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ejbarnes
Member
Posts: 4
ejbarnes
Post Time trial bike fit
on: April 26, 2010, 21:21

Hi.
I am more of a distance rider than a TT racer. My road bike is a Cervelo RS The seat is set for climbing hills and the handle bars are as low as they can go.
This bike is so comfortable that I can ride all day and still want more. What I am saying is that on this bike I don’t hurt.
I have now acquired a Specialized Transition hoping to improve my Tuesday night Time Trial results.
My question, Do I set this bike back a little? Seat back and bars back to use the larger muscles as on my road bike. The forward position is a little painful using the different muscles.
The idea behind this is that I have no intention of running anywhere after the TT therefore no reason to try and save my running muscles.

At age 50 and with daily life time to train for two different disciplines can be difficult, although if I must find the time I will.

lance
Member
Posts: 2
lance
Post Re: Time trial bike fit
on: April 27, 2010, 09:29

Full disclosure: I am not a bike fitter and i am a tri geek so I do have a vested interest in running off the bike.  That said, i do spend a fair amount of time on a time trial bike and a road bike, and have some experience.

From my understanding, the reason for the forward position is not really about preserving the legs for the run (that comes from managing your efforts on the bike so you have something left for the run). 

It is actually to replicate the angle between your torso and legs, to keep it the same in a time trial position as in a road bike position.  The idea is that if you keep the seat and legs in the same position, while lowering the torso like you would in a time trial position, you body and legs form a much smaller < compare to a road position, resulting in lost of power. 

The way around it is to rotate the body around the “bike” so to speak, and open up the body angle while still keeping the torso flat and low.  Its somewhat complicated to explain without pictures, for a much better explanation, check out this link:

http://iamspecialized.com/triathlon/rider/jordan-rapp/752/#/blog

The article is aimed at convincing tri-geeks to get road bikes, but the opposite can also be inferred, roadies also want to sit forward in a TT set up.

ejbarnes
Member
Posts: 4
ejbarnes
Post Re: Time trial bike fit
on: June 1, 2010, 09:01

I may have found a solution.
After having the bike fit all the measurements were recorded. (This is now a target and not a starting point)
Next I took the bike and a set of tools on a few rides.
With my road bike measurements in mind I slowly moved the TT bike closer to the road measurements.
I have found a comfortable starting position. After a 40K ride on the TT bike my body feels good. I could have ridden this bike all day the way it is now set up.
The speed (and effort) difference is still very noticeable.
The bike is still very Aero but Aero for a 50 year old fairly new rider and Aero for a 20 or 25 year old competitive rider is very different.

Now I will try to “tune the bike as my body learns the new positioning. Who knows? This may be worth 20 or 30 seconds off the 15K TT time.

kellylife
Member
Posts: 4
kellylife
Post Re: Time trial bike fit
on: July 15, 2010, 04:38

Scrubs is a great show. You can relax and get a laughing from it. I hope you can enjoy it.
http://www.dvdsuperdeal.com/scrubs-seasons-1-9-dvd-boxset.html

ejbarnes
Member
Posts: 4
ejbarnes
Post Re: Time trial bike fit
on: August 2, 2010, 09:53

Reporting back.
After a lot of adjustments and a few hours of riding the Transition, life on the TT bike is a little better.
My body has adjusted to the position and now I am slowly changing to a lower tuck.
The whole experience is like a very slow stretch session.
This week I am trying an ISM Race saddle. It is the funny looking saddle with the strange nose.
More on this one later.
One huge lesson I have learned through this experience is to take measurements and date the notes with every adjustment, that and only one adjustment at a time.
Some small strips of tape to mark position is a good idea also, when you are out testing the tape give you a return to start mark.

mbtshoes
Member
Posts: 1
mbtshoes
Post Re: Time trial bike fit
on: August 23, 2010, 09:17

With my road bike measurements in mind I slowly moved the TT bike closer to the road measurements.I have found a comfortable starting position.

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