carpediemracing 

Also on cornering. There are "ideal" cornering lines and "racing" cornering lines, as I think of them. "Ideal" usually means ideal in terms of motorsports - outside-inside-outside, etc. "Racing" usually means what you need to do in a race, which is almost never the same as the ideal line.

Some thoughts on cornering:
Sprinter della Casa: cornering lines
Sprinter della Casa: How To - Cornering, Looking Habits (Pictures)
Sprinter della Casa: Tactics - Cornering

In a race you're usually cornering in a group so your "line" is really following everyone else's lines. If you're leading you have more options. If you're cornering hard on a descent you probably want to lean toward a late apex line.

You can and should practice cornering all the time. Pushing a shopping car, driving your car, etc. Don't cross the yellow line when making a left turn. Practice late apexes on entrance and exit ramps. Evaluate cornering lines on roads you regularly drive (the looking habits post above is the right turn into the road where I live so I drive it literally every time I drive home). Practice using different lines in corners you drive all the time - entrance ramps or turns when leaving the house, etc.

Cornering is free, absolutely free, and requires no physical training. Any time you're cornering and you let a gap open through a turn you're wasting your preciously earned fitness. Of course it's hard to corner perfectly all the time but you should strive to optimize your cornering skills. For me this is a huge part of my racing repertoire. Last weekend I remember looking through the gap between the arm/chest of another rider. Looking through that window (he was to my left, we were cornering to the left) I could see the riders up ahead. I was maybe a foot or so to his right on a pretty hard left turn.

Finally cornering while drafting is very tough. It's hard to be comfortable drafting in a corner, worse than drafting on a straight. This is a whole different discussion but it's something you can work on solo through drills etc as well as think about while you're racing.

Some racing thoughts, basic/short things, from the Series I promote/d.
2013 Clinic Info*|*Bethel Spring Series

TrojanHorse

What about the helmet visor?

Zedmor

Just want to show you guys work in progress. Thank you again!

182 watts, 21.3 mph (0 gradient, 1.2412 Rho)

RChung

Nice improvement. What'd you do different?

dleccord

I too would like to know how to pace 21mph under 200 watts...

Marin

Easy, only go out with a rear wind

Zedmor

Carbon front wheel, better tires (michelin pro4 but ordered even better), and better positioning, real flat (my back hurts today though). Tomorrow going to refit bike on retul.

Oh, and I took off visor from helmet, yeah. Yesterday was tad optimistic though, will do full circles to remove wind from equation.

RChung

So you went from 20 mph at 235 watts to 21.3 mph at 185 watts. 50 watts lower for 1 mph faster. Nice improvement.

Retul will tell you what's biomechanically correct and comfortable but it can't tell you how aero you are. A field test with a power meter will tell you what's aero but it can't tell you, by itself, what's comfortable. Combine the two and you've got something nice.

Drew Eckhardt 

and fixed it. Beyond that your jersey is loose.

My aero jerseys are faster although I haven't measured specifics. They don't flap distractingly and wick sweat well which makes them otherwise more pleasant on hard rides.

In Drag difference between a normal bike/bibs and a tri suit? on slowtwitch user EpixGear did

Biggest Bang For Your Buck In Time Trial Equipment | CyclingTips includes an info graphic with measured savings beyond amateur road riding speeds (A 48 minute 40km ITT is 31 MPH) although the relative ranking is interesting with a skin suit eclipsing wheels; and taking care of your top half comes close to that.



YMMV.

RChung

One of the first series of tests I did years ago was on differences in (my) clothing. That was shocking. I haven't bought a "club fit" jersey since then. Except on the very coldest of days I don't wear a jacket any more (I wear double jerseys with double arm warmers -- it helps that I'm now living in the Bay Area). I zip my jersey up all the way, except on very hot days.

StanSeven

I found out the same bay accident without a test. I train with the same group every Sunday and part of the route involves a long descent. We all are really familar with each other's position, style, weight, etc. One day I was noticablly slower descending than the others. When we got to an intersection I checked by brakes to be sure they weren't rubbing. Then I realized it was the nylon wind jacket I had on.

therhodeo

As someone who rides into big headwinds alot. Baggy clothing kills.

Zedmor

First of all let me thank you all guys and my friend who told me a lot of stuff regarding that.

First, what I did changed since 4/16

Refitted my bike

Did a retul fit that showed me that my saddle was a tad high but what's most important is my saddle-handlebars distance was whooping 8 cm longer. That resulted in two things in past as I realize after fit: a) my inability to ride on drops because I was too stretched and was unable to handle corners etc. b) Overral discimfort since I realize now how different bike handles with proper fit.

My advice to all - before buying a bike do a professional fit. It's easy to spot problems after you have a right fit but not before.

Weared a skinsuit

Well it made me feel like a guy from Robin Hood movie but whatever. If it works it works.

Found tires with best possible Crr

According to table from this blog Blather 'bout Bikes: Why Tire Crr matters...

I bought Continental Supersonic that is #1 on that table. Hard to find! Had to order from UK btw wiggle.com ships orders to US with next day DHL for free and have competitive pricing. Anyway I believe that was not a best choice since it's clear TT tires and cornering is a bit funky. I would recommend force & attack pair I guess.

Sold my powertap bought garmin vector

There was two reasons for that. First to put carbon wheels and have power data but most important one, which made me spend $400 (difference between vector and powertap) is new Garmin Cycling Dynamics that shows you pedaling efficiency in real time with your power phase arcs.

Put carbon wheels

That's probably not a most important but still important thing.

Trying to duck as much as possible, tried to spend as much time on drops as possible

And spend all my time with a quest for right wheel to sit in. That was a hardest part since this crit is massive (100+ riders) and therefore everything happens very fast. Buy hey, I am learning. This is my first real races or so.

And - finally - tada - I did not get dropped (almost, did 27/30 laps)! I rode whole hour with a train. And that's my friends, BEST FEELING EVER!

Proofs

https://www.strava.com/activities/295667467




Lap for 2.15 with 255 watts average!




And CdA/Crr estimations! Look at that.

First is when I got dropped and rode 3 laps alone. 0.3378 CdA/0.003515 crr



But with a train it's 0.1658 CdA!



Sometimes that felt like bike is riding on it's own!

Thank you again and don't neglect small details that I did. Difference is humongous!

RChung

Nice improvement. Congrats.

chaadster

Yeah, well done!

mlamb01

What do you mean by scrubbing the front wheel? Is that where you essentially zig-zag the bike while pedaling?

redlude97

kind of. you can scrub while still going in a straight line. Its just microshifts of the handlebars/front wheel while pedalling. A lot of noobs do it, usually as a result of lack of true balance on the bike, and overgripping of the handlebars and rigid arms. The arms should be relaxed and bent and the grip should be at the minimum necessary to hold on, with very little palm pressure, the core should be holding you up, not the arms

ussprinceton

I'd like to weigh as much as you do, at 160lbs. need to lose 30lbs. by the end of this summer