Originally Posted by
smashndash
Interestingly enough, someone snapped their frame in a pileup at the cat 4 CBR yesterday haha.
The thing is, I understand that crashes are a part of racing. Personally, I’m obsessed enough with marginal gains that I’d probably want to build up my allez (or even a new disc frame) with parts that would come on a Venge or whatever anyway. My question isn’t “is it worth racing an expensive bike?”, it’s “is there any advantage to racing the Allez Sprint in a criterium over other bikes that are theoretically faster?”. Justin Williams, Peter Sagan and a local elite racer from the CA bay all had no problem demolishing criteriums on Allez Sprints, which is why I ask.
You can get pretty aero and fast on 'cheap' stuff. Body position and your kit (tight one piece) are the biggest component. After that the tire / tube setup saves a ton, its not 'aero' per se but good rolling resistance can save up to 25 watts. Then go with deep wheels, a cleaner cockpit (cable management and aero bar). The frame itself only accounts for about 17% of total drag so its a very small component. Additionally weight is typically not a major factor so you don't have to pay thousands extra for a gram here or there.