Let’s make this easy and assume you already own the helmet.
Roughly 2.5 miles or 10 minutes.
I’ve already decided I’m going to ride my TT bike (6.8% average grade) because I have no trouble staying in my aerobars and riding comfortably/powerfully down to about 11mph and I’ve got about 100:1 more miles on my TT bike in my life and my TT is fairly light (Kalibur).
I was planning to use Velomax Circuits because that is the lightest wheelset I own. My only other choice would be to add a wheelcover and a Jet 60 or Jet 90 front. Aesthetics aside, perhaps the Jet 90 on the front and the Circuit on the back would be the best aero/weight compromise.
Any thoughts on the aero helmet or wheel choices?
I’m a big fan of aero trumping weight, but this one of those exceptions… An all uphill TT. No descents.
Already tested the TT on steeper climbs. I’m faster than my road bike.
Also, I’ve discussed this choice at length with a number of people that know how I ride and know this climb and all of them agree, that for me, it makes sense, but not for them.
Should be marginally, although maybe not measurably, faster in the aero helmet with the one proviso that you might overheat and lose time. So the pertinent questions are have you worn your aero helmet for a similar effort before and is it likely to be hot?
I am guessing here, but are you referring to the Joe Martin Stage Race TT? If so, it is a pretty gnarly climb. I live in Fayetteville, and FWIW, I don’t recall seeing any TT bikes mounted on any of the team cars last year. I did not go to the TT, but I pretty much only saw road bikes on the team cars as they were cruising through town. Great race, though. You will have a blast either way.
One other thing to consider is the lack of ventilation in aero helmets. Since there isn’t as much wind in your face when you are traveling at 10-15mph, it is more pronounced in an uphill tt.
However, since the race is only 2.5 miles, it probably wouldn’t be an issue.
Use the lightest wheels, those aero wheels arent going to help much at that speed and here the weight will trump aerodynamics. That hill on the Joe Martin stage race is rough, I would skip the aero helmet and go with something that has a bit more ventilation.
Yep. That’s it and you are right. As far as I know there were no TT bikes last year. I’ve driven the climb and then rode similar or steeper climbs near my home. I know I’m not being conventional on the bike selection. No debate about that, but I’ve considered all the factors and I’ve decided this is the best option for me.
Remember Ullrich on the Alpe d’Huez TT? Aerobars the whole way. What’s the average grade of Alpe d’Huez? More than 6.8% I’m thinking.
I am guessing here, but are you referring to the Joe Martin Stage Race TT? If so, it is a pretty gnarly climb. I live in Fayetteville, and FWIW, I don’t recall seeing any TT bikes mounted on any of the team cars last year. I did not go to the TT, but I pretty much only saw road bikes on the team cars as they were cruising through town. Great race, though. You will have a blast either way.
I think you need to go with what works best for you. I actually feel at least as powerful on the climbs on my TT bike as I am on the road bike. Most people would probably say something to the contrary, but that is just me.
If you think you can average 15mph on an uphill TT then it’s not really all that steep. I say use the TT bike and aero helmet.
I made the mistake of using my TT bike on a truly uphill TT (about 4,00ft of climbing over 12 miles or so) and paid for it dearly the last 5 miles. Average speed was 10.5mph and I missed my goal time by a minute and a half. Not making that mistake again this year.
Yeah, Ive had similar problems in past road races, dying in the last few miles, but that stuff is hard. I actually would use the lightest bike I had (a cadd8 at the time) and use the bar ends for a mountain bike clamped near the stem, sort of a make shift aerobar…a really, really small one to use when the climb would flatten out for a bit. worked really well, as for wheels, the lightweight is great, but too light and all of tha tout of the saddle torquing my bend them. circuits should be good. if you feel better on the TT bike then there really is no question of which bike to use.
Weight begins to trump aero at 7-8% grades for pros and 5-6% for amateurs. However, that’s not to say that you might not get some benefit from the helmet, albiet probably not a lot.
Well… I haven’t actually done that, but one of my teammates went 9:54 last year and I edged him by 1 second in a 9 mile rolling TT not long after. So, I’m hoping I’ll be in the ball park. I’ve been working on hard climbs recently in prep.
After the flat start, it is a fairly steady grade, so it’s not like it is flat for half and very steep for half to average out to 6.8%.
I’m leaning towards the road helmet, Circuits, and TT bike (still). The TT bike is not for the aero benefit (although at 15mph there is some), but for the better power position for me. I’m not certain, but I think my TT bike weighs about 1 pound more than my road bike (Kalibur vs. System Six - almost all the weight savings is in the crank and bars, otherwise they are nearly identical).
2.5 miles in 10 minutes @ 6.8% - very, very impressive.