Originally Posted by
Rides4Beer
I've often heard people say that it's the engine, not the bike. Last night was a good example.
I took my gravel bike to the A group ride, because my aero bike is setup for a TT on Thursday and I didn't want to mess with it. So I put on my road wheelset with 28mm GP5Ks (measure at 30mm) and ended up setting nine segment PRs, riding my non-aero, 4lbs heavier, endurance geometry gravel bike.
I think part of it is the whole "comfort = speed" thing. Some of the roads we were on are pretty crappy, on a road bike you have to be careful and you get a lil beat up in some sections. On the gravel bike with bigger tires and compliance built-in to the seatpost and bars, I was very comfortable and had no problem pushing through the rough sections.
Yes, in a lab, aero trumps all, but in the real world, sometimes it's a lil different. That being said, I'm still riding my aero bike with 88mm wheels and clip-on aero bars for the TT.
Are you riding in St Paul, MN? 'cause that's exactly my experience on the rough roads around St Paul (I've been on washboard gravel roads that's easier to ride than St Paul's paved roads. ). I took the heavy gravel bike for a group ride while waiting for part for the road bike, the "slow" gravel bike isn't the big penalty you'd expected (based on marketing hype). I'm not the strongest rider with our group but I ended up riding off the front and having to back off. The result for me, I'm riding much lower tire pressure on my road bike for the St Paul group rides and getting more PRs.