brianappleby

What do people usually ride for the TT at Callville? It's mostly uphill, with a 400ft elevation gain over 3 miles. The grade averages around 3 or 4%, but the final push is between 6 and 10%. It's out only, no back.

Anybody with experience want to weigh in?

Thanks,
B.

esammuli

It's faster than it looks. The top guys in most categories were over 20mph. I used a TT bike and didn't regret it at all. I was in my TT position for everything but the one 0.5 mile stretch near the top where the grade kicks up.

brianappleby

thanks. I would hate to pack a TT bike if I wasn't going to use it. I'll be there in the category 2 field, will I be racing with you?

B.

danahs

20+mph means probably not needing to shift out of the big chain ring at any point? (of course except for the final 0.5 mi)

esammuli

I don't recall, but it probably depends on you're gearing. The steep section near the top was ~2:00 at 15mph. It's only a 10 minute effort so you're way above threshold.

I should see you out there, but I'll be in the P/1. Look for me on a Blue AC1 in a 'A Road Bike 4U' kit.

danahs

how does this compare to San Dimas TT on GMR? seems like this one is quite a bit flatter

esammuli

It's more rolling and not as steep, except for near the top. It's also much more straight.



edit: I wouldn't call it flat, it's still a solid amount of elevation gain.

brianappleby

that's impressive power pacing given the rolling nature of the course. Is that 9:30? I should essentially be aiming for my 10min power?

Thanks for the help... I won't be pre-riding much and I'm a firm believer in "knowing is half the battle".

esammuli

Correct, I did 9:30. If I remember right I was the 2nd or 3rd fastest Cat 2.

You'll probably ride and drive the course at least 4-5 times before the TT. It's the only road into the marina and it's the start for both road races.

Racer Ex 

I just want to say up front: I'm going to crush this beach on my TT bike.

spinwax

That is 21.47mph average. So that should answer a lot of people's questions what bike to ride.

chadteck

Most of the faster guys use TT bikes, but my opinion is that you're not giving up a lot of time by using your road bike. I'd say it depends on how comfortable you are climbing on your TT bike and how much trouble it is for you to bring the extra bike to possibly save seconds on a 10 minute TT. I think a road bike with clip-ons or IAB is a good alternative to a TT bike for this course.

Racer Ex 

You should have stopped there.

jwible

Ex, you don't still have that spare Kestral frame by any chance do you? I'm toying with getting a real life TT frame instead of the old Ciocc.

Racer Ex 

Yep, still have it.

spinwax

The fastest time was set on a roadbike with no aero bars, no skinsuit, no aero helmet.

esammuli

Yeah, but he also won San Dimas and Redlands.

Nate552

I've tested the IAB position (with an aero helmet) on my road bike vs my TT set up in the wind tunnel and that is not the conclusion I came to.

spinwax

I was just stating because I thought it was interesting info for the discussion.


I am still using my TT bike. I am comfortable on it, and I feel it will work for me.

Racer Ex 

Yeah, but Eddie Merckx won 5 tours by riding lots on a steel bike.

chadteck

I didn't say in general, I said "for this course". The OP was questioning whether it's worth lugging a TT bike to this race. The point I was trying to make is that neither type of bike is the clear winner for this course and if he wants to avoid the hassle of bringing another bike, he is likely giving up little to no time. I know some locals that own TT bikes and still used their road bike on this course since there is a fair amount of climbing.

I wasn't aware, but according to spinwax, the fastest time was set on a road bike. I don't know about the other pros, but I remember noticing last year that Landis used a road bike as well.

Point is, if you want to bring your TT bike and are comfortable doing some light climbing on it, bring it. If you don't have a TT bike, don't want to bring it, or don't like climbing on it, you are not at much of a disadvantage (if any).

Racer Ex 

And you're basing this on what?

chadteck

Mainly observing results of riders, but also a quick consideration of the trade-offs. You are gaining some weight with the TT bike and (generally) sacrificing a bit of power for aerodynamics. There is some grade for each rider where performance would be the same on both the road bike and TT bike - I think this course is close to that grade for a lot of people.

I am not claiming that either bike is superior or that I have done extensive calculations, just that based on the above explanation, I don't think most people will see much difference between the two types of bikes on this course.

Racer Ex 

So you're guessing. Not to be unkind here but that's a pretty half assed approach to a stage race. If your doing it for sheets and grins and results don't matter to you then that's fine, but I wouldn't go handing that out as advice. Understand that I've had three occasions where a podium spot or win came down to a few seconds or in one case the TT as a tie-breaker, so I actually do the calcs to determine what I end up riding.

shovelhd

Isn't the TT the deciding race in a significant percentage of these short, 3-4 event stage races?