STIFFER AND FASTER

Posted by David J Bruemmer on 5th Apr 2012

Bottom line is the bike is stiffer and faster. It sprints better and I notice increased sense of stability going around tight corners at over 20mph. The most important difference to me is "stand-up" sprint speed. My old Focus bike and my new one don't necessarily seem that much different when I am seated, but when I stand, the difference is very clear. My times on STRAVA for sprint segments and uphill (off the saddle) climbing changed much more than I would have thought. I'm a big believer in performance metrics so I compared my previous overall best times on my old Focus to my times from this first week of riding my new bike.

My best time on the Swami ride Faraday segment on the old bike was 4:24. New bike time is 4:00.
Carlsbad Village hill (a sprint on the Swami ride) went from a 1:06 to a 0:42.
South Twin Oaks Village to Ledge went from 6:09 to 5:31
San Marcos Blvd to Business Peak 1:06 to 0:57
Melrose Aspen to Palomar 1:19 to 1:06

When you run the numbers this equates to an average improvement of about 15% for short uphill sprints.

These times are meaningful to me because they represent a true performance difference in the bike. I'd like to think I'd like to think I have improved in the week since getting the new bike but I know that is not the case. The difference is not only speed, but handling. I feel much more secure as I go around tight corners because of the added rigidity. My old Focus bike was good and I still love it dearly, but there is no question in my mind whether the Pro frame is worth the difference in price.