Originally Posted by alias5000

Hi all,
I might be changing jobs soon. The new position would be a 52km commute roundtrip (2x26km) with a total elevation gain of 220m. 40% is good city trails, 20% somewhat busier roads and 40% is quiet roads or intercity trails. Only about 40% of the commute would be subject to occasional stop&go, the rest is straight and fast. Short, but steep climbs.

I would be doing this 2-3 times a week, 3-3.5 seasons of the year. Excluding SW Ontario winter, I am hoping to be able to do as much of it on bike, as overall feasible. I love the cycling part, but am wondering what I can do to keep the commute times short. There's a good chance that a commute on a road bike (with bikepacking bag on the seatpost for daily items) is feasible from an infrastructure and workflow perspective.

So, I've been wondering how much time I could save with a fancy road/gravel bike, over a regular mid-level aluminum road bike.

My current road bike is a 2015 Devinci Silverstone SL4: Aluminum frame, 10kg, Shimano 105, standard road wheels, nothing aero, somewhat aggressive but comfortable position. There might be justifiable budget to go nuts and all out fancy. But it has to make sense. I'm not overly worried about dings and component wear in this particular scenario.
How much would I gain from - say: an aerodynamically optimized frame and build, carbon frame, aero carbon wheels, light-weight build (7.5kg range?), tubeless setup, etc?
I'm young and fit, but not a racehorse. Assume 200W FTP, to increase with that longer commuting distance.

Cheers,
alias5000