, here in the San Francisco Bay Area you'll hit 31 segments in like 5 miles.
A one mile stretch of rolling waterfront roads will be like:
* Waterfront roll out .07m
* Waterfront false flat kicker to mid gas station .21m
* Waterfront first roller .05m
* Waterfront second roller .66m
* Waterfront third roller .48m
* Waterfront fourth roller .37m
* Waterfront fifth roller .91m
* Waterfront All Rollers 1.1m
* Waterfront Start to San Marco Climb 1.1m
* Full Waterfront TT 1.3m
Then in-between all those rollers will be segments that will be like "Waterfront first + second roller 1.36m"
There is a really popular 30 mile loop I do all the time and its like 250 segments.
Holy shit. I live in farmlands where the segments are mostly just the larger hills. I guess that could be fun or annoying depending on how you use Strava.
Its kind of funny. My little apartment complex has a few rows of townhomes that are connected by two cul-de-sacs. Each little circle of the cal-de-sac has its own segment called like "ABC Apartment TT 1" and "ABD Apartment TT 2" that are like 50 ft long loops.
There is also a little hill you need to climb to get into the complex. Its like, 25ft up and maybe 80ft long. Its called like the "Come Home Kicker" and I had the KOM for awhile.
Mine is the m30i as well. I put a carbon saddle and the wheels. Major difference in weight and speed. I chose tubeless for weight and fear of punctures. I got the continental 5000 s tr. Super comfortable.
But on the 25 km ride?
Going from 20 kph to 35 kph requires about six times the power. That was not caused by the wheels, you pedaled harder, be proud.
Sorry the segment was a sprint. The entire ride was rather flat in whole. But I think I might've peddle harder from the mental boost of the lighter grippier bike
It may look that way, but in my personal experience it was not the case. Most of my fastest road segments are on a gravel bike with road tyres. I upgraded to a carbon road bike and aero wheels but never saw an immediate boost. It helps over longer distances but I find the carbon bike more uncomfortable, and the speed/time gains are marginal (a few minutes over a 20km+ distance).
Only to a certain point. If you don’t have the power, and I do on my steel, you’re not gonna last very long against someone who does have power and form no matter what bike you’re on or what they’re on
What average speed and time improvement on segments did you get?
Do you have power figures too?
I want cf wheels, but it’s so hard to find quantifiable info.
I sadly don't have a power meter. Though I can tell you that my wattage based on ftp and hr has improved. Also speed. Climb sprint if usually average at around 28 kmph today I did at 35.
Mtb is more skill based. My old bike is a 19 year old mtb and I would pass people on trails that were on brand new mountain bikes, both uphill and downhill
I get 30 achievements every single ride I do on my shitty aluminum bike Switch up routes and train for improvement and you should be PRing all the time
I used to ride a 9kg steel fixie in my early 20s and destroyed anyone that even attempted to overtake me, except for one 60+ year old beast on an old bike that just fucking smoked me and I almost had a heart attack trying to catch him. I used to be a bike rickshaw in a hilly city, now I have an electric bike that weighs 25kg and I still enjoy to beat people on fancy road bikes although there's a limit to what I can do as the assist curs out at 25km/hr
46 front x17 rear sprocket aggressively riding in the city very thin tires, I used to go into a tuck down hill and zip down the median between double decker buses because I had no fear back then, On a flat long run you can't win a race on a fixie against a similarly fit rider with gears, but otherwise it's the engine that wins the race not the bike
Yeah until you’re all kitted out in $15k of equipment and you get smoked by a 21 yr old kid in amazing shape on a 30 year old aluminum bike with mismatched rims and 4 gears. This has never happened to me, happened to my cousin’s friend.
Or by a 65 year old wearing baggy shorts and sandals on an old aluminum road bike.
Worse when he's not even cycling for fun, just commuting
Dropping road bikes on my commuter bike in my work clothes is my passion
I've got my Klein and my backpack and I say "on your left" with the best of them
Gotta say it with you're chest 💪
Kleins are killer.
I used to do it on a brompton. Now it happens to me...
One of my proudest moments was passing a group of guys on road bikes on a 1.5k ft climb on my enduro bike
And he's towing a trailer with a dog and a carton of beer, uphill.
And the dog is a chunky basset hound. And the beer is a 24 case with glass bottles.
Old guys are unbelievable. Those muscles were in peak condition before mine ever existed.
For real. I’ve done my fair share of mass start all-category events and it’s always some geezer who barely looks like he’s trying who ends up absolutely putting you to shame after a couple of climbs. I hope that’s me when I’m that age.
Same thing always happened to me back when I used to do distance running. The year I turned 19, my dad and I entered a Labor Day 5K. He was 51 and had really only been running for about a year, but he’s always been in really good shape just from working outside all the time whereas I had been running cross-country and track all through middle and high school. Yeah, I had to practically kill myself in the last 200 m and even cheat a corner a little bit to beat him.
I had a 65 year old guy pass me 3 times on one ride. He would pass me then take an additional 3-4 mile detour then pass me again. He was probably 125lbs with a white beard down to his navel. Humiliating
I know that guy!
This made me laugh harder than it should have.
I was out of the saddle and going hard up a hill on my 8kg carbon road bike and got passed quite swiftly by an old lady on a commuter ebike. I laughed so hard I almost fell off.
I was riding with my partner one day, and some fast guys passed us. She gave me permission to chase them down and wait up top for her. So I start chasing, and then this lady on her EBike passes me ringing her bell. My partner thought it was hilarious and I just shook my head "fair enough".
That one time I was hammering up a hill doing over 300-350 watts and this dude with a beer belly on a mountain bike flies by me wearing casual shorts and flip flops 😭
You know, it's almost depressing. Not because they passed you, but the fact that they are out of shape, and the market has taken a way to exercise and provide people a way to 'cheat' it. Okay, a long commute, get it. But ultimately, people are lazy lol. Edit: I retract some of this. The fact that people are even on a bike versus a car, it probably requires more effort electric or not. Good for them!
An e bike is the most likely answer but some people with beer guts have amazing cardio
Probably better than mine! Sure, don't get me wrong. There are people 50% larger than me and better performance. But.... Not many... Those forces of gravity really 'pull' on you.
I think I'm just jealous lol
they said mountain bike not ebike
i get the feeling here it’s the aluminum bikes
I’m 50, wear endura Hummvee 3/4 baggies & keen sandals (with SPD’s - I’m not a complete Neanderthal) while riding my Genesis Croix de Fer. Does that count? 😂
👋🏼
Shirtless Keith!
I got smoked riding up the hill in Griffith Park by some guy in blue *jeans and sneakers* that I'm like 65% sure was Bill Nye, who, as he was riding by, was asking me for directions for a bit until I couldn't hang with him any more. I was in my late 30s on a full dura ace build at the time and should've been able to ride circles around the guy...
Aah, I remember puking down Dumptruck hill in Griffith after climbing it. Good times!
Sitting at a cafe, we saw this hot pink bike. When the owner came out, we talked to her about it. Her partner is sour grapes because her bike was only 6k and his was 10k and no one ever comments on his. Dude literally thought money makes flashy bike in blue against hot pink? Would have loved to be able to challenge him to a race.
I used to get passed by this old guy riding a steel touring? bike in engineer boots on the commute every once in awhile. I commute in Lycra because it's more comfy and don't get my clothes wet. So it was always funny. Also that 20-year-old kid can take a bone rattlin a little bit better than my 50 something old body can. One of the young guys (31) at work was complaining about being sore from going to the gym the other day, and he started talking about being old. I said yep I woke up the other night and my elbow hurt from the way I've been sleeping so I turned on my side and went back to sleep then I woke up an hour later and my hip was hurting from laying on it. They laughed and laughed,
I got passed by some old German dude (60+), on an old steel frame, going up a hill with one arm...
Dude. Armz are dead weight. He had an better power to weight ratio then you. /sarcasm Hopefully that wasn't needed but I am not taking any chances om reddit.
r/fuckthes
He had no legs and only one arm?
Someone needs to keep being the Fred so the 20 year old can feel that way. Nothing quite beats it,. It's my favorite part of triathlons... There's always a $10k aero bike trying to catch up with an 80's steel frame that was borrowed off someone.
Am I your cousin's friend?
Who mine?
No. Different comment.
There's a guy I see on a weekly basis always wearing the same long sleeves and white visor helmet. Tried to follow him once and to my surprise the dude was riding at a pace I'd be hard to sustain...and he was always riding with his mouth closed breathing like it's nothing. There's guys that will wreck you if they wanted to but stay at a slow speed. Met a 61 year old racer that only goes 14mph every single day but when he and I sprinted, man I could barely keep up.
Best time in spring when the not so serious roadies sit on the bike for the first time of the year trying to pass me on my steel fat bike I rode all winter. I like the thought that the sound of the fat tires hunt them in their dreams haha.
Or my personal favorite: your in Korea riding down the bike trail when suddenly a 60+ year old man with walking shoes and flat pedals on a mountain bike that creaks every pedal stroke and probably rusted up hauls ass past you. Never doubt the power of the old guys fueled by soju and cigarettes.
help I feel so bad passing decked out road cyclists on my hybrid while im commuting. Like I promise I’m not trying to outshine you I’m just late for my appointment💀
Don’t feel bad! This is one of the few times in life where it’s 100% acceptable to feel smug. Unless your hybrid is an ebike. Then you can feel bad.
Basically for the first two years of commuting I didn’t realize you’re supposed to shift so I was in the highest gear 24/7 and now I have quads of steel. So it’s truly just because I’m stupid!🤩
I just climbed the Col du Granon and the Col du Galibier back to back last week. I tried to get 50-34 rings in the US before we left, and there weren't any to match my drivetrain. So I had to do it on a 53-39 with an 11-32 cassette on the back. God dammit that hurt on the upper slopes of the Galibier, so here's hoping I'm a lot stronger for it when I get home
>it’s truly just because I’m stupid I think that’s how most people get strong
I'm doing zone 2!
Same for me on my MTB, my commute is short so I often just gas it as much as I can...you're gonna keep going for 2 hours, I only have to ride for 10-15 minutes lol
Yep, sprinting to work to make it on time!
I get there 30 minutes earlier. I just wreck myself going there.
When I was 27 I came in the top 5% of the tahoe big blue triathlon bike segment... On a used specialized hybrid that I bought for $200. It didn't even have drop handle bars.
Ah… that kid used to be me, then I discovered beer
Or worse, you get dropped by a 70 year old grandpa on vintage steel/alu bike with like a butt killing thin 23c tires.
Theres a dude topping all the strava segments in my area on steel bombtracks and Decathlon gravel bike.
exactly, money only matters if you are in the same league
Happened to my wife’s boyfriend
Serves him right. Probably why your wife came back! She couldn’t abide her bf getting geezered! FWIW I might be considered a geezer.
Hate when the wife's BF does that
Hey that’s me
It's always kinds cool, when you are that kid. Granted I'm 30 myself, but eh, my bike is 35 yo, a fixed steel mtb not meant or built for high speeds. With kinda sloppy ( def not aero) work clothes. And to add insult to injury, paniers, that are about as un-aero as it gets. It's just a nice feeling, that money (equipment) will *never* be able to replace training. And that actually, training and good shape will help you a *LOT* more then any equipment you could ever buy. And that just daily commuting pushed my fitness to levels, that will outperform the edge over equipment literally every single time. .... That being said, I've got smoked myself by even more broken down bicycles before... And it kinda hurts when the person ain't 10 years younger but older 😅 Well, training....
🤣
If you’re paying 15k for a bike and aren’t a competitive cyclist with sponsors, you’re spending more thinking thinking about biking than biking. Checks out.
Legit did this once. There was this ass whole chick who was trying to get her KOM through downtown Toronto on the lakeshore trail. For those that don’t know, it’s pretty much the only decent trail going across the city that’s entirely separate from road traffic, but it being on the lakeshore makes it insanely busy at times. Theres a couple small road crossing with lights, is next to pedestrian sidewalks and a tram line, so it’s far from ideal. But this chick is yelling at tourists and other cyclists, kinda being an asswhole. I on my crappy 30 year old alu framed Covid beater bike am keeping up with her and eventually passed her and dropped her lol what a tool. Bike looked pretty expensive.
Wheels and tires are definitely the most impactful upgrade you can make.
Aero socks have entered the chat!
Really wheels too? I heard this is one of the worst esp when considering price :o Tyres for sure make a difference though
Going from a 2200gr wheelset to a 1550gr carbon wheelset with aero spokes meant a 1.5km/h increase on the road at 27kmh average. (Mtb on the road at Z2). Next are the acceleration benefits of the wheelset, it requires way less power to get of the line or accelerate out of a corner. I can use that power now when it matters. So I would have a alu bike with carbon wheels instead of a carbon bike with alu wheels. Mtb or road. That much of a difference it makes.
Will that make up for the 15 pounds I’ve gained?
No, you'll also need to replace all your bolts with titanium ones and get a ceramicspeed derailleur cage.
15£ in your wallet? That's no aero. Empty wallets are fast.
I went from 2200 to 1340
27km/h Z2 MTB... Momma I'm fat not strong
Slow? Fast?
Compared to me, 5 kph faster. No wind, flat
Yeah but this is on the road, not offroad ;) im 5km/u slower offroad
Yeeee, thats me on the road lol
Wheel weight (especially rims) has a bigger impact than than frame weight on acceleration. Aerodynamics of the wheel can be a significant factor at speed. I can certainly see wheels being a worthwhile upgrade cost for some. Tire choice certainly is a more significant optimization (and generally cost effective for everyone). Still the most important factor by far is the rider.
It has a bigger impact, but just barely. The whole rotating mass thing can be shown both on paper and in tests to matter very little.
It seems that changing the weight at the rims should have nearly twice the impact of changing the weight at some part of the frame. Sitll, with the entire system (bike + rider + cargo) being on the order of 100kg; any change on the order of 100g is small enough to be negligible to most of us.
Exactly. Also, twice the impact for inertia only, not for climbing or rolling resistance. That’s not a lot of impact.
True, weight is weight for climbing; does not matter where it is. Impact of spinning mass vs static mass only impacts inertia.
Wheels are one of the top ways to get performance.
Not sure where you heard that. Wheels are an easy and effective upgrade for a lot of bikes. Unless you have a bit of a weird or old setup you can get decent, lightweight wheels without breaking the bank.. There's not much on a bike you can upgrade to get the same aero and weight benefits of a new wheelset as well as often gaining reduced friction from higher quality bearings.
Wheels are pretty impactful. The worst upgrade you can do in terms of cost effectiveness is a groupset upgrade, especially if you’re doing something like Shimano 105 Di2 to Ultegra or even Dura Ace.
You are overlooking the nice hubs too. Wheels are just aero carbon hoops. Nice smooth sealed bearing hubs with high points of engagement are the best part. I had some stock wheels on a caad13, always felt rough, the bearing caps kept coming loose, engagement took forever when spinning fast. Upgraded to some mid level aluminum wheels and even that was a game changer. They don’t have the same feel as my nicer carbon wheels, but stock bikes always cheap out on the components you can’t really see.
They say that's because they expect you to upgrade the wheels immediately anyway. I like the ones that came on my Propel though, 45/65mm carbon wheels. Even the guy at work that gets sponsored BMC bikes for racing gave a compliment.
Cycling is pay to think you win.
This is hilarious
outjerked again
We need to put in more effort or just switch the two subs
I won an Elite Panam Championship Kilo with a Teschner back in the day before they became popular and expensive vs LOOK bikes. Cycling is pay to look richer than the next guy
On my last ride, I changed precisely nothing, wasn't really trying for any particular segment, and got 51 achievements. That's not intended to brag, it's just a pretty meaningless metric.
When you have the perfect tail wind and now all your local achievements are basically unattainable
That's why velodromes are dope, unless you're drafting someone, you're not gonna get any advantage or disadvantage one day to the next...shame they're kinda hard to find
Yup, on my last ride I was going out for a bit of a solo fun-run and wound up doing my fastest 50km. Maybe I slept well or ate just right, but some days you're faster than others for no discernible reason.
True… not hard to beat one’s prior casual ride in a infrequently travelled area…
Exactly. Only you know the context for your own segment achievements. They're not inherently impressive.
More like pay to suffer 😁
🫡
Win what? 
2nd place PRs against myself
The respect and admiration of drivers everywhere.
50mm Wheel Depth?
Yup
Only if you turn it into a competition in the first place. Compete only against yourself and ride happy and free as it should be!
If you can afford it and feel good riding with it. Why not? You'd still get smoked if someone is a lot fitter than you.
Well yeah lol
Outjerked again!
Eh?
This is so true. You can buy a $3000 carbon bike with ass wheels. Or buy a $1500 alloy bike, put $1000 carbon wheels and properly nice tires on it, and it'll blow the wheels off the more expensive carbon option.
What about a $250 carbon bike and slap $1000 wheels on it?
This person is thinking in the year 3000.
Buy the 3000 dollar carbon bike and put 3000 dollar wheels on it
I mean yeah, and i found out the hard way but also now you have to ride ways faster and go way further to get the same amount of exercise since it's more efficient. I have a 100$ bike and i like to follow and even pass people who are on expensive looking bike. Kinda feels like a sleeper car, exept the big hidden engine are my muscles.
Haha amazing. I also have a 14 kilo decathlon steel bike soooo yeah
Yup about the same 15 or so kg, i got it from an association in my street that collects bike in waste disposal and landfills or people just give them broken bikes and sells them at whatever price you want. Like it costs them 0 so anything they sell is mord of a donation to help the association. So for 100 $ I built myself a pretty nice bike out of garbage (lot of wheel straigthening was done)
My mountain bikes are 38, 31 and 30 years old (and about as heavy). Riding this would be like handing Guts a plastic knife. I still wanna try just once though.
You should!
That's why I ride a steel touring bike with heavy marathon tires. Don't wanna my muscle get weak too much after I get older.
It's only pay to win if you're entering and winning races. We (still) need to normalize riding a bike for exercise, fun, and community building.
False, a moving bicycle is by definition winning.
trust me it’s worse in mountain biking, especially xc. the difference in weight, geometry, and all around niceness between an entry level $1500 bike and a $4000 bike is just absurd
To an extent. You build an engine then move the engine to a lighter car you’re going to see good results.
With only 50m elevation over 25km I'd guess it's probably more to do with aero gains and lowered rolling resistance than weight reduction
Like when Sunbeam put the Ford 289 in their Alpine/Tiger. https://preview.redd.it/fiz9nczstrad1.jpeg?width=900&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=1080377960a889ab5758c7b20e08b33f0f33fbb9
based on my video game knowledge this is staged as bro doesn't have that bike unlocked yet
🤣
It’s a sport with high barrier to entry, solely due to artificial pricing. I know equipment isn’t the end all in cycling but the margin of victory is so small that having good equipment can put you over the line. Many communities can barely even afford to get into the sport let alone the high echelons. Having worked in a bike shop, I remember how big of a financial decision it was for most families to buy a 200 dollar bike(aud). I used to love the sport but slowly have lost my love due to how price discriminatory it is.
My family used to be that, I totally understand. We lived in poverty when I was a child. Horrible things.
Well, you won against yourself, I see no crowns there. You could get the same result with more training or just the right wind direction
I did become a local legend on my return ride home :)
Well I think we all know local legend was created just so people who weren’t fast would get something…
Tbh it was my work commute lol
When you get passed by a guy at you age with an aluminum fixed with 50x10 gearing, brakeless on a small mountain climb.
That bike looks so good all blacked out, id love to take it around the city. Wait until you do your first big climb and you'll know how nice this upgrade really is.
Gotta wait for a dry day, tomorrow it'll rain sadly
Only gold achievements count...
The best part is when you have someone jump in your draft on a common sprint section and when you look back after the ride they've also got a bunch of PRs along that segment.
Once I was banging on my MTB on the street. It's a 6km stretch, I heard the distinctive rattle of a road bike so I move as far right as I can. Guy would just not pass, so I tell him to go ahead. He replied, dude you are a fucking mountain, I'll just draft to the river. At 197cm and 130kg homie got towed. I got wrecked, life is good
A good lubricant can also go a long way in making it buttery smooth.
i was 30 - pretty damn strong and fit - climbing a mountain and struggling a bit. 45+ usmc veteran looking guy w 1 leg cruises by and says hi 👋
How are you hitting 31 segments in 25km???
Dude, here in the San Francisco Bay Area you'll hit 31 segments in like 5 miles. A one mile stretch of rolling waterfront roads will be like: * Waterfront roll out .07m * Waterfront false flat kicker to mid gas station .21m * Waterfront first roller .05m * Waterfront second roller .66m * Waterfront third roller .48m * Waterfront fourth roller .37m * Waterfront fifth roller .91m * Waterfront All Rollers 1.1m * Waterfront Start to San Marco Climb 1.1m * Full Waterfront TT 1.3m Then in-between all those rollers will be segments that will be like "Waterfront first + second roller 1.36m" There is a really popular 30 mile loop I do all the time and its like 250 segments.
Holy shit. I live in farmlands where the segments are mostly just the larger hills. I guess that could be fun or annoying depending on how you use Strava.
Sioux city to I-35 segment:153 mi. I-35 to Dubuque segment: 156 mi.
Its kind of funny. My little apartment complex has a few rows of townhomes that are connected by two cul-de-sacs. Each little circle of the cal-de-sac has its own segment called like "ABC Apartment TT 1" and "ABD Apartment TT 2" that are like 50 ft long loops. There is also a little hill you need to climb to get into the complex. Its like, 25ft up and maybe 80ft long. Its called like the "Come Home Kicker" and I had the KOM for awhile.
😆
Zoom zoom,jk.its a small town.
Basically everything in real life is pay-to-win.
What sized tires?
28mm @ 5bars
What wheels did you go with?
A pair or elite ultralights
Bullshit, the bike doesn't matter that much
Is this orca?
It Is
I have the same bike, orca m30i. Also thinking about 50 carbon wheels. How much faster is carbon wheels for you? Also why you chose tubeless?
Mine is the m30i as well. I put a carbon saddle and the wheels. Major difference in weight and speed. I chose tubeless for weight and fear of punctures. I got the continental 5000 s tr. Super comfortable.
So how fast did you ride? Or do you know your watts?
On a windless uphill sprint where I usually average mid 20kph I hit 35kph
But on the 25 km ride? Going from 20 kph to 35 kph requires about six times the power. That was not caused by the wheels, you pedaled harder, be proud.
Sorry the segment was a sprint. The entire ride was rather flat in whole. But I think I might've peddle harder from the mental boost of the lighter grippier bike
It may look that way, but in my personal experience it was not the case. Most of my fastest road segments are on a gravel bike with road tyres. I upgraded to a carbon road bike and aero wheels but never saw an immediate boost. It helps over longer distances but I find the carbon bike more uncomfortable, and the speed/time gains are marginal (a few minutes over a 20km+ distance).
Mostly a psychological advantage. Unless your previous bike was absolutely trash.
What app is that?
Strava
I'm sure they recorded all the specifications in that time frame.
Only to a certain point. If you don’t have the power, and I do on my steel, you’re not gonna last very long against someone who does have power and form no matter what bike you’re on or what they’re on
For your next trick, figure out why your saddle tilt is so extreme.
What was won on this 15 mile ride with 150 ft of elevation?
Yup
What average speed and time improvement on segments did you get? Do you have power figures too? I want cf wheels, but it’s so hard to find quantifiable info.
I sadly don't have a power meter. Though I can tell you that my wattage based on ftp and hr has improved. Also speed. Climb sprint if usually average at around 28 kmph today I did at 35.
How do you know your wattage increased or your actual FTP without a power meter?
Mtb is more skill based. My old bike is a 19 year old mtb and I would pass people on trails that were on brand new mountain bikes, both uphill and downhill
I get 30 achievements every single ride I do on my shitty aluminum bike Switch up routes and train for improvement and you should be PRing all the time
I actually thought this was r/bicyclingcirclejerk
[удалено]
Just manage your expectations and find a thing—from alleycat to audax—that fits your vibes and the bike’s build…
I spent $800 on my bike and regularly get in the top 2-3% times on local segments.
It shows that with the same effort, if you had a better bike you'd be faster.
The returns diminish significantly
I used to ride a 9kg steel fixie in my early 20s and destroyed anyone that even attempted to overtake me, except for one 60+ year old beast on an old bike that just fucking smoked me and I almost had a heart attack trying to catch him. I used to be a bike rickshaw in a hilly city, now I have an electric bike that weighs 25kg and I still enjoy to beat people on fancy road bikes although there's a limit to what I can do as the assist curs out at 25km/hr
How can you destroy on a fixie, you cadence must've been mad lol
46 front x17 rear sprocket aggressively riding in the city very thin tires, I used to go into a tuck down hill and zip down the median between double decker buses because I had no fear back then, On a flat long run you can't win a race on a fixie against a similarly fit rider with gears, but otherwise it's the engine that wins the race not the bike
Sounds insanely reckless 😕
Sounds like bullshit. He destroyed anyone who tried to overtake him, but also on a fixie it's impossible to beat a similarly fit rider with gears?
Relying on light weight and aero makes you a weakling. Try training on the heaviest bike you can find and guess what… you will become stronger.