Cycling is all about lungs and legs, not gear...

Isn't that obvious,speed on the bicycle no matter how sophisticated when distilled to its basic elements, is all about lungs and leg strength. The exercise scientist quanitfy that by measuring VO2 max, an index that measures the efficiency of gaseous exchange and utilization.YEt, as cyclist, the proverbial " bad cook always blames its utensil" instinct in us laments about our lack of aerodynamic insufficiency, unwanted weight etc as explanations for our inadequacy on the bike> Logically speaking all of us should just by mid level bikes spec"ed to its onto basic components based on what we know in our heart right?

Of course not. There is always a better groupset, set of wheels, stiffer frameset, more comfortable seat, stiffer shoes to set our pulses racing. We indulge in these because we want it for aesthetics, its "cool factor", the way it makes us feel on the bike.

Just got a road bike yesterday. some of it was part reason, part want more than need. The Wilier Cento Uno Di2 with ritchley front stem and Zipp 1080's. Took it for a spin this morning, felt like I was riding like the wind and marveled at the way it handled( certainly much better than a TT bike); the Di2 shifted gears like a charm. The electronic" whirring " sounding futuristic as the gears moves silently in place. I could keep up with a couple of guys on the Dogmas on the Mandai climb; wow that was a first.

I got back and wanted to look at my average speed. I supposed I should be a lot faster than previous outings. WHen the data churning was done and presented I looked at it eagerly,anxious. Well you guessed it, speed improved by only 1 km/h.