Stucky

Just to put things in perspective:

My Venge is 2 lbs. lighter than my Klein; has 35mm aero wheels; $300 carbon aero bars [came with bike; I'd never pay that kinda money for any bars!] and is an aero bike....and I do indentical speeds, whether i ride it, or my old non-aero heavier aluminum Klein. But those aero carbon bars look really cool....but sadly, I don't even notice them when I'm actually riding.

Deontologist

I can't pedal out the saddle with regular shoes on SPD-SL pedals. There's not enough grip for me to feel confident about standing up. Sneakers and spd-sl pedals are fine for sitting down and commuting around.

But as I posted earlier, I can once I wear my cleats.

Wilfred Laurier

I agree with the sentiment, but your calculation for increased speed is erroneous. First, a 0.5% increase over 20 mph gets you 20.1, not 20.2. Second, on flat ground, the amount of speed gained by shedding weight is zero (0.0) mph. If we limit the 'increased speed' discussion to only climbing speed, it is closer to being true, except with increased speed comes increased aerodynamic drag, so it isn't a linear correlation.

As others have said, if the OP can already maintain 20 mph (32 km/h) on flat ground, there might be a small amount to be gained by installing aero equipment like deep section wheels, but a more noticeable improvement could be gained by installing an aero handlebar (a triathlon or time trial bar, not a bar with an oval cross section), or even just working on a more aero riding position on the existing setup.
There also might be a tiny bit of improvement in rolling resistance to be gained by swapping out your thorn proof tubes, but this advantage is completely dwarfed by other sources of drag, esp. aerodynamic. And if you get one flat tire you would not have gotten if nothing is changed, the tiny advantage is immediately lost.

So, to echo all the others, upgrade your legs, lungs, heart, pedalling style, and bike handling skills. You cannot 'buy' your way to a being a faster cyclist.

StanSeven

I agree the best way to go faster is train more. But regardless of what kind of shape someone is in, the gain from aero gear and lighter weight still is there. It doesn't make any difference whether the rider is huffing and puffing doing 10 mph or cruising at 22 mph, it still is a gain.

Lazyass

Wilfred Laurier

Actually, it does matter the type of riding. If the OP is doing 10 mph, aero equipment will provide no usable benefit, and on flat ground, lighter equipment will provide almost zero benefit (exactly zero except for when accelerating).

wphamilton

Rolling resistance increases with weight, but it's pretty insignificant at brisk bike speeds. So less weight could improve speed on flat ground, but not so much as you'd notice.

thump55

OP...don't listen to these fools (). You only need to remember one thing about bikes:

All else being equal, the guy with the lighter bike is always faster. Every. single. time.

caloso

I'm willing to bet that the OP will be faster just by bending his elbows more.

SpeshulEd 

Wait, why are you wearing normal sneakers with SPD-SL pedals? Before upgrading other components, I'd start using the proper gear with the components you have.

Daniel4

How about a airfoil canopy around the bike? Strip off the extra weight like mirrors, lights, computers, bags, locks, water bottle, racks, etc. Put up a triangular sail and pray for a beam reach.

Deontologist

I do wear proper gear with the spd-sl pedals when it really matters (i.e. during training rides or during competitions). My bike doubles as a commuter bike and sneakers work just fine with the SPD-SL pedals as long as I flip them so that the bulbous block is facing the rear of the bike. I've used sneakers in the rain too and I go up a hill each way of the commute ... and no, my sneakers haven't slipped off. The SPD-SL pedals are acceptable to use as platforms in a pinch.

I have used the proper cleats with the pedals during a few commutes and I didn't really feel that there was any huge advantage to be had using cleats on a ~1 mile commute. Plus I don't want to buy cleat covers or bring a change of shoes around with me all the time. I might be a bit faster or less tired using cleats but it's negligible on a short commute. So the cycling shoes stay in the closet unless I need them.

And yes my road bike does double duty as a commuter since I don't have money to get a dedicated road or commuting bike.

GravelMN

The "all else being equal" is the catch. The guy who is more fit and has better skills will kick the **** out of the out of shape, sketchy rider on a lighter bike. Every. Single. Time. I still laugh (on the inside) when I see some guy who is 20+ pounds overweight dropping big bucks on titanium pedals and a CF seatpost to go faster on his sub 20# CF bike. When the bike is HONESTLY what is holding me back, I'll upgrade the bike. Until then the best performance improvements I can make involve a salad and some hill repeats on my 25# steel road bike.

Hypno Toad

+1! Nailed it!

SpeshulEd 

Gotcha.

StanSeven

You're right. I shouldn't have used 10 mph as an example. From what I remember reading in tests, 15 mph is a good one.

UnfilteredDregs

Pit bulls...they'll make you go faster, and...Bears.

LansingWes

It's true!

Gus90

shave your legs and you'll be lightning fast.

Carbon Unit

I onced asked an ex-racer that now trains other cyclist, in something he calls a torture clinic, if stripping weight off my bike was worth the cost. He said only when you have stripped all the excess weight off of my body. Since I am too fat for this sport, I don't worry how much my bike weighs.

velociraptor

The ONLY thing that can improve your speed is to set your power output to 400w.

Drew Eckhardt 

Weight only appreciably impacts performance on climbs where most of the power is going into lifting weight to the top of the hill. It'll be more like 0.5% of 6 MPH which is a 0.03 MPH increase.

Trying for your Mt Diablo Challenge one-hour jersey 18 seconds might make a difference. As an ectomorph built for climbing, otherwise competitive, and racing to an up-hill finish it matters.

Otherwise it does not.

Depends on position. With a flat back it'll help about as much as wheels at any speed.

Studies seem to peg it at 70-75% with wheels and frame contributing the rest.

Right, although up-hill it's about power to weight ratio and people (apart from Michael Rasmussen) have a lot more excess than their bike.

I dropped sixty pounds without loosing power for a 36% gain - I can spin a 39x23 where I used to need 30x26 going 36% faster.

I'm back to riding intervals, and should quickly get back to historic power levels making 25% faster which multiples out to total 69% faster up hill - using a 39x19 where I used to need 30x26.

WHOOOSSHHH...

I'm going to say placebo effect should temporarily increase your perception of how much you've gained followed by the fact of NOT MUCH...

Stucky

Or, in other words, one can not buy power. Intervals are free. Buy the fancy stuff for the way it looks and feels; be honest....don't drop two grand on upgrades and expect it to magically make ya faster, unless you're counting seconds.

Drew, I hope to be where you are before long- I too dropped 60 lbs. and while the hills have gotten a little easier, I'm still dependent on the low gears...but I'm getting close to improving- starting to spin a little up some of the hills- so I'll think of your gains as an example to shoot for. (I don't do intervals. Well, not on purpose- but since it's all hills here, every ride is pretty much involuntary intervals the whole way! )

Wilfred Laurier

Recumbent or faired recumbent is the only real speed improvement. Everything else is just tinkering with details on a flawed design.