Time Trial / Time Trialling / TT

Anybody doing the Westerley 25 at Marlow on Sunday? I'm helping - shouting out numbers for the finish timekeeper. Give me the secret wave and I'll shout out yours five seconds early.

I'll double check that we are using the right finish this year!

Do it!

A63 win.

Aren't farings illegal on TT bikes?

Any resources to help me determine a TT frame from my road fit file? "Go one size down" was the only advice I was once given, although it did kind of work out last time.

Any resources to help me determine a TT frame from my road fit file?

Essentially, no. Far too many variables.

You want to find a good TT position before spending much on a TT frame. Depends on how seriously you want to take it, but a good starting point is to get the cheapest beater steel track iron you can find that will fit your saddle height and set back with the lowest stack and longest reach, plus the most adjustable cheap clip on tribars and adjustable stem and spend the next 6 months testing positions by whatever method fits your allocation of time and money. You might want to adjust saddle height and set back slightly to shift your arse around, you will definitely want to experiment with stack, reach and width to your elbows. Only when you know your arse from your elbow can you start to look at which TT frames will give that fit with good ridability.

As usual, Tester is right about this. I'd just like to clarify something which is implied in his post.

Whichever form of competition interests you, it's desirable to start with a cheap and basic machine.

This is not just to avoid wasting money, which you almost certainly will do if you aim for perfection from the start. It's more because even the most talented need time to learn the game, and starting off with the 'ultimate' machine will almost inevitably lead to disappointment.

When my generation started racing we were just as clueless as beginners are at any time, and we were inclined to think that all we needed to go as fast as the stars we read about in 'Cycling and Mopeds' (sic) was a bike like they had. But their bikes (in TT's anyway) were generally simple track bikes with a front brake fitted (and bell, of course!). It was relatively easy to make our basic machines look more or less like the ones that our heroes were riding and by slowly adding better components while we gained experience our performances and aspirations gradually improved. As ever there was a high drop out rate, but it was fairly rare for beginners to be put off by doing terrible times on super bikes - we just did rubbish times on terrible bikes; at least that left some room for hope.

So, start cheap and then you will be less likely to become disillusioned too quickly.

Don't listen to these old codgers!
Buy the fastest superbike you can afford and then let me know when it's on ebay ;)

I probably should have clarified I have tested for a few seasons, had a season off to road race and now getting back into it..I even had a TT fit back in 2015. Its just my flexibility has improved a lot since then and so has my general position so using the same numbers doesn't feel like a good idea.

@hippy I'll let you know if I go down the reinforced trike route :)

Are you right at the limits of your current bike? If you're already on one bike then it should form a pretty decent basis for another, even if you are more flexible. Unless you were right at some limit of geo on your current one?

I don't have any trike records. Maybe 2019 is the season to trike. #hippyisthricefat

Do you still have your old TT bike? What was your old fit like?

You can always use a longer stem now the 3cm rule has been scrapped, and a low stack can be compensated for with stem or bar riser changes.

You could probably save yourself a lot of money and time by getting another professional fit and taking your existing data with you, I guess.

I can't bloody find my fit file from back then (and have sold my old bike) so hoping Swift sort me out a copy of my fit from then. All I remember was that it was a 56cm frame, I ran a 110mm stem and a load of risers but I could have gone lower..

I currently have my measurements from a CAAD12 so making some guesses as to how these might translate - one option is a cheapo Speedmax which seem to have both enough saddle height and a fair amount of cockpit adjustment.

Yep already in touch with my fitter!

one option is a cheapo Speedmax

The other option is to TT on your road bike - it's the future, apparently 🙂

In all seriousness, if you're just TTing for your own entertainment, doing it on a road bike is as good as anything unless equipment optimisation is the part of it you enjoy most. If you're doing CTT time trials for anything other than your own entertainment, you need a psychiatrist, not a bike fitter.

Is this a thing? But you miss out on annoying TT specific equipment dramas, and one-upmanship on tyre pressure?

I got the bug for going at 30mph and I can't do that for as long on a road bike. Well not for very long on a TT bike either..

Is this a thing?

..ish

There's definitely Road Bikes Only races in the calendar.

I've done one down on a south course, early season.
Of course, I've also just turned up to 'normal' TTs with my road bike as well.

we just did rubbish times on terrible bikes; at least that left some room for hope.

If my memory serves correctly, there isn't much risk of @onyerbike doing terrible times... IIRC his history of TTing include some big watts and some wins!

There's definitely Road Bikes Only races in the calendar

More than I thought:
https://www.cyclingtimetrials.org.uk/find-results?name=road+bikes

That's just the ones with separate Road Bike races, several more have separate prizes for road bikes, although they are not always well publicised.

My PB is on a road bike with mudguards

ewanmac in reply to @clubman

we just did rubbish times on terrible bikes; at least that left some room for hope.

If my memory serves correctly, there isn't much risk of @onyerbike doing terrible times... IIRC his history of TTing include some big watts and some wins!

I certainly didn't intend to suggest that onyerbike isn't a talented rider, I was just responding to Tester's comments which I think were intended as general advice.

You will have noticed that, in my post, the people doing the poor rides were me and my contemporaries.

hippy

Don't listen to these old codgers!
Buy the fastest superbike you can afford and then let me know when it's on ebay ;)

Great response! It's this sort of answer that encourages me to carry on posting here.

Been growing for a while: I organised a road-bike only class for our Wednesday TTs at Hillingdon about 5 years ago and it wasn't a new idea then.