10TT Times

Gav888

Guys,

I keep seeing people posting there 10TT times and im just wondering if they are set on the flat, hills or a mix. Im asking because I want to work towards a good 10TT time come Spring / Summer and want to compare my time to see if im on the pace

Could you post your flat time and if possible one with a mixture of hills and flat sections please, that will give me something to work towards.

Cheers.

whyamihere

Most times you see posted will be on flat courses, as it gives the quickest times. If you see one claiming to be over mountainous terrain, it probably crossed a hump back bridge.

SBezza

Best way is to measure yourself against those doing the same 10 TT as you. Courses are all different, and hence the time can vary quite a bit, plus it also depends on the weather at the time.

Gav888

SBezza wrote:

Best way is to measure yourself against those doing the same 10 TT as you. Courses are all different, and hence the time can vary quite a bit, plus it also depends on the weather at the time.

Its not easy to compare against someone else as I dont know anyone that does a 10TT round my way..... But surely if the roads are flat it doesnt really matter does it, as long as the conditions are roughly the same?

SBezza

If you really want to do 10TT, then in the spring/summer local clubs will run club nights no doubt, some of these may be Come and Try events.

Even road surfaces make a difference, but if you can aim for less than 30 mins, it is a good starting point I guess, it depends on how fast you can currently do 10 miles on the flat.

milton50

If you really want to do 10TT, then in the spring/summer local clubs will run club nights no doubt, some of these may be Come and Try events.

Yep, and if you just want to compare yourself against someone most local clubs will have a website which tells you some of the routes they have their TT's on.

cougie

Road conditions make a big difference. Some roads are much smoother than others and a straight road will be faster than a twisty one. And weather is a massive thing too - windy days will slow you - and every TTer will be excited about 'float days'.

If the course isnt a proper approved 10 miler course then its not really a valid time - proper courses arent allowed to have big differences in height from start to finish and you can be sure that they are measured accurately.

BeaconRuth

As they said, Gav888, the specific course matters enormously. The same person on a 'slow' course could be over 10% slower than on a 'fast' course. By 'slow' we could mean that it is hilly, it has lots of junctions, the road surface is heavy or even that there is little other traffic on it...........What people who gloat about their PB do not tell you is how many lorries, caravans and trucks there were passing them on the pan-flat dual carriageway (with the glassy-smooth surface) providing a massive speed benefit. You've only got to stand close to a road with a big lorry passing at 50-60mph to realise this is an enormous factor in TT race speeds.

But to try to answer your question here are some suggested times:

Elite time triallists: 'Fast' courses - Under 20mins, 'Slow' courses - under 22mins
Average club riders: 'Fast' courses - Under 25mins, 'Slow' courses - under 27mins
Respectable for a novice: 'Fast' course - Under 28mins, 'Slow' courses - under 30mins

Hope that helps,
Ruth

doyler78

Ruth,

A TT is something I will be trying this year (and probably get stuffed by the juniors). Anyway was interested to know what equipment those times would be done with. Is it full aero kit right through from tt bike to aero shoe covers (whatever they are called).

If it's with a full aero assault then what sort of times time cost could you expect from riding on drops with an ordinary helmet and normal tight fit cycle clothing and no shoe covers ie basically what you would wear on a summer ride if that's not too difficult a question to answer?

sub55

cougie wrote:

Road conditions make a big difference. Some roads are much smoother than others and a straight road will be faster than a twisty one. And weather is a massive thing too - windy days will slow you - and every TTer will be excited about 'float days'.

If the course isnt a proper approved 10 miler course then its not really a valid time - proper courses arent allowed to have big differences in height from start to finish and you can be sure that they are measured accurately.

wrong

sub55

doyler78 wrote:

Ruth,

A TT is something I will be trying this year (and probably get stuffed by the juniors). Anyway was interested to know what equipment those times would be done with. Is it full aero kit right through from tt bike to aero shoe covers (whatever they are called).

If it's with a full aero assault then what sort of times time cost could you expect from riding on drops with an ordinary helmet and normal tight fit cycle clothing and no shoe covers ie basically what you would wear on a summer ride if that's not too difficult a question to answer?

on drops with an ordinary helmet and normal tight fit cycle clothing and no shoe = + 60 to 90sec

brownbosh

doyler78 wrote:

Ruth,

A TT is something I will be trying this year (and probably get stuffed by the juniors). Anyway was interested to know what equipment those times would be done with. Is it full aero kit right through from tt bike to aero shoe covers (whatever they are called).

If it's with a full aero assault then what sort of times time cost could you expect from riding on drops with an ordinary helmet and normal tight fit cycle clothing and no shoe covers ie basically what you would wear on a summer ride if that's not too difficult a question to answer?

Its definately posssible for a relative newcomer to go well under 25 on a standard road bike with a set of clip ons, Just requires hard work and good quality regular training !

Mettan

doyler78 wrote:

If it's with a full aero assault then what sort of times time cost could you expect from riding on drops with an ordinary helmet and normal tight fit cycle clothing and no shoe covers ie basically what you would wear on a summer ride if that's not too difficult a question to answer?

Some food for thought - BikeRadar article below - (interesting read):

http://www.bikeradar.com/news/article/h ... aero-19273

LittleB0b

firstly sorry for this slightly tangental noob question - but in counties operating in metric what distance do the generally TT over?

redddraggon

LittleB0b wrote:

firstly sorry for this slightly tangental noob question - but in counties operating in metric what distance do the generally TT over?

A TT doesn't have to be over 10/25/50/100 etc miles, it can be any distance. I think it's just a UK thing doing it over those set distances.

E.g If you look at Pro stage races on the continent (like the TdF) distances can be what ever the organisers want.

doyler78

Thanks all - I need a bit more training to get me under 25mins though a bit difficult to really tell as there is no flat terrain around me - it's all rolling - nothing big just constantly up or down. Only 60-90secs for a full on tt setup. I was expecting much more to be honest. I don't how much but I just expected to be shocked at how much not how little. I guess you don't get much for a few £000's but I suppose at the top end that's what can make the difference.

That article looks really interesting Mettan and requires much closer reading than my skimming of it just now though the thing that just stood out for me was the absolutely enormous cost in watts required by not being on a full tt setup but I will have to look at much more closely to see what the real conclusions are.