how much higher performance can the next higher performance bike be?

[bicycletricycle]

seeing that argonaut video made me think about things, i was thinking about how i really liked his steel frames and that his carbon frames look really nicely made but that somehow i just dont really care too much about how nice they are.

we all know that the last 1% percent of performance promised to us by performance oriented bikes and components is at the very least impossible to define and possibly just a gimmick. If you believe that your new 5,000 dollar frame is more vertically compliant and horizontally rigid than your last one than it will feel that way, but is it actually better?

next time your on a group ride take a look around, not everyone's riding aero'd out high modulus titanium wonders and yet your all riding the same speed.

if your goal is just performance than it seems that uber expensive custom carbon frames are a path or seriously diminishing returns. for the man who must have the super very best than i guess it doesnt matter and you might as well have some fun with all that cash.

by comparison something like a jp weigle makes sense to me because its promise is more honest, it doesnt claim to make you go faster or corner better or ride like a pro, its just a super refined beautifully made rideable piece of historical reproduction/art.

that seem to be a promise it can actually deliver on.

maybe this is why super custom race style bikes in general dont seem to make sense to some of us. promised performance gains are certainly not the reason i purchase new bikes

i for one mostly try to purchase bikes that i think ill look super cool riding around on.

[Chance]

Originally Posted by bicycletricycle

If you believe that your new 5,000 dollar frame is more vertically compliant and horizontally rigid than your last one than it will feel that way, but is it actually better?

You'd first have to define what "better" is. If a bike frame is actually vertically more compliant and horizontally more rigid than another, assuming everything else is similar, then it will likely ride and handle better by my definition. Whether it makes you faster or not is more questionable.

So if better performance means only faster then maybe not. If performance includes other design advantages then likely yes. All depends on what the rider is looking for and what he values.

[thegunner]

placebo effect is enough for me. new frame/new wheels always brings a smile to my face and i'll always ride a slight bit faster. i think we're all buying into numbers a bit too much to be honest...

[joev]

The perfect "ride" seems to be elusive and I have found that some bikes just seem to have it and others don't. The only way to find that out is to ride the darn thing. It is like some fantastic recipe with a little bit of fit, a little bit of geometry, a little bit of wheels/tires, a little bit of gears, a little bit of...love that color! I also have found that while I can really enjoy a good 'ol steel frame ride, I need something lighter and quicker to hang with the local group. It goes to say that I still get passed by someone on that same classic steel frame that I can't think can hack it for me. Sigh.

I'd pay for that higher performance bike but it "better" wow me on that test ride in order to seal the deal.

[John H.]

Fit trumps material any day of the week.

[carpediemracing]

Originally Posted by John H.

Fit trumps material any day of the week.

I agree:
http://sprinterdellacasa.blogspot.co...-material.html

I happen to ride a (custom geo) plain jane aluminum frame, and I "upgraded" to it from a Cannondale SystemSix and Giant TCR carbon.

[thegunner]

ot -- but ari, i'm really glad you're posting here now. i've always enjoyed reading your blog it kept me out of the ****show of collegiate racing crashes

[esldude]

Originally Posted by John H.

Fit trumps material any day of the week.

I agree with the statement. On the other hand, no need to forego fit with any material. A good fitting aluminum frame, nothing to sneeze at, but an equally good fitting carbon frame would be even better imo.

Fit vs material is a red herring issue. Get both the fit you need in the material you prefer.

[54ny77]

approximately 18.3%.

[mjb266]

These questions are getting a bit tired. The relative value of framebuilders product, the relative performance of the "next level"...lets just drop these posts that are a repetition of what's been said so many times before and impossible to ever answer.

Ride what makes you happy and to hell with everything else.

[19wisconsin64]

why not? make it out of graphene..... someone will soon enough

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Graphene

the interesting thing is that individual designers and builders will be able to create these things reasonably quickly in the future. sort of looking forward to it

I rode along with a nice British guy a while ago who was on a 12 pound bike, fully fitted with 11 speed Campagnolo Super Record. made my 16 pound titanium wonder road bike seem like something from the past.

Still, my 20-something pound steel bikes ride like a dream.

All good, and technology marches on.

[oldpotatoe]

Originally Posted by John H.

Fit trumps material any day of the week.

4 things make you a better cyclist.
-Fit
-Fitness
-Fat(lackthereof on you)
-Finesse

[AngryScientist]

Originally Posted by oldpotatoe

4 things make you a better cyclist.
-Fit
-Fitness
-Fat(lackthereof on you)
-Finesse

[cmg]

as the popularity of disc wheels for road bikes grows you'll see rim weight decrease, the depth will increase to offset the stresses from stopping at the hub but performance will improve. frames might get a little lighter but over the upcoming years you'll see brakes move behind the fork or blend with it and the rear brake move to the BB or behind the seat tube for better aero dynamics. will the riders performance improve as a result? not by much, while the bike goes aero the rider won't.

[false_Aest]

Imagine if sports like power lifting were (marketing) tech dependent.

How awesome would it be if we now had 45lb olympic bars made out of carbon fiber? And what if the 45lb plates were now made out of nanotube bling-bling-eeum?

I would be benching the ***** out of 165lbs.