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Back when I used to ride road bikes, I upgraded from a decade old (but very well maintained) aluminium Trek 1000 to a carbon fibre Merida Scultura. I had the s
by toomanybeersies 8y ago
Back when I used to ride road bikes, I upgraded from a decade old (but very well maintained) aluminium Trek 1000 to a carbon fibre Merida Scultura.
I had the same tyres, pedals, and shoes on my new bike (switched them over). I had a 3-4 km/h improvement on average on the flats instantly. So my new carbon bike was objectively better than my old aluminium bike.
I'm not sure if the improvement was because the bike was brand new, or because it was carbon and had higher end components, but it was definitely there.
- spin 8y agoI'm curious what your new bike is. I currently have a 12 year old (but well maintained) Trek 1000. I'd like to get some better derailleurs (I'm constantly having to adjust and clean mine). But maybe I'll just get a better bike, I don't know. EDIT: oh, you already said it: Merida Scultura
- toomanybeersies 8y agoI actually really liked my Trek 1000. I was very tempted at the time to just get a new groupset and wheels for the thing, but I had a really good deal on the Merida. It's a very well built frame, it doesn't look the prettiest, but it gets the job done.
- hinkley 8y agoThat seems like a lot just due to a frame change. If I had to guess, more gear ratios, newer bearings, and rim profile probably all contributed to that. And maybe just a little bit of placebo...
- cultus 8y agoThe vast majority of energy on a bike goes to aero drag, and most of that is the rider. Are you in a more aero position on the Merida? That would fully account for it. The difference in weight is not capable of causing much difference on flats, since it would just slightly increase rolling resistance. The differences in mechanical efficiency of well-tuned road bikes is also pretty negligible.