Why is my modern bike so much faster than my Peugeot?

[Ugo51]

Hello everyone,

Sounds like a silly question but really, why is it?
I recently bought a Boardman SLR8.6. A nice bike, but by no means a high end bike.
And yet it's so much easier on my legs than my Peugeot that it's almost a different sport.
My steel bike is heavier, for sure. But apart from that, everything else is in good condition. Is the difference only given by the weight?
The Boardman might be up to 3Kg lighter than the Peugeot, an enormous difference in the world of bikes, but when I ride the Boardman with a 3kg backpack on my shoulders I don't feel it being much slower than usual.

Maybe the difference is the result of the bearings being all slightly better, cumulatively making a noticeable difference?

I run the same tires on both bikes

What do you reckon?

 

[otherself]

Re:

Probably related to the drivetrain and wheels. Older cranks (square taper) not as stiff as modern outer bearing.

I just swapped an early 90's Shimano 600 7 speed groupset on my scapin steel bike to modern 10 speed Tiagra 4700. Feels like a different bike and I'm averaging 4-5 minutes quicker over 12 miles.

 

[legrandefromage]

because you are trying to compare a very very basic bicycle against a not basic bicycle

Or in car terms, a 1986 Renault 5 TC with a 2020 Polo TSI

or a Tesco carrier bag against a Marks & Spencer bag for life

a Harvest Blue garage sandwich against a Tesco *Finest Duck & Hosin source wrap

An Asda 'Black Friday' sound bar against a Denon AVR x2700H home cinema receiver

my mates' Boots Audio cassette player against my Chinese lossless audio player

It has nothing to to with tapers or bearings, you are just trying to compare two totally different objects - sure they look similar but they are not.

 

[tintin40]

also what's the gearing on them?

 

[Ugo51]

because you are trying to compare a very very basic bicycle against a not basic bicycle

Or in car terms, a 1986 Renault 5 TC with a 2020 Polo TSI

or a Tesco carrier bag against a Marks & Spencer bag for life

a Harvest Blue garage sandwich against a Tesco *Finest Duck & Hosin source wrap

An Asda 'Black Friday' sound bar against a Denon AVR x2700H home cinema receiver

my mates' Boots Audio cassette player against my Chinese lossless audio player

It has nothing to to with tapers or bearings, you are just trying to compare two totally different objects - sure they look similar but they are not.

I love this list of comparisons

Yes, I figured that they are different, but it's not really obvious where the difference lies..
The Boardman is still pretty basic: it has square taper BB and Claris groupset (same chain width as the Peugeot).

The gearing is obviously very different, but not as different as raw numbers might make you believe.
Sure, the lowest gear is a 34-32, which is not even comparable to the 42-24 of the Peugeot, but when I commute to work I keep the Boardman 90% of the time on a 50-24 or 50-21, which is not that different to what I use on the Peugeot, 42-21 or 42-18 ...

Anyway, maybe it is impossible to compare... :roll:

 

[Peachy!]

For a long while I thought the excellent original 80’s kit on my 531 all butted Claud Colstar was perfectly fine until I finally gave in to LGF’s assertions that Shimano indexed gears were a worthwhile change, so first I tried a 90’s 105 group and was stunned, then I stepped up to a mid-naughties DuraAce group and was stunned again.
I recently compared it to a mates modern 105 dressed Aluminium bike and even though my Claud is about 1.5kg heavier the quality and flexibility of the steel frame is so noticeable, so much so I’m building him one using his 2016 105 kit.

So my conclusion is.. it’s not so much the fact somethings “newer” more that quality wins..

 

[Retro Spud]

Quality usually wins out but........

When your hungry and you can have 3 Harvest Blues for the same price as a single M&S Gourmet sandwich - sometimes price trumps quality

 

[Peachy!]

3 Harvest Blues would make me trump...

 

[Retro Spud]

If that the case - Tell Joe Bidon to stay well away from them then - or just stick to the one

 

[velomaniac]

Re:

This must be a sassenach cultural thing but I have to ask.......... Whit in the name of God is a Harvest Blue? :?