Well the problem is that cheap bikes are every bit as good as more expensive ones on flat ground. The weight makes some difference but that is only important in the start which generally doesn't make any difference at the finish. The difference between my 2018 Trek Emonda and my Trek Alpha 1.5 is 1 1/2 lb. There is more chance of someone slowing you in the pack than that 1 1/2 lb making enough difference to notice. You can claim that racing is all a matter of minor improvements but that sure as hell isn't the case at Alviso or the Oakland Crits where the winner normally wins by a large margin and not a hair's breath in a sprint. What does make a difference? Training and treamwork. You can convince yourself that buying the best bike money can buy proves your commitment but then what do you say when someone on a steel Tommasini drops you? Plus you can be a clearly superior rider and have a bad day. Need we mention Evenepoal? Race crits to have fun and not to empty your bank account. If you're really good you can get a sponsor to pay for the best bike money can buy.
Raced against this guy a few months ago at Pine Flat RR. He was wearing AirPod pros. He went for a 30-mile solo break, blew up before reaching the bottom of the second to last climb, and fishtailed around in the road dramatically gasping for air when the bunch caught him, letting everyone know that he was the most heroic cat 4. Not even the Beast Mode workout playlist on Spotify could propel Mitchell to victory that day.
Thanks Jeff and EJ for helping my boy out you have no idea how excited he was for this much love. Velo Kings vs Norcal video sometime soon. It would be huge
Gatorskins are sooooo sloooow and the performance is so noticeable especially under hard braking in the mountains. Huge difference between hardshells and up to date GP5000s
Nothing. No difference. I had exactly the same BMC teammaschine with Tiagra groupset (And FSA Gosammer crankset - swiss edition had these) and ultegra di2. The job of the drivetrain is to change gears when you need it. And Tiagra did just that with butter smooth precision.
i have a road bike from a long time ago running tiagra 4600. still functions really well today. is it as fast as the newer groupsets? or tolerant to shifting under load? no. but is it as precise as today? yes - if you index it well, it'll perform great.
@@chickenpoodle yes it is functionally fine for riding, can you race with it at a high level against those who have higher end drive trains is the question.
I'd love to see that Trek Madone vs the Winspace aero bike w/ Lun hyper wheels. 10k bike vs 4k or whatever the difference that would be once it is group set upped.
The exact bike you describe won that day. Ultimately the specific bike makes a very small contribution after you pick the low-hanging fruit like tires, race fit jersey, fit, etc.)
I still have my BMC Teammachine SLR02 from 8 years ago and still ride it today, albeit as a 'winter' bike. You can really pick up an incredible older setup to get into cycling, which is great as modern bike costs can make the sport seem less accessible. I recently repainted and refreshed my BMC & put together a short film on my channel covering the process and a bit of it and mine's history. Shiny things are nice to have, but more importantly ride whatever you want and enjoy it!
@@konigsegg_1to1 at 80psi a 25mm Gatorskin is 8.8w higher than GP4K, so max 16w in optimal test conditions. oh but let me know how often you're riding at 50km/h
Hi gang. I raced for Team Colavita on the pro circuit. I’ll tell you this. Bikes do make a difference. Some bikes I raced on I struggled hated them. My favorite bikes Cervelo SLC-SL and the Cannondale Evo himod. Fuji Sl1 was also great, Tyler Hamilton’s favorite.
Man do I remember staring at that 2010 Dogma in the bike shop window, those curves were mind blowing at the time. Might not be the latest and greatest anymore but she's still a beauty.
I'm with ya. I still ride Campy, but on 12 speed mechanical. I just can't get away from the lure of it or an Italian frameset. Nothing else will do, ha.
"$10k? Actually you know what my bike is actually still good." Oh god do I know that feeling. I learned to never ride anything not in my tax bracket. 😝 What I love about this sport is that you totally can get 90% of the performance with 20% of the cost. Amazing! Try doing that with expensive sports cars!
I have a $2k Trek Domane AL5, and I love it! I'm not fast or anything, but I cycle a lot and it's been amazing for me! That being said, I'd like to go on one of my common routes and see how I would do on a really amazing, expensive bike. So if you're in Austin, and have a fancy 54 to lend me, hit me up! LUL
No difference. I did the jump from 2k bike to 6k bike and besides the bling factor almost all of the perfomrance values stayed the same. Sure i pedaled so hard after I made a pucharse to justify the money spent in my eyes... But when the things settled I noticed that I was riding at the exactly same speed doing exactly the same wattage output. Maybe the expensive bike is slightly, but slightly more lively during hard accelerations but the difference is so small that it doesn't matter.
There is me looking at going Trek Emonda ALR AXS for £6k (estimate) yes I know SLR (red axs) be £9k but ALR allow me to make bike weigh 7.8kg when include axs dropper post
When I started as a Cat 5 I was tempted to buy a new caadX. The brakes sucked the bike was sluggish and heavy. Luckily I came across a Mares CX with tubular HED wheels and SRAM force 1x from the pros closet for the same price. It was so much faster and I'm convinced it played a big role in me reaching Cat 2 within a single season. Now, TPC's prices are insane.
Definitely love the comparison! I'd love to see a cheap second hand budget Endurance bike (around the $2000, Ultegra/Force Disc Groupset) like a 2018/2019 Canyon Endurace VS a modern all-out Aero Road Bike (Dura-ace/Red Groupset) like a 2022/2023 Canyon Aeroad on a mixed elevation course.
WE NEED TO POINT OUT YOU GOT SECOND ON A 2K BIKE WITH STREET TIRES !! ALSO AINT NOTHING WROND WITH AN OLD DOGMA certainly looks better than the TREK !!
Great video....I am a big fan of The Pro's Closet. I picked-up my 2022 Pinarello Prince this past year from there and got a really great deal and it was in basically new condition. I have made many purchases through them and have been 100% satisfied every time.
Could it be that not being in the draft had a bigger impact within those 100 watts. I wonder if you could estimate that. Is it not plausible you felt less snappy because of how much more the professional rider in front of you was? Is there any way to compare "in wind time"? How much of the gap in watts do you think would be covered by deep section wheels and tires?
100% the biggest factor in that sprint was his ability to jump and get a gap. if i had the ability to quickly get into his draft that was my shot at beating him. part of that has to do with aerodynamic and light equipment, but most of it has to do with fitness and race awareness.
Going from old skinny 10-15 year old rims to a wide internal width wheel makes cornering feel totally different. May need a new front fork like I did. 😉
IMO unless you are going semi or full pro the higher costing bikes wont give you that much ROI. Building a good foundation with training will always be better. I feel like after thr $5000 cost you wont see much return.
Those tires are for commuting, not even training. They didn’t hold you back in the sprint any more than the shallow wheels did, but they def wore you down over the course of the race. Anyone who says they were a minor matter is pretty far off target. They were costing a pretty hefty percentage of effort, and doing it all the time, unlike aero drag stuff, which waxes and wanes based on your exposure.
and I’ll add, friends don’t let friends ride Gatorskins. Except for the apocalypse, when every last Gatorskin ever made and cockroaches will be all that are left.
A comparison of two races iro of kJ and when it was performed can be a nice strategic analysis of the race. Maybe in total it is near but you need to know when to push harder. 🤓
Wheels cassete crankset this is the most important if you want to race trust me if you put 53 teeth crankset and 11-23 teeth cassete in 2000 budget bike it will be significantly faster than the 10.000 bike
i reckon if Mitch had 2x keto shots he would have won for sure. its really half equipment, half keto shots. its actually has nothing to do with training or fitness
Mainly here as wanted to see price change in performance, I build my own bikes for 4k but similar spec and weight bike produced is often like 7-8k, also going by Trek Emonda SLR 9 AXS I can build a spec just as good for 3k less than already built using same groupset and frame
@@geraldtone5914 I would agree I paid a touch more than surfing Craigslist but for both I needed them quick and a few clicks online and it showed up at my house. No dealing with people lying and no hidden faults. And no dealing with driving to get it or some shady shop doing a bad job packaging.
Spouler: you can't. I DNFd my first race and if I had the best bike and skinsuit, it wouldn't make up for my lack of skill and power. It just feels good to ride on a good bike
new bikes really are just terrible value (kind of like cars) and I can really imagine why light climbing bikes aren't selling as well nowadays as aero bikes, because you can just buy a 10 yrs old climbing bike with mechanical ultegra for around 1200-1500$
If you can win on a 10k bike you will also win on a 2k bike. But when you getting into a class where all guys having a 400w ftp, the bike will carry you due to marginal gains. So money will matter
Does the Pro’s Closet make sure the bike isn’t going to crack because the top tube, or any other tube, had an issue? I’m not trying to be funny, I know the question is a bit rudely asked, but could be an opportunity to highlight your sponsor
They do, but my girl just refunded her pair of self darkening pit vipers because her eyes and parts of the frame reflect on the inside of the glasses. Was quite annoying
The trek madone is a very good crit bike but the price man, its simply not worth 10000$ they are only charging that much cause they’ve done consumer research and know that people will still buy it.
Best tires and wheels you can afford, then a good helmet/glasses/skinsuit/socks and shoes. Last whatever frame and components that fits you and are cheap to replace. Di2 if possible. And take off that damned framebag ffs lmao.
