Wife: oh your lovely summer bike looks tatty best use that in winter

You: sure no problem !

First world problems we'd all like to have !

Why not sell the R3, buy a winter back for 1500, put the surplus with your 4/5k and get something custom, Sarto, Colnago, Parlee etc ?

Yeah, I think Jason's advice is spot on.
Don't obsess about weight if you can help it. Get something light but get something you really like and that'll feel good. I wouldn't compromise tyres, saddle, bars, fit, or groupset for weight savings.

Don't put excessive stock in a test ride either. You're really just testing the tyres and tyre pressure and the shops quick approximation of your position!
I thunk they can be misleading

Something is not right here. Why does she want him out of the house?

My first (bike) love is my lightweight Felt F2 road bike. With 1500g aero wheels it is 6.1 kg (13.4lbs). 12.7lbs naked with no pedals. It got etap and some exotic carbon components. It was a used mid range frame so price is comparatively good. No proper weight weenie build is cheap however.

Bonus is that I can, and actually do ride the bike. Many of the lightest bikes out there are more of “trophy bikes” that flex when you look at them the wrong way.

For those preferring not to have carbon brake tracks, i can put on mavic r-sys slr wheels and save another 0.5lbs.

But i am 60kg. Everything on my bike is raited for at least 90kg... but The flex for a big moose of a rider might be scary.

The lighter you are as a rider, the more you have to gain from a light bike. Me and my bike weigh 130+13.5= 143.5lbs. Had i left my bike stock... add 3lbs. Hahaha. So we are looking at a ~2% weight reduction. So we are still in the realm of marginal gains. A good dump before a bike ride might give the same benefit.

A 90kg rider will see closer to 1.3% reduction on weight for the same bike. Marginal.

Light bikes are fun... but aero is faster and always a better return on investment for tour dollars spent (thus why i have “heavy” 1500g 56mm deep carbon wheels on my “climbing bike”).

Oh yeah, and i increased my ftp in the last 4 weeks of training by 6%. So training>aero>weight. But that is boring... so i like my light bike.

Well if it's my wife and her having a weekend side piece to "entertain" while I'm out riding is compensated with me getting a new bike every year.....I call that a "win-win." Show me where to sign.

I do not recommend an aero bike if you do any hard climbs on rides. It's only faster on flat terrain. I have a Venge VIAS and a Tarmac and I've done lots of comparisons with the exact same wheels and position on the two and I'm noticeably slower (for the same power output) on climbs on the Venge. In contrast the Venge is noticeably faster on the flats, especially when over 30mph. Keep in mind I'm a lighter rider (61kg) so perhaps the weight gain % and extra stiffness differential impede my climbing more than the aero gain.

In any case, it's always fun going fast on the flats, but I find most rides tend to get broken up on the climbs, so I'd rather not have any handicap on the climbs.

The Tarmac SL6 is kind of the best of both worlds. A great climbing bike, but not too shabby aero wise. I'd also recommend going for the pro model over the s-works. I've ridden both pro and s-works (SL5s and SL6s) and can't tell them apart.

We are the same weight. Light is good for us, especially in the wheels. The data from folks like swisside say aero wheels are faster up to about a 4% grade... but then rider weight and speed factor i to that calculation so it is really all handwaving.

I will admit i am going deep carbon because it also looks badassed. It is a training bike, who cares. My fitness is the big limiter anyway.

Cheers dudes, as a couple of you have said the weight does seem to make a big difference for us scrawny types! I've pulled the trigger on a Trek Emonda SLR with Ultegra R8000. Got a great deal on one of last years frames (the updated model so exactly the same as this years really) and went for a turbo upgrade too (Elite drivo version 1 - half price!) all in all I'm considering myself very lucky at the moment. The SLR comes in at 6.59kg stock, with a few tweaks it should get pretty close to 6. I think I might have to get stuck in to hill climb season later in the year now!

Why especially in the wheels?

Trust me

Nope
I don't do trust without a reason.

Killer choice... you will love it. When I was building my bike, I was shopping used frames, and the Emonda SLR was on my short list. It is feather light and yet still quite stiff. I just happened to find another frame first that I also liked a lot. My original goal was budget, but then I got carried away on some light carbon parts and light wheels. I'm so glad I did.

To trust, does your reason require evidence?

And why ask questions when you have already made up your mind on the answer? Why not just give your reasoning? The swisside data would support you.

The R5 has not gone away. I have a 2018 model and the frame is lighter than my 2016 R5 frame and both weigh close to 14lbs or around 6.4kg fully built up. The new R5 is brilliant and looks great too.

I would say, unless you race, there is really no reason to get a fully aero bike over a R5 or similar. They are aero optimised but offer better comfort and lighter weight.

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