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

[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]

Kirsten, I'd love to hear about what other bikes you rode/considered before you got the SuperSix! Or was it love at first sight?

I really didn't ride any others. I'd had a Cdale Synapse in the same size for a year and was desperate to switch from aluminum to carbon (LOTS of rough, chip-sealed roads around here). I also wanted something with more aggressive geometry, once I decided that I wanted to do some duathlon races and keep up with faster folks easier. And then the bike with the exact components I wanted just happened to come out with orange accents...my favorite color. It was pretty much destined to happen. Cannondale was the primary brand our LBS carried, so we ordered one for me sight-unseen. Even though I have a $$ fancy Ti Seven CX bike, my SuperSix is my favorite ride. For a reasonably performance-oriented bike it's really comfortable. I've ridden it across the state 3x.

[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.

[fallstoclimb]

I got a 48. It actually feels smaller than my 48 Dolce, I think due to the more aggressive geometry. Looking forward to getting my fit done as things all feel a little bit wrong, but I'm sure the size is close enough that we can work with it. May need to swap out the handlebars for a narrower set though - Specialized is really so much better about accomodating petite ladies.

I took it out yesterday before work and had a blast. I can't wait to take it out on a group ride.