light bike-better components

doggatas said:

Will a lighter bike with better components increase the speed at which i can ride or will i not notice much improvement. Obviously i will improve on any bike as my fitness levels increase, i guess the question is, does a better bike make people better riders?

I have often wondered if a more expensive bike causes the owner to train more seriously than the owner of a less expensive bike. Then I visit the local bike path on a weekend and see folks out there on $2000 bikes pumping their legs like a piston engine, elbows and knees splayed way out, getting up to an astonishing 12 MPH. Blows that theory to Hades.

You would have to lose a considerable amount of weight to get a sizable increse in your speed, if everything else is equal. Increasing your speed will come primarily bu doing interval training. A lighter bike ain't gonna do it without the training commitment. Better components usually increases a person's enjoyment of riding. Its like the performance differences between a GMC 1500 Pickup Truck and a Corvette. You get more precise shifts and better braking, plus there is the bling value.

Unless you are going to be seriously racing where 10ths of a second count, get a good bike, but don't break the bank for the lightest bike you can find.

The OCR has relatively relaxed geometry. You may find that a bike that stretches you down and forward a little, and opens up your hips a little, may put you in a more powerful riding position. It'll probably be a little less comfortable, however. I think that geometry, in terms of both comfort and efficiency, is a more valid reason for considering a change than is weight. What's the most you'll save by paying top dollar? Probably 1-2kg.

doggatas said:

I Have just started riding and just to see if i liked the sport i purchased an 07 GIANT ocr1.(not too expensive but good enough to give me the taste of a nice roadie) The bike has been fantastic! So i guess you could say i love cycling.

I ride by myself probably 4-5 times a week, distances varying from 20km to about 60km depending on what time i finish work and other commitments. The routes i take are often undulating and rarely completly flat. Occording to my cycle computer my average speed is between 33-35km/h.

I am considering purchasing a better bike in the not to distance future as i have really taken to the sport!

Will a lighter bike with better components increase the speed at which i can ride or will i not notice much improvement. Obviously i will improve on any bike as my fitness levels increase, i guess the question is, does a better bike make people better riders?

I have too many bikes, some pretty expensive, and some that are 'budget bikes' too. It has brought home to me that the one you feel best on, will be the one you cycle best on. For me, that's not the lightest one.

Also, the weight that I might lose from the bike, is almost nothing compared to the weight I might lose from my own frame. I'm not overweight, but compared to a pro cyclist, I am a lot heavier than they would be.

Componentry, the 'improvements' beyond 105 / Veloce are a case of quite slight and not particularly noticeable improvements. Certainly not the kind of improvements likely to give significant measurable time reductions. Unless the 'bling thing' gives a placebo effect, which for some people, it just might.

The one component area where a big difference is usually noticeable, for the money spent, is usually wheels. It's also the area where a lot of the bigger manufacturers (Giant included) save some money, by putting [censored] on the bike. So if I had the OCR, I think the best use of money would be to have some good wheels built, with Mavic Open Pro rims maybe, or buy some classy factory built's. If budget isn't a concern then obviously the most fun is probably to splash out on a featherweight carbon, or titanium bike. But I would expect a bling 'grin factor' rather than heavy duty performance increases.

doggatas said:

I Have just started riding and just to see if i liked the sport i purchased an 07 GIANT ocr1.(not too expensive but good enough to give me the taste of a nice roadie) The bike has been fantastic! So i guess you could say i love cycling.

I ride by myself probably 4-5 times a week, distances varying from 20km to about 60km depending on what time i finish work and other commitments. The routes i take are often undulating and rarely completly flat. Occording to my cycle computer my average speed is between 33-35km/h.

I am considering purchasing a better bike in the not to distance future as i have really taken to the sport!

Will a lighter bike with better components increase the speed at which i can ride or will i not notice much improvement. Obviously i will improve on any bike as my fitness levels increase, i guess the question is, does a better bike make people better riders?

That's a great bike for where you're at. I think someone on this forum said: it ain't about the bike as much as it is about the engine....

It's all about the engine!!!!!!!! That's all that really matters.

I love to take out my winter beater bike (cheap Raleigh with Tiagra 9 speed) and hammer the guys on the spanking new BMCs, Cervelos and Merlins. The amount of weight difference is minimal and my $500 bike is properly tuned, but the guy doing the pedaling makes all the difference. A new, lighter bike will NOT make you a better bike rider, only training, diet and experience will. Better, more expensive, lighter weight components add nothing to your biking experience. Frames can be a factor, but that is more of a fit/comfort issue based on material and geometry as opposed to a performance issue.

Since you are new to cycling, I'd stick with what you have for the time being. The OCR is a decent enough bike, kinda relaxed geometry for my taste. I have a couple of TCRs I race with and am very satisfied with the Giant family.

rwinthenorth said:

That's a great bike for where you're at. I think someone on this forum said: it ain't about the bike as much as it is about the engine....

And a great average speed!!!

To average 33-35km/h by yourself if you are just starting I ask the question did you do rowing, running or any other endurance sport, if not, train hard and race cause that's speedy for a beginner.

doggatas said:

I Have just started riding and ......... my average speed is between 33-35km/h

- thats very fast , for a beginner.
.

pistole said:

- thats very fast , for a beginner.
.

Yeh i play Australian rules footy! have been doing so for the past 10 years, so i have a pretty good fitness level! But since i have been riding i have dropped 5kg's(and still dropping) and i feel my overall aerobic capacity has increased quite significantly. (felt this while playing football, i.e run for longer, decreased recovery times) Not to mention muscle definition in my legs.

I think cycling is an absolute brilliant sport and i wish i started doing it earlier in my life. Im 21 now so if i could go back i would start it when im 18, then i would have 3 years on the bike! I’ve noticed a lot of improvement in my speed and fitness in 3 months so i couldn’t imagine what its like to be riding after having spent 3 years on a bike! But like everything i guess improvement plataues out after a while! (Until you increase your training schedule)

doggatas said:

Yeh i play Australian rules footy! have been doing so for the past 10 years, so i have a pretty good fitness level! But since i have been riding i have dropped 5kg's(and still dropping) and i feel my overall aerobic capacity has increased quite significantly. (felt this while playing football, i.e run for longer, decreased recovery times) Not to mention muscle definition in my legs.

I think cycling is an absolute brilliant sport and i wish i started doing it earlier in my life. Im 21 now so if i could go back i would start it when im 18, then i would have 3 years on the bike! I’ve noticed a lot of improvement in my speed and fitness in 3 months so i couldn’t imagine what its like to be riding after having spent 3 years on a bike! But like everything i guess improvement plataues out after a while! (Until you increase your training schedule)

Hey I started when I was 42 (if you don't count my ride-to-school bike) and wish I started when I was 21. Most guys don't reach their physical peak until 26-27. At least you can see how good your ever gonna be over the next decade if you get serious with the training. looks like you could be a natural with the physique and the desire.

kdelong said:

I have often wondered if a more expensive bike causes the owner to train more seriously than the owner of a less expensive bike. Then I visit the local bike path on a weekend and see folks out there on $2000 bikes pumping their legs like a piston engine, elbows and knees splayed way out, getting up to an astonishing 12 MPH. Blows that theory to Hades.

I have read your reply a couple of times and wonder why you would write such a thing. What makes you think that someone riding in the manner you describe is not training more seriously? Becauce that person doesn't have perfect technique or high speed, does that mean they do not train seriously?
I am a novice of cycling, but I think my experience in other sports will apply here. I have teammates on my rugby team that do not have the athletic ability to become a decent rugger, but they come to every practice, and train to their best ability. They try their best and I have seen improvement in them, but they still make a lot of mistakes and the athletic ability will never allow them to become a good rugger. They do train seriously though.
So, maybe that $2000 dollar bike won't make them the next best thing in cycling, but it might make them train harder or try to learn to become the best they can be, even though they don't have the skills to become great.

kdelong said:

I have often wondered if a more expensive bike causes the owner to train more seriously than the owner of a less expensive bike. Then I visit the local bike path on a weekend and see folks out there on $2000 bikes pumping their legs like a piston engine, elbows and knees splayed way out, getting up to an astonishing 12 MPH. Blows that theory to Hades.

You would have to lose a considerable amount of weight to get a sizable increse in your speed, if everything else is equal. Increasing your speed will come primarily bu doing interval training. A lighter bike ain't gonna do it without the training commitment. Better components usually increases a person's enjoyment of riding. Its like the performance differences between a GMC 1500 Pickup Truck and a Corvette. You get more precise shifts and better braking, plus there is the bling value.

Unless you are going to be seriously racing where 10ths of a second count, get a good bike, but don't break the bank for the lightest bike you can find.

It's easy to calculate how much faster you'll go up hill with a lighter bike. On steep climbs, where speed is under 10 mph, just take the weight saved on the bike as a percentage of your total weight (bike + rider). That's roughly the % faster you'll climb, or the % time you'll save on a long hill.

But, there's more to it than just pure performance. Consider your automotive comparison of a pickup truck to a Corvette. If you had a motor already (yourself), and wanted to build a vehicle that was fun to drive on weekend club outings and easy to handle at speed in a twisty descent, which chassis would you choose?

Some may say it's a waste to put a 2.0L motor in a 'Vette, but I just ignore them🙂

Wow, I thought this thread was dead. Last post before today was in May. Anyway, I apologise to any novices who were offended by my earlier post. I was just trying to point out to the OP that spending a lot of money on a new bike will not make him a faster rider. Only training will improve his speed and new bikes with better components is only the icing on the cake. It may improve his enjoyment of riding which, in turn, may cause him to ride and train more, but a $2000 bike isn't going to turn him into a Lance Armstrong.