This question gets asked so much here, so a couple of data points:
Tour de Austin TT, course map here:
http://www.tourdeaustin.com/...bid/634/Default.aspx
Twisty 2 mile loop that you do twice, has one steep hill on it that you go up 2 times.
Many of the roadies were choosing to ride their road bike so they could "accelerate out of the corners" and get out of the saddle up the steep hill
My wife and I rode our TT bikes, stayed in the aero bars the whole time (though she said she got out of the saddle, WHILE in the aerobars, up the hill..holy shiiii)
Anyway, our times compared to some people we know who chose to use road bikes? We beat them by a lot more than we normally do at the local 8 mile TT and the 40k time trial.
2nd overall at the texas state TT for the women (chicked me!) chose to use a road bike and finished way way back in her category. (got her back!)
1st overall cat 4 woman at the texas state TT ended up like 4th overall on a road bike here
wife got 1st in cat 4, I got 3rd in cat 5.
moral of story: learn to ride/fit your TT bike if ya have one! You should not fall down any time you come to a corner and you should not roll backwards if there is a hill
2nd moral of the story: cyclists are good at cycling! just about everyone cat3 and up crushed me, tt bike or not
Kat Hunter reports on the San Dimas Stage Race from inside the GC winning team
Aeroweenie.com -Compendium of Aero Data and Knowledge
Freelance sports & outdoors writer Kathryn Hunter
Tour de Austin TT, course map here:
http://www.tourdeaustin.com/...bid/634/Default.aspx
Twisty 2 mile loop that you do twice, has one steep hill on it that you go up 2 times.
Many of the roadies were choosing to ride their road bike so they could "accelerate out of the corners" and get out of the saddle up the steep hill
My wife and I rode our TT bikes, stayed in the aero bars the whole time (though she said she got out of the saddle, WHILE in the aerobars, up the hill..holy shiiii)
Anyway, our times compared to some people we know who chose to use road bikes? We beat them by a lot more than we normally do at the local 8 mile TT and the 40k time trial.
2nd overall at the texas state TT for the women (chicked me!) chose to use a road bike and finished way way back in her category. (got her back!)
1st overall cat 4 woman at the texas state TT ended up like 4th overall on a road bike here
wife got 1st in cat 4, I got 3rd in cat 5.
moral of story: learn to ride/fit your TT bike if ya have one! You should not fall down any time you come to a corner and you should not roll backwards if there is a hill
2nd moral of the story: cyclists are good at cycling! just about everyone cat3 and up crushed me, tt bike or not
Kat Hunter reports on the San Dimas Stage Race from inside the GC winning team
Aeroweenie.com -Compendium of Aero Data and Knowledge
Freelance sports & outdoors writer Kathryn Hunter