How much of a difference does a bike upgrade actually make?

[fallstoclimb]

Thanks Sheila!! I'll keep my eyes open for someone stocking small men's sizes!

[MarieV]

To be clear, my "heavy steel bike" is a Bianchi Vigorelli with Reynolds 631 and Ultegra/105 mix, so it weighs in around 20-21 lbs. It's not a tank like a Surly Cross-Check or LHT or Bianchi Volpe with Tiagra or lower-end components. In contrast, my carbon bike weighs about 16 lbs. Granted my carbon bike has upgraded wheels and a Campy Chorus groupset, but any stock carbon bike in your size should weigh about 17-18 lbs if it has an Ultegra/105 groupset. Once you start doing longer test rides involving climbs, you should totally feel the difference between a carbon bike and your Dolce.

Before you completely rule out "comfort" bikes, you should take a few of them on longer test rides. By "comfort" I'm guessing you mean a relaxed geometry with a shorter top tube. Keep in mind that more bike companies are offering relaxed geometries for riders who don't ride very much and probably are not comfortable with an aggressive geometry, where you're totally stretched out over the top tube to get into the most aero position. But relaxed geometries are also better for sportive or endurance riding, where you're in the saddle for 5+ hours. If you want a bike only for shorter rides (up to 2-3 hours), then an aggressive geometry where you're stretched out may be fine, but if you want to start doing longer rides like century rides, where you'll be in the saddle 7-10+ hours, then the more upright position is more comfortable once you reach hours 4-5.

Keep in mind that you can always make a bike with a more relaxed geometry (i.e., with a shorter top tube and tall head tube) more aggressive by swapping for a longer stem and using a negative angle, but it's a lot harder to make a more aggressive bike (i.e., with a longer top tube) more relaxed since you'll compromise the handling with a really short stem (<70 mm) and a really steep angle.

[OakLeaf]

Just FTR, "comfort bike" is a specific configuration, pretty much the same as a hybrid - hardtail, sprung forks and seatpost without damping, buckhorn to flattish bars, hybrid frame geometry, rack bosses or integrated racks, wide wheels with street tires, low end MTB components. My Trek Navigator is an example. Basically a low-end UAV. It weighs upwards of 40#, and 20 miles on that bike is a very long ride. All day is out of the question AFAIC, even with the road saddle I slapped on it to replace the OEM saddle, one of those things that's bigger than my head. Not at all the same thing as road bikes set up for sport-touring or day rides.

[Crankin]

She means an endurance bike, not the kind of comfort bike you are talking about. But, you knew that.
All I know is that I don't feel slower on my Silque than I did on my Kuota. While, I am not "fast" by any means, nothing has changed, except the smoothness of my ride and no twitchiness.

[OakLeaf]

Right, but I think when the OP said the bike shops were all trying to sell her "comfort bikes," she meant the kind I was describing. That's all!

[MarieV]

No, Oakleaf, I think the bike shops are showing her WSD carbon bikes that tend to have more relaxed geometries (shorter top tube, taller head tube) compared to men's/unisex carbon bikes. She already has a Dolce and wants something faster, so there's no way she's testriding 30-40 lb. comfort bikes.

I was trying to point out that relaxed geometries have their place. Most WSD bikes are aimed at shorter women, and they tend to have shorter top tubes and taller head tubes since women tend to have longer legs and shorter torsos. The men's/unisex bikes with comparable length seat tubes usually have top tubes that are often 2-3 cm longer since men tend to have shorter legs and longer torsos.

Crankin, isn't your Trek Silque also a carbon bike? If so, I'm not surprised that you're not any slower on your Silque carbon bike than on your Kuota carbon bike. I would think the more aggressive geometry on the Kuota would only make you faster if you're riding really long distances in the aero position, especially if you couldn't achieve as low a position on the Silque.

However, the OP should totally be able to feel a difference between an aluminum Dolce and an Amira or any other carbon bike during a long test ride with hills.

[Jolt]

To be clear, my "heavy steel bike" is a Bianchi Vigorelli with Reynolds 631 and Ultegra/105 mix, so it weighs in around 20-21 lbs. It's not a tank like a Surly Cross-Check or LHT or Bianchi Volpe with Tiagra or lower-end components. In contrast, my carbon bike weighs about 16 lbs. Granted my carbon bike has upgraded wheels and a Campy Chorus groupset, but any stock carbon bike in your size should weigh about 17-18 lbs if it has an Ultegra/105 groupset. Once you start doing longer test rides involving climbs, you should totally feel the difference between a carbon bike and your Dolce.

Wow, a 21-pound bike sounds really light to me (says the person who rides a fully racked and fendered Surly LHT, usually with a handlebar bag on to boot, for almost all of her riding)! Does 2-4 pounds (your steel bike vs. a carbon bike) really make THAT much of a difference in speed? I average 12-14 mph on my Surly...it'd be interesting to see what would happen if I got on a carbon bike.

[MarieV]

Jolt, I'm probably only 1-2 mph faster on my carbon bike than my steel bike. On a typical 100 km (~65 mile) ride I probably average 11-13 mph on my ~20 lb. steel bike (Bianchi Eros Donna) compared to an average of 12-14 mph on my carbon bike. So I'm only a little bit faster on the carbon bike, but because it's also much lighter and more responsive, I'm usually a lot less tired after riding the carbon bike compared to the steel bike. I probably wouldn't be able to do century rides on my steel bike, but I'm usually OK after one on my carbon bike.

Now I use my Bianchi Vigorelli as my commuter bike, so with a rack, bag, and fenders it's closer to 27-28 lbs. After a week of commuting on my steel bike, I always feel like a superhero when I ride my carbon bike on the weekends. I'm guessing you'd probably have an even more pronounced experience if you rode a carbon bike compared to your 30+ lb. LHT.

[zoom-zoom]

Jolt, I'm probably only 1-2 mph faster on my carbon bike than my steel bike. On a typical 100 km (~65 mile) ride I probably average 11-13 mph on my ~20 lb. steel bike (Bianchi Eros Donna) compared to an average of 12-14 mph on my carbon bike. So I'm only a little bit faster on the carbon bike, but because it's also much lighter and more responsive, I'm usually a lot less tired after riding the carbon bike compared to the steel bike. I probably wouldn't be able to do century rides on my steel bike, but I'm usually OK after one on my carbon bike.

This is precisely my experience on my Carbon road bike vs. my Ti CX bike with lightweight wheels and slick tires. There's still probably a 4# difference. It doesn't seem like much, but it's astounding how much easier it is to get the carbon bike up to speed and keep it there. And the geometry on my CX bike is just...weird on the road. I don't like it when I'm riding in a paceline, because the steering does not inspire confidence at speed when on someone's wheel. On gravel it's wonderful, though.

[fallstoclimb]

UPDATE: I just test rode the CAAD10 and fell in love. I briefly wavered because I didn't get to test ride the Amira yet (or I could have just ordered the Evo), but I more or less came to the conclusion that I think I'm one of those people that doesn't like the smooth dead feel of low level carbon - the CAAD instantly felt more livelier and I immediately had a huge smile on my face. No regrets at all.

Well, except that I'm going on vacation on Wednesday and am not sure I'm going to get a chance to ride the bike before then!!! Which is just insane. I'm hoping one ride Wednesday morning or maybe the weather will allow for it tomorrow.

Now I just need to tell myself its OK if my segment times don't actually improve, what's important is that I LOVE this bike.
(But also I am really hoping my segment times improve!!)

[MarieV]

Congratulations on the new bike! I'm so glad you found a bike you love. What size did you end up getting?

If you ride more and enjoy it, you'll definitely get faster.