tires/weight

I need some advice; I have an OCR3, entry level bike. I was looking to upgrade to a Specialized Tarmac comp. Tried it on the weekend and loved it. My OCR is just 1 1/2 years old. But the Tarmac seemed a lot lighter and the tires were FAST.

My problem. Should I just upgrade the tires on the OCR? They are bigger than the ones on the Tarmac. It seemed like that was the difference between bikes.

Rolling resistance in tires can make a HUGE difference in how a bike feels, i.e. how easy it rolls, how easy it accelerates. So, smaller tires can make a big difference in the way the bike may feel. I'm not sure what the weight differences are in the two bikes you are looking at.

Do you know? Weight is a huge factor in how a bike will accelerate and feel fast to you. However, less rolling resistance in tire size and lighter weight wheels will make more difference than just a lighter bike.

Hope that makes sense.

spoke

There is much more to the difference than just the tires. The Giant frame is aluminum and the Tarmac is carbon I believe... Everything on the Tarmac is going to be significantly lighter and smoother-functioning than the Giant. The whole wheelset too is lighter.