Originally Posted by circlemaker

Hello, I'm new to the forum, but not to cycling. However, I've been out of the saddle for a while (accident with hip fracture) and not very savvy about the newest bike tech. I would greatly appreciate your earnest, well considered advice.

In a nutshell, my question is, if being fast and competitive (informally) is important, should I buy a light weigh, or aero version of a Canyon or comparable road bike? Here are some factors to consider: 1) I'm small (5'7" and 145 lbs.). 2) My usual ridding terrain (Southern California) is mixed, i.e., mostly flat to hilly with several steep climbs on a typical 40-mile ride. And it can be quite windy along the coast).

I am aware that smaller riders like me have a weight-to-strength advantage that makes us better climbers than bigger riders (all else being equal). And I like accelerating past the bigger riders on hills. But smaller riders have more surface area per unit of muscle mass, making us less able to counter wind resistance. And I rarely ride in anyone’s draft (which I regard as mildly obnoxious).

I'm no physicist or mathematician, but my inclination is to go aero to help me on level ground (I'm not especially brave on descent). BUT, as a small rider, every ounce of bike weight is a bigger percentage of my weight than that of a bigger rider (3 lbs. is more than 2% of my weight vs less than 1.7% of a rider weighing 180 lbs.).

Is going aero at the expense of weight best for me?

Many thanks for your response!