UKC

Long story short I've been roped into doing a 25 mile TT next summer as part of a team event. The swimmer and runner are pretty high level, one having competed at national level. I've tried to explain that I'm not Chris Boardman, but they're family/friends and want me to do it.

I do quite a lot of cycling, couple of hundred miles a week, but so far have only had a tentative attempt at time trialling. My main bike is a giant defy from 2009. It has Shimano ultegra parts so it's pretty good - however it's a like riding a tall ship - the headtube is VAST. I've got some clip on bars (controltech aero cockpit) which seem ok, although I'm still getting used to them.

I'm thinking, should I;

a) Use my bike - it's flat so the fact my bike is kind of heavy won't matter
b) Rent a TT bike. It's not too expensive, but I'd probably only get 3-4 days with the bike before D-Day
c) swap everything from my bike on to a TT bike frame.

I don't really want to spend a lot of money, that's the problem you see. How much of a disadvantage would it be to use the Defy? If we're talking seconds then I'll save the money :-P

Had a bash at going flat out on a 10mile circular route (150m of climbing so as flat as I could find round here) and I averaged 21.8mph which I know isn't that good by TT standards, but I have about 9 months to train, so I'm hoping I'll be a bit better by then!

In reply to Richard Carter: The answer is C

In reply to Richard Carter:

The advantages of a TT bike won't weigh up to much if you can't get a good aero position, you are unlikely to achieve that in a couple of days.

Seems like your biggest area for improvement may be your engine. I don't do huge miles on my bike, but I am a reasonable runner so I have decent fitness and can sustain 25+ mph on the flat reasonably comfortably on an ordinary road bike.

In reply to Richard Carter:

Start training on your current bike with the sticks on the bars. See what improvements you are making.

I wouldn't spend any money or make big changes for the sake of a 1 hour ride. You might see big improvements though, get hooked and fancy a proper TT bike - then you could do C - but they you wouldn't have a road bike.

Option b) would be agon for you I think.

I'm tending towards a) really.

E

In reply to Richard Carter: You could be setting yourself up for some sarcastic remarks unless you hope to get near the hour for the 25 if you appear on a TT bike. Think in terms of a novice climber on some scramble as an equivalent. I seem to remember I did my early racing on a fairly ordinary bike, moved on to handbuilt frames and tubs later. No, 21 miles an hour is not very fast for 10 miles - it is the sort of speed maintained for a 12 hour event. In any case, it is always best to stick with the bike you are familiar with. Everyone has to start some time!

In reply to Richard Carter:
A lot of your 9 month prep time will be over winter, a good idea would be to buy a turbo trainer and heart rate monitor, also get some training guides, eg Pete Read's books specifically aimed at time trialing. A turbo will also be a good way to play with the position of aero bars and get used to an aero position.

If you don'e have one a heart rate monitor is invaluable for training on t e road too

In reply to Richard Carter:

I did my 1st "25" a few weeks ago. Great day and got 1hr2m55s in windy conditions which i'm happy with. Here's how my buildup went....

Bought a regular road bike about 6 months and have been doing anything between 90 & 200 miles a week.

Started doing spin classes as you NEVER put in as much on a stationary bike as you do in a class environment.

Started spending more time on the drops of my road bike to get used to the more aero positon (having spent 95% of my time on the brake hoods).

Long rides out (100mile plus ones) to get some base fitness in.

Also started using my shorter rides as interval training - working as hard as my legs/lungs would take me up certain hills.

Got a Garmin Edge with HR and started understanding what level I could maintain my heart rate at without blowing over "X" time.

THEN

I borrowed a TT bike from my dad (never used it before until the day before the race)

Borrowed a skin suit and aero helmet

THEN... The race

Set off too hard, went through a whole load of panic when i'd passed someone after 5 mins and thought i'd gone out too fast, backed off a little for a short time then hurt myself for the remaining time knowing that I either had it in my legs OR i'd blow BIG time... Only started flagging in the final 2 miles - but then it'd just a "grit your teeth moment!".

Finished 24th from over 100 registered.

If I were you i'd just get the miles in over winter on your existing bike then borrow/lend/hire one the week before.

I'm so excited to do some more next year now - the magical sub-hour is the aim!

Good luck.

In reply to Richard Carter: I'd go with

d) get the people who want you to do the race to buy you a TT bike.

In reply to Richard Carter:

If you can get clip on bars on your current bike you'll be fine. If you really are still very upright look at getting a new stem that slopes down - that shouldn't break the bank.

A different frame won't made a whole lot of diffrence if you don't have the expensive disc wheel and pointy hat to go with it.

Learning to pace yourself with a £30 heart rate monitor would offer good bang for buck.

In reply to Richard Carter: Just train more efficiently and get used your roadie with aero bars. I always think there is too much empasis on kit and not enough on getting out and beasting yourself

In reply to Richard Carter:

useful info here

http://cyclingtips.com.au/2010/04/biggest-bang-for-your-buck-in-time-trial-...

In reply to Richard Carter: I'd go with option A and use the time to train for the 25as a specific event and bit by bit work on your positioning to minimise the effects of air/wind. Training wise.....if you are doing good mileage then you have a great base to work from.....depends on your physiology too! For example my 10 mile TT is decent but my 25's are crap...

In reply to Richard Carter: No question, at this stage I'd be thinking Option A. If you find over the winter that you really enjoy the training and are likely to be serious about doing lots more time trials then maybe rethink, but at this stage I wouldn't be considering either of the other two options. The suggestion about seeing what you can do to get your stem lower/improve your position on your current bike is a sensible one.

In reply to Radioactiveman:

That's pretty cool.

I'm off to order some over socks!

OK option A it is.

The course is dead flat (less climbing than my 10 mile attempt!) and on the day you always go a little quicker than you do on a training ride, so I think getting from 22.8mph (typo on the OP) to 25mph+ (1 hour) should be fairly feasible I guess. In theory :-/

I'm going to go out on the next clear day to give it "full beans" and see what I can do, as the weather hasn't been marvellous lately. My bike fitness in general is pretty good, I get a couple of hundred miles done in a week, but it tends to be long rides, not short & fast so I'm going to have to work on that. I do go to spinning though and my resting pulse is 45, so my general fitness seems good

I've got a skinsuit which I can wear so that might help and they're going to buy me an aero helmet - probably not a full TT one as I might as well have one I can use again in future :-P I had a look and I can lower my bars by 5mm, so I might as well take that. Do you bother drinking on a 25 miler, or it is better if I just take the bottle/cage off? I have some show covers somewhere so I guess I can dig those out too, might help maybe!? Seem like I have the best 'bang for buck' stuff already :-D

My backup plan is to blame my bike if I do rubbish


Richard


Ps. On an unrelated note, if someone wanted to get hold of EPO.....

In reply to The New NickB:

" I have decent fitness and can sustain 25+ mph on the flat reasonably comfortably on an ordinary road bike"

Shhhsh you :-P

In reply to Richard Carter:

I think most people wouldn't bother with a bottle for a 25 but I'm sure studies will have shown the loss of hydration is significant. Wether it justifies the weight and drag and faff remains to be seen. I guess if it's a very hot day it might be worth it.

In reply to JLS:

Drag is an interesting one - a bottle can act as quite a reasonable fairing located behind down tube and actually reduce drag. You'll often see pros with one on TTs that you'd expect to be far to short to be drinking on.

In reply to Richard Carter:
what counts as a decent time for this sort of thing?

In reply to Dr.S at work:

British record is 45:46. I would suggest 1 hour for club riders is probably similar to a lot of club runners aiming for a sub 40 10k.

In reply to Richard Carter:


A wise decision - remember, the more posh kit that you own, the fewer excuses you have for being slow

Try to enter lots of TTs early next year as it takes a bit of practice to get your pacing right. Different strategies work for different people, but I have now found that just smashing it from the start gives me the best results (I initially tried going a bit easier for the first half, but found my times to be slower, and I always wondered whether I should have gone faster earlier). Remember that the first 10 minutes of a short TT always hurts like hell, so just get through that and you'll settle in to it.

In reply to Richard Carter: Great question.
I would use your own bike, slam the stem as low as it can go and turn it uspide down so you get a negative angle on it and lower bars. Tilt you seat a few degrees forward and test the new position a bit before the race. An hour in a TT position is gonna be sore if you are not ready for it.
Skinsuit, shoe covers, aero helmet and aero bars are in place as well so you have everything going for you. If you can get a deep section front wheel as well (50+mm) then that will gain you a good few seconds over a 25.

Then you need to know what HR you can maintain for an hour, very important so you don´t fade. Try and set the computer up with an average HR display as well as current HR so you can keep track and make sure you hit your targets.

All that remains is to prepare for a thoroughly uncomfortable hour of hell!
Fantastic!