bonesbrigade wrote:
jackmott wrote:
drastically different story on a road bike!
bonesbrigade wrote:
I'd be interested to know how many people think they can do it on a road bike - this may weed out a lot of folks.
I envy your position ML!
Yeah, this has got me thinking lately about road vs. TT bike, and how I used to take for granted 40km/h speed. I'm only road racing this year, so I've been doing threshold workouts once or twice per week on a closed 2km road loop with average pavement. Yesterday on my 2x20 minute workout, I could only manage approx. 39km/h for each set. Of course I know there is a major difference between positions and bikes, but it just looks strange to see that number for the amount of effort put out!
I did a Merckx-position training ride yesterday on my fixie, probably averaged around 22-23 mph with some big hills for 16 miles. So painful! On my tt bike I was able to average 28 mph over 8 miles without fancy wheels/helmet over the same section, but I was in better shape.
A good low aero position is good for a few mph, though I think if you ride in the most aero position on the road bike (hands narrow together on the tops) you can almost get there assuming you have a long and low road position. Once I figure out the issue with my shifters I'll take my new road bike out and try the same course with just the standard bar + then with ITU shorty bars. Granted I don't have a powermeter so all I can do is time and HR, but it might say something.