Time Trialling on a standard road bike
- Thread starter suthers
- Start date
Page may contain affiliate links. Please see terms for details.
fossyant
Ride It Like You Stole It!
- Location
- South Manchester
Don't get too dragged into the TT thing. I did TT's on a road bike, sometimes borrowed a disc wheel, then got some deep aero wheels for rather a lot of cash.....
The main thing is getting some clamp on aero bars, and getting your position right. That's the 'quickest' benefit by far...
Most of the courses I rode were hard work - i.e. not pan flat, twisty, etc.
Only go for a TT bike when you get really quick times....your body is the most 'un-aero' part - so work on that... position, aero bars, helmet.....
The main thing is getting some clamp on aero bars, and getting your position right. That's the 'quickest' benefit by far...
Most of the courses I rode were hard work - i.e. not pan flat, twisty, etc.
Only go for a TT bike when you get really quick times....your body is the most 'un-aero' part - so work on that... position, aero bars, helmet.....
A
aml
Guest
on sunday i got up early and did the local tt course, before the oficial event started...
unfortunatly i was hung over and on my mountain bike, i had off road tyres, and baggy clothes.
i ended up doing 32mins at an average speed of 18.5....
i know its never going to break any records but its a benchmark for improvement... i'm planning on getting a road bike soon, so it will be good to see just how much i can improve.
unfortunatly i was hung over and on my mountain bike, i had off road tyres, and baggy clothes.
i ended up doing 32mins at an average speed of 18.5....
i know its never going to break any records but its a benchmark for improvement... i'm planning on getting a road bike soon, so it will be good to see just how much i can improve.
A
aml
Guest
does anyone have any idea of what potential gain in time you would get for each type of improvement to bike /rider..
for example
moutain bike to road bike or even just off road tyres to skinny slicks.
adding aero bars
tight clothing
disc rear wheel ( i've heard a big gain on this ? )
for example
moutain bike to road bike or even just off road tyres to skinny slicks.
adding aero bars
tight clothing
disc rear wheel ( i've heard a big gain on this ? )
Joe24
More serious cyclist than Bonj
- Location
- Nottingham
Wear a condom and be on a road bike and you could save 10mins from your time on a mountain bike.
Wear a condom, be on a TT bike and you could save half an hour
FACT!
Wear a condom, be on a TT bike and you could save half an hour
FACT!
Will1985
Über Member
- Location
- South Norfolk
Wind tunnel testing measures drag which can be used to calculate power requirements. Time savings at a given power are calculated from the control which is usually road bike with 32 spoke box sections and a road helmet. Bikeradar did a test last year which showed how everything was done and some basic calculations.
Figures on the internet usually quote time savings for a 40km TT. Most of the research is done on equipment and properly positioned riders - position is more important than the gear - your body being the big un-aero thing on top - so there is even more time to be saved there.
No idea about moving from MTB to road....slicks should make a huge improvement as the frame isn't as significant and aero trumps weight (if you can get into a decent position on it).
Aero bars are one of the cheapest and most cost effective upgrades as they put you in a much more aerodynamic position. The bikeradar wind tunnel test shows a saving of nearly 2 minutes over 40km....this sounds about right as a good rider managed to break his tribars on the way to the start at a club 10 recently...he went from a consistent 22:40 to 23:30 when forced to use the drop parts of his bars.
Helmets are a minefield because of all the different shapes and sizes of something which is really exposed to the wind, plus whether they sit properly on the back.
Various tests suggest you could save anything from 30-90 seconds over 40km.
Zipp did some testing for their wheels against a Mavic Ksyrium control:
404s (58mm deep) - 62 seconds // 20W
808s (82mm deep)- 72 seconds // 24W
404F + 808R - 64 seconds // 21 W
808 + 900 (disc) - 82 seconds // 27W
You can see from this that the disc is worth about 10s // 3W over an 808 rear, but note also what happens when changing a 404 rear to an 808 - only 2 seconds // 1W....the front wheel is the most important as it is what breaks the air in the first place.
Can't find any data on clothing, but I know I've seen some before. The story here is that flapping is bad. Some even suggest that gloves slow us down!
Figures on the internet usually quote time savings for a 40km TT. Most of the research is done on equipment and properly positioned riders - position is more important than the gear - your body being the big un-aero thing on top - so there is even more time to be saved there.
No idea about moving from MTB to road....slicks should make a huge improvement as the frame isn't as significant and aero trumps weight (if you can get into a decent position on it).
Aero bars are one of the cheapest and most cost effective upgrades as they put you in a much more aerodynamic position. The bikeradar wind tunnel test shows a saving of nearly 2 minutes over 40km....this sounds about right as a good rider managed to break his tribars on the way to the start at a club 10 recently...he went from a consistent 22:40 to 23:30 when forced to use the drop parts of his bars.
Helmets are a minefield because of all the different shapes and sizes of something which is really exposed to the wind, plus whether they sit properly on the back.
Various tests suggest you could save anything from 30-90 seconds over 40km.
Zipp did some testing for their wheels against a Mavic Ksyrium control:
404s (58mm deep) - 62 seconds // 20W
808s (82mm deep)- 72 seconds // 24W
404F + 808R - 64 seconds // 21 W
808 + 900 (disc) - 82 seconds // 27W
You can see from this that the disc is worth about 10s // 3W over an 808 rear, but note also what happens when changing a 404 rear to an 808 - only 2 seconds // 1W....the front wheel is the most important as it is what breaks the air in the first place.
Can't find any data on clothing, but I know I've seen some before. The story here is that flapping is bad. Some even suggest that gloves slow us down!
