tt advice

blablablacksheep
blablablacksheep Posts: 1,377
edited April 2013 in Road buying advice
I just completed my first TT race today, 22.5 miles. Did it in 1:07(not exact time as results not in yet).

One thing though, nearly everyone had 3+k TT bikes! Was insane

So, is there any point in trying to do TT races, on a road bike? Or should I sell current bike and go TT proper?

Or will some tri bars and maybe deep rim wheels make a serious difference?

Just looking for advice on this as I really enjoyed race (apart from being overtaken twice by pointy hat men)

Thanks
London2Brighton Challange 100k!
http://www.justgiving.com/broxbourne-runners

Comments

  • Grill
    Grill Posts: 5,610
    Aero bars, skinsuit, and a pointy hat is really all you need unless you're thinking about getting serious with TTs.
    English Cycles V3 | Cervelo P5 | Cervelo T4 | Trek Domane Koppenberg
  • danlikesbikes
    danlikesbikes Posts: 3,898
    I just completed my first TT race today, 22.5 miles. Did it in 1:07(not exact time as results not in yet).

    One thing though, nearly everyone had 3+k TT bikes! Was insane

    So, is there any point in trying to do TT races, on a road bike? Or should I sell current bike and go TT proper?

    Or will some tri bars and maybe deep rim wheels make a serious difference?

    Just looking for advice on this as I really enjoyed race (apart from being overtaken twice by pointy hat men)

    Thanks

    Yes nothing wrong with doing TT's on a road bike, its called the race of truth as you are only going against your own time.

    Kit wise yes clip on tri bars will help and are a quick & cheap option. Wheels can be costly but will get you some results if you can keep a high enough speed to see the benefits of them. Areo helmet & skin suit will also help.

    Don't worry about getting overtaken it happens a lot & as you get race fitter & faster you may end up overtaking others or slowing the rate of you being overtaken.

    Glad you enjoyed it, thats not how I describe the feeling I get as its always horrible but I am so addicted to that element of pain!
    Pain hurts much less if its topped off with beating your mates to top of a climb.
  • john1967
    john1967 Posts: 366
    Well done on a good time and you now have a target for your next tt.aero bars will help as the aero position really does cut down wind resistance a lot.
  • cycleclinic
    cycleclinic Posts: 6,865
    Remember with TT it not about the time you set so much as you are racing against your last ime on that course. So if your kit remains the same then any improvements you can put down to more power rather than lowering air resistance. Getting a good position on the drops and tight clothing is about as far as I go. I do my TT on a 1980 Alan equipped with period kit 6 speed and friction shifters. It is built as TT of the era so it is a truely a race of truth.

    Try to get faster by working harder rather than by being more sliperly. Clip on bars are not nice to ride with anyway and they make your road bike look aof a hlaf way house. It is a road bike you use for TT leave like that.

    I am looking forward to first evening TT in the club in the 18th April.
    http://www.thecycleclinic.co.uk -wheel building and other stuff.
  • fish156
    fish156 Posts: 496
    Aero kit needn't come first. Initially the biggest time gains are to be obtained by training, learning how to pace, etc.

    As others have said it's you-against-you, but IMO there's definite pleasure to be gained by beating riders with all the gear whilst you're still on a road bike.

    Once you've tuned your engine, then perhaps start to consider bolt-on goodies to bring your time down.
  • to be honest i was pretty unwell so didnt have much time to train for the tt..( one 16 mile ride before hand lol)

    Training wise, il get a hell of a lot fitter but that isnt a problem, its just the aero that was a issue.

    Im looking at getting some aero bars, although my bars are oversized.

    Thinking about getting some profile ones.

    Suggestions welcome, budget no more than £150 tops.(less if possible)
    London2Brighton Challange 100k!
    http://www.justgiving.com/broxbourne-runners
  • cycleclinic
    cycleclinic Posts: 6,865
    Every week last year trough training and pacing I drop chuncks of times. My 10 mile time dropped by 4 minutes over the season. The bike did not change, I did. Being aero is not your crrent problem. Also 1:07 is not a bad time for that distance anyway. I seem to remember beating on guy last year with all the gear and all I was on was my 80's road bike with ridiculus gearing, that was fun.
    http://www.thecycleclinic.co.uk -wheel building and other stuff.
  • GGBiker
    GGBiker Posts: 450
    I got some cheap clip on bars from wiggle, £30 (Token). Went out for a quick practice with them on a route I ride often, absolutely obliterated a few of my previous times on Strava segments where I used the tt bars, easily worth 3mph above 20 mph, don't think I was even trying hard.

    There was a good bike radar article breaking down the cost/ benefit of various tt components, tt bars were worth about 1/2 of the overall gain, a tt helmet/skinsuit/wheels/tt bike were worth only 10-15% of overall savings to be made if I recall correctly.

    TT bars and a helmet are the most cost effective measures by a long shot and are fairly cheap fortunately.
  • danlikesbikes
    danlikesbikes Posts: 3,898

    Im looking at getting some aero bars, although my bars are oversized.

    Thinking about getting some profile ones.

    Suggestions welcome, budget no more than £150 tops.(less if possible)

    Can be very subjective to the user. Lots of different styles & set ups with straight bars, curve, S bends. Is often more about getting the set up right.

    Go to a shop & try a few different styles on existing shop bikes to see how you get on & what you think you can hold onto as some people can have issues with wrist pains or just not liking where the elbow pads are.
    Pain hurts much less if its topped off with beating your mates to top of a climb.
  • cycleclinic
    cycleclinic Posts: 6,865
    Yes aero bars will make you faster (you may see 30s over a 10 miles course) but I think it better to train more. On a road bike aero bars will alter the yor postion substantially and a road bike is just that it is not a TT bike. TT bike geometry has aero bars in mind so it may take a bit more than aero bars to make the bike useable for example you may find you saddle no longer suits the position you adpot with aero bars. If you position is not right you may find it hard to sustain a higher power output. This is how budgets are broken.


    Then with aero bars you maybe tempted to use them in training and I do not think they are a great idea in traffic but you see people se them!
    http://www.thecycleclinic.co.uk -wheel building and other stuff.
  • I was going to just buy some from wiggle, but I can see that trying different shapes being good idea....
    The thing is no bike shops near me sell TT gear nor can try any out...

    I'm en11 /en1 area, so anyone who knows a good shop where I might be able to try some bars please let me know, otherwise I'll buy some profile ones from wiggle and hopefully they work.
    (Sigma sports were at TT race,heard they have shop near but no idea what they be like..)
    London2Brighton Challange 100k!
    http://www.justgiving.com/broxbourne-runners
  • cougie
    cougie Posts: 22,512
    Tri Bars seemed to give me 1 to 2 mph extra speed for the same effort when I first used them. Plenty will fit your oversized bars but you might need to roll the tape back a bit and watch you don't pinch your cables.

    Training is the cheapest though.