So it looks like he used a Cup for his arm pads. Pretty interesting use of equipment…
http://triathlon.competitor.com/blogs/t.j.-tollakson_s-new-race-setup-revealed.html
I would be very interested in the diff in drag. In the article TJ says it was not even close, comparing the new position and old.
I’d like to know about the gasket on his front mounted water bottle. That looks like a great solution to refilling a standard water bottle mounted up front.
since most people who mount a water bottle up front have it essentially parallel to the ground, I don’t know how much you’d be able to fill it that way. Since TJ’s is angled like that, he can fill it up quite a bit.
I would like to learn more about his hydration setup as well because I have been playing with different ideas lately also. My frame is small because I have a short torso but I also have long legs so my seat post is quite high over the frame. Reaching so far down into the frame to get bottles and around my legs is a real pain in the ass. I have a cage mounted bottle between the aero bars but would like being hands free to drink. I don’t want to run a profile aero drink either. I like TJ’s solution. What kind of gasket is that?
His setup looks like some serious homebrew hackjob.
TJ is a pretty cool guy, and smart to boot. However there is no speed advantage on earth that would be beneficial enough for me to put my elbows in jock cups for 56 miles.
I really think most of this could be created much easier with just a little less hack and a little more actual engineering “eye”.
Major sources of ugly:
- Tape use to deflect air. It works, but there isn’t really any reason to be that crude.
- Jock cups ON TOP OF the standard arm rests. That’s a damned nightmare.
- Location of the rubber filler majig - there are slightly taller bottles that would make for a much better seal, or you could just fit it in the top of certain bottles (Elite comes to mind).
Chris
So playing devil’s advocate (and because I love seeing solutions to problems), what’s your advised solution to issue #1 and issue #2?
You could easily cut a black plastic sheet to size and glue it into the gap (polystyrene sheet like “for sale” signs use). TBH, the bottle fills most of the gap, so just leave it there, skip the tape, and look less like you are blatantly trying to create a fairing.
For the cups, at least trim the Fizik gel and remove the blue foam from the cups. Using elbow or knee pads from a hardware supply store would have also been more elegant.
Also, if you use tape, it’s sticky. The longer you ride, the more air will stick to it.
By the end of the ride, think of all that extra air you’re dragging along.
-Jot
Rather than just laying out solutions to problems #1 and #2, I am going to go ahead and try to illustrate the full system.
- Change to Profile Sonic CSX aerobars - they follow the contour of the hand/arm very well and virtually hide themselves. Now he has angle adjustability.
- Buy a sheet of flexible 12" x 12" Dragon Plate carbon fiber. A 1 ply sheet is flexible enough to build a bottle cage out of.
- Make a bottle cage the full height of the bottle to be used (basically just a cylinder with a small overlapping section fused with epoxy. This will need a cut out for the filler area and straw possibly.
- Mount the cage from (3) on the front of the aerobar like Tom A. does. This prevents air from ever entering the cavity, but would never be considered a fairing.
- Some more Dragon plate (perhaps left over from (2) could be used to form the arm rest cups. I’ve also used 3" PVC pipe.
Chris
Im sorry, I like TJ and all, but this dude has lost it!!!
First Kona, now this. Why can’t he slap some normal aerobars on his bike and HTFU. Seems to work fine for the uber bikers like rappstar and company. It’s not like TJ’s contraption’s are going to win him a big race anytime soon.
TJ lose the crap and just race brother!
That’s what I’m taking’ about—Dragon plate is a great solution, it makes sense to clean up the setup. But I know he was just trying to get something going before he went to his carbon guy for fabrication. I would guess this gives him some ideas, though.
Agreed, it’s not aesthetically optimal, but the setup is like a pair of stovepipe Wranglers—it gets the job done.
That’s what I’m taking’ about—Dragon plate is a great solution, it makes sense to clean up the setup. But I know he was just trying to get something going before he went to his carbon guy for fabrication. I would guess this gives him some ideas, though.
Agreed, it’s not aesthetically optimal, but the setup is like a pair of stovepipe Wranglers—it gets the job done.
Are we taking bets on if his set up gets banned after he takes it to the CF guy?
Nobody is going to ban the position as long as he doesn’t actually create a fairing with tape. It’s just elevated aerobars, which has been legal for 20 years.
Chris
Nobody is going to ban the position as long as he doesn’t actually create a fairing with tape. It’s just elevated aerobars, which has been legal for 20 years.
Chris
I didn’t say his position. I said after he takes his set up to the CF guy. Aka. to turn the tape and aerobars into a onepiece CF fairing.
In all likelyhood, he won’t do that. He’s not in the aerobar market, he is in the hydration market…creating a viable hydration solution that isn’t much bigger than a standard bottle isn’t going to ruffly any feathers as long as he is careful with the overall size. Last year’s attempt was pushing the envelope pretty far, but I think this concept has possibility.
Chris
In all likelyhood, he won’t do that. He’s not in the aerobar market, he is in the hydration market…creating a viable hydration solution that isn’t much bigger than a standard bottle isn’t going to ruffly any feathers as long as he is careful with the overall size. Last year’s attempt was pushing the envelope pretty far, but I think this concept has possibility.
Chris
I find it hard to believe that he wont switch that electrical tape to CF.