Everyone likes a bike build thread, right?

Did my first proper-ish season of TT last year on my Planet X Stealth (with Zipp Vuka Alu bars and mechanical shifting.) Here she is in action…

This build is to put something together that’s a bit slippier now I’ve got a decent position sorted. Based around an eBay Cervelo P2C and some new Pro Missile Evo bars and stem. I’m going to try for internal Di2 as well which may involve a fair bit of dremelling and quite a lot of swearing.

Started last night with a couple of hours with a tape measure and a big bag of bolts and carbon bits. This is it so far…

Next step is to take it all apart again (cables are all threaded through the bars and risers) and figure out what to do with this lot…

Rotor crankset, Power2Max power meter and Adamo saddle will come from the PX. Tempted to get some TriRig brakes but may be Ultegra for now. Wheels will be Zipp 404/808 and my Corima disc. It may end up 10 speed for convenience too.

Not got much spare time to work on it so it’ll probably take me a few weeks to finish. No instant gratification on this thread 🙂

Hmmmmm….tri rig brakes, Cervelo, Di2. Budget ye reckon 😆 Tektro used to make a centre pull ‘aero’ brake if you really are thinking about budget.

Well it’s budget compared to some of the things you see wheeled out at your typical weekday evening club time trial 😉

I’ll probably stick with the Ultegra brakes that I have for now and then get some proper advice from someone in the know in a few months time.

TBH Di2 is a bit of an indulgence. Though I have hated the mechanical shifting on the PX. Shifting is awful even with Nokon cable and it was always a compromise. Really distracting to be messing around trying to get the right gear when racing. And I should be able to hide pretty much all the Di2 wiring inside the bars and frame.

Got to agree with YoKaiser, I would not call this budget 😆

Oh well, each to their own. Personally I race on 10sp mechanical and ally frames because I think it’s all about the legs so focus on that instead.

Would love a Cervelo S3 mind, think they’re so pretty.

What the others said. Di2 and zipps. That’s a budget build i would love

TBF he didn’t specify what kind of budget.

Not a sport for the lower-earning cyclist if low budget was implied though!

A £600 handlebar is hardly budget either 😆

Still, nice build. Just anything but budget.

is your oil pan made of paw-celain?

A £600 handlebar is hardly budget

There’s the 200 quid stem to go with it too and the 50 quid riser kit 😳

Is all relative though.

your oil pan made of paw-celain?

🙂

Not a sport for the lower-earning cyclist if low budget was implied though

No different to MTB. You can find something to fit pretty much any budget.

I opened this thread with interest expecting a super stealthy machine for under a grand…

… because I think it’s all about the legs so focus on that instead.

Too true. It puts it into perspective when you see guys riding in the road bike category beating 95% of those on TT bikes. The bike is only a small part of the battle. I can appreciate the marginal gains in TTing though.

Curious what a mid-price build would look like, let alone a blingy one!

Do they have separate cats for road and TT bikes in TT events then? Might consider having a go at one if so.

Budget lol

Still, no excuses when you turn up at the start. Better be one of the quicker guys too!

I keep looking at p2 105 on sale…

Considering the national 10 mile champagne rides a frame off ebay and a total build of under a grand I’d say budget is about £750, but then again it’s all relative.

For a budget tt build I was hoping for obree style brazing and steel tubes, not a pile of dura ace boxes……

Do they have separate cats for road and TT bikes in TT events then? Might consider having a go at one if so.

They’ll sometimes offer a prize for fastest road bike. Pretty informal really. Plenty of people ride road bikes though. Fit some clip-on tri-bars if you want to take it semi-seriously. No reason not to have a go.

You can find something to fit pretty much any budget.

Absolutely. I bought a lovely steel columbus aero Shorter from the Leo Road Club with Zipp 440s all for £400. I added £50 of second hand HED carbon bars and a raised stem for a little more comfort.

It’s nine speed. It rides beautifully.

Seeing as the budget part has already been questioned I’ll point out that your cupboard doors don’t look very level.

I was going to mention that but thought the OP was getting a bit of a hammering. 😆

After returning to TT’s last summer after a 34 year break , I thought I would build a bike for the job. N+ lots though means mine is budget!
Frame is a Columbus Brain tubed thing I built a few years ago for bugger all. I then cracked the seat tube almost completely through. A 15 quid seat pin from China reaches the bottle bosses and is now drilled and tapped which along with the seat clamp holds it tight enough. Wheels are oldy but goodies from the depths of the garage. Front is ancient Campag record with Mavic FB rim. Rear is Campag Record, 9 speed era on a worn Open Pro Sup. 10 speed cassette as I did run it with complete Veloce before it broke. Nattering in the LBS found me some deep 90’s style bull horns with near new carbon Profile TT extensions. 9 speed Ultegra, I think, bar end shifters and Cane Creek bar end brake levers plus a nice Ritchey stem. 30 quid. Add 1 cable inner at £1.50 and a roll of Benotto copy tape from China.
Mechs are Suntour ARX that came from my 1983 Raleigh. Chainset is a champagne era 105 with god knows what BB.
God knows how it will go but its better than my Pickenflick for TTs and the outlay has been sub 50 quid.

It puts it into perspective when you see guys riding in the road bike category beating 95% of those on TT bikes

Doesn’t happen at open events, but it happens to a certain extent at some of our club events, but the riders that get close are elite road racers (often with tri bars) and a pro world cup xc racer 🙂

Curious what a mid-price build would look like, let alone a blingy one!

For low budget see my first build thread here. That was under a grand I think.

I was going to mention that but thought the OP was getting a bit of a hammering.

Not as bad as I was expecting 😉 Those bloody cupboards!

I can appreciate the marginal gains in TTing though.

I do need to do some work as I’m currently pretty much bang on the “poor” line here at the moment…

I know of some people who aren’t even on the chart their CdA is so low. Aim is to get to “average” this year.

Budget lol

😉

Re budget, it really is all relative. I’m often riding against guys on 5 grand Shiv frames.

Oh well, each to their own. Personally I race on 10sp mechanical and ally frames because I think it’s all about the legs so focus on that instead.

Sorry I missed this comment first time around. Good for you, but I don’t really get it. Do you race time trials on a road bike? Why not a shopping bike with a basket on the front if it’s all about the legs? Are you reasonably flat backed? Do you ride on the drops? All these things are concessions to aerodynamics.

TBH I agree that it would be nice if it was all about the legs. I’m not really one to spend huge amounts of time pouring over marginal gains and analysing data from position tweaks. But aero is now a big part of the sport. And it’s more about not putting myself at a big disadvantage to those I race against rather than trying to find some big advantage… so that it is then more about the legs.

Anyway probably straying off topic of a build thread!

Considering the national 10 mile champagne rides a frame off ebay and a total build of under a grand I’d say budget is about £750, but then again it’s all relative.

That and the fact that he’s had a few grands worth of aero testing by his coach, one of the best in the business

Feels like I’ve been tricked into watching someone wave their willy.

Yes indeed. You try sourcing the parts on that bike for “under a grand” on the second hand market… some people have been very generous with their spares!

And yes, no surprise that the people at the very sharp end are usually sponsored by companies like D2Z and Aerocoach.

Feels like I’ve been tricked into watching someone wave their willy.

Hmm sorry, not the intention!

Let’s not get hung up on whether his build was budget or not, focus on what’s really important.

OP how did the season go; what times did you put down and were you happy?

Sorry OP I was being a bit cheeky.
My thought process is based upon the lines that if you spend the time spent earning the money for a super bike, shopping for it and assembling it, but use it for hard, focussed training, you’ll be quicker on the course.
I do get a bit irritated by all the bling on the start line of races as I think its all a bit over the top. Personally I think racing should be one design, and a cheap design at that so then everyone could compete on an equal footing.
When I race on £1k bikes I like to think I’m doing my bit, but then I’m a poor deluded fool.

Preface this by saying I was a runner and recreational mtb rider until injury put a stop to running and I had a year off from any sport when first kid arrived. Got the road bike out to get some fitness back and entered a few local time trials just to give it some purpose. So last year was my first properish season.

Went ok. Didn’t race as much as I’d like to have done, but learnt loads. Got faster all year and ended up being in the 21’s on honest courses and in the 20’s on the fast ones. A 20:40 on a foul day on F11/10 was the quickest. Got more power and a better position now so aim this year is to finish consistently in the 20’s and dip under 20 on a fast course (though staying fairly local and not going to drive the length of the country in search of fast courses!) Would like to do more 25’s too.

Aw, shame. Looking at that graph, as I’m 194cm and 85+Kg, it’s pointless trying to get good at TT however budget I go. I’m stuck with a life of single track and bike packing………

Agree with the budget thing, as I’m struggling with the justification of the purchase of a reduced price Infocrank to fit to my road bike with clip-ons to have a bash at TT’ing.

I’m inspired by the OP’s last para though as that’s exactly what I am starting this year, having spent the last few weeks turbo training up to 40mins in the aero position to get used to it and yesterday working out my speculative 40k pace I can see how worryingly addictive it is!

Personally I think racing should be one design, and a cheap design at that so then everyone could compete on an equal footing.

Is an interesting idea, really it’s mostly aero testing for position where the gains are made. You’d need some limit on tunnel or track test time really!

working out my speculative 40k pace I can see how worryingly addictive it is!

Kryton, have you had a play with this…

http://www.cyclingpowerlab.com/PowerSpeedScenarios.aspx

Part of the reason for some of the new kit is plugging in the numbers and seeing the time gap between “average” and “poor” CdA 😕

Love this

http://www.cyclingweekly.co.uk/news/andy-wilkinsons-dolan-time-trial-bike-29431

Feels like I’ve been tricked into watching someone wave their willy.

this

Nice looking build! Do the Di2 parts you have not dictate whether it will be 10 or 11 speed? My plan for budget TT bike this summer is to stick some pursuit bars and a front brake on my track bike….

Oh FFS wish I’d not bothered! Thought it might be interesting as it’s a bit different for STW and will have some fiddly frame mods maybe.

Re 10 speed, spacing is the same as 11 speed so it’s just the limit screw.

Blobby they might have been happy if you’d drilled the Planet X to ****, made some balsa wood TT bars on your lathe and posted a pic of the whole thing next to your wood burner with your Labrador curled up by the BB. 😀

that would have been A shite build… cliché on a budget

Don’t listen to them Mr Blobby, I love stuff like this. And for all those banging on about the current 10 national champ, how much did all his time in the wind tunnel cost if he’d had to pay for it??

Just wondering why you went for the cevelo and not the px? Position related?

Anyone interested in time trials shouldn’t be put off by the perception that you need to buy expensive kit to be competitive.

You can probably get 90+% of the performance of a superbike with a genuinely budget build. Get a frame that lets you get your position right, and with cheap aero bars, a skinsuit and an aero helmet, you’re most of the way there. Power meters, electronic shifting and integrated bars are all nice, but not necessary to get started. In fact, if you look at pictures from TTs, you’ll see lots of people wasting very fancy kit because they are sitting up in the wind like a sack of tatties.

The bike that started the thread looks good, and good luck to the OP this season, but a budget build it is not!

I do like the bike btw, please keep posting pics and progress. As you say budget is relative. I’ve always fancied TT’ing I have the bike (mostly) but used it for tri.