Time Trial / Time Trialling / TT

No, I'm not buying a pink frame, I don't care if it is my size and does match my eyes.

What's wrong with a pink Planet X???

;-)

If you go back to when this forum was younger.. before the midgets.. before 1000 members.. when Aidan was grumpy and I was fat (oh wait..) you will find lots of rants about moving to the city and my loathing of pink shirts. It extended to pink everything. Ahh, those were the days..

http://www.cyclingnews.com/tech/2009/probikes/?id=david_kemp_flyv_parleeTT_09

Not bad - I'd personally prefer one of these:

..and this
http://tillquist.dk/wp-content/gallery/time_trial2/ttx99ssl_1080big.jpg

Are we not missing the point here?

If time trialling were just another from of retail therapy I, for one, would not be interested in it.

Consider:

-It’s really the only form of cycle-sport on the road where single gear bikes can be competitive.

-There is the possibility of making the owners of the bikes shown above look silly.

-You can take part at any level of ability or kit and it’s still possible to feel you’ve done a good ride – even (under certain circumstances) if you came last.

you need to realise that most people on here (like the majority of cyclists) buy stuff because of how it looks, the performance aspect is only really considered for it's associated desirability rather than any actual gains in competition, hence the proliferation of aero wheels that will gain you a few seconds per mile combined with riser bars and an upright position that slow you down considerably. not forgetting the avoidance of useing the drops which is the cheapest performance upgrade you can make :-)

i am guilty of this up to a point. i have a cervelo on order that is not dissimilar the one jens voight used a couple of years ago, i'll not be competing at anything apart from trying to improve my fitness.

Doh! How stupid of me to have missed such an obvious point.

:-) i need to read peoples posts properly.
i must admit of all the types of 'competitive' cycling TT'ing appeals to me the most as it's just you, a time to aim for and a poxy headwind.
(and the fat banker on a parlee wearing a sperm helmet)

You forget that I ride my road bike in TTs. I post pics of the TT bling because I like looking at them, more so than a lot of the so called "porn" in the bike porn thread. I'd rather not spend 5-10k to own one though! Think of it as window shopping. Much easier on the credit card.

don't lie, you posted all the bikes you own

I'm fucking off tri-bars. The pair I've got are knackered, and don't really work with the fit/geometry of my road fixed, or my history of back/hip problems.

Going to try the next event with the narrowest drops I've got, so it's going to be 42cm Deda Pistas with a crosstop lever to keep the officials happy. I think I'm a ballsier rider in the drops than on the aero-extensions anyway.

And, without wanting to give winston nocturnal emissions, I've already lowered my saddle by... wait for it... a whole centimetre!!!

http://www.cyclingnews.com/tech/2009/probikes/?id=david_kemp_flyv_parleeTT_09

I saw a couple of those last week, truly amazing bikes. The road bikes look great too, definitely my dream bikes at the moment.

Have just finished building this, have ridden it twice now, really pleased with it

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Going to try the next event with the narrowest drops I've got, so it's going to be 42cm Deda Pistas with a crosstop lever to keep the officials happy.

Cycling Time Trials Regulation 14a

"Brake levers must be secured to the handlebars in such a position as to enable the competitor to readily apply both brakes whilst holding the handlebars at their widest point."

If you want to be CTT legal and maintain easy convertability to a track configuration, a DiaCompe 188 lever plugged into the end of the bar is the way to go. I found the cable run so short with this set up that the cable outer consisted of a couple of V-brake noodles with about 2 inches of straight outer between them

don't lie, you posted all the bikes you own

I have never owned aerobars.
I've never owned a disc wheel.
I've never used a carbon wheel.

Cycling Time Trials Regulation 14a

"Brake levers must be secured to the handlebars in such a position as to enable the competitor to readily apply both brakes whilst holding the handlebars at their widest point."

If you want to be CTT legal and maintain easy convertability to a track configuration, a DiaCompe 188 lever plugged into the end of the bar is the way to go. I found the cable run so short with this set up that the cable outer consisted of a couple of V-brake noodles with about 2 inches of straight outer between them

Interesting mod.

It's only Open events this stuff really applies for, right?
How often do they check this kind of stuff?
The only open I've done I didn't see any checking of bikes.

not that I have any idea, but I'd imagine it is one of those rules that could be put into play if they didn't want you to ride, rather than something they'd actually actively stop you riding for breaking.

Interesting mod.

It's only Open events this stuff really applies for, right?
How often do they check this kind of stuff?
The only open I've done I didn't see any checking of bikes.

Regulations apply to all events run under CTT Regs (obviously), so that includes club and semi-open events as well as open ones. I've never seen any scrutineering either (although with the set up pictured, the timekeeper did once ask me where my brake was because it's in an invisible place from where he's standing), but when you sign on, the first line at the top of the sheet you must sign before starting says
"The event is being run for and on behalf of Cycling Time Trials under their Rules and Regulations as shown in the current Handbook. I am conversant with such Rules and Regulations and undertake to abide by them"

In the unlikely event that you hit a bystander, riding a bike which doesn't meet the Regs is going to be awkward; make sure your own public liability insurance covers racing, because the CTT insurers are unlikely to pay out if they can show that you deliberately rode a bicycle which is, in the view of the organisation, not roadworthy.

You can get Dia Compe 188s for <£20 a pair (annoyingly for us fixed types, nobody seems to sell them singly), which is a lot cheaper than having to get Lloyds to underwrite the risk :-)

I have never owned aerobars.
I've never owned a disc wheel.
I've never used a carbon wheel.

I find this quite credible, as after all you can neither drink nor smoke any of these.

Cycling Time Trials Regulation 14a

"Brake levers must be secured to the handlebars in such a position as to enable the competitor to readily apply both brakes whilst holding the handlebars at their widest point."

If you want to be CTT legal and maintain easy convertability to a track configuration, a DiaCompe 188 lever plugged into the end of the bar is the way to go. I found the cable run so short with this set up that the cable outer consisted of a couple of V-brake noodles with about 2 inches of straight outer between them

Thanks for pointing that out. I'd rather be braking from the drops anyway.

I take it that Dia Compe lever is much the same as other 'TT brake levers', or is their something particularly unique about it?

Anyone got one going spare?

I take it that Dia Compe lever is much the same as other 'TT brake levers', or is their something particularly unique about it?

Anyone got one going spare?

Just make sure you get one which runs the cable outside the bars, not through them. I might have that 188 in my parts bin, but it's in my self-store so I won't know until the weekend, assuming I remember to look! You can have it if I can find it

Great - I'll wait to hear from you, if you remember, or no-one else comes up with it in the meantime.

Looks like the Tektro RX 4.1 is the other budget option - there are 2 on my wife's bike, but she's SS not fixed :(

Thanks again, mitre_tester, noodles 'n' all :)

And I'll try not to squeeze over-zealously if I misjudge things at the turn in my next TT outing...

.....mandatory pie.

Mmmm mandatory pie.