Does the bike you ride make the difference...

[Wobblers]

Yes, but anything over 28mm is overkill, and for most people 25mm at 90 psi is fine if you want to go down the comfort route.
Most people would class 25mm as 'skinny tyres'.

Unless you're touring. Or have 12 kg of shopping in your panniers. Or are going off-road. Or the roads happen to be cratered wastelands.

I've noticed a distinct improvement in comfort going from 23 mm Krylions to 25 mm Krylions on my Yukon. And, yes, the 50 mm Big Apples on my Dahon are much better still. Not overkill at all. Have you actually tried larger tyres?

 

[Cletus Van Damme]

I haven't been cycling that long and so far I only use it for an 18 mile round trip commute that is pretty hilly. At first I was using a Marin Mill Valley Alp 2004 flat bar hybrid with 28mm tyres. I got my first road bike, a Specialized Secteur Sport triple with 25mm tyres a few weeks ago. I much prefer the road bike but my average speed has hardly improved on it. Then again the Marin is a pretty light bike and the gearing is similar to the Secteur. Also when I ride the Secteur I am just about always on the hoods. I have to admit I was expecting to see more of a difference but I do not really care to be honest. When funds allow I am probably going to upgrade the wheels on the Sectuer and put the wheels from that on my Marin as it's front wheel is very close to it's wear indicator, I will also put some decent 23mm tyres on it, so maybe I will see a little improvement then.

 

[GrasB]

Yes, the bike does make a difference, but not as much as you might think. My carbon Focus Cayo is 1 mph faster than my Galaxy (which comes complete with mudguards and rack!). Going from an upright flat barred bike to drop bars makes more of a difference, due to the aerodynamics. A lighter bike will certainly feel more nimble and be better going up hill, but again doesn't make a huge difference to the overall speed. The biggest factor in speed is yourself, the engine, unfortunately!

+1 to a point. While on flat/rolling roads going from a touring bike to a 'standard' road bike will give a small speed gain. If you were to go from a 'standard' road bike to an 'aero' road bike with all the trimmings (aero tubing inc. seat post, internally routed cables, aero profile flats of the bars, etc) you'd actually notice a bigger performance gain even though the latter is a heaver bike. However, as things get steeper then aero v's weight becomes very dependent on the engines ability to keep the bike above 8mph or so.

 

[Bicycle]

Yes.

But... the baseline is that you compare bikes only when they are in good condition and the road conditions are similar.

Something as minor as grubby chain, unwilling gearchange or low tyre pressures will make quite a difference over 20 miles.

As will an annoying click or whirrr... which will slow you down as it drives you mad.

Likewise an inconvenient headwind, wet roads or heavy traffic in the wrong places.

But... a bike you like and that's comfortable, responsive and rewarding when riding fast will always be faster than a bike that's just OK. It needs to be set up right for you (which may not conform with the 'classical' idea of correct seat height).

I think cost has (relatively) little to do with it.

As an end note, the thing that seems to have the biggest influence on sustained speed is rider weight...

Not a few grammes saved on carbon seatposts or titanium eggbeaters, but a few solid kilos worked off the abdominal circumference of the rider.

Right now, after a lazy winter I'm at the wrong end of the weight/BMI/speed scale.

A few pies fewer will work much better than a new carbon frame or lightweight rims.

 

[Smokin Joe]

Yes, the bike does make a difference, but not as much as you might think. My carbon Focus Cayo is 1 mph faster than my Galaxy (which comes complete with mudguards and rack!). Going from an upright flat barred bike to drop bars makes more of a difference, due to the aerodynamics. A lighter bike will certainly feel more nimble and be better going up hill, but again doesn't make a huge difference to the overall speed. The biggest factor in speed is yourself, the engine, unfortunately!

Because of the relatively low speed of a bicycle 1mph improvement on your average speed is quite a big increase. The other thing to consider is that every extra bit of weight uses more energy to propel, so on a longer ride or one that takes you to your personal limit more weight means fatigue will catch up with you sooner than it would on the lighter machine.

That's why pro cyclists are obsessed with saving every gram, running out of gas 500 yards before the end of a 180 mile race can be the difference between winning and coming 125th. Not something that matters if you just use the bike for a ten mile commute or a pootle round the lanes of course, but if you compete or cover long distances every little helps.

 

[Fnaar]

Everyone knows red bikes go faster!

 

[henshaw11]

Bear in mind that the skinny tyres, lightweight saddle and aero position that help make a road bike faster also make it less comfortable.

Rubbish!

Very helpful...

Ever wonder why some some people ride recumbents ?
I've had road bikes in the past, the shoulders/head down position *won't* suit everyone. On distance rides I'd be faster - and comfortable - on a road bike than on the mtb (on slicks/hard tyres). On shorter faster journeys the difference was less marked, it was harder to relax and apply grunt on the roadbike, despite it being sized and setup correctly, since there was more stress around my shoulders, etc.

The final straw on the road bike was the muscles in the back of my neck going into spasm - mtb bars are just about high enough on a good day.

Another 'bent rider I've ridden with, bought his after suffering a lot of grief from saddle sores.

 

[NorrisCole]

Seems like I created quite a fuss.
Let me clarify I was talking about a machine for use on the road only.
I still stand by the fact that anything larger than 28mm is overkill for use on the road. Bigger than 28mm, the trade off between a small amount of comfort compared to the reduction in speed and 'liveliness' just ain't worth it.
You have to laugh at the 'state of the british roads' argument. What are people doing riding through holes, do you not have any skill on a bike? Compared to many places in the world our roads are positively glassy.

 

[subaqua]

Agree...and disagree.
To me, it wouldnt make it more uncomfortable because thats what ive always ridden, but to someone upgrading from a fatter tyred bike with a padded saddle and comfortable upright position...it may well seem very uncomfortable.
Almost everyone at work looks at my Ponza saddle and remarks 'that must be like sitting on a razorblade'...but i find it very comfortable. They're just not used to that kind of saddle. i wasnt at first...it just took a little time.

no comfort difference noticed here between the MTB and the roadbike. the speed thing however is astonishing. I used to have an average of 15mph on the MTB and do the door to desk in 25-30 minutes including securtiy swipe and searchers at park entrance. its less than 20 minutes using the road bike.

 

[pepecat]

I have a steel frame 20+ year old 10 speed clunker of a mountain bike, and a 2 yr old aluminium 27 speed road bike.
I know which one is faster.........

 

[snailracer]

...
You have to laugh at the 'state of the british roads' argument. What are people doing riding through holes, do you not have any skill on a bike? Compared to many places in the world our roads are positively glassy.

You don't live in Surrey, I take it? You would spend more time dodging bumps than, say, looking where you are going or avoiding motor vehicles. It is also impossible to spot potholes under puddles.

 

[snailracer]

...
I still stand by the fact that anything larger than 28mm is overkill for use on the road. Bigger than 28mm, the trade off between a small amount of comfort compared to the reduction in speed and 'liveliness' just ain't worth it...

To coin a phrase...rubbish!

 

[david1701]

You don't live in Surrey, I take it? You would spend more time dodging bumps than, say, looking where you are going or avoiding motor vehicles. It is also impossible to spot potholes under puddles.

man up , you live in a relatively wealthy county with a high population density, if your roads are too poor its because you don't pay enough council tax, I live in Cornwall which is a relatively poor county with a very low population density and difficult terrain making road maintenance worse + a lot of agricultural debris

+ people ride tourers all over the world which has to include some shitty roads

 

[byegad]

Back when I owned 9 bikes I found that, for a given ride, there was a pace that each bike was 'happy' at for the ride. A cheap 6 speed Dahon folder on 1.75" tyres would do a fairly hilly loop of 15 miles in 90 minutes. A more expensive 24 speed Dahon Speed-Pro on much narrower tyres would go round in 80 minutes and my Thorn Club Tour on 38mm tyres would also do it in 80 minutes.
IF I was feeling energetic I could bully any bike a bit faster but frankly for a lot of extra work I'd shave a minute or maybe two off and that's all.
On my commute (16 miles each way) I found the same effect with each bike having a time which varied by only small amounts day to day. The faster bikes would get me in to work in 1hr 3mins consistently (It was down hill overall to work.) and the slowest 1hr 10 minutes. The difference coming home (and effectively uphill) was greater for the different bikes but again fairly consistent.

Hope that helps.

 

[monkeypony]

The bike does make a difference, although depending on the route, you may not notice it.

The difference between my winter bike (which cost 1k, fully mud guarded up and weighs about the same as a small car), and my summer bike (which cost a lot more and weighs nothing) on my 14 mile commute is only a couple of minutes. Not much to justfy the bike costing nearly 6 times as much.

But, after 80 miles in the saddle, on my winter bike I'm ready to fall off and die but on the summer one I'm fresh as a daisy.

So, the longer you ride the greater the difference in machinery in both speed and comfort.