This is an important question. I was riding a 10yr old giant defy which cost me £1k 10yrs ago. I had only only ever upgraded the wheels to some mavics.
With the Giant, i was losing a significant amount of power through the drivetrain. The difference in reading from my favero assioma pedals to the taxc was like 10%. So at 400w at the pedals was only 360 at the taxc.
The cannondale just wants to go fast. On the flats (with good road) i’m cruising at 40km +.
In the group rides i’m leading off the front and breaking away at cruising pace. I feel like i need to find a faster group to go out with.