Follow Michael Hutchinson on Twitter – he’s actually quite funny in a dry sort of way and he’ll give out plenty of tips commenting on number positioning, etc of the pros 🙂

Bear in mind that lower isn’t always better/faster – a lot of people rate the “praying mantis” position, so much so the UCI outlawed it.

Wiggins has his extensions high too – it’s all about reducing frontal area, low isn’t necessarily good, particularly, as said, most people can’t get the power down.

That’s related to hand position, not shoulder height, and research I’ve seen suggests it takes a lot of attention to detail to actually be more aero with a high hand position.

Wiggins has his extensions high too

Only relative to his base bar – there’s actually a huge amount of saddle to tri-bar drop, and he clearly does get very low. Within practical limits your frontal area is always going to be less the lower you are.

OCD Triathletes offload their year old kit for peanuts.
where do I find this cheep stuff please.

eBay, if you’re patient, and prepared to travel to pick up bargains do come up, around november. My mate got a ultegra P3 for under a grand, it’s spotless.

re. that picture of Wiggins, no one has a more sorted position IMO, flawless.

Within practical limits your frontal area is always going to be less the lower you are.

I was reading the Topham book and he was saying that if you get too low you start exposing your back, which will be less aero. Not really a worry for most though as you probably won’t be able to make good power in such a low position anyway!

Wiggins just always looks so relaxed in that ^^^ position.

re. that picture of Wiggins, no one has a more sorted position IMO, flawless.

Wiggo has quite unusual proportions though, so not easy to replicate for most ‘average’ riders. He also rides much smaller frames than most 6’3″ blokes – he likes a shorter TT due to a short torso and long limbs.

Cancellara’s position is probably more attainable for most…

Was interesting to read an article in cycling weekly when some pro’s were asked about their toughest workout. Cancellara’s response was…

I sometimes do 150 kilometre rides on my time trial bike.
It hurts but they are the only way to hit the support muscles you use when riding in a time trial position.
It really strengthens them.

I can imagine that is an awful lot harder than it sounds. That’s the weekend’s training ride sorted then 😉

My mate looks incredibly similar to Wiggins both off the bike whilst dressed in a skin suit, and when riding a TT bike. He also rides like him – very good time triallist with high consistent power, no burst whatsoever.

However he can also swim and run pretty well too 🙂

He should try Triathlon. It might suit him 😉

I’ve also done 100 mile training rides on my TT bike – not all that uncomfortable when you get used to it – mind you I was training for races with bike legs that long (and have done a 100 mile TT)

Impressive stuff aracer. I’ll do a couple of turbo hours on the TT bike every now and again, and that’s bad enough (though much of that is getting enough cooling.) Makes you realise how hard core some of the 12 and 24 hour TT riders are.

That is less than an Ironman after all – Spartacus is going to be smashing out 150km on his TT bike in 4 hours, I’m sure it hurts, but it doesn’t strike me as inordinately tough.

I guess it’s all a compromise. If he’s doing that in a position optimised for a typical TT distance of about an hour then it could be tough. I suspect if I was ever to attempt a 12hour on a TT bike I’d trade off quite a bit of aero for comfort.

I did raise my bars a bit for multisport races including long bike legs, but not for all my long training rides, and did the 100 in the same position I use for a 10!

did the 100 in the same position I use for a 10

Same here. It’s all pain, why bother changing anything for the sake of a bit of ‘comfort’? An extra 10 or 20mm bar height won’t be any more comfortable after 100 miles 😀

If you want to be a good tester,get up at 4am every day ride 3hrs alone on a fixed gear,try to pay as little as possible for any gear you own and then make sure you remove all of your friends from your life both on facebook and real life… that will sort you.

Or of course do a dowsett,get smashed once a month enjoy a nando’s and train like a dog

If you want to be a good tester,get up at 4am every day ride 3hrs alone on a fixed gear,try to pay as little as possible for any gear you own and then make sure you remove all of your friends from your life both on facebook and real life… that will sort you.

Or of course do a dowsett,get smashed once a month enjoy a nando’s and train like a dog You forgot become an OCD manic depressive with the pain threshold of granite..

What’s the power output like in that position?

Same here. It’s all pain, why bother changing anything for the sake of a bit of ‘comfort’? An extra 10 or 20mm bar height won’t be any more comfortable after 100 miles

In a sense you’re right but it’s not really that simple is it – sure, some will just want to make it less painful but for others/many, it’s just that the body won’t work as well in that position for that length of time – probably down to core strength and flexibility but there’s no point being in a nice low position if you’re losing more in power than you’re gaining in reduced drag after a couple of hours.

Have a look for example at ironmen triathletes – the top guys are proper nails as you’d expect – they’re not riding with ‘proper’ flat back positions like Wiggo etc to try and be comfortable, they’re doing it because that’ll make them faster over the course (and I know to some extent the water’s muddied because they still have to go for a run after but the principle’s there).

They also won’t be putting out as much power or going as fast as Wiggins does so the aero-power balance will be shifted in slightly towards getting out more power.

Very muddy water. I’d argue it’s far more about the run after the bike – it was due to that factor that I relaxed my position for long distance multsport, but not for a 100 mile TT.

In a sense you’re right but it’s not really that simple is it

If anything you want more comfort/higher power in the shorter races, in a 100 where you’re riding at maybe 80% FTP, you want aero, aero, and more aero as the power output is lower, so you’re less on the rivet of what you can extract from your body. Particularly as you’re out there for longer so it will make more difference.
Hutchinson does this if I recall – higher bars for a 10.

Low? Small frontal area? High power output? Hmmm, I wonder what Motorsport would say if you banned all good developments…

Want. Don’t know what I’d do with one, but definitely near the top of the list when I win the lottery.

Anything stopping people riding that sort of thing in triathlons where UCI rules don’t apply?

OP, I raced my first 10TT’s with the club last year, on my road bike and no-aero. My times got quicker through the year as I got fitter. I tried changing various simple things like wheels, tyres and chainrings. My PB ended up at 25’15” and I was placing 2nd a few times with that.
This year I started off with my CX bike with trispokes in and times were ok, but not as fast as last year. I went to the skinsuit and angry sperm pointy helmet and times picked up again.
I sourced and put together a TT build from used kit and now PB on that course is 24’17” and I’m getting quicker.
The course isn’t a good representation as there’s a lot of lumps in it going out and back. Anything 23-24min on it is going very well.
It’s not just me getting fitter either as since the end of last season I’ve been in hospital twice from accidents with 4 broken ribs, a hairline cracked pelvis, dislocated AC joint and concussion, and it takes a while to come back from those.
Finally, all the best and enjoy pushing yourself

I wish 25:14 could come second in my local club 10. Last weeks winning time was a 19:44, and the slowest winner this season was 20:14.

Suffice to say I am somewhere much lower down the leader board!

I only took up testing this season and it is hugely addictive! Same course, no drafting, just you and your bike seeing how hard you can push yourself!

I can’t afford any of the flash kit, so I am waiting till the end of the season when all of the fast boys or triathletes sell off their nearly new kit and I will pick myself up some wheels and hopefully a frame.

Just bought a retro TT bike of Ebay to get started. Ridden two club 25’s on my road bike a year apart and the second was five minutes faster – all that road racing. I’m not going to enter many TTs, probably just the Hillingdon 10, but I thought it would provide a reasonable fitness benchmark. So this will be joining the TiRed collection tomorrow:

Rode the Silverstone 9-up Team Time Trial last night (Twice). Our team finished 10th and 36th, but I was spent by half way with the fast team, despite every marginal gain (aero helmet, skinsuit and shoe covers).