AJW2W11E

I ride a Giant Defy with Schwalbe Marathon tires. I'm in good shape, but in the wide spectrum of riders out there, I'm average. I'm just trying to set personal records, thats all.If I swapped my Defy for an Allez or TCR or even a Carbon Fiber bike, and went tubeless, would I see a worthwhile speed increase?LOL no one else will care but me.

10 Wheels

Hoe Old are you?
Post a pic of YOU.

Jimriides

It is mostly the Motor, not the Bike. To go faster train to go faster. There is no other way than to get stronger, and peddle harder.

Eric F 

How do you define “worthwhile”? IMO, your bike isn’t holding you back. However, some different tires might change the way if feels in a way that’s good for you.

jaxgtr

Change your tires to something a less rolling resistance, that should help loads. I think between your own power and speedier tires, you should see better results than popping for a whole new bike.

PDKL45

You probably won't go faster, but I can say from experience (yesterday's ride mainly) that life is too short for Schwalbe Marathons. They turn your bike into something that feels like a dumptruck, and with a change of tires your bike can (subjectively) gain a significant amount of performance.

jaxgtr

I'm going to assume you are riding a 25 non tubeless in those tires... according to Schwalbe, those things are 520 g a tire. If you switch to something like a Pirelli P zero race in 26 they are 205 g, if nothing else, you could save almost 1.4 lbs just swapping tires.

AJW2W11E

Does a more aggressive and lighter frame make a difference?

tempocyclist

A more aggressive frame (and hence position) will make you more aerodynamic, which will make it easier to go faster, if you can sustain that position.

You've still got to pedal hard though...

Take your Giant Defy, put some decent tyres on it, not that Marathon garbage, then work on getting fitter. Your engine is the key factor here, not your bike or tyre choice.

rsbob 

Don’t bother with a new bike. Buy a pair of aero rims with tubeless low rolling resistance tires and you will feel the difference immediately as well a a bump in speed. I know this first hand after recently buying Hunt 60MM wheels with Schwalbe Pro One tubeless tires and WOW what a difference on the flats. 45s might be better if you do a lot of climbing.

go Here to review fast tires

indyfabz

A variation on the “Will a heavier bike give me a better workout?” troll thread.

PeteHski

I would start with changing the tyres on your Defy. Something like Conti GP5000S TR or similar should give you a boost.

shelbyfv

With the Defy. Proof of life.

Kai Winters

Your position on a bike, rolling resistance of tires/wheels are the big two that are relatively easy to change/correct and will have an impact on overall speed.
Your physicality comes next...if you just plod along you will always just plod along...embrace the plodding and ride what puts a smile on your face...it's "smiles per hour" that is most important.
Perhaps bike aerodynamics comes next but the more aero the more expensive is the general rule of thumb.

PeteHski

Bike clothing aero is probably more important than bike aero. Something else to consider if you are not already wearing close-fitting gear.

jadmt

probably depends on too many other variables. what are the average speeds and distances you are riding now?

Eric F 

Maybe. Maybe not.

If your current bike ("endurance" geometry) and a more race-oriented frame were both set up with the same parts, wheels, tires, etc., the gain in speed from just the frame would probably be minimal. Maybe nothing. I regularly do fast group road rides with folks riding a range of bikes, from the newest top-level race machines, to guys riding gravel bikes with road tires. What makes the biggest difference between who is fastest on the sections where we are trying to break each other is 1 thing...fitness. When I'm in decent shape, I can stay in (or near) contact with the lead group on the final climb. When my fitness if off, I might get dropped before the climb starts. Same bike.

If you're talking about comparing your bike in its current form to a race-oriented bike with better/lighter parts, wheels, tires, etc., you will probably see some difference in your ride data. How much, I can't tell you. There are too many variables. IMO, start by making the simple change of getting better tires for your current bike. Maybe even better wheels, too. See how it goes.

All that said, if you REALLY want a new bike, get a new bike. New bikes are fun.

delbiker1 

Just swapping those tires out for a good quality, 25 to 32mm width tires, will make a noticeable difference. I have a bike that I sometimes run with 35mm Continental Contact tires. When I go back to 28mm road tires. I feel a large difference in how the bike rides, including the wheels spinning up to speed with less effort. I have not done a comparison, but I believe, speed wise, the average is about 1.5 mph quicker, using the same amount of effort, over the course of a 20, or more, mile ride. There is a about a 650gram, or so, difference in the weight of the two sets of tires/tubes. Also, the tread is very much different, ergo, less rolling resistance for the 28mm tires. The 35mm tires are great for multi surface rides.
Another thing to consider is the mental aspect. In general, when a rider thinks they are going to be faster, they usually are. It's like a placebo for pedaling.

genejockey 

Lighter will make very little difference on the flat, and only a very modest difference on a climb.

More aggressive will make more of a difference than a lighter bike, but if it's more aggressive at the expense of your ability to put down power, you may lose more than you gain. If you're riding mostly with your hands on the hoods, you can get more aerodynamic by riding in the drops, or even better aero hoods. But this presupposes you're riding mostly on the hoods. If you're riding on the curve or the ramp behind the hoods, or even worse, on the tops, then just going to riding on the hoods will make a difference. If your bike is set up so that you can ride comfortably in the drops, then aero hoods should be doable. It's mostly a matter of practice. If you can't ride comfortably in the drops, though, then lowering the bar won't do you any good. But if you can ride really comfortably in the drops while pedaling and putting out power, you MIGHT think about lowering the bar. But if you do and you find the hoods are too low or far away, you won't use them and you won't gain any aerodynamic advantage.

WRT the tires, it's not so much the weight of the tires that's the issue as it is the suppleness or lack thereof. Something better than the Marathons will be faster.

Biggest thing, though, is the motor. Ride more, ride longer, ride harder. Practice riding as aero as you can for as long as you can.

Eric F 

The Giant Defy isn't exactly a slow bike. It's road "endurance" geometry, which doesn't give up much to a full-on race bike.

tFUnK

The frame itself is fine; slam that stem and get lighter and deeper wheels, and some GP5000 tires.

KerryIrons

As others have noted, change the tires. Tubeless won't make you faster in any significant way compared to a comparable quality tubed tire.

alcjphil

I have a little anecdote to share: I was out for a ride with a friend of mine when we came to a downhill we do often. It is only about 300 metres long but quite steep at first. We started the descent side by side sitting in more or less the same position on our bikes. Our bikes were quite similar road bikes and we were both riding identical Campagnolo Shamal wheels. My friend outweighs me by 15-20 pounds. I was riding a pair of Hutchinson tubeless tires, 700 x 25. He was riding some heavy duty puncture resistant tires because he hates repairing flats. By the bottom of that short hill I was about 50 metres ahead of him. Neither one of us pedaled and we started the hill moving at the same speed

Eric F 

I agree that it's not "significant" for most people, but tubeless tires have lower rolling resistance than tubed tires. The popular Conti GP 5000 TL is >1.5w more efficient than the non-TL version, at the same air pressure.

beng1

You gave zero information about yourself or your bike setup or your current riding speeds, so nobody could legitimately answer your question.