Cheap Bike vs Superbike - How Much Faster Is An Expensive Road Bike and Equipment?

Is an expensive road bike and top-of-the-range cycling kit noticeably faster than a much cheaper entry-level road bike and equipment? To find out we pit an S-Works Tarmac SL7 against a £350 Cannondale Caad10. The definitive answer to cheap bike vs superbike!

How much road cycling speed can you buy? And is it worth it for your road cycling? Let us know in the comments section below...

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[stanislavkindiakov]

3000% price for 1.6% speed. Sounds as a great deal 😅

[SimonGoesSideways]

I’m willing to bet the caad10 would be 3/4 seconds faster with deeper wheels and then the difference will be negligible. No point then spending £10k plus !

[bduh]

Are you seriously telling me that all we have gained from CAAD10 to SL7 is 1.6%? Wasn't the CAAD12 supposed to be 5% faster than the CAAD10! We're just being made to look like fools if we're buying the latest bikes when the older bikes aren't really any slower!

[dmv]

My take away is how good the cheap bike is

[rangersmith]

A decent aluminum or steel road bike with aluminum wheels, exposed cables operating rim brakes and 2x9 or higher derailleurs, and good tires with inner tubes will be a very satisfying experience for nearly every rider, and it will be 95% as fast as the bikes ridden by pros. If you want to go faster, spend your savings on a professional fit and a professional trainer.

[DavidFritzIII]

Agree with many comments here... you can buy a 350 quid bike, upgrade to fast tyres and maybe fresh wheel bearings, get a good fit, all under 5-600 total, the speed difference will be very small

[EnricoGaletta]

Great video guys, I'm big time convinced that it is the biker and not the bike that makes a difference. I can see when I reach the same results with my vintage steel post-modern bike, than people who ride on top bikes. It's all about marketing for bikers outside the pro circuits of course

[AllanPhillips]

Very good to know how little difference there is between those bikes and the clothing.

[JamesEvans-owwc]

*Excellent*

The rider matters MUCH more than the bike

[andreemurray]

Still down to rider how fit you are so that's how fast you go

[nikanj]

Great comparison. I love that you actually picked a good budget bike. These sorts of videos usually feature terrible department store bikes because the difference is bigger and it's funny. But this the sort of comparison that is actually useful information.

[mischief]

A change of tyres on the Cannondale might have made it the faster bike given that the margins are that small.

[gerrysecure]

Feeling stiffness when out of saddle ok, I take it, but otherwise its entirely psychological. The low tire pressure hype makes the whole feeling fluffy no matter how stiff the frame. Bike aero is negligible, just a marketing hype. Body position and wheels is all that counts.

[johnhirka]

Instead of buying a “cheap” bike, buy a used bike for $2500 that was once $10, 000 three years ago

Problem solved

[approachableactive]

What WILL make you faster is seeing a bike that looks great and you love, and actually feeling the need to ride it regularly. If a cool looking track weapon does that then your gonna be onto a winner.

[daviddjerassi]

Thank you a no BS honest video i applaud you both for such a refreshing video where can i find a Caad 10 please ?.

[shinn]

The worst part of all these comparisons, they never compare with equipment swap such as:
- same tires
- same wheels
- same cockpit/handlebars

Majority of the gains are from these and not the frame.

[TheBassallyear]

other than the feel of responsiveness i wouldn't be surprised if the majority of the time savings came from the tires.

[swites]

For an amateur where there is such a wide range of abilities from 2w/kg to 5w/kg etc, who is pushing the pedals is so much more important.

[Dreamweaver]

I'd reckon whatever kind of kit makes you want to ride more and maybe feel faster is worth it. Especially if you got a used bike that was good back in it's day.