By dennismary.slave@gmail.com 
This year, GCN turned 10 years old, which got us wondering: how much have bikes changed in the last 10 years? To find out, Si dug out his old Specialized S-Works Tarmac SL3 with 11-speed Campagnolo Chorus that he rode when GCN first started back in 2013, to compare it to his current Canyon Aeroad CFR. What really is the difference? Have bikes got that much faster? Let’s find out!
00:00 Intro
00:52 Rewind 10 years
02:00 Finding Si’s old bike
03:20 2013 bike
04:10 What’s different?
05:26 Flat test – 2013 bike
08:55 Flat test – 2023 bike
11:02 Hill climb – 2023 bike
12:03 Hill climb – 2013 bike
12:54 Results & conclusions
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Were you watching 10 years ago at the start of GCN? 👀 And what do you make of the progression of bikes over the last decade? Let us know in the comments below! 👇
Campagnolo is always number one ❤❤❤❤and I love the rim brakes 🎉🎉🎉. It is very unfortunate that disc brakes ruined the look of the bicycles 😢😢😢
I am sbsolutely not a fan of electrocal gear shifting. It ceases to be a bicycle for me at that point.
1st Gen Sworks Venge with same depth of wheel set and you have a real comparison or close
Not convinced unless I fork out for electronic gears there’s that much in it for a 10 yo aero bike. It’s 2025 now my 2015 Giant Propel is 10 yo. It’s been a bit of a long term project looking back. I didn’t realise I changed so much but; I’ve got the Stages PM Ultegra arm, 55mm rims, Fourier brakes (allows 25/28 tyres), 38cm (from 42cm bars), power mirror saddle, Mich Power Cup, stem swap out… and I’m sorry but I’m not convinced they’re much different unless I go to electronic gearing and disc brakes it’s not worth the swap out.
My, 2014 Planet x pro carbon feels like a rocket ship, compared to my previous Genesis volant, in 10 years time when the Canyon drops in price, that will feel like a rocket ship compared to the P X.
so lets say my 2010 endurance trek holds me back with 3-4 km/h
For people interested in old vs new bikes, take a look at this interesting video : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fIqg8ogx-vk
When it comes to old bikes, I say ride them, sell them, or give them away. There are a lot of people who would get into cycling if they realized it didn't require several grand in start-up costs.
The most important thing is to pick your parents carefully.
How much faster is a mid line carbon GRAVEL bike vs 2000 low end ROAD bike or even high end?
My bike is a 2016 Pinnacle Dolomite 6. My cousin thinks it rides better than his £12000 SWorks Tarmac.
What happened to Nee-all ?
Typical video of gcn: No science data, no wind tunnel, no maths.
The only downsides to the newest bikes are price and the nature of carbon breaking. Ill keeo the carbon on my FPV drones for now
3 km faster over 1h and thousands more lool And I have a NEW BIKE don't think there worth it like s works is no better then the other brands.
Not a fair comparison! Need to put a high performance aero carbon wheelset on the tarmac.
Great video! I’d be interested to know how they would compare with the same wheelset and tyres. I reckon the gap would be a lot closer
I mean 20-30 seconds doesn’t mean a lot but that’s a lot when you’re group riding and everyone is going 30 seconds quicker per 6 minutes —- so 3 minute gap per hour. So you aren’t with them anymore unless you hauling it lol
Is it a similar trend as in other industries where manufacturers do not want their customers to be able to service and repair their products themselves any longer, profits above everything else?
Have to wait until 2030
The only reasons to buy a modern bike is when you 1. Are new to the sport and it is your first bike. 2. You are older and therefore wealthier (me) and start spending your money on luxury objects , as long as you can. Before the state comes and gets everything.
The older bikes just look better.
The WD40's cameo i was just waiting to see, finally 😀
i ride a 59cm conti pro team level frameset from 2012/13, come in at 6.3kg with pedals. Has some trick bits and Campagno Bora One tubs. Still, the Scott CR1 SL with the HMX layup could be built sub 6kg without too much spent.
As for statements like the older bike not being as stiff, probably find that's the bars and wheels and not the frame.
And who rode box section alloy wheels at pro level, even amateur level in 2013 ffs
I'd take BSC threaded over press fit any day, don't get me started on the joke that is disc brakes. Rim brakes can take 32mm tyres, and if frame designers had bothered could have made carbon frames for rim brakes take even wider.
Not that you'll need 32mm for racing, possibly if you're riding cobbles most the day, are a clydesdale and don't want to let air out to sacrifice when on smooth tarmac.
Why you don't put carbon wheels with 25mm nice clincher 😆.
One cage of bottle shim group
I wonder how much better time you'd have with your old bike if you put the same carbon deep dish wheels as are on the Canyon…. I am sure the times would be pretty close.
I'm riding a 2006 Cervelo Soloist with 23mm tires. I've gone on 44 rides this year so far on the local trails. I've only been passed by another cyclist twice lol
si vlog needed
The cope in the comments is crazyyy. The new bike is much, much faster. If you are racing, at any level, you are at a significant disadvantage with an old bike. People might not like to admit that, but it’s in the numbers.
Just ridden 300km group ride with my entry level Bianchi Via Nirone 7 about 10 year old bike with campangnolo shimano frankenstein groupset and mavic carbon wheels upgraded, tires 25mm GP5000 w latex inners.
Ive been having a crisis that would want to get like 4k euros new bike from the shop, but i really love my Bianchi it has been so reliable and overall fun bike to ride so i dont know can i get rid of that precious bike. 😄🚴💪
I paid from Bianchi 350euros and Mavic wheels 150euros so thats been a cheap one 🎉😄 New bike with same specs will be atleat 4-5k euros.
I appreciate the difference between the bikes, though i think most of us would benefit greater from serviceability, than all the modern tech. I'm also surprised how old-school that Specialized is, compared to my Cube Litening Super HPC from 2014. It seems mostly pre-2010 tech, with a slightly later groupset 🤔
Top riders can win Rim or Disk , Tadej 2020 TDF beat everyone, or Electronic or Mechanical, Fabian Cancellara beat everyone on mech. Bike companies need new frames and tech to sell the newest models to consumers, like cars to get people in the door. Hope to see 13, 14, 15 speed, and 1 chainring set ups in future . Along with lighter e-bikes. new frame designs
I love your knife analogy – brilliant
WD40 on cassette … ???
Durianrider is right
Absolutely fuming with Simon for storing his bikes in the loft like that! 😳😳
Most of it is down to the doping.
Prefer your older bike. Hard to find now, easy to maintain. Love the campagnolo.
And probably the older bike can last another 100 years or more but not the electronic one(soon will spoil and parts will obsolete)
But these are comparing the best of the best. Has the bike that costs $2k today any faster than the bike that cost the equivalence in value from 10 years ago? I doubt it.
With the knife analogy, you're saying today's bikes are at the cutting edge of technology
Basically, the new one is 6,37% faster.
Excellent topic, wonderfully shot with all the right points highlighted aptly…Kudos Team GCN
Answer is bike today is heavier, harder to work on, more expensive for maintenance, atrocious prices to replace parts, the derailleurs are ugly, road bikes look like mountain bikes. Yep, it's funny to think Simon's first GCN bike blows away anything current GCN shills for. I'd take Simon's 10 year old bike with Shimano 7900 over anything GCN shills for today.
Price +1000%, performance +10%
I think for the average ride it doesn’t really matter as much as in races because if your opponent is going 3km faster at the same energy output as you then it adds up especially in longer races