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1980 Tour De France Winning Bike Vs Modern Road Bike
The 2025 Tour de France will be raced on carbon fibre road bikes that claim to be better than ever...but what's it like to ride a road bike that won the Tour de France in 1980? With his trusty set of Favero Assioma Pro RS2 pedals Jamie set about finding out in this modern bike vs retro bike test.
Road bikes have changed quite a bit over the last 40 years, there's now wide road bike tyres, Di2 and disc brakes but have they got any faster? To find out we pit a Trek Madone against a TI Raleigh - A replica of the bike that won the 1980 Tour de France
This video contains paid promotion on behalf of Favero
The 2025 Tour de France will be raced on carbon fibre road bikes that claim to be better than ever...but what's it like to ride a road bike that won the Tour de France in 1980? With his trusty set of Favero Assioma Pro RS2 pedals Jamie set about finding out in this modern bike vs retro bike test.
Road bikes have changed quite a bit over the last 40 years, there's now wide road bike tyres, Di2 and disc brakes but have they got any faster? To find out we pit a Trek Madone against a TI Raleigh - A replica of the bike that won the 1980 Tour de France
This video contains paid promotion on behalf of Favero
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SportsTranscript
00:00This is a TI Rally, a very pretty and very limited edition of the bike that Jupe Settemelk won the
00:071980 Tour de France on.
00:09And this is a 2025 Trek Madone. It is the epitome of a modern race bike.
00:16It has carbon fibre tubes, it's got carbon fibre wheels, it's got disc brakes and gears that go beep boop.
00:22But how do two bikes that are 45 years apart actually feel to ride?
00:28Well, thanks to Favaro's new Asioma Pro RS pedals, we're going to find out.
00:34Looking at these two bikes, and they couldn't be further apart, disc brakes have replaced these fan favourite rim squeezing
00:41contraptions,
00:43the tyres have absolutely ballooned, the gears now require electricity to operate, and modern bikes seem to sometimes have extra
00:52holes.
00:53Somehow, up until now, I have managed to evade ever riding a bike with downtube shifters, so today we're going
01:01to change all of that.
01:02To find out the difference between the two bikes, we're going to be subjecting them to a series of tests.
01:08First of all, we're going to do a flat test, riding at a set power output.
01:13Then we've got a hill climb test, and then finally a sprint test to see how both bikes behave.
01:20First of all though, got to get these Favaro power pedals on.
01:23I think probably the pedal threads are about the only thing, the only standard, which hasn't actually changed in the
01:29last 45 years.
01:30To make matters even easier, all of the technical stuff is inside the pedal axles, so the batteries, the strain
01:38gauges, the gyroscopes, it's all in this stainless steel axle.
01:43And that's really good, because it means there's not pods to knock, or damage, or I'm quite clumsy, so it's
01:50nice that everything's housed inside there.
01:53There's also the added benefit, because they're pedal based, you can fit them to one bike on one day of
01:58the week.
01:58And if you're lucky enough to have a second bike, you can swap them over at the weekend, and get
02:03your power data on that as well.
02:04Also, because I already use Shimano cleats, I won't need to change those over, and these new pedals are 100
02:11% Shimano compatible.
02:14We've just discovered that we've got a hack for putting on pedals.
02:17Cameraman Ed has apparently wasted many hours not doing this, so if you just do the first few threads,
02:23and then hold the axle, and just wind the pedals backwards, it's done up.
02:31Then you get your pedal spanner, do the final bit.
02:34There you go.
02:36Hack.
02:38Right, it is time for our first test, and I have a feeling that this one is going to be
02:43my favourite, because it's flat.
02:46Now, the aim of the game here is to ride at a set power output for the lap, and then
02:51we'll get back, see which one's fastest,
02:53and if there's any meaningful differences between the two bikes.
02:57So, as with any real-world testing, you do need to take the results with a little bit of a
03:02pinch of salt,
03:02because it's not a wind tunnel.
03:04I still haven't got one of those.
03:06But, we have done everything in our power to make it a fair test, so we've chosen quite a still
03:12day.
03:12We've chosen traffic-free roads, so there's nothing to pull us along or hold us up,
03:17and we're going to obviously be using the Ferraro power pedals to measure our power to plus or minus 1
03:23% accuracy.
03:25Right, enough procrastinating, let's get going.
03:34The course for our flat test was a 10km loop, not pound flat, but about as flat as most real
03:40-life rides get.
03:41And as you can see from the numbers from the Ferraro power pedals,
03:44I managed to get pretty close to my 250W target on both efforts.
03:49On the Raleigh, I finished the loop with a time of 17.5 minutes,
03:53and on the Trek, I was 26 seconds faster.
03:56Now, it should be said that this difference probably wasn't all down to the aerodynamics of the bikes.
04:02I definitely felt more confident when cornering on the modern bike,
04:05probably in part because that's what I'm used to.
04:08If we wanted to ride the Raleigh at the same speed, i.e. about a kilometre per hour faster,
04:13then it would require about 15-20 watts more.
04:18So, next up, hill climb test.
04:21The all-important weigh-in.
04:23So, there's three things that are going to make the difference when riding up a hill.
04:26A, the stiffness of the bike and how that translates the power onto the road.
04:32B, the rolling resistance of the tyres.
04:34And C, the bike weight.
04:37So, I've got to hold the boot up, so I now can't see what it weighs.
04:409.8.
04:409.8, what did I guess?
04:439.8.
04:449.8.
04:45Although, we do have to take the weight of the pedals off of this one,
04:48but they claim to be the lightest power metre pedals in the world.
04:52123.5 grams per pedal, which is pretty impressive.
04:55But we are going to validate that.
04:57We're going to put them on a set of scales.
04:58We're going to use Ed's drug scales to give them away.
05:02We'll validate that claim.
05:04Right, time to get the track on it.
05:07My drug scales.
05:10Right, the track.
05:11It should be lighter.
05:13It's not the lightest Madone build, but this Madone is a lot lighter than the previous generation Madone,
05:20which was full-on aero.
05:22The wheels aren't the lightest.
05:24105 Di2 also got a bit more weight over Ultegra or Dura.
05:28So, I'm going to guess.
05:30What did I guess for this one?
05:318.6.
05:338.4 something.
05:33I've got to hold the boot up, but less.
05:378.45.
05:398.45.
05:40What on track?
05:41You've outdone yourself.
05:43So, to find out if this weight saving makes a difference,
05:48I'm going to need to go and ride up a hill.
05:52Ah.
05:54Right.
05:56Yes, well it's time for hill climb test and Ed's chosen me that.
06:02Well, that wasn't very friendly.
06:03That tractor can't even get up it.
06:06Now, I've got to get up on this.
06:18let's go
06:27oh christ that's a long hill
06:43oh they were quite fit in the 80s oh you're such an ass you could have picked so many nicer
06:51hills
06:53but we've got time i don't know if back in the day they have different shaped hands
07:01his flat test in the drops are absolutely fine up here there's just these bits get in the way
07:09which is rather annoying yeah so it wasn't the most comfortable experience gears i was actually
07:15really impressed with how well they work they're indexed beautifully you can feel each gear and
07:22that is absolutely lovely but i could have done with a few more up there yeah i was out the
07:27saddle
07:27for most of it right back down gotta do it all over again don't i right let's get these swapped
07:36over
07:37so yeah trek has most definitely taken on the uh one bike one race bike to do it all concept
07:45um they
07:46used to have the madone which was their aero bike and then the amondo which was their climbing bike
07:52and this this latest one is designed to do both so it's got much skinnier tubes than the old aero
07:59one
08:00much more amondo like but it supposedly is as aero although that was with a set of aero bottle cages
08:06fitted let me know what you think of this paint job i don't know about it i do rate that
08:11trek has made
08:12the logo a lot smaller but um let me know in the comments below and whilst you're there make sure
08:17you're subscribed to the channel the hill climb that ed chose me was near enough one kilometer long
08:26at an average gradient of 10 but the times were really rather close on the rally i set a time
08:32of
08:32three minutes and 27 seconds but despite being lighter i was only two seconds faster on the madone
08:38in fairness though that was at a lower wattage and i think the downside of all that gear range
08:44is i probably wasn't forced to push myself as hard that and maybe there was some fatigue in the legs
08:50by this time in the day looking at the data from the pro rs pedals and we can see that
08:55my average
08:55cadence on the retro bike was 8 rpm slower for the effort than on the modern bike by no means
09:01an
09:01insignificant difference
09:07uh i don't know about easier definitely different uh this bike is a lot smoother um
09:17which you wouldn't think you'd feel that much at low speeds yeah you can just apply that power
09:22just that little bit smoother and also i changed gear a lot more on that one just because it was
09:30easier
09:30and there's also more gears not only is this 12 speed so more quantity of gears but also more
09:37range of those gears also i think because of that smoothness and the gearing i did a lot more of
09:43that
09:44sat down i think that this one probably was quicker and not because it's slightly lighter
09:51now i think this test really does highlight the benefit of using a pedal based power meter over a
09:57crank based or spider based version because we can fit it to basically any bike it doesn't matter if
10:01it's a bike that's getting on a bit like this one you can use them on a new bike and
10:06because the pedal
10:07bodies are actually removable with an allen key you don't even need any proprietary tools you can swap
10:13them out for the pro mx spd pedal bodies and that means that you could use them on your mountain
10:18bike or
10:19gravel bike so for our test we're using the dual sided version which cost this much but there is
10:26also a single sided version which cost this much and you can also upgrade from the single sided to
10:32the double sided version for this much i didn't know you were going to do that i didn't know i
10:39was
10:39going to do that if that sounds tempting then we'll pop a link in the description below and the
10:43other really good thing about these pedals is it's not going to change how either bike rides so that's
10:49because it's got a really low stack height that's the distance between the pedal axle and your cleat
10:54that's 10.5 mil which is really rather low for a power meter pedal and also the q factor that's
11:01how
11:01far away my feet are from the crank arm it's the same as on a standard spd sl pedal so
11:0753 mil so it's not
11:08going to affect how either bike rides because i want to ride this in all of its glory and for
11:15my
11:15final very scientific test i'm going to be sprinting on both bikes now this one is less scientific
11:21because we're not going to be measuring how much power gets put through the frames or anything
11:25i literally just wanted to see what it was like to sprint on a bike from the 80s i think
11:29this might
11:30be where we feel the biggest difference because there's obviously a huge difference in materials the
11:35new bike is composites everything it's got carbon fiber handlebars carbon fiber frame carbon fiber
11:41wheels this one i'm pretty sure well it was state of the art in the day but it's got reynolds
11:47753 tubing
11:48which is obviously steel and back in the day it was very special because they managed to make the tubes
11:54so thin that they then had to solder it with silver solder so they could do it at a lower
11:59temperature as to
12:00not damage the walls i think the only bit of composite on this bike is the lightweight pedal
12:06bodies of the favaro paddles so uh yeah there's quite a difference there let's see how it handles
12:26i mean it's a it's a bucket list item ticked off um it was a bit nerve-wracking because i
12:32really
12:33didn't want to crash on this lovely bike um i think one thing that's weird is the gears i think
12:40it's just
12:41a case of getting used to them to be honest because obviously well a you can't change gear whilst
12:47on the hoods or drops there's no sprint shifters either i have them on my bike none of that yeah
12:54it's
12:54just like am i in that gear am i half in between it and then you sort of out and
12:59to sprint it actually
13:00felt like felt pretty good i can only imagine like what it would have felt like you know mass bunch
13:06of sprint with everyone like playing with their gears and stuff like that really cool but yeah
13:11i'll stick to my bike for for sprints for now right sprint number two it should be a lot more
13:20like what i'm used to let's go
13:32ah it's amazing how a bike can be both stiffer and more compliant isn't it
13:39i i've never really got my head around that but it is a thing um the bottom bracket does feel
13:46like it
13:47translates that power a bit better but then you sit back down you don't feel all those road vibrations
13:53through both your bum and through your hands um i must admit i'm getting on with this cockpit much
13:59better um that's the main change that feels different to ride both bikes like this bars on
14:07the rally are just so skinny whereas these are really quite quite chunky i find the hoods much more
14:12comfortable obviously that doesn't matter so much while sprinting it wasn't all in favor of this one
14:17though um like the rally is just so much more involving to ride it feels like a bit of an
14:23event
14:24whether that's a sprint or just riding it like if i could choose one bike to go and ride to
14:30the cafe
14:30on a sunday i think it would have to be the rally like it feels like an adventure going out
14:36on a ride it
14:37feels like you have to do something whereas on this you just kind of sit there does that make sense
14:44so how much difference have the last 45 years or so made well if you look at the results from
14:50the
14:50power pedals then potentially less than you might think you see the thing is even with bikes that are
14:57decades apart they couldn't be more difference in their frame construction and in their componentry and
15:03wheels and yet the difference is still mainly made by the rider and that shouldn't really be any big
15:12surprise 80 of your air resistance comes from your body and not from the bike i've been dropped by many
15:19people on much worse bikes than me because they've just got stronger legs or bigger lungs i don't know
15:26what it is but they're just much stronger so if you want to get faster on the bike probably just
15:32do some
15:32more training rather than buy a new bike but don't worry the last 40 years or so haven't been a
15:38complete waste of time the trek was so much more comfortable and i think that's true of if we'd
15:44chosen any modern race bike it would be so much more comfortable than this ti rally no doubt the frame
15:51material comes into that but i think in main that is down to the tires the treks got 28 mil
15:57tires on it
15:58our ti rally's got 23 mil tires on it and that was actually fairly large for the time the other
16:04thing
16:05is that you can get on the trek and thanks to its geometry and the geometry of a lot of
16:10modern race
16:11bikes you can just get on it and you can ride to your potential you can get on it and
16:17you can do a
16:17sprint you can get on it and smash it up a hill as hard as you can without having to
16:22worry about anything
16:23else they're very pretty this gear set but down tube shifters they look cool and they're definitely
16:30of their time but for actually riding a bike i don't think anyone will argue that they actually
16:37function better you you can argue with me in the comments below but keeping your hands on the bars
16:43with the sti shifters just so much nicer and i think that's what it comes down to the geometry the
16:49frame materials that is where the evolution has been yes it is probably a bit faster it was a
16:56little bit faster in our testing but the biggest difference was its comfort and its ease of use
17:03so there you go there's some progress let me know which of these two bikes you would choose to have
17:08in
17:08your garage down in the comments below if you want to find out any more details or get yourself a
17:14set of
17:14those favaro pedals then we'll pop a link in the description make sure you subscribe to the channel
17:19give this video a like and we'll see you next time
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