Power File 6.8.09: TT Setup

Today was some LT work on the TT setup on my road bike, in advance of the ToWC. The blue is a 20 minute interval. At about the same wattage and HR from the last time I did a 20 minute interval on this same course, here are the comparisons that show the increased speed from the TT setup:

TT training setup (today):
 - 8.16 miles
 - 24.5 mph

Road bike setup:
 - 7.74 miles
 - 23.3 mph

I covered .4 miles more in the TT setup, on the same course over the same duration. Put another way, if the TT were 7.74 miles, the TT setup would have allowed me to finish over a minute faster.

Here's today's cool iBike trick. Once you've got a ride downloaded, you can apply any profile you want to it. So for today's, after I analyzed the ride with my TT training setup (TT position, but with my regular training wheels, no skinsuit, shoe covers, etc) I tried applying my regular training bike profile. In order to cover the same distance over 20 minutes in my road setup, I would have needed to go 45 watts harder on average. That seems like a pretty good setup, yes?

Below are some pictures of the TT setup. I use Profile T2 clipons, but I put them under my bars instead of on top. You can get a pad riser kit for the bars, but I just stuffed a sock under each pad to bring them up 3/4" or so, allowing me to rest on them without putting my forearms too heavily on the tops of my bars. I pull the clipons back about as far as they'll let me, and I also lower my stem below all the spacers to let my shoulders get as low as possible. And I put in a different seatpost with no setback, slam the seat forward, and bring it up almost a full inch.

Comments

[Pete]

While not particularly cool looking, that setup certainly isn't bad-looking by most measures, but it is surely the most practical and clever TT setups I have ever seen! You are making me want an iAero now...I wasn't a believer, but seeing your results and the possibilities the iAero unlocks in dialing in a race-fit is amazing! Kudos to you, sir.

[Mike May]

Yeah, it's not the sexiest TT bike you'll see, that's for sure. But it seems to work OK. For added visual appeal I'll race with 58mm carbon fiber wheels - they make any ride look sexy.

I think everything I've done here with my iAero you can also do with the less expensive iBike meters, which start at $199. The iAero is Ant+ Sport compatible so it can be paired with a direct force power meter (dfpm), which was my intention when buying it. If you do that, you can get totally funky with aero setup, as the dfpm measures your actual power output and the iBike measures your aero position relative to that power output. It's like doing every training ride in a wind tunnel.