TimothyH

I keep my bikes in my foyer.

Or is is a vestibule?


-Tim-

TMonk

Geared, all three of us on a TT bike with a disc wheel, skinsuit and TT helmet.

bonsai171

Wow, all out. Does the skinsuit make a difference over a regular jersey and short combo?

Dave

TMonk

Totally. There is a huge amount of variation in regular jersey and short combos, but if you look at any TT intro guides, the SS and helmet make the biggest difference, along with tires of course. Way more than fancy wheels. Same goes for the frame - an older aluminum 9/10 sp frame can be just as fast as the latest space age carbon Cervelo P5 or whatever.

Funny how the most cost effective stuff is also makes the biggest difference.

bonsai171

I bet a SS and TT helmet would be useful for a lactate Heart rate threshold test. Amazing how much they cost though :-p Its time to do another for me. Going to road test the Ultegra chain first.

Dave

seau grateau

I mean, they make you faster at a given effort, but that's not really useful for a heart rate test. Unless you're also going for a KOM at the same time.

Broctoon

Man, I wish I had a bike vestibule! I have to keep mine in the garage.

Broctoon

@TMonk, I bet you three are a sight to see, cruising 30 MPH in a tight pace line, full aero gear, tucked low on TT bikes. You’re out there doing EPIC stuff!

TMonk

Thanks @Broctoon! It felt nice getting selected for the TTT team after my road upgrade - my first little taste of elite activity . I know these guys well and I'm certainly the weak link, but it feels good to be there and to be able to contribute, even if my pulls are half as long as Kevin's. It also feels like I'm in the TdF or something, cruising along at 30 MPH like that with all the special gear I'm borrowing. I don't own any of it except the skinsuit.

Hmm, I think I'm with @seau grateau on this one. All the gear will help your performance from a speed persepctive, but I think of a threshold test as a physiological marker. Like the gear makes me faster, but my threshold heart rate is the same whether I'm on a beach cruiser with baggy shorts, or in full TT regalia. To this end, when I test my threshold power (ouch), I do it with my training road bike and the most comfortable shoes/helmet/kit that I own, of which I have multiple.

Broctoon

How long is each turn pulling (for you, Kevin, or the third guy)? At that speed, I'm thinking only 20 or 30 seconds? There must be someone transitioning at all times, almost. That's part of why I say it'd be so impressive to watch. I imagine it's mentally taxing as well as physically, because of the concentration required to stay right on the next guy's wheel at that speed.

TMonk

It is indeed super taxing, and frankly a little bit scary, but that goes away when the pain starts setting in. I know and trust these guys very well so that helps.

Pulls for Kev will be 30-40 seconds, and about 30 for Matt and Cody (four man teams). For me I will start at 20 seconds, then increase the length in the second half if I feel OK. So yeah, there is someone slowly transitioning at all times. One thing I learned pretty quick is that getting back into a TT paceline takes more effort than doing so on road bikes - at 30 MPH the 3-4 hard pedal strokes to get back in the draft is significant. Really that's when you pedal the hardest - not when on the front which should be smooth and progressively difficult. So you have to stop on the front a little earlier than you think.

The key is to hold a target speed. So if I feel like I can't pull for an even amount of time, I won't. If I can, then it will give my teammates that more much to dump out over the final few kilometers. Also, you only need to finish with three riders, but planning on burning me is unwise as mechanicals happen.

Really I wish I had more than a month to prepare for this as I am a total newbie to TTT and even riding a TT bike in general, which is totally different. I've been focusing on riding the TT bike for that month and we have had one solid practice session a week, and at this point, I'm starting to feel a little prepared.

I'm really excited for this! My buddies are engineers and have crunched all the numbers - they seem to think that we have a shot at the state champ medals! Even with little ol' me .

It would be so cool to have a framed California Bear jersey and medal at home, and to say I was part of the fastest (amateur) Californian team in 2019!!!

seau grateau

That sounds cool! I used to do a bit of team pursuit practice with some folks on the track once in a while and it was always one of my favorite drills.

TMonk

Yeah I'd like to get into the IP and TP at the track some time - I think I'd be good. Looks painful. But fun!

hairnet

Today I upgraded the drive train on my mountain bike after coming across a great deal on some almost new components. Went from 9speed XT group to 10 speed XT/SLX group with the shadow clutch derailleur, 24/38 180mm crank, and 11/36 cassette. I'm curious about those Wolftooth cassettes but I'll have to see if even lower gears are something I think I'll want.

feels nice just riding around the neighborhood. The dynasys XT shifter is very crisp

bonsai171

Had to re-read seau grateaus post on this one a few times, but it makes sense to me now. You will go faster with a skinsuit but it won't change your heart's performance.


Dave

Leukybear 

While casually scrolling thru my apple news I thought Leader was back from the dead.

https://www.theverge.com/2019/6/8/18...ovable-battery


(there is no drive-side picture )

seau grateau

Ew.

TMonk

Yesterday I raced the Southern California Nevada Cycling Association Team Time Trial state champs with three of my buddies, and we won! We pulled off a whopping time of 45:36, averaging 30.1 MPH. This is the second fastest ever recorded time on the course.

I got dropped 16:30 in for full disclosure, hit a pothole and rotated my bars down a lot. The truth is I was hurting and pretty much toast regardless.

I wish I had put in more preparation and studied the course more. The draft was minimized in the first half of the race (hardest part) due to there being a slight uphill and then a tailwind over some really rough roads where I had my mechanical. After making turn two, my teammates mentioned how much of a godsend the increased recovery was, and even still both Matt and Cody had to ask Kevin to slow down at one point. It was more critical then to not loose anyone because your time is clocked as the time of the third rider across the line. In retrospect, I should have shortened my pulls in the first half of the race and put in more practice riding the bike over rough roads. I wasn't following as closely as Fiesta Island and uncomfortable from the start. I really wanted to make it to the final few KM.

Still, I put in the work and it feels good to have contributed to the fastest amatuer team in the Southen California and Nevada Cyling Association in 2019! When standing around for the podium, I asked my teammates point blank, laughing: "If you were me, would you bother purchasing the state champ jersey?" We all chuckled and they said of course, I put it in the work, practiced, and made some marked improvements in 1 month with literally zero Time Trial experience. This is a really cool discipline and I like how safe and how pure it is compared to mass start racing - maybe I'll get into it and come back with a vengeance for the 2020 ITT/TTT champs!!!





I'm second from the left, getting felt up by Cody


Second from right here

Broctoon

Nicely done! Something to be proud of indeed.

TimothyH

Go Blue!

50voltphantom

I haven't done any intervals in 2019 am I'm gonna do my first crit tomorrow. Yee Haw

TMonk

ride em cowboy! Make sure to report how it went.

Also you race cross, right? I've never done it. I think there are parts that are more steady state, but there is a lot of off/on style pedaling with all the obstacles, no? I think that would be good criterium preparation, and vice-versa.

50voltphantom

Yeah, so I know how to start and what basically needs to be done, I just don't have much intensity under my belt yet this year. Cross is all about maintaining momentum and repeatedly sprinting out of tight corners. Similar to crits in a lot of ways I suppose with less steady-state. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a little nervous.

TimothyH

Today I did this...

LesterOfPuppets

So lit