[Closed] Today I beat the hour for a 25

Problem is I can't afford all the gear, and I'll always be a bit behind without it..

A bit behind what though? There's always gear you buy that will make you (marginally) faster. You really are mostly racing yourself. And you'll get extra kudos from getting decent times on normal road kit 🙂

I'd say it's apart about the engine, but part about holding good position.

Yes, engine a big part, but I know people who go quite a bit faster than me for the same sorts of power. Knowing how to use that power, position, experience, endless tweaking, good kit choice. There's always a bit more speed to be found.

As a teenager I could never get the hang of a 25. Stuck to 10's . Last week I did my first for 34 years. Was 90 seconds slower but I am 2 stone heavier and not just out of school. Trying not to buy a TT bike . Anyone want to sell me one.

theres a good progression thread at the moment over on TTF

http://www.timetriallingforum.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=101863

Really good thread that one. Does seem to be about race experience and chipping away at getting those marginal gains.

s a teenager I could never get the hang of a 25

It's well known that when you're young you're faster but have less endurance, so that makes perfect sense. I could ride the 10.5 miles home from my mate's house on my Dad's hybrid (with my elbows on the SUAB bars) in 25 minutes aged 16, but I was finished afterwards. That would've been lap 1 of an XC race these days 🙂

Well that was an unpleasant way to spend the warmest evening of the year so far! Roadworks meant a course change from one with a club best of a long 52 to an awkward one with a best of a long 55, not really what I wanted for my first 25. Tricky pacing with a couple of short sharp climbs and some long drags. Anyway a better than expected 56:45 and second place, I'll take that 🙂

Question for the testers here. Anyone tried the AeroCoach service? A couple of hours round Newport velodrome getting some aero advice and trying various changes. Sounds like a good thing to do and chatter over at timetriallingforum is positive. Price is reasonable compared to tunnel time. May give it a go.

I was just over 110kg and I got down to 82kg at the end of last season. I'm 83.5g now and 21% body fat, which the lab said was excellent for a 'normal person' but only 'good' for an athelete. It was one of the big results from the lab tests; I can comfortably loose another 4kg and get down to 17%. That's the first part of the next plan.

How tall are you?

Just wondering as I think we met a few years back on a STW Surrye hills ride before you lost the weight (and before I broke my arm repeatedly and put quite a bit on) and I'd have said we had quite similar builds. I'm now 96kg, but only 19-20% fat (measured with callipers and a few different algorithms), but not anywhere near 280W FTP (unless trainer road is lying to me by quite a margin). Perhaps my cardio is lacking, but odd that I'm carrying a lot more muscle (being 14 years younger probably explains a lot of that).

TINAS, having ridden with you once I suspect trainer road is lying 🙂

TINAS, having ridden with you once I suspect trainer road is lying

Was that at Swinley? I've been on STW rides on a good day when I was fit and with hangovers so bad I've thrown up. I'm guessing you caught me on a good day :-p

These days I'm much much slower!

Yes at Swinley, I think you were on a single speed Swift. I was most likely riding a bright green Ragley. A good few years ago now.

Yup, I remember the bike at least!

It's probably more memorable than I am 😆

Just wondering as I think we met

We did indeed meet; it was the Surrey Hills ride that split into two groups (Njee led the fast group; I was in the 'other' group along with Bullheart and Whoppit. I can't remember which group you were in but I distinctly remember you arriving in an open top sports car - I think an MGB - with your bike wedged in the back. I thought that very cool :D)

I'm 1.8m tall; I used to be an inch or two taller but numerous instances of using my head as a brake seem to have compressed me a little.

As for your FTP, the only way you ever get anything like an accurate measure is through an actual power meter. All the other systems that user inference are, in my experience, wildly inaccurate, with the worst offender being Strava. That tends to be out by as much as 20% (overstating). Having been focused on increasing power, I can tell you that after a quick win, extracting the last 10% is extremely hard in all respects.

Question for the testers here. Anyone tried the AeroCoach service?

I've not done it myself but I was listening to a conversation between a chap called Rob Sharland (who's winning quite a lot of the open events round here and is good for 380 watts in a 25!)and another top three rider at a recent event, where Rob was saying he'd been on that exact programme and that it was worth maybe another 6 watts or so. Time in the wind tunnel with Drag2Zero is about £1000, which seems very good value to me considering how much a disc wheel costs for example.

Anyway a better than expected 56:45 and second place, I'll take that

Maybe better than expected from your perspective but not from mine based on the previous conversations. Very well done indeed; that's clearly an excellent time based on the conditions and what must be a tough course. Inferring from the club record and that the course is quite slow, I would think my original suggestion of a 54 is more than realistic.

Rob was saying he'd been on that exact programme and that it was worth maybe another 6 watts or so.

That's interesting. I guess gains all depends on where you start from, and it sounds like he's already at a very high level. TBH I think it'd be worth it just to know if it was good or bad as currently I'm unsure. Know of someone who did the same event as me on the same day, same height and weight, and got the same time off of 60 less watts, so likely some improvements to be made!

Edit... having said that, doesn't look too poor from last night...

[img] [/img]

I would think my original suggestion of a 54 is more than realistic.

Thanks, it'd be a nice goal for the season 🙂

We did indeed meet; it was the Surrey Hills ride that split into two groups (Njee led the fast group; I was in the 'other' group along with Bullheart and Whoppit. I can't remember which group you were in but I distinctly remember you arriving in an open top sports car - I think an MGB - with your bike wedged in the back. I thought that very cool :D)

Think I went off in the fast group then when we crossed paths after a while I swapped groups.

It was the MG Midget, still got it but currently in bits being made faster/lower/cooler. I remember arriving for that ride in convoy with a Misubishi Evo and a Panda 4x4 up that track to the YHA thinking this looks like some "TopGear does rallying on a budget" and expecting something o go horribly wrong as a result!

Also remember the guy who worked in sales for a Van fitting company who had his bike on a slide out deck in the back!

I keep looking at power meters but have the nagging feeling that unless I'm already in the fast group on the club run it'll be like paying an expensive accountant tell me how poor I am! Might get a cheap TT bike and see how good/bad/indifferent my times are, I know there's one very flat out-and-back course on the Bath road near me which could be a good test.

Tinas, have a go at [url= http://www.strava.com/segments/3943098 ]H10/1[/url], I think that's just down the road for you and is a pretty flat out and back. In fact it's our club event next Wednesday evening. Come and have a go 🙂

Stalker, that was the exact one I was thinking of. Which club's running it and what time?

Dinghy pursuit race starts at 6:50 at Burghfield though so unless it's a completely still day I'll be racing there. An entirely futile effort as it's personal handicaps so there's 2 options, mess up and ruin yours, or hope all 50 other boats mess up and you win, inevitably the former happens far more often.

Newbury RC. 7:30pm. [url= http://www.newburyrc.co.uk/prod/php/getactivity.php?aid=3777 ]Here[/url]. So sign in from about 6:45 probably. Be nice if it was a completely still day. Last time I did it there was a big headwind on the way out, though was spinning 55/11 for some of the way back!

Use to sail an RS400 round Burghfield many years ago. Just didn't have the time to do it justice though and it had to go 🙁

Genuine Q: How does weight loss help, all other things bring equal, on a flat TT?

Use to sail an RS400 round Burghfield many years ago. Just didn't have the time to do it justice though and it had to go

I sail a Blaze, put a great big hole in the side of a coremat bathtub (a 200 though) with the wing a few weeks ago :-p

If it's going to be a drift I'll give the TT a go.

but Stan Boardman was on the radio the other day talking about wind tunnels

What does he know about aerodynamics?

[img] [/img]

For the TT'ers here, just got my suit back from NoPinz with a speed pocket fitted. Mailed to them on Saturday, back this morning (Wednesday)! Nice work too, they even patched up the mess a load of old pin holes had left. Won't be trashing my suit with pin holes anymore and meant to be a bit more aero too, what's not to like 🙂

The OP's performance (and weight loss) clearly prove that he is doping. 🙂