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Has anyone read 'Bad Science' by Ben Goldacre? It'll make you think more about food supplements, amongst other things, and how effective they really are.

He also writes a weekly column in the Guardian and has a web page here.

Has anyone else ridden the Navestock 10m course on fixed? I took my pursuit bike (with front brake fitted) down there on Friday, with spoked wheels and a 104" gear, and did 22:40. This is only 20 seconds slower than my quickest time on this course with gears and a disc wheel, so I was quite pleased with it.

Thanks!! That fixedwheel site is a good resource.

Mitre Tester, and other fixed gear TTers, what size gear are you using?

I want to start training for the National Masters Pursuit by riding 10s on fixed, and an experienced track rider has told me to train on a gear 10" larger than I will pursuit on... this means 104-106", anyone know how this will roll out on the road?

This has been gathering dust for a long time, it's in very good condition because unsurprisingly it never saw much use. Marginally better than walking, it should make a good pub bike and for £40 you won't be too bothered if it does get stolen. Seat tube is 61cm, top tube is 57.5cm, you'll want to be 6' or taller to ride this beast.

Behold, the mighty Raleigh Sensor:

Early SRM power measuring system and aero cable routing:

Chromed steel rims and flexy Weinman brakes will stop you - eventually:

Includes all important Dork ring:

Can be collected from Brentwood, cheers.

Thanks for the chainring advice everyone... I think the Fibre-Lyte one looks like the favourite. They make them up to 65T, wonder what you'd use that for?

I like it... get the most suffering for your money.

Not sure what speed I hit, I only use a heart rate monitor, but I was spinning out in 53x11, a bigger chainring would have been good. I want to get a 55T but it costs £85 for a Dura Ace ring in that size, ouch.

Thanks mate, if you hadn't taken the time to go over the course with me and tell me what to look out for, I probably would have ended up in Reading....

There's some info here about the pursuit meeting that I was telling you about. You should give it a go - they're letting in TT bikes so you won't even have to swap your bars.

if you get a very long recessed nut for it, you can run it as a front.

it was the H10/3a, started on the B4000 near to j14 of the M4, went over the M4 and through Stockcross and turned at the A4 roundabout, back onto the B4000 to finish before the M4 bridge.

My friend lives locally and said that he's done evening 10s on the course, not sure which club organised them.

National 10 coming up this Sunday near Newbury - anyone from here going to be there? I'll be there in a spannering role cheering on Mrs S.

I was there. It looked like a hard course, there didn't seem to be much flat road in it, but there was hardly any wind, and it was possible to keep a big gear rolling most of the time. I rode out of my skin and came 26th, with a time of 21:21. I was very happy with this....

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?

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

I've heard that sympathetic bike shops will let you buy frame or wheels only under Cyclescheme, my LBS suggested that they could do this for me. I'm not sure what they write on the CS quote.

cheers scarlett

Hey people

Does anyone know any places where I can watch the Giro D'Italia in central London? Any bars or cafes that show it?

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.

Funny, I must have ridden that road hundreds of times - it forms one of the core parts of at least 50% of my training routes - but now I realise almost always from the Blackmore direction - I never realised how bad that stretch into the woods is coming the other way.
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I avoid riding it towards Blackmore even in training - I don't know why, but it always takes a lot of effort to go even slowly in that direction.

26.48 is a respectable time for your first TT on the E83. You should aim for just under 26mins, it's a realistic target for that course on a road bike if you've got a reasonable level of fitness. My best time on it last year was 22.47, but that was on a TT bike with pointy hat and skinsuit.

Well, since you ask, 37 and fit - resting HR c. 50 (high 40s if I'm really rested and been eating & sleeping well). I wouldn't have thought that 183 was my threshold although my max is just under 200 (I think I hit 195 on the last uphill kick of this particular route - the E83)

Ah, the E83, it's one of my local courses but my least favourite due to the draggy return leg then that final climb.

The going easier bit intrigues me - I had wondered why, on the 10 mile TT when I was going at 183bpm avg I averaged 22.4mph yet if I look back 2 weeks in the training diary I did a much hillier (ok, ok, its Essex, its relative) evening training ride and covered 22.4 miles in 1hr 4mins, avg 20.8mph and avg HR 164 bpm.

Maybe aim for something in the middle - try and ride the first half at 170 then ramp it up to 175, see how you go. Club events are good for trying different strategies like this - like my club's Friday Navestock 10 that was mentioned earlier in this thread.

I'd guess that your threshold is about 175 although I'll probably get jumped on again for making assumptions.

Based on what? He only gave an average HR, no indication of threshold or max values. We don't know how old he is, or how fit, or anything.

I am making some basic assumptions, but I think I'm safe in saying that someone who is new to TTing won't have a threshold anywhere near this high.

FWIW (almost nothing) I rode a 25 last Sunday at an average HR of 179bpm.... I can also tell you that I hit 23mph (my average speed)...

Did you have a headwind - both ways? Puncture? That's pretty slow.

Anyway, I was just trying to help someone who asked for advice.

A bit of advice from seasoned time triallers please...

What is the one thing I could add/change to my standard road bike to make a meaningful difference when TTing? I did my first ever TT 2 weeks ago, 10 miles, and come home in 26m 48secs on my standard road bike. (Avg 183bpm)

The easiest way to get a faster time is to ride slower... this may sound counter-intuitive but let me explain.

The best way to ride a TT is at or slightly under your lactate threshold, and only to start to wind it up towards the end. If you averaged 183bpm you were probably nailing it all the way and must have been hanging on (and losing time) in the later half of the ride because you went too deep early on. My threshold HR is about 171bpm, my max is 189, but threshold is trainable and I do a lot of TTing so YMMV.

Most people make the mistake of sprinting off from the start, and going too deep straight away. The adrenaline rush you get after being counted down encourages you to do this. They then compound this by pushing too hard and dying towards the end of the race and losing time there. If you get a split time at the turn you can check this.

The way you should ride it is to start easy (not too easy tho...) and take a minute to get up to pace. Hold back in the first half then start to raise the pace. By the last quarter, you should have enough left to lift the pace again really make it hurt.

I like to fall off my bike and hyperventilate/retch at the side of the road after I've crossed the line in a TT, that way I know I've done a good ride. Fun eh?

Hi Scarlett, and others

The Navestock course isn't a very fast course, I think my best time last year was 23.31. So, you won't get an amazing 10 time, but it is a good fun way to get used to TTing and riding at your threshold without the distraction of huge lorries wooshing past you at 60mph.

If you want a fast 10 course that isn't too far from London, with evening club events that you can EOL, try the F20/10. It's an out and back course on a dual carriageway near Hertford, and there are evening 10s run there during the summer, on a Wednesday AFAIK. Last year, I did 20.00 on the F20.... damn, if only it had been 1sec faster I could have claimed a 19min 10.

The E2/10, near Newmarket is also a fast course, bit further to travel to obviously. If you're a member of a club that is part of the Eastern Counties Cycling Association (ECCA - http://www.questronics.supanet.com/), you can get in to the ECCA events that are run regularly on this course. It's also an out and back course on a dual carriageway, my best time on it last year was 20.43.

One of my aims this year is a 19min 10....

EOL.

Hi everyone, my club (East London Velo) runs the Navestock Evening 10s in conjunction with Becontree Wheelers. It's a club event (rather than an open) so it is EOL, and everyone is welcome. If you're new to TTing just let us know and we'll be happy to explain anything that you need to know.

Be aware that it is run under Cycling Time Trials rules, so you do need to be a member of a CTT registered club to ride. Unlike British Cycling, where individuals are members, clubs afiliate to CTT and then all their members are eligible to compete in CTT events.

The course is on country roads without too much traffic, there are two left turns and although these are signposted you may want to familiarise yourself with them; the first time I rode it, I went straight past the Tysea Hill turn....

It's a great way to test yourself, and see how you improve over the course of the season. The course is on gently rolling terrain, and should be well suited to fixed gears. If we get some fixed gear riders turning out, I'll get my pursuit bike out and ride that to show solidarity.

haha... since my original post, i sold the omnium to my friend oli, who built it up and used it as his best work bike. he went to live in japan about 6 months ago, and the frame back.

i've now built it up again, and i'm going to use it to race at herne hill... its first competitive outing will be at the Good Friday Track Meet.

i don't have any pictures at the moment, but we're all in London right? if you're interested it's easy enough to arrange a meet.

i'm not sure about bb length - record pista bbs only come in one length but i'm not sure what it is.