halehankock

Hey all, I've been riding a 2014 Specialized Roubaix Expert SL4 (Originally $3800) now for 7 years. Recently I had to take it in for a tune and they'll have it for awhile, so I started riding my older, 2010 Trek 2.1 Alpha ($1200). Initially it felt like I was quicker on the Trek, until last night I pushed for a PR around a nearby lake trail and beat my record by 37 seconds. All things considered, I am riding much faster on my old, cheaper Trek with cheaper frame, components, etc. Both bikes are stock.

I'm a lighter guy at 135 pounds, so I'm wondering if the heavier frame helps me carry faster?

Any thoughts? Now I'm thinking about selling my Specialized because of this.

Thanks!

roadie77

I wouldn't sell the Specialized. Everyone needs a backup bike when the primary goes into the shop. Maybe your PR is because you got into better shape. Try your PR route on the Specialized pushing as hard as you did on the Trek before you come to any definite conclusions about which bike is faster.

zandoval 

When you get your Roubaix back add some weight to it and see what happens. 135 Pounds v/s 135 Kilos on a down hill run, sure, we know who would win... Maybe?

Sell one bike to buy another one or two... Yep... That's the ticket...

halehankock

Good advice! I felt like when i have pushed for a PR with the Specialized a number of times, I actually worked harder those times, just 3-4 weeks ago than I did with the Trek and was much slower.

Also, I got my Specialized fitted to me in 2019 so I would hope I'm in the optimal position for handlebars, seat, pedals, etc. The trek has me in a slightly more upright position which i'd imagine isn't in my favor either.

halehankock

Haha, isn't that how it works!?

79pmooney

Question - is the fit the same on these bikes? Have you checked?

Many years ago, I made a huge improvement in sustained climbing power simply by going to a lot longer stem that allowed my torso to expand. Improved breathing, reduced anaerobic pain and made hard hills a joy. COmpare your two bikes. You may have stumbled on "your" fit.

halehankock

Actually, I do think my trek's stem is longer and that would make sense based on what you explained. I feel like with my Specialized, I'm in a more aggressive position all the time. Whereas my Trek, it's a pretty comfortable cruising position when you're not on the lower drop bars, but when I did go to the bottom on Trek, I felt like I was leaning down more.

Barry2 

Bike fit will change for a myriad of reasons.
Maybe a tune-up fit is called for.

BTW is 37 seconds really a significant change?
Ambient temp can change my same bike, same route times by 30% or more.
And that's without considering headwind, or the fact I seem to faster in the mornings.

Which is faster a RED bike or a BLUE bike....... It depends on which one you think is faster!

Barry


BTW: it's a trick question... I know YELLOW bikes are faster!

Iride01 

So what else might be different about them? Gear ratios in particular. Might be the position of you on one bike allows you better power transfer.

From one time to the next I may or may not be able to match a previous personal best on any segment. And many times, I can best or match a segment time after having 4 to 10 days off the bike as opposed to what I can do when riding regularly.

Also realize the bike you might do well on for a short ride might not be the bike you do well on for a long ride.

blacknbluebikes 

the other bike is always faster. unless one is red, red is always fasterer.

unterhausen

As someone said above, my first guess is that the fit is different. Specifically, I wonder if the handlebars are lower on the old bike. Mostly because this is what has slowed me down when I moved to a new bike.

If you have a drywall t-square, that's a good start on checking that the fit is the same

Caliper

Besides the fit differences, what are the component differences between the two bikes? Tires? Frame geometry? Gearing?

It sounds like the segment is a loop? If so and there is no net elevation change, weight really doesn't matter. Yes, heavier can benefit in some places, but it hurts in others and this will tend to balance out on a loop.

halehankock

I've done the lake trail 48 times over the past 3 years and I have a tendency to push it fairly hard nearly every time. So a 37 second improvement over a short time, even this year seems like quite a bit. I really beat myself up going for a PR just maybe 3 weeks prior on my Specialized and while I got the PR that time, I just shattered it easily with my Trek. Nearly same wind direction and speed those days too.

Charliekeet

So what are the component differences between them - groupset, gearing, tire type & size...?

Iride01 

One ride is nothing but outlier data. You need to do twelve rides on each bike doing the same exact ride. Throw out the lowest six and then average the highest six of each bike.

PeteHski

It’s not an equal trade-off. You lose a lot more time on the climbs than you gain on the descents with more weight. So really depends how flat or hilly the loop is.

What you can say is that more bike weight definitely doesn’t make you quicker unless it is entirely downhill.

PeteHski

Only on a one way downhill segment.

Steamer

Differences in tire Crr can easily explain the observation.

WhyFi

What does your power data look like for these rides?

MattTheHat 

Do you mean 3%?

How can ambient temperature change a route time by 30%? The only thing I can think of would be if it gets so cold a wet surface freezes or so hot tires melt.

tempocyclist

- More aerodynamic position
- Clothing choices
- Bike fit giving more power
- Rolling resistance of the tyres being used
- Ambient temp and wind conditions
- Fitness and fatigue

There's a LOT of variables that come into play here.


Well in that case, paint one of your bikes red and repeat the test!

AdkMtnMonster

I guess BF has finally answered the age old question of who makes the faster bike: Trek or Specialized. Now I’m waiting for the Cannondale test.

genejockey 

Same bike, two consecutive days. Both days trying to push as hard as I felt I could that day. Same 25 mile route.

Day 1: 1:30:31
Day 2: 1:23:56

Sometimes it's the motor.

Barry2 

LOL only 3%, I wish it was only 3%

I run a power meter on the bike... I'm NOT guessing !

For every Watt your body places into the bike as power, your body wastes 3.2 Watts as heat. We are not a very efficient engine.
This heat must be cooled or we overheat.
We are AIR cooled and once the ambient rises, the cooling effect drops.
The body will reduce the power output rather than overheat, and the time on the route goes up.

So, ambient temp very much controls your ability to output power and your speed.
This doesn't take into consideration dehydration, which just makes matters worse.

Barry

BTW I'm in California, last week it hit 107F / 41.7C
Body Temp = 98.6F / 37C.
Can you imagine the "cooling" effect of air that is 8F / 5C hotter than you are!

bruce19

There are always variables involved. Too many for me to make sense of. Is the gearing the same on the bikes?