I am depressed. Very depressed. I rode my new bike in a local sprint tri yesterday for the first time. My swim and run were PBs. My bike was a complete disaster. I biked a time 3.5 mins SLOWER (over 11 miles) than any previous bike I’ve done during this sprint series. My old bike was entry level aluminum frame with 105 components. My new bike is custom light weight steel with new Ultegra groupset. I could tell right away I was riding slower. I felt much more drag than I was used to compared to my old bike. I was working like a dog and doing 3mph slower than I normally do. It almost felt like I was dragging a brake, but I wasn’t. Tire pressure was fine. Everything looked fine. I built this new bike up to go FASTER not slower. There has got to be something I’ve missed. I put on Hollowtech II cranks, could that be it? The wheels are new Fortes, could the hubs be bad? Rear derailleur? I know there is always some adjustment to a new bike, but this is more than adjustment. Something is wrong and I don’t know what. I can swap out wheels to eliminate that, but short of swapping out parts one at a time to rule out things, what can I do? Anyone have any suggestions?
Get fit to your new bike.
What features of your new bike made you think it would be faster than your old bike? I mean, if you go from a round tubed aluminum bike with 40mm tubes to something with properly shaped aero tubes in narrow diameters then you ought to be faster. Lighter or custom won’t make you faster unless the custom addresses a really radical fit problem in your previous bike.
More expensive components won’t make you faster either. They might last longer, but when new they won’t make you any faster.
Chad
Is this post for real? Weight and components don’t make you faster…
Also, without a Powermeter it is really hard to quantify how fast your ride was. What if it was really windy? How did you compare to the others in your age group vs. other races?
Absolute time is rarely a good way to determine how your ride went unless the wind never blows where you live.
Chad
Good point Chad. My old bike has rounded tubes and the new one has aero shaped tubes. They both weigh almost identical. You’re right that I shouldn’t necessarily assume that a new bike will automatically be faster, but I certainly didn’t expect the new bike to be slower! 3.5 minutes over 11 miles is significantly slower. As to fit, this was one of the reasons I went to this new custom frame. My old bike was too big for me. So, supposedly this new one should fit better. The new bike feels good. It is solid and more stiff than the old bike, the components shift quietly and with ease, but I definitely feel like it is harder to pedal. Hard to describe, but it just feels like there is more drag.
I finished much lower in my AG than I normally do, with my bike time being the biggest change. Good point about not having a power meter and comparing the weather/wind conditions, so my comparison is purely subjective. I am not a seasoned roadie, but I’ve ridden enough to know a significant change when I see it. I was significantly slower yesterday and I don’t think it was because of the weather or wind. The day prior, I rode with my son and we alternated between riding the new and old bike. I suspected something wasn’t right then as well, but it wasn’t until the race that the time difference highlighted what I suspected. I am just curious if there might be something obvious that I am missing or should check.
tires and tire pressures the same?
don’t know why you would expect the new bike to be faster. should be more or less identical.
I rode my new bike in a local sprint tri yesterday for the first time.
I wouldn’t expect a faster time when on a new bike for very first time. One time on the bike during a race isn’t enough to decide the bike’s worth. Was your swim the same, was your heartrate higher, was there stronger winds, was it hotter than the previous time on the course. There’s too many factors that you haven’t listed.
You state it’s a “custom light weight steel frame”, just curious who built it. Were you measured specifically for this frame?
From the info we have here, it sounds like you built up a new bike and because it was newer and lighter, assumed it would be faster. This is horribly naive, but not terribly uncommon. It can take months of experienced time to properly dial in a new bike, regardless of material and geometry, to what is optimal. For proof, take your existing bike, the one you were faster on, and lower the saddle by an inch. Go do your regular time trial ride. See if you’re not much slower. or raise it, or move it back or forward, or combine adjustments.
My “sweet spot” has about 1/4" of play on either side of adjustment. Higher and my hip flexors give out too soon, lower and my quads burn. Back and forward aren’t quite as critical because you can slide around to find your spot. The likelihood that you found your spot on a new bike is extremely slim.
You could be on the fastest bike in the world and be slower than on your regular ride. It is all about fit and adjustment.
The tires are Vredestein Fortezza Tricomps at 140psi. The frame is Columbus steel aero tubing. My old bike is a 2004 Specialized Allez 61cm with rounded aluminum tubing. Two different fitters told me that my old bike was too big for me. I am 6’1". Both told me I should be riding a 58cm. So, when I decideed it was time to upgrade my bike, I got a 58cm frame and upgraded the components at the same time. I like my old bike (still have it), and I really like the “feel” of the new bike, I wasn’t expecting the significant change in speed. I hoped it would be faster, but I certainly didn’t expect it to be slower. Very sad.
Schwingding, You are right about fit. It seems it took me forever to get my old bike to where I felt it was dialed in correctly. I did flip the stem over on the new bike to run a bit steeper, but can fit alone account for such a significant tiime change? The only positive about the bike yesterday was my legs felt great starting the run. Normally on my old bike, my legs are trashed going into the run. I did have a PB on the run by about 15 seconds over the 5K, but that doesn’t come close to the 3.5 minute loss on the bike. It seemed like everyone was passing me.
steel aero tubing? cool. got a picture?
the tires, how much do you weight?
you probably should drop that down to 115-120psi
are those the same tires you had on the old bike?
The tires are Vredestein Fortezza Tricomps at 140psi. The frame is Columbus steel aero tubing. My old bike is a 2004 Specialized Allez 61cm with rounded aluminum tubing. Two different fitters told me that my old bike was too big for me. I am 6’1". Both told me I should be riding a 58cm. So, when I decideed it was time to upgrade my bike, I got a 58cm frame and upgraded the components at the same time. I like my old bike (still have it), and I really like the “feel” of the new bike, I wasn’t expecting the significant change in speed. I hoped it would be faster, but I certainly didn’t expect it to be slower. Very sad.
In terms of ‘drag’ there are only 2 things I can think of that would be that pronounced.
One is the wheels (could be both aero drag and rolling resistance)
The other is your body position
If you still have your old bike, can we see a picture of you aboard both bikes for comparison? Maybe it’s something simple like fit.
What kind of wheels do you have again? (both old and new) and what kind of tires used at what pressure? (both old and new).
How much training have you put on this new bike? When I got my new tri bike, I felt I was slower than on my old one. Fast forward a few months and I am laying down better times. Fitness certainly has something to do with it, but your body has to adapt to your new position. My buddy went through the same thing going from his Giant OCR to his new Trinity. He was slower earlier in the season, and just layed down his fastest bike split ever a couple weeks ago.
Just a few ideas while I eat my sandwich here…
-
Put the bike in a stand and do a ‘spin test’ on your wheels. You or the shop would probably have spotted a problem
here, but that would show up brake rub / hub problem, maybe even a simple QR mis-alignment -
what is your gearing? If you went from a standard to a compact crank your may have lost some gear inches
(if you had a 53x12 that is ‘faster’ at 80 RPMs than a compact crank with a 50x12 ). ( My #1 guess…) -
what sort of bar setup are you using? I don;t think bars would make 3 MPH difference, maybe .5, but it could
all add up -
Position (As mentioned in other posts) - you may be in a ‘better’ position on the new bike, but if you had
adapted to the older Allez, you may have new muscles to train -
An Allez is a road-bike, if you went to a Tri bike the different geometry is a real change. I was more tentative
on corners, in traffic for a while once I got a Tri bike . -
Could there be a timing error? If your Swim & Run were PB…maybe some time got skootched around somehow.
I’m sure a modern new bike that fits will eventually be faster than a road bike that didn’t - it could just take a
few trips to the shop to dial it in.
.
Schwingding, You are right about fit. It seems it took me forever to get my old bike to where I felt it was dialed in correctly. I did flip the stem over on the new bike to run a bit steeper, but can fit alone account for such a significant tiime change? The only positive about the bike yesterday was my legs felt great starting the run. Normally on my old bike, my legs are trashed going into the run. I did have a PB on the run by about 15 seconds over the 5K, but that doesn’t come close to the 3.5 minute loss on the bike. It seemed like everyone was passing me.
It’s possible that what you perceived as ‘drag’ was simply a matter of having a higher perceived effort to ride the same speed. If that’s the case, then yes your position on the bike can make that big of a difference.
Season 1 on my super duper tri bike had me cycling about the same speed I would on my road bike on my hoods, but I took solace in knowing that this was while using less oxygen than the same pace would on my road bike (even though both had the same perceived effort).
That could be the phenomenon you experienced. If so, it’s a matter of training time on the race bike.
One thing that helps is to set up both bikes for the same hip angle.
Send those pics I asked for. Can you get them taken tonight?
Thanks for all the replies. My old bike wheels are Alex with Vredstein Fortezza tires that I usually rode at 110-120psi. The new bike has Forte wheels with Vredestein Fortezza Tricomp tires that I raced yesterday at 140psi. My old bike is a triple crankset in front, 9 speed in back, everything is 105. My new bike is double up front and 10-speed in the back, everything Ultegra. I have put in less than 100 miles of training on the new bike. I have the seat height set on both bikes nearly the same, but I do have the bars set lower on the new bike. Figured this was as good a time as any to go more aero. I know fit is everything, but I am still having a hard time believing that fit could account for such a difference in time. I will try to post some pics when I get home.
“It’s possible that what you perceived as ‘drag’ was simply a matter of having a higher perceived effort to ride the same speed.”
That is entirely possible!
first the difference in time could be entirely the accuracy of the event timing/measuring. I’ve seen WILD variation.
2nd, people here have done neat field testing that has shown DRAMATIC increase of rolling resistance once you go a bit over 120psi on tire pressure.
go back to 110-120psi, that will make you faster for sure, even if it wasn’t the main reason your race didn’t go well.
Thanks for all the replies. My old bike wheels are Alex with Vredstein Fortezza tires that I usually rode at 110-120psi. The new bike has Forte wheels with Vredestein Fortezza Tricomp tires that I raced yesterday at 140psi. My old bike is a triple crankset in front, 9 speed in back, everything is 105. My new bike is double up front and 10-speed in the back, everything Ultegra. I have put in less than 100 miles of training on the new bike. I have the seat height set on both bikes nearly the same, but I do have the bars set lower on the new bike. Figured this was as good a time as any to go more aero. I know fit is everything, but I am still having a hard time believing that fit could account for such a difference in time. I will try to post some pics when I get home.
Jack, You got me on the tire pressure. I assumed that higher tire pressure would have the opposite effect on rolling resistance.