Time Trial / Time Trialling / TT

Hello,

Im doing the Farnham course this weekend. I have ridden the 10 & 25 variations of it and am doing a 50 on Sunday.(geared)

It would work well for FIX, its a good course as long as it isnt windy!!
Im not sure I could do a 100 on a fix though!

good luck to anyone that does do it!

As has been said before, it's all about position. Clip on aero bars (£80 for a really good set) are the cheapest way of improving and give the biggest bang for your buck.

TT specific bike with integrated aero bars will set you back best part of £1,000 pre-wheels.

Wheels can be whatever you want to spend.

Here are some pictures to illustrate the point from last weekend's women's Coventry Cycling Club 10...

Not very aero !!

Clip on bars added to road bike - more aero:

More aero bars:

Team S in action (!) :

And then the winner, Ruth Eyles:

She was using a Look ergostem pretty much pointing to the ground, with Hed tribars.

Not sure what is going on with the first one. If you're not going to have aero bars, you should at least get down on the drops and get the shoulders way down. Even the second one is too upright and stiff.

Pretty certain the first one was one of the Warwick Uni Tri club contingent - there were a few and they were all v slow! Second one has her bars set up too far in front.

One result is that I have spent nothing on entry fees or on travelling to races and so I have donated £25 to the Hounslow 100 as a prize for the best fixed wheel ride.

A generous gesture, I hope it goes to a deserving forum member.

No, I don't think the extra 75 miles is too much to ask, especially from the relatively youthful readers of this forum ( I now count anyone under 40 as being in this category)

I'm well past 40, presumably I get to use the 'old age' get out clause :-)

Pretty certain the first one was one of the Warwick Uni Tri club contingent - there were a few and they were all v slow! Second one has her bars set up too far in front.

I know some of the warwick uni tri lot - they were heading out en-masse to enjoy the event and get some TT experience ready for tri racing.

Hard to speak on their behalf as i don't have all the facts but i'm sure it's some of their first TT's, and as they're students they probably don't have the funds to throw at all the gear.

I'm surprised you say they were all slow - at least one who i heard would be there has been to the worlds as a gb age group triathlete - you don't get there if you're slow on the bike...

    Hello,

Im doing the Farnham course this weekend. I have ridden the 10 & 25 variations of it and am doing a 50 on Sunday.(quote from RP, post no. 251 in this thread)

Clubman says:
Best of luck with the Charlotteville 50.

This event is the ideal warmup for the 100. You are right to worry that strong wind would create difficulties for a fixed wheel rider, but remember Fortune favours the brave. Given the right conditions I don't believe fixed is a disadvantage at longer distances - you need confidence combined with a little luck. Don't forget the first ever sub 4 hour 100 was done on fixed (Ray Booty, 3.58.28. on an 86" gear in 1956.)

I rode this event last year on fixed and did a modest 2.13.30., but I think this was in line to equal my 4.41 in the 100 given a reasonable day. As it happened we had terrible weather for our 100 in 2008, but that's another story.

I think that if you get anywhere near 2.10 in the 50 you should try the 100, if only for experience. It's perhaps worth mentioning that you are allowed a support car in an event of this distance, and this should mean that you have the luxury of having some one running round catering for your slightest whim - and you're allowed to shout at them!

me me!
i too have a question.
i have an old steel merckx supercorsa TT bike (Lo-pro). 650 front. i used it for a triathlon a couple of months ago. all worked fine.
it s bit of a heavy beast but as i think it might be slightly too big for me i feel a bit stretched out on it, which feels like i get tired quicker. is this usual?

and also, how do these bikes compare to a modern roady over, say ten miles, (obviously downtube shifters are gonna take some time off). any old TTers used to ride one of these?

just geeking up really...

I'm surprised you say they were all slow - at least one who i heard would be there has been to the worlds as a gb age group triathlete - you don't get there if you're slow on the bike...

Fastest of the students came in at 28.25 - v 24.53 for Mrs S. However, as you rightly said, they were there to enjoy themselves and they appeared to be doing just that.

This time last year Mrs S didn't even own a road bike.

Ok, just got back from the evening 10, thought I would give a bit of feedback..

1. I got some clip-ons (not the mega cheap ones but some Ritchey ones with plenty of scope for adjustment).

2. I moved the bottle cage + bottle to the seat tube!

3. I put some overshoes on.

4. I went out easier (tried to keep under 173bpm up to the turn) and come back harder.

Result - 25.59 - and my avg HR was 178 (compared to 183 when I did 26.49). Even so I think I still was a little over eager on the outbend leg - hitting 180 once or twice - but I had enough left to put in a big effort on the final approach. Wind was a bit of a nuisance too (although favourable on the final hill) - I think the overall average time for all finishers will be significantly down. Overall I'm very pleased - obviously could still gain some from more aero improvements (only got the bars yesterday - not sure I've yet got ideal position!) and could improve technique on the turnaround and the one tightish bend (feels painfully slow - cornering at speed is not my strong point).

That bottle positioning makes all the difference..

Well done, I knew you could do it!!!

I was out that way last night, saw a lad in Quick Step kit on a road bike storming up the final hill, that wasn't you by any chance was it?

One further adjustment that you can make is to slide your saddle forward on the rails and raise it by approx 5mm, this will help you replicate the position that a TT bike would give you.

A generous gesture, I hope it goes to a deserving forum member.

Thanks for this comment.

Illy is one forum member who I know could do a good ride in this event. He would need quite a lot of bad luck not to beat my time.

I'm well past 40, presumably I get to use the 'old age' get out clause :-)

In 2007 Ray Dare (Kingston Phoenix RC) recorded 4.59.25. for a 100 at the age of 81.

There's no 'old age get out clause', it's just that much easier when you are young.
In the end, especially when it comes to the longer distances, it's a question of whether you want to do it or not.

I think older riders have an advantage on long events...

time passes much quickly for them, the pain and tiredness seems like a few minutes compared to the hours of torment faced by a youngster over the same distance.

This is why many pensioners enjoy gardening, they can actually sit and watch the garden grow without becoming bored.

This is why many pensioners enjoy gardening, they can actually sit and watch the garden grow without becoming bored.

Yes, and paint dries as if by magic while you watch.

In one sense RPM does have a point. Years of training do increase a rider's pain threshold, and I was once encouraged (by some one who had done a huge mileage of training and racing) to ride a 12 with the comment "You should look forward to it - it's a chance to spend a whole day on your bike."

The problem is that as you age you tend to develop pains in body parts you didn't even know you possessed.

Anyone doing the Lea Valley 10 this Saturday?

I'm doing it - hopefully it won't be as windy as the Shaftesbury 10 on the E2 last Saturday.

I'm doing it - hopefully it won't be as windy as the Shaftesbury 10 on the E2 last Saturday.

Did you ride the Shaftesbury 10 tonight?

yes, I was there, was that you in the Castelli top? I would have said hello but I had to get going as it was getting dark and I only had a rear light.

Did you improve on last week's time?

[QUOTE=16simon;691587]yes, I was there, was that you in the Castelli top? I would have said hello but I had to get going as it was getting dark and I only had a rear light. Did you improve on last week's time?[/QUOTE

In a week or two when I'm recovered from this ToI I'm going to have a lot of fitness (to piss away in pubs) so are there any good 10s or 25s being run near west London I could ride? You've had some good suggestions in the past clubman.. any left? :)

In a week or two when I'm recovered from this ToI I'm going to have a lot of fitness (to piss away in pubs) so are there any good 10s or 25s being run near west London I could ride?

Still time to enter the Westerley 25 on 31-5-09 on the H25/2

I'm travelling to a mate's birthday that weekend.

On your bike? As fast as possible?