Time Trial / Time Trialling / TT

Our club (Bristol South) hardrider event this morning, the "megahilly" - which has quite possibly the slowest winning speed of any open event that isn't a hillclimb, only 1 rider managed to break 20mph!

Its basically 5 long climbs strung together over 28miles.

https://www.strava.com/segments/3950421?filter=overall

It was somewhat eventful for me. Arrived later than I had hoped, so no time for a warm up, got the bike together and number pinned (thanks @Borek ) and rode down the very steep lane to the start, but before I could get there I noticed a very odd ticking/nocking coming from the bike. So I stopped and checked the Raltech covers, assuming something had come loose - nope, they all seem fine. Ok spin the front wheel - nothing stuck to it, spins ok. Put it back down and clunk... hmm so I give the wheel a little wobble and notice massive lateral movement.
At this point I am thinking ok, perhaps the skewer was loose... nope
Bearings gone? Nope
Oh....
The alloy rim of the hed 3 has detached itself from the carbon of the trispoke and could literally be moved or even removed from the wheel..... fuck.

So I ride very gently back up the very steep lane (guess thats a warmup of kind).
By the time I get to the top, the rim has cooled and the glue/epoxy has reset...hmmm
Nope not gonna chance that given the course today.
So I head back to the HQ and ask around for a spare wheel, thankfully a chap from Dursley road club had a PX AL30 (in white..) with a Conti 25mm tractor tyre on - well that will have to do.

So off I trot back to the start to try for a late start. I am in luck as its only 15secs before I am off up the first of the five climbs.

The climbs are mostly pretty similar, 2-3km long and with no crazy steep sections, mostly 6-10% but in between there are stretches of rolling road and obviously the descents associated with the hills.

I make up a bit of time on these connecting sections on the TT bike and don't lose too much over the road bike on the climbs as they can pretty much all be done seated.

Roll over the line at an indicated 1hr 30min on the garmin. Winner was 1.23. Think my time would have put me at 7th were it not for the late start. Oh well - better than last year where I punctured at the top of the first climb.

Couple of photos from the event here:

http://www.richlewtonphotography.co.uk/Photos/2015/Bristol-South-CC-28-Mile-Hilly/i-4r3Wp8M/A

http://www.richlewtonphotography.co.uk/Photos/2015/Bristol-South-CC-28-Mile-Hilly/i-bnr7mb3/A

Fucked: (photo credit @borek )

richlewtonphotography.co.uk/P­hotos/2015/Bristol-South-CC-28-Mile-Hill­y/i-4r3Wp8M/A

Looking pro! Props, I'd never race a hilly. Daft idea.

I think you have an ally there in @borek - he said much the same after finishing it (despite being a much better climber). But I will bully him into racing more :)

Entered a 50, E2/50c on the 16th of May. That's gonna be a 25, 50 and 100 on consecutive weekends...

Didn't you enter the Charlotteville 50 on the 10th?

Nah, staying up North after Etwall on the 9th.

Sounds as if it could have been hair-raising if you had any hair to raise. :)

Awesome work danb - I did another hilly, Round 3 of the Classic Series - the Beacon Little Mountain TT. Sneaked under 2hrs with 1:57:08 which was the goal, 12th road bike but when you weigh ~87kg getting up the hills isn't much fun :D

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I'm assuming that arm number placement has been aero tested, but it would piss me off if I were timekeeping.

Tbh if nothing else it's an easier way of mounting them

Given timekeepers standing on the side of the road, I would assume that placement offers at least a modicum of readability.

So, following on from my Hed 3 of doom - thoughts for replacement...

Do I just look out for another 2nd hand H3 or perhaps look at something like a 80-90mm toroidal 25mm wide carbon wheel (likely china crabon) for similar monies...

When I had my arms bent on the hoods they were much more readable

Great work on the megahilly - each of those are significant climbs. Back-to-back ... actually a bit mental.

Given timekeepers standing on the side of the road, I would assume that placement offers at least a modicum of readability.

If you actually believe that, you need to assist your local timekeeper. When people are flying past at 30mph, you can't read anything which is written on their side.

A modicum is conventionally quite a small amount... ;-)

But still more than you can read on the side of a tester. Anyway, the point of arm numbers is to be able to identify people as they come towards you, for example to decide whether to turn them or let them do another circuit in a 12 or 24. I find them pretty pointless for timekeeping, it's easier just to clock everybody and then scrub through the ones who turn out to be nuns on their way to chapel after they have gone past.

#proTTtip

If @danstuff invites you to a medium gear TT, check with the organisers that he's got the right date. Fortunately the results page of the club's website doesn't seem to work so our low placings against the geared masses can stay a secret between us and @cjmiska

Is medium gear standardised at 72" or do different TTs have different GIs?

anyone else going to the Maidenhead CC TT tonight, hoping to get there a little earlier tonight to get an earlier start number, rather than getting one by luck as I did last week!

fingers crossed the similar conditions (according to bbc weather), slightly lower front end, more experience of riding the course, and a bit more bravery on the turn back onto the drift road will give me the 8 seconds needed to get a 22:xx...

Or, it could turn out that last Thursday was a fluke, and I head back towards the back of the pack where I belong!

Standardised.

I've lost my crack pipe and the head of my pump is shit anyway, so are these pump adaptors from Tekno on TTF the best option?

Comments on the thread seem split about whether they'll work on a Zipp 900, and since I just bought one that could be annoying. Does anyone have any experience with them or the alternatives?

Hirame obviously seem to be the gold standard, but £100 on a pump head seems a bit steep.

A friend is selling his TT bike if anyone after one. It's literally been used a handful of times, and would be a decent setup for anyone.

http://www.timetriallingforum.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=99865

It will most probably work, but as an extra security measure against failure you can also slide in a cork from a wine bottle cut down to size to help stop the adapter flying off the valve once the pressure starts to ramp up.

Tekno's ones are a straight copy of Hirame. You can get the same ones from V-Sprint if you want to support a LFGSS forumenger

Possible temporary traffic lights at Maidens Green