I run 11 speed on my road bikes but have ten-speed first generation Force on my TT bike. My gearing is a 53-39 crankset and a 12-23 cassette. It's pretty flat where I live, and if I need to change the gearing I have a 12-27 cassette as well. I don't see the ten-speed as being a detriment and could live with a nine-speed if necessary.

A TT bike is generally for flat TTs (otherwise a road bike is used). It is a good candidate for single front ring which is all my kid has ever done for the TT.
Di2 is huge on a TT bike so you can stay on the poles. If you are doing a Euro twisty TT, that does not matter as much.
But think you can save on a FD, use a Wolf Tooth or similar 1X ring and chain is more likely to stay on.

I'd suggest 10sp or 11sp. The better 9 speed parts are harder to find and that was what junior used for 5 or so years.

Doge has good advice, but [MENTION=221607]Harlan[/MENTION] even if you race it 3x/year, consider that you might need to (or want to) practice on it far more often in order to have 3 *good* races.

Rarely can a person just jump on a TT bike and have a good ride without practicing it. In fact, sometimes one can be *slower* jumping on a TT bike with an unfamiliar position.

I mention this because one reason you may not want 1x is if you train on this thing. Sometimes it is nice to go easier, and 53-28 may not be an easy enough gear.

This might be the first time I've been dissuaded from spending money on bike parts by a cycling forum.

I did have a 1x TT bike before and it was a PITA training when I'd come to a steep hill when I was resting.

Maybe you can help me decide the best plan of action then. I've got a new road bike with a smaller headtube since the TTs I did this year. I know I could get lower with a negative stem as well. My old bike had a huge headtube so any TT position I had this year was super high up. I have aero wheels (Jet 6+) I'm happy to TT on and clip-ons that have the (short) extensions mount below the bar so the pads aren't high. I'll be putting a Di2 R671 shifter on the clip-ons. I have a TT helmet.

The three TTs I plan to do next year are all parts of stage races (they're short, around 10 miles), KSR is pretty consistently uphill (I did ~25 this past year). Cielo is quite rolling and I excel there I think (I placed 8/71, 24.2MPH), you do grind down to around 10 or so MPH on some of the hills so I think having a road bike does help with the climbing. I also want to do Millersburg which is 8.7 miles with one 25ft hill (twice, out and back).

So by the same token that it'll take a long time for me to adapt to a new TT bike position, if I race my road bike with clip-ons should I keep my saddle where it is (it's pretty far forward already, I left it as-is this year) or should I experiment with a flipped around setback post to get way forward? I would have to ride like that a few times a week to get used to it I'd imagine.

changing the fit on the bike you're comfortable with kind of negates the benefit of riding a bike you're comfortable with.

Troof. I did tend to sit on the nose a bunch at Cielo so that kinda points to where I want to be sitting though. I guess moving the saddle would take away the climbing position.

Yeah my point was more just that if you're messing with fit anyway, then you might as well get the TT bike.

Personally, budget TT build would be whatever the tri crowd is disinheriting. Whether that means 9 speed prices are realistic finally or everyone is selling off 7903 components isn't a huge concern. Just don't get all hypey with the cockpit, and live with changing a cassette on your Jet 6, it will work fine.

Tell me I'm not the only one who laughed he specified a 25' hill, twice.

I've been doing my track warm ups in my aerobars so that I can get used to riding in them. It's a strange position to be in.

The biggest issue I have is that I want to look down, as it is more comfortable on my neck, but doing that results in not holding a good line.

Also, I don't know why I can ride with my hands in the drops really low, but I feel very uncomfortable in an aero set up in a similarly low position.

Does anyone use Power2max PMs? Any good? I'm considering the spider for Force22 cranks.

Seems like I should be able to use my C1 if I change the spider to one from an S900. Might just do that instead.

P2m is all I own now. Came from garmin vectors to the P2m. Just much easier to own and use. Battery changes easy, numbers are consistent. Would highly recommend.

not sure of your racing level, but my advice would be to either (a) race the TT like you mean it (to win) if you are capable of placing high in the GC or to (b) don't worry about it and go easy.

if (a), then respect it and put the requisite effort into the discipline -- training and gear.
if (b), use the energy you save to pull off a win(s) in other stages.

when you have 3 stages in 2 days or 4 stages in 3 days, something as simple as sleeping in and going easy instead of a max 25' effort can make a difference in a later stage.

my advice here for people who need or want to use 1 bike is to get a 2nd seat post AND saddle. it makes the swaps much faster and eliminates lots of problems.

if you have a road bike that fits properly, you probably won't be able to get into a proper TT position. an offset post run backwards will help give you a steeper STA, but the constraints from clip-ons and road bars usually mean that you're not getting the cockpit positioning quite right.

di2 is a nice application here as you can easily have shifting from the sticks when you slap on the clip-ons mid-stage race. breaking position to shift causes a non-trivial reduction in aerodynamics.

this is a better option than trying to win a TT with a pure road position, but if you are in a competitive field (and you are not just blazing through the ranks) you probably won't be able to beat the folks with true TT rigs.

for me, that means taking a hard look at the a/b choice above.

P2M make pretty solid units.

notable tradeoffs:
* you can't check the slope at home (deal-breaker for me)
* they are sensitive to temperature, so you need auto-zero. auto-zero requires coasting, and if you have 'important' events that include TTs or hill climbs where no coasting occurs, this can throw off your data.
* long-term reliability hasn't been proving quite as solid as initial hopes.

i'd choose P2M over many other units, but like all power meters, there are pros and cons.

do you guys notice deep wheels to make a real difference in your racing?

saw a gcn video on 808s, saying that in solo efforts, at 40 kph, they save you 35W over aluminum box rims. Obviously, this advantage is diminished inside a peloton. However, for breakaway situations and sprints, the advantage is real, even enhanced when going 35+ mph to the finish.

I've had carbon wheels before, but sold them because I decided they were too much trouble and maintenance, for several reasons. I would never buy anything more expensive than the $500 open mould wheels. They tend to have ****ty braking surface, so I'd defer to aluminum rims for training. It didn't seem worthwhile to have $500 wheels sitting around only for race day, of which I've found I won't even bother putting them on unless it's an A race, that happens like 3 times a year..

But racing in p/1/2 is a different story, and I might need that extra marginal gain to keep up in the road races. I haven't raced enough in carbon wheels to notice a huge difference.. but i feel like these things are hard to notice subjectively. friend of mine swears by his deep wheels though. what do you think?

Daniel raced a crit-like race yesterday on his 25mm climbing wheels. He said they accelerate like crazy, but don't hold the speed. All pretty much as expected.
His sweet spot seems to be 50mm light 25mm wide tubulars. ax has a 38mm set I'm drooling over, kid doesn't want them. He has done 80s and too much wheels for him ~145lbs (then).

Hard to say, really. I like my 404's and train/race on the same pair and like them a lot. Are they faster? Dunno, but they feel fast.

If you have the $$, get some. If not, just imagine you have them! Mind over matter.

50mm carbon clinchers are the sweet spot and yes, they are faster. braking surface on carbon clinchers has also come a long way in the past years. I ride them year round, up hill, down hill, whatever.

Another option is aluminum rims with fairings, such as HED Jet+. Not much heavier than all-carbon, just as aero, and much better braking.

I have never understood that comment, but seen it many times. A good carbon rim with good brakes and pads brakes as well as needed, and I think as well as alloy.

In the water - grit gets in and messes things up. Sans grit - they work great.

The one time I got a carbon rim, it worked for a few rides then the brake pads I was supposed to use rubbed brake pad crap all over the braking surface causing it to squeal like crazy. That was like 2 years ago and I still have the wheel, unused for the past 2 years in the closet. That's why I won't buy carbon rims. Maybe I just had a bad first experience??

yea, the squeal is kind of scary.. i've only had it happen on super steep sections though.. friend of mine doesn't clean his, and they squeal just coming up to the stop sign.. it doesn't bother him... idk..

the comment about the braking surface only applies to the basalt braking surface used in the open mould wheels, not the name brands like zipp or reynolds, who actually puts real effort into making their carbon rims stop well. imo, it's a loosing battle to make rim braking surfaces from carbon wheels. disc carbon wheels is the future. so if I were to invest in carbon wheels, it'll probably be a disc road bike. but then again, those are going to be newer and high dollar, which doesn't serve the mantra of only racing on what you can afford to replace..

But I figure 80% of my races are going to be crits, which shouldn't require much braking at all. even in road races, there are so few sections where brakes are really needed, so in that sense, it's not as important. I would not ride on carbon rims in the wet, even when racing. in fact, I doubt I'd race in the wet at all unless someone pays me to do it on their bike..

I've had 50 mm's before. If I were to get them again though, they'd be 25-28 mm width to get the full aero advantage, as opposed to the 23 mm wide that I had before. Still, I feel like it's a steep cost (at least for a grad student) to spend $500 and change (tires, cassette) on wheels that are only applicable to racing. hopefully, i'll get good enough in the next few years, and get a spot on a team where that equipment can be provided, or something..

sounds like you just need to adjust the angle/toe-in of the brake pads?

Cost aside - I use my 404's for everything. Have been for about two years now. It's racing where they get beat up..

But fwiw I do try to spare them from lots of rain, mostly because of the grit and such.

do you have a coach? i've been thinking of ways to improve my performance next year. as i race on aluminum rims, everyone always tells me to get carbon race wheels. i'm also on a budget though and figure even the cheapest carbon wheels are worth ~3 months of coaching, which is probably more beneficial to my racing.