First !0m TT

Sand Pit

Hey Guys, I'm new to all of this - the cycling and the forum

But great tips and advice - Thank you

I live and ride in Saudi (Originally from the UK) and have mapped out 10m circuit and gave it a go on my Specialized Roubaix (Expert), Been riding it for a month now.

The course is fairly flat, a moderate head wind and 98degrees at 9:30pm (You do get used to it!) I posted a time of 29:15.

My question is really around trying to understand the tribar effect v regular bars, once your down on the regular bars you're pretty much aerodynamic so will the Tribars have that much effect? And also a better understanding of the advantages of monitoring your heart rate.

I can see how you can get hooked on TTs.

Pokerface

Short answer: tribars make a huge difference over the drops. Puts your body in a different position and reduces front area significantly. Worth a try if you can.

danowat

As pokerface says, yes, they make a huge difference, infact for me, it was 2 minutes over a 10 mile course.

Have a look at a photo of someone riding on the drops, and someone riding on TT bars, you will see the TT bars reduce your frontal area by alot, you are almost in a "torpedo" position, your arms are also tucked in, where as on the drops, they aren't, and your chest area becomes a big area of drag.

As for monitoring HR, it depends, for 10's, I personally don't bother, I just ride at as hard a pace as I know I can maintain for the distance, for longer distances using one may pay as a pacing aid, although its worth remembering that in a race, when adrenaline levels are up, HR is usually at a higher rate for a given effort level than in training.

SBezza

I never use HR for pacing, it is pretty useless in that regard. I look at the data after a race, but race totally on feel.

Sand Pit

Thanks Guys - Off to order some clip ons and see if the times start to tumble

Would you have recommendation for a bike computer? I do wear glasses so the bigger the better.

Thanks again...

ozzzyosborn206

depending how much you want to spend but i rate my garmin munch higher than my previous polar and cateye computers

SteveR_100Milers

+1 for aero bars - drops -> aero bars on a road bike is a bigger improvement than the latter to a full on TT bike.
Also +1 for a Garmin, much more reliable, easier to read and sp easy to use when you have more than one bike!