Bike performance hype….!

Ted Cherry has a burning question he needs answering about bike improvements and average speeds. We don’t have the definitive answer, but we can discuss the topic, these are our thoughts:

Message: I’ve asked this same question a few times, and as of yet have
not received any replies?
Question: With all the manufacturer’s hype the last few years
regarding ceramic bearings, super wheels, aerodynamic advances, light
weight components, etc., etc., why is it, that say in the last 10
years, or more, the speed averages and times in the pro-racing circuit
has not at all improved, say since the year 2000. (actually even well
prior to that). To me, this indicates that 99.9% of the manufacturer’s
are creating more hype than anything else. I realize the value of
marketing as related to sales, but……??

Hi Ted.

In a way I agree with you and also in another I don’t!

There is more than one possible reason why the average speeds in Pro racing have not improved since 2000 and I think this has more to do with the riders than the bikes. Without going in to the details of drug use in sport and how cycling is doing more than any other sport to eradicate drug use, I would look at how that has affected average speeds. I think the human body and training methods can improve without chemical help, but we live in a different time than back then and thank god for that!

Aerodynamics has improved for the bikes, but the human cannot change shape and is the biggest problem in that department. Ceramic bearings are shown to cut the friction, thus helping wheels and bottom brackets to run smoother, but you still have to push the thing, perhaps with less effort, but the motor is the most important thing.

Bikes have been getting lighter, but for Pro riders their bikes have to be under the 6.8 kilo weight limit, you can ride something lighter but not in competition. So bikes are lighter than when Marco Pantani raced up the mountains, but then he was “different” in many ways from the average rider.

In 1996 Bjarne Riis won the Tour de France with an average speed of 39.045 kph. Compare that to 1936 where Sylvère Maes won at an average of 31.072. This shows that with all the changes in 60 years only an average of around 8 kph improvement, not much considering what has happened between those years. Last year’s Tour (2009) the winner’s average was 40.31 kph, an improvement of around 1 kph in 13 years. So maybe speeds have risen a little.

Does this answer your question, or raised more?