TT Position

hothead

Hoping to ride some TT's this year, when on the turbo on the drops i feel fine but when I get in a TT type position it becomes really uncomfortable making me think i would find it difficult holding the position for a 10 or 25 TT.

I know its hard to say without seeing my position but does this sound like im doing anything wrong???

geoff_ss

The important thing in TT is legs and lungs. Bike and position is important only once you've got the mindset and are looking to shave seconds off your time. A reasonable rather than a super bike is all you need, but you must be comfortable too. Riding a '10' is all about pain. If it's not hurting and you aren't on the edge of oxygen debt the whole distance you'll be lucky to beat 30 minutes.

My wife used to ride the club evening '10's on her Mercian 531 touring bike complete with normal tyres, mudguards and rear carrier. We got her a Peugeot racing bike with sprints and tubs and Campag equipped. In her first race on the so-called 'faster' bike, she was actually slower than on her tourer. She forgot that she still had to try as hard.

Geoff

Jeff Jones

You've also got to do some training in your TT position and tweak it accordingly. Are you riding a standard road bike with clip-ons or a TT bike?

Bronzie

Uncomfortable in what way? Too much weight on the nose of the saddle (numb bits) or too stretched out?

If you've just bolted some aero bars on your normal road bike, you will probably too stretched out in the TT position to be comfortable - try bringing the saddle as far forward as it will go on it's rails so that you sit further forward, or you could even get a forward angled seat pin and swap this over for your normal seatpin when clip the aero bars on.

hothead

I have a road bike and clip on bars. To be honest its uncomfortable on the belly area and groin??? Just feels tight and i am having to push outwards.

oldwelshman

hothead wrote:

Hoping to ride some TT's this year, when on the turbo on the drops i feel fine but when I get in a TT type position it becomes really uncomfortable making me think i would find it difficult holding the position for a 10 or 25 TT.

I know its hard to say without seeing my position but does this sound like im doing anything wrong???

Take up road racing

Bronzie

hothead wrote:

To be honest its uncomfortable on the belly area and groin?

Sounds like you need to move the saddle forward as I said above - with aero bars on your normal handlebar position, the angle between your torso and your legs is more acute. Not only is this uncomfortable, but you won't be able to generate as much power.

Look at pics of any serious testers and they are perched right on the nose of the saddle with their hips brought far forward, so opening the angle between hips and torso again.

hothead

Hi Bronzie,

Cheers for that, does it take getting use to sitting that far at the end of a saddle? Also my frame is a compact and I am 6ft 3 so I wonder if the bike is not idea for a TT Position? Someone once suggested a non sloping frame would be better for me if I want to do TT's, does this sound right?

Bronzie

hothead wrote:

does it take getting use to sitting that far at the end of a saddle?

Most definitely - all of your weight is on a very small sit area and it can get very painful after a while. I now use a saddle like this on my TT bike to help make it a bit more bearable.

It also takes a while for your muscles to adapt to this position as more power needs to come from your back and bum.

Can't really see why a compact couldn't be used as a TT frame. The most important dimension is the distance from the tip of the saddle to the bars/elbow pads - so top tube length is critical, but you can get round it buy moving the saddle forward and/or using a shorter stem. Using clip on bars is fine, but the ideal TT position is so far removed from your normal road position that you really need to make a few adjustments when you switch between them. A forward angled seatpin is a quick way to make a big adjustment.