Riding a TT bike when not going flat out
Discussion
Has anyone ever done this? I'm just getting into cycling seriously and trying to get fully immersed in it. I've been looking at all the tech changes to bikes and TT bikes caught my eye. Obviously, they are pretty extreme machines and only really optimised for speed.
What has surprised me is that I've seen a bloke riding a TT bike a few times now on my evening training loop on some local roads. He seems to be going at a decent rate but nothing extreme, certainly enough to shout a cheery "Hello" when passing without sounding flustered. He doesn't use the aero bars and arm rests, doesn't wear aero or even tight kit when I see him, just an average bloke in average clothes, with a backpack, most likely riding home from work.
Now, more power to the guy, ride whatever you want, wear what you want, but it did get me thinking about what a TT bike is like on the road as a do-it-all bike for all types of road rides. Has anyone tried this? Are they uncomfortable? Is the handling nervous from the geometry or bars? Are they hellish to ride on windy days?
I thought it might be one of those cases where the bike is just less ideal than a normal road bike in just about every way except when you're on the aero bars, going really fast on a flat, smooth road. It reminded me of a bloke I used to work with who had a Skoda Octavia but drove his Lotus Elise to work no matter how bad the weather was, putting 140,000 miles on it, because he'd rather drive his pride and joy, no matter how bad it was at coping with winter as he loved the car that much.
What has surprised me is that I've seen a bloke riding a TT bike a few times now on my evening training loop on some local roads. He seems to be going at a decent rate but nothing extreme, certainly enough to shout a cheery "Hello" when passing without sounding flustered. He doesn't use the aero bars and arm rests, doesn't wear aero or even tight kit when I see him, just an average bloke in average clothes, with a backpack, most likely riding home from work.
Now, more power to the guy, ride whatever you want, wear what you want, but it did get me thinking about what a TT bike is like on the road as a do-it-all bike for all types of road rides. Has anyone tried this? Are they uncomfortable? Is the handling nervous from the geometry or bars? Are they hellish to ride on windy days?
I thought it might be one of those cases where the bike is just less ideal than a normal road bike in just about every way except when you're on the aero bars, going really fast on a flat, smooth road. It reminded me of a bloke I used to work with who had a Skoda Octavia but drove his Lotus Elise to work no matter how bad the weather was, putting 140,000 miles on it, because he'd rather drive his pride and joy, no matter how bad it was at coping with winter as he loved the car that much.
sociopath said:
Was it a TT bike or just a road bike with clip on TT bars?
Not sure it's really feasible to use a full on TT in ordinary clothes with a rucksack on your back
Pretty sure whatever it is, it's a proper TT bike. It looks quite a lot like the one in the pic below, without the big built-up top tube. The seat tube, seat post and bottom bracket look quite distinct and "TT". Deep section wheels, super cool. Not sure it's really feasible to use a full on TT in ordinary clothes with a rucksack on your back
The bloke I see riding his bike doesn't use the aero bars, he is leaned over but not in a typical TT position by any means, about the same as you'd see on a road bike rider on the drops. It doesn't look uncomfortable.
I suppose my main curiosity was around stiffness, compliance, whether they'd be hair raising in the wind. I did wonder if you can fit a normal road saddle instead of those little stubby TT-style things, which it looks like you can. I still don't think I'd take one over a good road bike, even though my riding will mostly consist of relatively short, fast (hopefully!
) rides around local quiet roads.
A TT bike has a differing geometry to a road bike. The down tube is more vertical, so when in the TT position your back is flatter and the angle between your quads and your chest is maximised to let you breathe. The seat is short because there is a regulation about how far in front of the bottom bracket it can be.
The added weight on the front makes it a bit twitchier to ride, and the one in the picture above with the wide cross section tubes and wheels will be very susceptible to side winds.
The added weight on the front makes it a bit twitchier to ride, and the one in the picture above with the wide cross section tubes and wheels will be very susceptible to side winds.
As above really, they feel so weird to ride when not on the extensions (aero bars), you feel really sat up when you using the base bar and even just warming up or cooling down around a TT it’s not something I’d want to do all that much of.
I do ride my TT bike at slower than TT pace rides sometimes but will normally be Z3 on the extensions etc.
A lot of Tri riders will not be flat out on their bikes due to the different pacing requirements of a Tri but will normally be down on the extensions.
I do ride my TT bike at slower than TT pace rides sometimes but will normally be Z3 on the extensions etc.
A lot of Tri riders will not be flat out on their bikes due to the different pacing requirements of a Tri but will normally be down on the extensions.
Or it's nicked!
There are two big problems with a TT bike for 'regular' riding:
1) Unless you have electric shifting with satellite buttons, the shifters are on the poles, and the brakes are on the base bar. In either position you're an awkward reach from one of the controls you need. That's a bit awkward for general riding, and if you want to ride with others, you're likely to find it isn't welcome in a group 'cos you're a bit of a liability due to the above.
2) The position is somewhat uncompromising, designed around the poles and generally not terribly comfortable to ride prolonged amounts of time on the basebar.
I ride a lot of miles on mine in the name of training, but if I had one bike, it wouldn't be a TT..
There are two big problems with a TT bike for 'regular' riding:
1) Unless you have electric shifting with satellite buttons, the shifters are on the poles, and the brakes are on the base bar. In either position you're an awkward reach from one of the controls you need. That's a bit awkward for general riding, and if you want to ride with others, you're likely to find it isn't welcome in a group 'cos you're a bit of a liability due to the above.
2) The position is somewhat uncompromising, designed around the poles and generally not terribly comfortable to ride prolonged amounts of time on the basebar.
I ride a lot of miles on mine in the name of training, but if I had one bike, it wouldn't be a TT..
Unless you’re competing in TT’s I’d say simply having a TT bike for general rides may be less than enjoyable.
Handling and compliance are going to be the main issues.
A decent aero bike would get you close, but without the compromises.
A bit like having an Lotus Elise fully set up for the track, but you use it 95% of the time on bumpy normal roads and suffer the compromises as a result.
Handling and compliance are going to be the main issues.
A decent aero bike would get you close, but without the compromises.
A bit like having an Lotus Elise fully set up for the track, but you use it 95% of the time on bumpy normal roads and suffer the compromises as a result.
upsidedownmark said:
Or it's nicked!
If the OP hadn't wrote this:Mastodon2 said:
I've seen a bloke riding a TT bike a few times now on my evening training loop on some local roads.
Perhaps it's just a case of it's his new toy and he wants to get out on it as much as possible to get familiar with it before hitting the drome looking like a noob...I've had a few funny comments from other cyclists when riding a downhill mountain bike on the road especially when trying to keep up with a couple on road bikes. I overtook them on the flat after taking a mile of so to catch up, then they wen't flying by when we got to a hill but we met again at the pub a mile or so down the road
I love my TT bike and enjoy training on it because it's quick, even when you're not bothering to put efforts in, but I'm not sure I could ride it all the time. It's aggressive and compromised (gears on the extensions and brakes on the basebar - although soon will have gears on the basebar too ). I imagine some people ride them a lot more just for getting used to the position.
). I imagine some people ride them a lot more just for getting used to the position.AyBee said:
I love my TT bike and enjoy training on it because it's quick, even when you're not bothering to put efforts in, but I'm not sure I could ride it all the time. It's aggressive and compromised (gears on the extensions and brakes on the basebar - although soon will have gears on the basebar too ). I imagine some people ride them a lot more just for getting used to the position.
Do you ride it on those 'im not really arsed' days when you just want to do A to B in the fastest possible time??). I imagine some people ride them a lot more just for getting used to the position.I must admit I'd love a go on a TT bike just to see what they feel like, or even just a top end aero road bike with all the gubbins. I am thinking about getting a Canyon Aeroad or similar next year with some aero wheels, but I've got a few pounds to lose and some fitness to build before I'd consider myself worthy for such a bike.
I have commuted in my TT bike preciously, rucksack on the way to the office, but training ride on the way home.
I also do familiarisation rides, 2hrs z2 just to help get everything used to the position. If I am racing regularly then I don’t need to familiarise, but racing has been a little thin on the ground this year.
I also do familiarisation rides, 2hrs z2 just to help get everything used to the position. If I am racing regularly then I don’t need to familiarise, but racing has been a little thin on the ground this year.
Mastodon2 said:
Pretty sure whatever it is, it's a proper TT bike. It looks quite a lot like the one in the pic below, without the big built-up top tube. The seat tube, seat post and bottom bracket look quite distinct and "TT". Deep section wheels, super cool.
The bloke I see riding his bike doesn't use the aero bars, he is leaned over but not in a typical TT position by any means, about the same as you'd see on a road bike rider on the drops. It doesn't look uncomfortable.
I suppose my main curiosity was around stiffness, compliance, whether they'd be hair raising in the wind. I did wonder if you can fit a normal road saddle instead of those little stubby TT-style things, which it looks like you can. I still don't think I'd take one over a good road bike, even though my riding will mostly consist of relatively short, fast (hopefully! ) rides around local quiet roads.
Ironically - that's mine (albeit mine is the 2020 version)The bloke I see riding his bike doesn't use the aero bars, he is leaned over but not in a typical TT position by any means, about the same as you'd see on a road bike rider on the drops. It doesn't look uncomfortable.
I suppose my main curiosity was around stiffness, compliance, whether they'd be hair raising in the wind. I did wonder if you can fit a normal road saddle instead of those little stubby TT-style things, which it looks like you can. I still don't think I'd take one over a good road bike, even though my riding will mostly consist of relatively short, fast (hopefully!
) rides around local quiet roads.As previous comment - they're pretty horrible to ride 'normally'. The position means you are tipped forwards, hips over the cranks soyou're almost pushing 'backwards' into the pedals (depending how agressive the setup is) and weight directly over the steeply angled forks.
The upshot is that weight feels a long way forwards, theres a lot of pressure on the hands / shoulders and steering feels weird because of it.
I'm sure he has his reasons whatever they are :smile:
rastapasta said:
AyBee said:
I love my TT bike and enjoy training on it because it's quick, even when you're not bothering to put efforts in, but I'm not sure I could ride it all the time. It's aggressive and compromised (gears on the extensions and brakes on the basebar - although soon will have gears on the basebar too ). I imagine some people ride them a lot more just for getting used to the position.
Do you ride it on those 'im not really arsed' days when you just want to do A to B in the fastest possible time??). I imagine some people ride them a lot more just for getting used to the position.I know an elite level rider who does 80 mile zone 2 rides on the TT bike, recovery rides, intervals and obviously TTs.
Theory is that it's a strange position and spending as much time as possible in it means you can generate more power. The elite level rider I know is well below 20 minutes for a 10 mile event so I guess the theory is correct.
Theory is that it's a strange position and spending as much time as possible in it means you can generate more power. The elite level rider I know is well below 20 minutes for a 10 mile event so I guess the theory is correct.
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