Crabon bikes are fast!
Likes For gregf83:
#78
Senior Member
comes in all colors including the win color. just call up amgen or whoever is the current tour provider. they will hook you up all day long.
#79
Senior Member
Everything except my 61 year old body. Surely the 2017 11 speed 105 is better than my 1992 8 speed Ultegra. Could be the 26mm tires vs 23 but I doubt it. I’m getting stronger as the season goes on and my avg speed is going up. Could also be that the settings on my bike computer were wrong last year. Either way it’s no big deal to me.
#80
Senior Member
Join Date: Oct 2017
Location: Chapel Hill NC
Posts: 1,683
Bikes: 2000 Litespeed Vortex Chorus 10, 1995 DeBernardi Cromor S/S
Mentioned: 4 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 645 Post(s)
Liked 797 Times
in
446 Posts
Is all this based on one ride on each bike? Ride each bike 10 times and come back with the mean values for each ride and there might be something to talk about. It’s equally possible that you were just feeling better the day you rode the carbon.
Likes For gregf83:
#83
So it is
Join Date: Sep 2008
Location: Westminster, CO
Posts: 21,226
Bikes: Luzerne, 684, Boreas, Wheelhouse, Alize©®, Bayamo, Cayo
Mentioned: 245 Post(s)
Tagged: 1 Thread(s)
Quoted: 11321 Post(s)
Liked 4,635 Times
in
2,701 Posts
Physics and mathing aside, this is all about crabon, and how much faster it is than steel.
#84
Non omnino gravis
I tried this about 2 years ago, riding the same route on my steel Ritchey and crabon Cervelo. Couldn't get it to work. The Cervelo finished the ~44 mile course 19 minutes faster (2h14m vs. 2h33m for the steel) at an obviously higher average speed (19.7mph vs. 17.6mph,) but my unweighted power was 8% higher on the Cervelo (224w compared to 206w,) and avg. HR was 12% higher (152 vs. 134.) I expected the carbon to be faster, and then worked harder, so it was. So something like physical confirmation bias?
I'm sure my crabon would be marginally faster at the same effort (or more common in my case, the same speed for less effort) under the same conditions just by virtue of being about 6lbs lighter than the steel. If I were to just ride them both around a high school running track for an hour at a fixed output, I don't know how much difference there would be if any.
I'm sure my crabon would be marginally faster at the same effort (or more common in my case, the same speed for less effort) under the same conditions just by virtue of being about 6lbs lighter than the steel. If I were to just ride them both around a high school running track for an hour at a fixed output, I don't know how much difference there would be if any.
#86
• —
Join Date: Jun 2015
Location: Land of Pleasant Living
Posts: 12,155
Bikes: Shmikes
Mentioned: 58 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 10104 Post(s)
Liked 5,784 Times
in
3,112 Posts
#87
Senior Member
Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: Walnut Creek, CA
Posts: 2,667
Bikes: 2023 Canyon Aeoroad CF SL, 2015 Trek Emonda SLR, 2002 Litespeed Classic, 2005 Bianchi Pista, Some BikesDirect MTB I never ride.
Mentioned: 10 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 647 Post(s)
Liked 135 Times
in
88 Posts
Doesn't that further my point? It CAN be accurate, or it CAN be way way off. Seems to confirm "Strava's power estimates suck" "because they can be somewhat accurate, and terribly wrong".
#88
smelling the roses
Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: Tixkokob, Yucatán, México
Posts: 15,428
Bikes: 79 Trek 930, 80 Trek 414, 84 Schwinn Letour Luxe (coupled), 92 Schwinn Paramount PDG 5
Mentioned: 104 Post(s)
Tagged: 1 Thread(s)
Quoted: 7081 Post(s)
Liked 901 Times
in
612 Posts
One of my steel bikes is faster over the same course than another of my steel bikes. The stiffer frame is the slower one. The faster bike is 13 years older than the slower one. I have never ridden crabon nor ever used a power meter. Anecdotal evidence.
Strava gives me grossly overstated elevation gains here in pancake land.
Neither bike is red.
Strava gives me grossly overstated elevation gains here in pancake land.
Neither bike is red.
Likes For seedsbelize:
#90
So it is
Join Date: Sep 2008
Location: Westminster, CO
Posts: 21,226
Bikes: Luzerne, 684, Boreas, Wheelhouse, Alize©®, Bayamo, Cayo
Mentioned: 245 Post(s)
Tagged: 1 Thread(s)
Quoted: 11321 Post(s)
Liked 4,635 Times
in
2,701 Posts
Yeah but..... This is all about crabon bikes being fast, not older steel bikes being faster than old steel bikes.
I know for a fact by the data put up that crabon would be faster than both.
I know for a fact by the data put up that crabon would be faster than both.
#91
Senior Member
#92
Senior Member
Join Date: Jun 2008
Location: Vancouver, BC
Posts: 9,201
Mentioned: 11 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1186 Post(s)
Liked 289 Times
in
177 Posts
They suck on the flats but based on the data I have they're accurate for hills 7+%. If you don't have a powermeter you can get a very close estimate of your power for a given duration by riding up a steep hill.
#93
Senior Member
Join Date: Nov 2015
Location: Music City, USA
Posts: 4,444
Bikes: bikes
Mentioned: 52 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 2622 Post(s)
Liked 1,429 Times
in
711 Posts
People with powermeters know this. And people without powermeters have no use for this. It's completely meaningless.
#95
So it is
Join Date: Sep 2008
Location: Westminster, CO
Posts: 21,226
Bikes: Luzerne, 684, Boreas, Wheelhouse, Alize©®, Bayamo, Cayo
Mentioned: 245 Post(s)
Tagged: 1 Thread(s)
Quoted: 11321 Post(s)
Liked 4,635 Times
in
2,701 Posts
Likes For LAJ:
#97
Senior Member
I tried this about 2 years ago, riding the same route on my steel Ritchey and crabon Cervelo. Couldn't get it to work. The Cervelo finished the ~44 mile course 19 minutes faster (2h14m vs. 2h33m for the steel) at an obviously higher average speed (19.7mph vs. 17.6mph,) but my unweighted power was 8% higher on the Cervelo (224w compared to 206w,) and avg. HR was 12% higher (152 vs. 134.) I expected the carbon to be faster, and then worked harder, so it was. So something like physical confirmation bias?
I'm sure my crabon would be marginally faster at the same effort (or more common in my case, the same speed for less effort) under the same conditions just by virtue of being about 6lbs lighter than the steel. If I were to just ride them both around a high school running track for an hour at a fixed output, I don't know how much difference there would be if any.
I'm sure my crabon would be marginally faster at the same effort (or more common in my case, the same speed for less effort) under the same conditions just by virtue of being about 6lbs lighter than the steel. If I were to just ride them both around a high school running track for an hour at a fixed output, I don't know how much difference there would be if any.
To be honest it doesn't really matter what made the crabon bike faster, the only thing that matters is that it was faster, higher HR/power/whatever or not.
I think lightweight crabon is faster too than my steel and ti bikes but i go so slow about 25-30km/h so for me it simply doesn't matter, so i go for comfort, durability and looks instead.
But i also feel there is more to it than "all carbon", many things more. and its more to it than "aero/light/stiff". its more the whole package that matter than individual specs or materials. and they work together. Comfort and ergonomics are high on my list. I have no science to prove it though.
#98
Senior Member
One of my steel bikes is faster over the same course than another of my steel bikes. The stiffer frame is the slower one. The faster bike is 13 years older than the slower one. I have never ridden crabon nor ever used a power meter. Anecdotal evidence.
Strava gives me grossly overstated elevation gains here in pancake land.
Neither bike is red.
Strava gives me grossly overstated elevation gains here in pancake land.
Neither bike is red.
I think if you painted the faster one in red you would see even more gains!
#99
smelling the roses
Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: Tixkokob, Yucatán, México
Posts: 15,428
Bikes: 79 Trek 930, 80 Trek 414, 84 Schwinn Letour Luxe (coupled), 92 Schwinn Paramount PDG 5
Mentioned: 104 Post(s)
Tagged: 1 Thread(s)
Quoted: 7081 Post(s)
Liked 901 Times
in
612 Posts
I'm not a red bike kinda guy, but I now have one that I got as a frame set. I just finished the build yesterday, and took it out this morning. I've been off of all bikes for nearly a month, for various reasons. And that red bike had stats which were quite astounding, considering I am still in the final throes of a cold and have very little in the way of cardiovascular health. Time will tell.
#100
Senior Member
you see!!
now imagine if you were to have a red italian made frame!! yeah... maybe twice as fast then i can tell you. you can take that to the bank.
now imagine if you were to have a red italian made frame!! yeah... maybe twice as fast then i can tell you. you can take that to the bank.