Love+Sprockets | NYC Cycling Info

That's what Matt Haughey wanted to know. So he did some research to answer the question, "Does a $5,000 bike improve an amateur cyclist’s performance," by renting a Cervelo R3 for $300 a week. He shows the percentage of increase in speed/time over several distances, comparing against speed/time on his $1700 aluminum bike. On a 35 mile route, he shaved off 21 minutes, 13 seconds, a 15% difference over his performance on the aluminum bike.

There's something about cycling in traffic that fuels me. I used to get the same rush skating through the city—my first apartment was off of Times Square. I used to love that adrenaline rush I would get from skating and biking after work through midtown traffic, especially at night. The pulse of rush hour just pushes those twitch muscles to go to work.