I’m writing this here in Road Cycling as it is related to Time Trials. NOT triathlon.
I just did a TT at Valley of the Sun Stage race last weekend. It went fairly well. But it got me thinking about upgrades. A friend and I actually had 100% identical watts. He beat me by 1 minute. We are same height, but he weighs less (by say 15lbs.) We both have Cervelo P2C. Both have good wheels, similar depth, etc.
This is where the big differences are:
He has a very clean front end. TriRig setup, aero front brake.
He wore aero glove, sleeves, shoe cover/socks.
He beat me by 40 seconds over 10 miles.
Marginal gains right?
So if it were you, would you just quickly get the aero gear, or would you spend time upgrading/cleaning up the front end?
I’ve been thinking of cleaning up the front end for many years, but couldn’t justify it. This year I’ll be doing a bunch of TTs so could probably swing it.
Aero gear is easy, but just wondering which would give better results (assuming cost between each isn’t the question). Would you do bike upgrade or gear first?
I have a Giro Aerohead2 helmet. Buddy was wearing a POC TT helment (don’t know model). He was wearing a Roadsuit, I was wearing race bibs and jersey (waiting on my race suit). Our avg Watts were identical.
My cockpit is limited to some degree. My bike is a 2008 P2C with the old Profile Design basebar and extensions. Hence why I think that upgrade may give me more ability to make some serious changes. My buddy has the tririg setup and sram force etap shifting with blips.
So quick glance is aero clothing, aero front end. I don’t know that he has done a professional fit.
I’m more concerned about my positioning, and then what marginal gains I should look at. Clothing is easy, bike upgrades will take more work/time but may provide more benefit.
And not just that - was there any elevation or wind? Did you both push same power on all uphills and downhills (or headwinds tailwinds)? Turns? Sprinting out of them exactly alike? Having same avg power for a ride does not mean you both rode it 100% the same, and thus that the only difference was cda.
So looking at numbers from intervals.icu, my ride eftp was 232, his was 227 I believe. It was pretty flat, and we did have some cross winds on the second half. We were 1 minute apart on the start so pretty much the same conditions.
Haha. Yeah, that is what I figured. Looking for the race photos, but can seem to find them. There were some photographers on the course so I know they exist. I’ll post one when I find them. Thanks all. Let’s pause until I can provide proper information.
Thanks for the feedback. I’m in Colorado. I’m going to try to get some photos from the TT. I’m sure there is a bunch that I can do to my position. I may try to find a 1 mile loop and start doing some testing of positions. Going to the aerocamp is probably not an option as I will be traveling a lot in the coming months due to a medical issue for my wife. But I think I can start at least with my own testing, while continuing to work on my strength and FTP increases.
I would guess that all the equipment changes might get you from a 0.28 to a 0.26 at most. There really is nothing keeping you from a 0.22 or lower other than a crappy position.
If I were doing something on a budget, I would probably start with a new base bar that has stackable risers, easily swapped poles and get some angled elbow cups. Wiggle had those back in the day but you might need to look at EBay. A used Tririg might also be a good option.
