Originally Posted by
pgjackson
Well, my point is that the huge majority of cyclists out there are not physically capable of even coming close to maxing out their bike.
I don't think you need to max out your bike to be faster on a modern bike. If modern bikes truly are more efficient, then putting in the same watts, no matter how many or how few, the modern bike will always be faster. Plus, better brakes will make you a more confident descender, so you can descend faster, even well below the speeds the bikes is capable of.