MegaSack DRAW - This year's winner is user - rgwb
We will be in touch
if so, how long (with regular and fairly specific training) does it take to get from 30 minutes for 10 miles down to 25 min?
And other than putting 120psi in the tires, geting a big drop stem, TT bars and wearing the smallest helmet i can find, are there any more cost effective ways of increacing speed on a standard road bike?
bring back the swear filter 😡
i used to do loads.turbo training was best/more precise
let's not mention your times though eh Jedi 😉
🙂
Took me no time at all to make that jump. It's a relatively poor tester who can't make 25 mins. The hard part is getting down from there. You can become quite anal about equipment and weight. Depends how keen you are. Don't forget that good times won't be easy to get until June when the weather warms up.
Most improvement comes with mental strength. You must learn to focus solely on what you are doing, and forget everything else. Don't expect a good time if you've had a shitty day at work.
body position.
get areo as you can without dropping your power.do this in incrememnts
How fit were you, in relative terms, when you got 30mins? If very unfit, then dropping 5 mins off your time is probably just a matter of training properly. If you considered yourself pretty fit when you got 30 mins I suspect 25 mins isn't possible.
In terms of cheap-ish kit upgrades, a set of 2nd hand tub wheels is probably the best thing you can do, although I am not an expert on time trials (it has been 15 years since I last did one!)
Unfortunately it just comes down to training. I've got to admit that as a junior, with no specific tt training but quite a lot of cross and mtb racing I did 26.30 first time, so it's just fitness in general I reckon.
With a bit of training (road riding - never turbo) I got that down to 21.20 but I was much fitter then (15 years ago). It's all about targeting a distance, I used to do 20 mins warm up, then flat out for 12 miles or so, then 20 mins warm down, in between big road and mtb rides the rest of the week.
No specific aero stuff apart from tri bars with no arm rests (to get lower) and a super light Giant Cadex 980C.
Ah past glories. Got overtaken by a bloke on a hybrid with panniers this morning - and I couldn't be bothered to chase....
I believe you cn get quite cheap clip on tt bars which is what I was advised to get if I wanted to make easy/cheap changes to a standard road bike for improvements to speed.
Most improvement comes with mental strength. You must learn to focus solely on what you are doing, and forget everything else
IME that often includes other road users
spoon - Cheepest way to get quiker is to get fitter and ride more tests. A set of clip on tri bars are worthy investment, but other stuff only makes very small differences over 10 miles. I tested on a ribble touring bike for most of last year and managed well under your target.
Its down to practise at "your/our" level, the more you do the faster you get, thats a fact!!
The other thing is do "intervals" for a few weeks before and then taper down for the last 4 days or so. I improved my PB about six months ago with just two weeks of skull cracking intervals. 😆
My first 10 (3 years ago?) was a 25'00". Took me 3 seasons to get under 22'. PB by close of last season was a 21'16". Pointy helmets, skinsuits and tri bars do make a difference, but it really is down to legs and lungs. And after a while, technique. I did one on a 'normal' road bike wearing normal roadie kit and it was a good 2' slower than usual.
I encouraged a mate to have a bash last year at our weekly Club 10. He started mid-season on his old steel cross bike, baggy shorts, MTB shoes... Almost every week thereafter he was knocking about 30s of his previous week's time. He regularly got times of under just 22' by the end of last season but he 'plateaued' there.
Sessions when your out on the road, work on position and mental attitude. And keep an imaculate bike, good tyres and pressures will make a difference.
Failing that find a faster course.
FWIW I was a pants tester, I don't mean I tested pants I just was never that quick.
Remember that your course may be a limiting factor- my local few people go faster than 23' on, and they include Carl Saint who's just broken some record last year at the champs.
2 biggest equipment advantages in TT's are gained from Aero Bars and wheels. I'm 2'30 quicker over 10 miles with just those.
Be able to concentrate on the task in hand is a huge benefit, I started day dreaming after falling into a Rhythm in a TT last year and missed out on first place by seconds. If I'd kept my focus I would have won.