Did my first 10mile TT today and absolutely loved it!! I had my standard road bike with clip-ons and my race wheels/skinsuit. I have a few queries that I hope some of you more experienced TT’ists might be able to help me with?
I held the TT position for the whole time (other than the 10~ technical corners) - But really felt an ache in my shoulders/biceps. Other than spending more time in the position what STRENGTH exercises would you recommend?
I am taking a step up to the pro level next year, what TT bikes would people recommend/how much faster would it be in comparison?
I paced the effort on a mix of power and speed to account for the wind and undulations. Would it be better to use one over the other?
If you haven’t done bar dips before, get yourself on a regimen of pushups and be able to do 40-50 without stopping before getting into the bar dips…otherwise you can injured. Good luck🤘
For 10 mile TTs I don’t think you need a dedicated TT bike. Take that with a grain of salt, I only did 1 TT to date ahaha but I did make a video comparing my road to TT in terms of speed if you wanna check it out
I presume your in the UK? Even in the US look for a second hand TT bike firstly. Better bang for $$ before spending thousands on a new TT bike.
Some other cheaper time gains.
Velotoze Over shoes
Rule28 aero socks
TT helmet
Bent over rows to improve shoulders - 3 sets of 5 movements, also more time in that position, even after two weeks you will find less aching.
Turtle your neck, when your in the bars, shrug your shoulders, shoulder to ears and stick your neck out, kind of looking through the top of your eye lids is the only way I explain it.
More time in the position, take it from me, the more time your in that position the more power you can put out, the power between road and TT position is different, unless your an extraordinary human, different set of muscles etc .
These pads (link below) basically hold your shoulders and arms in position way better allowing the rider to focus only on looking ahead and head height. These sort of help shrug for you…much less energy and concentration to hold narrow/long position. Some of their complete front end/extensions are just bad ass for more ideas.
Other than that make sure you are not too low or cranks too long and stopping you from coming over the top easily. If too low or cranks too long you will produce negative watts on the backside to get over the top. You may very well produce same power just that economy is worse due to using extra energy to be able to push/power the pedal in power phase.
I’d disagree. TT bike makes a difference over a road bike with clip on bars. Yes over a 10 mile TT there is less time but check out the percentage difference. If someone wants to get serious about TT’s then the bike is very important. Also N+1!
Yeah no doubt they make a difference, but for a begginer I would argue you can get relatively close with a proper road bike setup without having to spend thousands of dollars. Maybe after a season when you know what you’re looking for in the position etc and you want to commit you get some extra performance.
It’s the position that you can achieve on the bike that is fast, not the bike. Work with a fitter to get TT stack and reach figures for YOU, then go looking for a bike that will allow you to achieve those figures.
Will the shrugging your shoulders position mentioned there not irritate the hell out of your neck and traps? Or is this just a concession to make for a better position on rides where that isn’t a limiting factor?
I’ve never done a TT, but just imagining the position on the trainer for an extended period of time, I feel like I usually need to do the OPPOSITE of shrugging the shoulders (pulling down and relax) to not get way too tense up there. Just curious on the reasoning Appreciate it!
It certainly can…it is technique that must be practiced and adapted to.
Another option to achieve a similar result is to “collapse” your shoulder blades together. Think about trying trying to get your shoulder blade to touch in your back. But rather than using your muscles to bring them together you simply try and relax them and let gravity bring you lower.
Similar to turtling / shrugging, it helps lower you head, one of the best ways to reduce drag.
Next year I will be a full time rider for a team based in France. The team provide me with a road bike and all the extra things I need. They pay for all my bills and will be giving me a wage as well as sending me to races across the country/continent. They won’t be supplying a TT bike so I will have to get my own
'round here, almost all the teams insist you use the sponsor’s TT bike. Occasionally there is a manufacturer that doesn’t have one of their own, but even then they will provide a rebadged sled.
Appreciate it!