Originally Posted by
Jughed
So about at 10w+/- savings from the big box store bike to a superbike at 42kph/26mph. That speed equates to 330-350w power output - which the typical just above average joe rider can produce for about 4-6 min max.
The advantage of the superbike = about $1,000 per watt.
Edit - that $350 beater was a 2k+/- mid spec bike when purchased new. So the gains between the superbike and a big box store bike would be more...
And a decent set of tires/wheels on that CAD10 - say $1k worth of investment, would take the differences between the bikes down to almost nothing.
This is the reality. A carefully selected cheap used bike (like the CAAD in that video) with quality tyres is not really at a huge disadvantage to a top-end racer. But the difference feels more than it actually is on the stop watch. Just like with lighter wheels. It feels like you are accelerating much faster, when in reality you are only saving a few hundredths of a second. In that video on a fast, flat course, pretty much all of that 5-10 second gain would have been from aero and almost nothing from acceleration.