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or people who live in cities where you can cycle straight for half a mile without making a turn or running in to a stoplight I think Amsterdam here is the exception rather than the rule - most other places I've cycled have bikes on the road with cars rather than segregated tracks. Then, a faster bike makes a lot of sense, both from a safety standpoint (being able to accelerate quickly can get you out of trouble sometimes) and because you can actually hit your higher top speed, to shorten your commute. Obviously there are diminishing returns - going from a $150 bike to a $300 bike is a big upgrade, and going from a $300 bike to say a $1000 bike probably makes less of a difference. But certainly in London (and Seattle from my experience, and probably many places in the US) I don't think it's an exaggeration to say that a nice road bike can make a bigger difference. For context, here are some of the roads I cycle down when I cycle to work: https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@51.5110521,-0.0613274,3a,75y,... https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@51.5106455,-0.0835212,3a,75y,... https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@51.5118519,-0.0973481,3a,75y,... https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@51.5091639,-0.1195712,3a,75y,... https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@51.4853524,-0.1432872,3a,75y,... |