First ever TT - what to do on the hills?

addicted to Langbar

Dear all,

I am due to do my first ever TT on Thursday night and I was just after a bit of advice about what to do on the hilly section.

There is a 3 mile section that is up to 6 or 7% gradient which I normally would do sitting up or out of the saddle if I was just out at the weekend, or should I be concentrating on trying to keep an aerodynamic position on the bike (not that I have really worked much on that).

Also, should I try and shed as much weight from my bike as possible - I read somewhere (probably on here at some point) about having empty water bottles and so on.

Any advice gratefully received.

LittleB0b

why would you deliberatly carry an empty water bottle?

addicted to Langbar

I read it here -

http://www.bikeradar.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=12619508

I just assumed that he was taking it all far too seriously.

Gav888

I guess as the speeds are much lower on hills just get up there as quick as possible, if thats out of the saddle then go for it. Im not sure at what speed the aerodynamics start to play a big part in your speed but there can't be much effect on hills.

Saying that if you can do it seated then why not stay in the aero position for as long as possible.... then stand on the steeper bits.

Obviously power to weight is important so as light a bike as possible will help, as with loosing weight - you will also get up the hills quicker. But unless you are a pro i doubt having an empty water bottle will make any difference.

felgen

17mph isnt it re: aerodynamics?

16simon

The thing about the empty water bottle is probably based on a misconception about certain frames that are designed so that a specific water bottle acts as a fairing, like the Specialized and Cervelo TT frames.

I doubt that using an empty water bottle on any old frame will help the aerodynamics :?

As for the hills, I try to hit them in the saddle and stay smooth until I get to the top and want to get back up to speed or they get so steep that I slow too much and need to get out of the saddle for that extra kick.

Chip \'oyler

If it's the Seacroft Wheelers 'Thorner' event then the climb through the village is a big ring power one. It's a tough circuit so good luck!

Pokerface

There has been some research showing that some water bottles on some frames actually improve aerodynamics over no bottle on the same frame.

It's a small difference - but it can help. After all - if you're willing to wear a skinsuit and silly aero helmet, then why not an empty bottle on your frame!?

HillClimber101

how about no bottle and cage for areoness

addicted to Langbar

Chip \'oyler wrote:

If it's the Seacroft Wheelers 'Thorner' event then the climb through the village is a big ring power one. It's a tough circuit so good luck!

It is the Otley CC one starting at Arthington. And if you need to get above 17 mph for aerodynamics to make a difference I needn't worry too much about it as I 'only' managed to average 19.4mph over the 13 miles when I did a practice run on Sunday morning.

But that was with two full bottles so if I ditch them maybe I can break the 20 mph barrier!!

No skin suit or funny hat for me Pokerface, I would probably be better off getting a bike that was less than 10 years old and that didn't have the gear levers on the downtube first.

nasahapley

addicted to Langbar wrote:

Chip \'oyler wrote:

If it's the Seacroft Wheelers 'Thorner' event then the climb through the village is a big ring power one. It's a tough circuit so good luck!

It is the Otley CC one starting at Arthington. And if you need to get above 17 mph for aerodynamics to make a difference I needn't worry too much about it as I 'only' managed to average 19.4mph over the 13 miles when I did a practice run on Sunday morning.

Good on yer AtL; I might be doing that too, and if I do it will also be my first ever tt. Have you joined the club yet or are you doing that before the event tomorrow? The only thing that might prevent me from going is that I'm playing squash tomorrow lunchtime which might knacker me out a bit, but then I suppose it'll mean I can easily beat my time at the next event!

addicted to Langbar

No nasahapley I am not a member yet so I will have to join up before the off.

Good luck if you do make it along. Now that I have done the route already i will be a bit annoyed if I don't beat that time. I think maybe my computer is slightly out as I got the course as being just under 13 miles long, not 12.5, so that last half a mile seemed to go on forever especially as you can't see the end coming because the road is so twisty.

Alex_Simmons/RST

There is no speed (that you won't fall over at) where aerodynamics doesn't matter. It matters no matter how slow you are going. In fact the time gains over a fixed distance are greater for slower riders and hence staying as aero as possible under all circumstances is advisable.

In general, stay in your TT position until the gradient makes that too difficult, then sit up on the bars to keep the power going. Even then, try to keep a bit of a tuck.

fuzzynavel

I'm not meaning to be funny but at a completely amateur level,how much of a part does your drag co-efficient actually play. I would have thought that making sure that you take a dump before the ride would make as much difference and probably save you a couple of seconds per mile.

addicted to Langbar

nasahapley wrote:

addicted to Langbar wrote:

Chip \'oyler wrote:

If it's the Seacroft Wheelers 'Thorner' event then the climb through the village is a big ring power one. It's a tough circuit so good luck!

It is the Otley CC one starting at Arthington. And if you need to get above 17 mph for aerodynamics to make a difference I needn't worry too much about it as I 'only' managed to average 19.4mph over the 13 miles when I did a practice run on Sunday morning.

Good on yer AtL; I might be doing that too, and if I do it will also be my first ever tt. Have you joined the club yet or are you doing that before the event tomorrow? The only thing that might prevent me from going is that I'm playing squash tomorrow lunchtime which might knacker me out a bit, but then I suppose it'll mean I can easily beat my time at the next event!

did you manage to make it last night nasahapley? I managed to knock over 2 and a half minutes off my time from the practice run on Sunday mornng, but I am paying for it this morning with sore legs. Looking forward to next weeks already.

jibberjim

fuzzynavel wrote:

I'm not meaning to be funny but at a completely amateur level,how much of a part does your drag co-efficient actually play. I would have thought that making sure that you take a dump before the ride would make as much difference and probably save you a couple of seconds per mile.

Aerodynamics, at any level, makes more of a difference than weight.

Try it, ride down the same long hill not pedalling once in the drops as low as possible, and once sitting up as high as you can. (the hill is to provide constant accelleration easier than trying to do it pedalling)

You'll go a lot faster in the low position.

John.T

That sounds like the Pool triangle. 12.6 miles. You should be able to do Swindon Bank staying on tribars or keeping low on the hoods. Maybe out of the saddle to get over the last bit. We used to finish opposite the Kirby lane end so you had to go full on up there. Roads are a bit busy now so we don't use it any more.

jamiecurry

only advice i would offer on any hills is one an ex british champ alf davies told me. i also heard this from johan bruyneel too at some point.

when your riding, ride the hill at your pace and ride it easy even if it feels too slow for the speed your going. dont panic about how slow your going.

the reason behind this is if you ride it at flat out or near flat out and hit the red, you will ride down the other side in an unrecovered state and be riding slower than if you rode at an easy pace uphill and then wound it up down the other side.

it does work. ride uphill easy at your pace and then if your feeling good go faster or flat out on downhill sections as overall you will be faster

John.T

You can not afford to back off too much on hills in a TT. You will never get the time back on the descents. Better to ride as close to the red as you can without going over then just ease back on the descent to recover without loosing much speed.