Time Trial bikes: worth it?

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spire

To the point
I'm sure this has been discussed before, but I would welcome some advice.

How much benefit is there to a TT bike vs a good road bike?

Will it shave more than a minute off 10 miles?
 

walker

New Member
Location
Bromley, Kent
Yeah it would be a little quicker than a normal road bike, but you could do the same benefit with adding disk wheels and tt extenders to your road bike if you don't want to take the full plunge
 

RedBike

New Member
Location
Beside the road
Will it shave more than a minute off 10 miles?
If you were to setup a time trial bike so that you're in exactly the same position on it as you are on your road bike (and with the same wheels / kit) you'd be lucky to be 6 seconds quicker, nevermind 60.

The big difference comes from the areodynamic postion you get from the time trial bike. Just fit deep sectioned wheels to your road bike and try and make your position as areo as possible. You'll be all but as quick.
 
See here http://www.tri-talk.com/Top20.asp, they're quantifying seconds saved in an Oly-distance tri vs. cost.

You getting better/faster comes-out tops - get a book, follow a training plan, etc.

Then position/bike fit is coming out tops as the first 'hard' aero aid - but you can do a a lot of that with clip-ons.

A pointy aero helmet saves lots of time and is far cheaper than an aero wheelset.

Wheels save quite a bit, but it's actually mainly the front : mega-expensive carbon disc rears are very expensive on a £/second basis
 

palinurus

Velo, boulot, dodo
Location
Watford
I'm about a 50s quicker (for a 10) on my TT bike than on my road bike with tribars.

Combination of the following probably (1) the wheels (spoked) on my TT bike are better quality and I use better tyres (2) I can get that bit lower on my TT bike (3) it's that bit lighter, looks a bit flasher, and makes me feel faster.

Difference between my roadbike with and without tribars averages out at about a minute (not taking into account weather or form).
 
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