Originally Posted by 79pmooney

Have you raced before? And are you talking about mass start racing, not time trialing? If you have never been in a race, it is a whole new game. Faster, harder, and closer/tighter than anything you've done on a bike before. Until you have both gotten past the newness of it and learned to settle down AND have acquired enough race points to move up to the higher categories, you will be in races of strong, inexperienced and often wild riders. Dangerous. Crashes happening. And high speed crashes usually take down half a dozen riders. Carbon fiber bikes don't take kindly to those crashes.

So - do your learning on this bike. As you get better, you might want to invest in faster wheels. But let this be the bike for your first season. And if it survives, you have a good second bike after you pick up the next one.

I raced a million years ago. And watched a bunch of nice bikes get trashed in meaningless races with poor riding. The bike you've got is plenty good enough to get in there and get your skills up. Doing well in races is about having the engine, knowing how to use that engine and riding the race to be in the right place at the right time. Basic job of the bike - support that engine (fit is critical and has nothing to do with bike vintage) and allow you to put yourself where you need to be. Now, if you get out on a winning move, the new aero might make the difference between win or no. But a bike you don't have to baby or shield from possible damage might well do better to assist you in being there.