You guys will enjoy this picture. 11 years ago.
Wife, myself and a teammate spent a day at A2
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Really good to see this thread. Iām hoping to start time trialling in the UK in 2021 and have started looking at bikes. I would like a disc bike as I can then swap wheels and the odd components with my road bikes to save some money at the start. Iām looking at 25m/40Km time trial Cycling Time Trial events so the bike doesnāt need to be UCI legal. If all goes well I would like to do long distance time trials. I also live near Bath which is pretty hilly so I guess bike weight will be a consideration.
Any guidance on bike selection would be greatly appreciated; Iām looking at new Canyon Speedmax CL/CLX, Cervelo P5, Orbea Ordu, and possibly a Shiv triathlon. I may build the bike. I have bike fits for my road bikes but will get a TT bike fit in the next few weeks. Thanks for all your help and advice.
The best option is get your fitter to dial in your position and then choose a bike that then fits the required stack and reach measurementsā¦ this assumes that they use a rig, of course.
At the level of bike you are looking to purchase, they are all much of a muchness in terms of aero (probably a handful of watts between them) but being able to achieve a good position on it is much more important.
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Thank you; greatly appreciated. A bike fit is top of my list and that will ultimately determine which bike I get. Is weight much of a priority on hilly TT courses? Triathlon and TT bikes appear to range in weight from about 8.5 to 10kg.
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In short, noā¦ for UK TTs, I would say aero trumps all.
The cross over point is ~16mph so below this speed, weight and power production do become more important but as a proportion of race distance, these times are minimal.
In a flat TT, the difference between a 8kg and a 10kg bike is ~1w!! This assumes all other variables remain the sameā¦ but you get the idea.
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Thank you MGStammers. Very much appreciated and makes a lot of sense to me. I will just focus on getting my bike fit and finding bikes which fit me and offer decent adjustment as my position and TT fitness improves. Cheers, Graham
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All are great bikesā¦but I would probably cross the Shiv Tri off the list. No need for the design purposes of that bike in a straight-up TT.
As noted, let fit be your driving guide in bike slection. If you canāt get into a good position, then it doesnāt matter how aero the bike is.
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Which extensions are those?
They are standard USE Tula 40deg but fitted in reverse.
If you are talking just TT, two things to note:
- Canyon Speedmax 2021 is NOT UCI legal. That might not be so relevant for most. It is however very heavy, which might also not be so relevant. Your call.
- Specialized offer a full TT version, which is the best bike I have ever riddenā¦
I was excited to see this thread, like others this was basically going to be my focus for 2021 given the likely racing situation. Originally I had planned to just TTs either solo or organized, and was fine with using my road bike.
I donāt need a time trial bike obviously, and if I was putting a serious amount of money into a bike it would not be my first choice. But Iāve been thinking it might be fun to try and build up one for as little as possible.
What/where should I look for in terms of cheap TT frames? Right now I donāt have any requirements in mind for weight/aero savings, only cost and fit.
Eventually I would wonder how to translate my road fit to a TT fit, but I imagine thereās enough information about that if you search for it.
I also have close access to a 3D printer through a friend (donāt know the specifications or much about 3D printing). Do people go that route for handlebar setups or other components? Is that even worth thinking about for a casual TTer?
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Ebay is a great source of cheap TT frames especially in the UK.
Search for triathlon bikes/frames as well.
Just picked up a P3 frameset for Ā£250ā¦ its barely been used looking at it.
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If uk then a used Planet X Exocet isnāt a lot of money and a reasonable starting frame set. You can build one up for not a lot of spend. I think spent more on my zipp disc than the whole rig 
If outside of uk then cervelo p3 is stonking value for a quality frame set.
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As mentioned, there are some great deals to be had on eBayā¦
Cervelo P4 with Di2 fitted is currently listed and reckon someone is going to pick up one of the most aero framesets available for a bargainā¦ If I was in the market, I would be bidding!!
If you are UK based, the classifieds section of the TT forum is always worth keeping an eye on:
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Jeezā¦that is a creaming deal. My size, too! But Iām not flying to the UK to pick it up. 
I use the Planet X Exocet 3 - decent bikeā¦either version Exocet 2/3 are good - you wonāt do a lot better until you spend 5k plus!
If I were in the market, Iād probably bid - but on an eBay auction with 3 days to go, the current price doesnāt mean much ā¦ with 6 active bidders Iād expect the price to jump up sharply towards the end.
Could beā¦no doubt it will definitely go up. Weāll see where it finishes, but it will be a screaming deal regardless.
When you guys are on the trainer, are you always in the TT position? I only find my self holding it for 10 minutes at a time at threshold and even less for V02 work. However, when Iām outside I havenāt had any problems holding the position for a 40k.
I try to spend as much time in the TT position as possible both indoors and out. Typically, I take the first few mins at 50% upright to get the legs going, then will get down in position for the ramp up. I always do intervals in the TT position until they get over 120% of FTP, at which point itās very difficult and not helpful to push that much power (you shouldnāt be hitting 120% for any sustained time with proper pacing). I typically recover upright for a min or 2 after intervals to take in water and food, but for longer recoveries I try to get back in aero after fueling.
I have found this to be extremely effective at improving my aero position and increasing my ability to stay in aero. Earlier this year, I could only ride about 20-30mins at a time in the TT position- I just did a 4 hour endurance ride on Zwift last weekend with 3:50 spent in aero. My ability to push Sweetspot and above power has also markedly improved. Plus, I find that I also have a boost when I flip over to the road bike wish a more upright position, especially when climbing.
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