Can road bike time trialling revive the TT scene.

[Grandad]

http://www.timetriallingforum.co.uk/index.php?/topic/129677-road-bike-tt%E2%80%99s-in-cw-by-xav/

Also being discussed on a specialist time trial forum

[Debs]

Wot has become increasingly apparent is how so many super fast time trialists have acquired parents with superior athletic type DNA
How are we ordinary fair to middling middle marker ageing mortals supposed to compete against competitors with so much youth and aerobic natural ability?
i can only surmise these test-tube designer time trialists are the creation of a secret laboratory hidden somewhere; perhaps in Taiwan, possibly next-door to the carbon fibre bicycle frame factory.
It's all jolly unfair imho

[Lance Dopestrong]

I've never done any competitive cycling, so don't know...are such events split into age bands, or any other kind of handicap/levelling system, or is it every person for themselves?

[DaveGos]

Most open TTs have a vets prize , there are handicap tables for those over 40 based on age. Our club Wrekinsport have a cup for roadbikes . Most points over a season , Number of regular club TTs in our area has gone down more than half . Number of riders in open and interclub TTs is similar despite club membership numbers quadrupling. All the stuff about it being just about the bike is rubbish , full TT equipment probably gives 90 secs over 10 miles and most of that can be gained at little cost . Clip on TT bars at say £40 and a second hand tt helmet will give you most of the time gain. Times move on , I bet there used to be people moaning about the new fangled safety bikes being rubbish because you could not see what was coming over the hedge

[Cugel]

Wot has become increasingly apparent is how so many super fast time trialists have acquired parents with superior athletic type DNA
How are we ordinary fair to middling middle marker ageing mortals supposed to compete against competitors with so much youth and aerobic natural ability?
i can only surmise these test-tube designer time trialists are the creation of a secret laboratory hidden somewhere; perhaps in Taiwan, possibly next-door to the carbon fibre bicycle frame factory.
It's all jolly unfair imho

Them Russians were very good at that "secret lab" creation of superior athletes. Their techniques have long-escaped the labs of Russia and are now found everywhere, including all the gyms in England. Steroid and EPO abuse are apparently rife, largely for obtaining the right "look", though, rather than superior athletic performance. Still, if you can also get "the best" 25 time In Lower Wallop whilst looking good, it must surely be worth it, eh!?

But designer babies will soon be on Amazon, if the signs & portents I read in New Scientist are anything to go by. Already they will be being sold somewhere in Kalifornee and other places where eugenics is not a dirty word but just another technique in the human-rat races.

Cugel, an ordinary of only middling abilities.

[peetee]

full TT equipment probably gives 90 secs over 10 miles

Interesting. I figured that Tri bars were giving me a minute over the same distance but part of that was gained from that position being more comfortable for me. I had always found the drops were hard going for the back of my upper arms.

[DaveGos]

Full TT equipment is TT bike , pointy hat and skinsuit . Most of time gain is just using tribars pointy hat I some no longer pointy these days) and skin suit

[pete75]

A decent rider on a road bike would by no means disgrace himself in many club Tt's these days.
When I rode in time trials over 40 years ago I used what was a normal TT bike at the time. 531 frame, Mainly Campag Gran Sport kit and tub rims. Single 56 on the front and 13-17 Regina block on the back. Thursday evenings our club ran 10 mile TT's. Most of us were in the range 22-24 minutes. A different club now runs Wednesday night 10s on the same course. From what I've seen almost all the riders use specialist TT bikes. It's reported in the local press, which ours never was, and most of the times are slower than we managed. 28 - 35 minute times are not uncommon. As well as the fancy bikes they also have far more traffic to help them.
The bets riders are get quicker and quicker but the rest?

[Debs]

It may help to introduce more hilly time trial races imho. These could include hillier roads that are totally unsuitable to expensive TT bikes and aero gear anyway, and use quieter roads lesser used by heavy motor traffic. Plus the hilly TT courses can be of variable distance, although i'd suppose 18 to 25 miles being sensible. IIRC these were referred to as 'sporting courses' because they have no relation on PB times resulting from typical flat 10 mile TT or 25 mile TT time results.

I'm completely out of focus with time trialling these days, not sure how it's organised or what you need to do to enter a race. In the old days it was dates in the RTTC hand book and sending an entry form with fee cheque of a few quid in a letter by post, but nowadays i suppose it's all done on line, must be simpler to do but i bet the costs have risen

[fastpedaller]

There a few clubs in Essex that have weekly time trials where people show up on anything from touring bikes to TT bikes, mostly depending upon how serious they are about competing with others (as opposed to their own times),and whether they have a TT bike. Some people go to see their friends and have a cup of tea and a natter, as much as for the TT.

Indeed - It's all about the enjoyment of the sport. Many years ago I turned up at our evening 10 miler on my Brompton! It was good fun to just see how it compared to my road bike, as it happens about 3 min slower IIRC, due (IMHO) to the 3 speed sturmey hub gear being either too low in 2nd or too high in 3rd gears. With a closer ration I could have got there All great fun though, especially if our (now sadly departed) clubmate turned up on his ride home from work, removed his saddlebag (but left on the 'guards and rack!) and twiddled his 62" fixed and beat all others by 2 minutes - which came as a shock to anyone who didn't know him. Happy times.

[drossall]

Most of our club do ride TT bikes. But every now and then there's a Brompton challenge, I think from a standing (folded) start. And of course in the Boxing Day 10 the idea is to ride the oldest or least suitable machine possible.

[whoof]

It may help to introduce more hilly time trial races imho. These could include hillier roads that are totally unsuitable to expensive TT bikes and aero gear anyway, and use quieter roads lesser used by heavy motor traffic. Plus the hilly TT courses can be of variable distance, although i'd suppose 18 to 25 miles being sensible. IIRC these were referred to as 'sporting courses' because they have no relation on PB times resulting from typical flat 10 mile TT or 25 mile TT time results.

When I was riding tts a few years back sporting courses weren't that popular as riders were chasing their times. I liked them as they weren't as boring as riding to a roundabout and back probably on a dual carriageway.
In general something needs to be done if it's not going to be bowls on wheels, in a lot of events there are very few seniors (under 40) let alone juniors or juveniles.
The RTTC did ban tri-bars for a few years after LeMond's 1989 Tour win. If events were going to be road bike only you would probably need a bike check like there used to be before road races to weed out aero frames and wheels as well as tri-bars and pointy hats.
But even pre aerodynamic 'aids ' riders spent money on specialist equipment, track rims and tubs and radially spoked wheels or lightweight kit.

[Wanlock Dod]

...I liked them as they weren't as boring as riding to a roundabout and back probably on a dual carriageway...

I think that pretty much sums up why I have never had any interest in time trials, it's got nothing to do with the bikes I just don't see the point in riding on the busiest road in the area.

[Whippet]

Most riders in my local club use specialist TT kit ( as do I ) and I think that’s fine. They are still a lovely friendly bunch and there’s no snobbery over kit. If you want to ride with a road bike then you’ll have just as much fun. For what’s its worth, most of the aero advantage of the new kit comes from the position you can gain using tri bars, so most would be able to afford this mod. Here’s my 1976 Viscount from two years ago in club TT mid with tri bars

[TrevA]

I had an idea a while back about getting more road bike riders into TT's. Having " turn up and ride" Hillclimb TT's, not on short, steep stuff but long draggy climbs of a couple of miles in length. You could organise them as a Come and Try It club event, so anyone could ride - affiliated club or not, and just charge enough entry fee to cover the levy. There would be no advantage to using a TT bike for this type of event and if you put them on a summer Saturday afternoon, people could incorporate them into a normal ride.

I have a friend who visits the USA quite a bit and they put on events similar to this, though they have much longer climbs to hold them on. There are probably 4 or 5 hills near where I live that would be suitable.