Lumen's winter TT prep plan

Chips Lovell

Cover the back wheel in masking tape.

niceonetom

el tonto wrote: »

Cover the back wheel in masking tape.

Has crossed my mind... not legal though.

Caroline_ie

Looks quite windy out there ... I suspect Lumen's aero bike could be the only flying object in the irish sky today.

Chips Lovell

Don't speak too soon. It happened last year.

Lumen

Well, my back is now so spasmed I can hardly lift my bike. Or walk. FFS.

Anyway....



1398g including rim tape isn't bad for 50mm clinchers.

Chips Lovell

Forget your back. Having the right looking bike is obviously the most important thing.

levitronix

what brake blocks you going to use with them, i need new brakes for my carbon rims and dont wana get the wrong ones. I have no brakes in the wet with the ones i have now

Lumen

levitronix wrote: »

what brake blocks you going to use with them, i need new brakes for my carbon rims and dont wana get the wrong ones. I have no brakes in the wet with the ones i have now

Soul supplied their own blocks. I haven't fitted them yet because the brakes on my TT bike appear to have non-removable blocks. There's probably a simple solution but I don't have time to sort it today so I'll just using ordinary blocks (which I checked for alloy shards, obviously).

Pad recommendations seem to vary - cork are recommended on some and specifically not recommended on others. Swissstop yellow seem to be a favourite, but are expensive.

mloc123

Lumen wrote: »

I'll just using ordinary blocks (which I checked for alloy shards, obviously).

:eek:

levitronix

I have the cork ones, i have the greens on my normal rims but 44 euro for swisstop yellows is kinda expensive, i ll have to dig deep the list goes on

Home:Ballyhoura

Lumen wrote: »

Anyway....
1398g including rim tape isn't bad for 50mm clinchers.

Wow, really nice wheels! Do you mind me asking how much they set you back?

Lumen

Home:Ballyhoura wrote: »

Wow, really nice wheels! Do you mind me asking how much they set you back?

€950.

Beasty

Home:Ballyhoura wrote: »

Wow, really nice wheels! Do you mind me asking how much they set you back?

Careful H:B - don't start getting ideas about splashing out a load of dosh on something you might end up wrecking again:D

sy

Nice wheels Lumen and it seems you did well on the Dollar exchange. Interested in a comprehensive review soon and well done in the TT.

blorg

Lumen wrote: »

Swissstop yellow seem to be a favourite, but are expensive.

Cheapest I've found them. I use them myself and they seem to brake well on both carbon and alloy. Substantially cheaper than the same pads listed as Swissstop. They come in a normal Swissstop packet just with a CRC label saying "DT Swiss RRC 1250 Brake Pads" stuck onto it.

Those wheels look really nice by the way.

Lumen

If my brakes look like this (Dia compe BRS 100):



...and my brake blocks look like this:



...then what's the best way to fit them? Do I need to buy a new carrier for the pads?

blorg

Lumen wrote: »

...then what's the best way to fit them? Do I need to buy a new carrier for the pads?

Yes, these are cheap and should take the Swissstops or you can spend a bit more if you want.

Do you have power data for the TT last night? Would be interested.

Lumen

blorg wrote: »

Do you have power data for the TT last night? Would be interested.

Attached (remove .txt suffix before importing).





The second graph shows how much below my 2010 critical power curve I was due to the back pain (yes, this is an excuse).

As I posted on the other thread, overall average power was 252W and average power over each of the four sectors was approx 245W, 245W, 250W, and 270W.

Diarmuid

So you are using GoldenCheetah. How do you find it?

Lumen

Diarmuid wrote: »

So you are using GoldenCheetah. How do you find it?

OK. I have had to create a new different riders with different subsets of rides, as the critical power calculation goes into a spin with files that have big time gaps in them (I have a lot of these for non-racing rides).

The critical power calculator is very interesting. I often see a dip and think "next ride I'll try and even that one out".

More here.

Diarmuid

Lumen wrote: »

OK. I have had to create a new different riders with different subsets of rides, as the critical power calculation goes into a spin with files that have big time gaps in them (I have a lot of these for non-racing rides).

The critical power calculator is very interesting. I often see a dip and think "next ride I'll try and even that one out".

More here.

I really like the PM and the histogram. So if I go out with the express intention of working in the sweet spot or threshold region I can see how well I did and if not how close I came.

GC never crashes for me. I'm on OSX PowerPC (ancient) and build from svn.

Do you build from source or download it?

Lumen

Diarmuid wrote: »

GC never crashes for me. I'm on OSX PowerPC (ancient) and build from svn.

Do you build from source or download it?

Download it. It doesn't crash much any more, just hangs with multi-day ride files - I'm convinced that the source of the problems is the way Garmin records data.

I end up having to spend loads of time manually splitting rides where the Garmin didn't do this properly.

I believe you don't use a Garmin.

Diarmuid

Lumen wrote: »

I believe you don't use a Garmin.

Not yet

Raam

I thought you might like this.

http://www.cyclingtipsblog.com/2010/04/biggest-bang-for-your-buck-in-time-trial-equipment/

Biggest Bang For Your Buck In Time Trial Equipment



The speed you can achieve on your bike is determined by two factors:

1. How much power you can produce

2. Wind resistance. The faster you go, the more wind drag you need to overcome.


A few months ago there was an excellent article in Velonews (Vol 39, No 3) about which aerodynamic equipment benefits most during an individual time trial. What they didn’t do is rank the cost vs. benefit for each piece of equipment and the associated time savings. Years ago I saw something like this done by cyclingnews and found it extremely interesting. Unfortunately it’s buried deep in the internet and is lost forever so I thought I’d rehash it for those of you who missed it.

The following chart shows the aerodynamic savings according to what www.aerosportsresearch.com calculated for Velonews (I bascially copied the photo above and the chart chart below and added in the approximate costs for each equipment piece).



A couple notes:

- These numbers are calculated for a rider over 40kms at a time of 48minutes. Faster than most of us could go!

- I don’t understand the rational of some of their wheel comparisons and why they didn’t calculate the difference between a standard rear wheel and a rear disc wheel. I tried calculating the numbers myself but couldn’t get them consistent with the numbers in the chart. In any case, this illustrates the point of the cost-benefit analysis.

Biggest Bang For Your Buck?

1. Using aerobars that allow you to get into a tuck position will be the cheapest thing you can do for the aerodynamic benefit. You can get a set of aerobars for $200 and they’ll save you a couple minutes in a 40km TT.

2. Getting a skinsuit will provide massive benefits. The only disclaimer is that the testing shown here was done on a specially designed skinsuit for Nike, not a standard skinsuit. I’m sure this skinsuit costs in excess of $1000, but you’ll realize large gains with a standard skinsuit as well. The chart above shows an extreme comparison between this Nike skinsuit and regular jersey/knicks in windtunnel testing.

3. Shoe Covers will cost you no more than $50 and could save you half a minute in 40kms. Shoe covers smooth turbulent air over the straps and buckles of the shoes.

4. Upgrading from a regular helmet to an aero helmet could save you over a minute for a $200 spend.

5. Time Trial Wheels are getting into the expensive end of TT equipment spectrum, but they do provide some good time savings and look very PRO. Having an aero front wheel will make the most significant difference and will cost the least of the two. Most of you probably already have a set of deep dish aero wheels for racing anyway. A rear disc wheel is one of the last items you should spend lots of money on if you’re looking for big savings. However, if you want to look cool this should be the first item on your list ;-) A good analysis of different wheel types vs drag in different wind conditions can be found on the HED website.

mloc123

Raam wrote: »

I thought you might like this.

http://www.cyclingtipsblog.com/2010/04/biggest-bang-for-your-buck-in-time-trial-equipment/

Crazy, shoe covers have the same effect as a disc :eek:

Beasty

At least it doesn't suggest shaving your legs makes a difference:P

Lumen

I did a club league 40km TT last night.

Garmin stats:

Distance: 40.4km
Time: 1:04:51
Power: 230W
HR: 171bpm
Cadence: 88rpm
Speed: 37.4kph
Equipment: TT bike, rear disc, front 50mm, pointy hat, cotton overshoes, club kit (not skinsuit).

5k splits:
#1: 242W, 165bpm, 93rpm
#2: 248W, 177bpm, 91rpm
#3: 223W, 172bpm, 88rpm <-- bad stitch
#4: 239W, 173bpm, 93rpm
#5: 228W, 171bpm, 86rpm
#6: 228W, 171bpm, 86rpm
#7: 210W, 166bpm, 83rpm <-- fading here
#8: 226W, 172bpm, 88rpm

The bad stitch happened after a van pulled out on me to do a 3pt turn, completely blocking the road. I waved violently at it and that triggered a stitch that lasted a few minutes; I had to sit up completely for a while to shift it.

Overall it felt comfortably hard. The legs didn't hurt like they did in the stage TT I did last month. The position felt relaxed. I moved around a bit on the sadde due to major crotchal numbness in the second half. Afterwards I felt very drained.

The last 40km TT I did (Aug 2009) was 1:09:07 @ 242W, 168bpm, 35kph, on a road bike with clip ons.

My best 30min power on the road bike is 275W @ 171bpm (2 Jun 2010). My predicted FTP is around 270W.

With the new bike and position I'm 7% faster than last year for 5% less power at a couple of bpm higher, same weight. However, I've 16% less power for the same HR compared to my road bike.

According to the calculator, in order to break the hour in my current position I need 273W, which is about what I can produce on the road bike.

Its weird that my power is down 16% for the same HR. My current limitation must be some combination of breathing and muscle recruitment.

At this stage I'm not too keen on changing position as I'm comfortable and aero, so for the time being I'll just try to ride my TT bike more often and hope that the power comes up. I've only ridden the hateful thing a handful of times, so I'm not bothered by my weak performances so far.

Caroline_ie

And that's what happens after the TT ,,, when asking if he was ok, Lumen said: ' I'm ok, It's just nice here'.
No time to make it smaller ...

Raam

That's good RAI prep right there.

abcdggs

Would the drop in power be considered due to the different position compared to a road bike?

mloc123

Are you using the turbo much these days? I find doing all my turbo work (just 2 sessions a week) on the tri bike makes a big difference. It really is all about spending time on that specific bike and tucked as possible, I think. If you don't have a fan get one, makes sitting in the garage tucked alot more bearable.

Lumen

abcdggs wrote: »

Would the drop in power be considered due to the different position compared to a road bike?

Yes.

mloc123 wrote: »

Are you using the turbo much these days? I find doing all my turbo work (just 2 sessions a week) on the tri bike makes a big difference.

No. Using the turbo in the summer is just miserable, fan or no fan. I just don't care that much about time trialling!

Part of the reason I haven't ridden my TT bike is that I prefer to go out around 9pm and I have nowhere to fit my front lights. I need to sort that out.

Lumen

Oh yeah, one more thing.

At the end I was sitting on the grass and noticed my calves pulsating. It was the wierdest thing ever, like I had a heart beating in each one.

Has anyone ever seen this before?

ROK ON

Well done on the improvement even if power is down.
I would take great encouragement from that.

Now don't kill me, but maybe the flexiness of the PX versus the stiffness of the Scott results in less power transfer.
I notice that I go much faster on my Kuota over the Dolan but would be less tired after. I have assumed that the Kuota was simply more efficient.

Get a real TT bike and you will do even better ;-)

ROK ON

Lumen wrote: »

Oh yeah, one more thing.

At the end I was sitting on the grass and noticed my calves pulsating. It was the wierdest thing ever, like I had a heart beating in each one.

Has anyone ever seen this before?

Yes. After a hard effort and not warming down.

Beasty

Zombie thread or what? I thought you'd killed this one off a couple of months ago.

One potentially material factor between your last effort and this one is the wind - it was quite calm last night - about 10kph N to NE, although I have no idea what it was like when you did the boards challenge last August.

EDIT - well done by the way. I think with the right conditions and a flatter course you could get pretty close to the hour mark

kennyb3

Beasty wrote: »

One potentially material factor between your last effort and this one is the wind - it was quite calm last night - about 10kph N to NE, although I have no idea what it was like when you did the boards challenge last August.

Have no idea where lumen was doing it but i can safely say it was not 10km/ph when i rode down the coat road to sutton, the flags at baldoyle where going mental and my return journey was close to 2km/ph slower than normal. All depends where you are though

mloc123

Lumen wrote: »

No. Using the turbo in the summer is just miserable, fan or no fan. I just don't

Maybe its stockholm syndrome but I have grown to love the turbo over the past 2/3 months. I know what you mean about lights on the TT bike tho', pita

DirkVoodoo

Lumen wrote: »

Oh yeah, one more thing.

At the end I was sitting on the grass and noticed my calves pulsating. It was the wierdest thing ever, like I had a heart beating in each one.

Has anyone ever seen this before?

When I sit with my legs crossed the "hanging" leg pulses quite noticeably in time with my heartbeat. It's very weird and very annoying.

Lumen

DirkVoodoo wrote: »

When I sit with my legs crossed the "hanging" leg pulses quite noticeably in time with my heartbeat. It's very weird and very annoying.

"Hanging leg"? I've not heard it called that before.

abcdggs

Lumen wrote: »

"Hanging leg"? I've not heard it called that before.

That was a quick edit

DirkVoodoo

Lumen wrote: »

"Hanging leg"? I've not heard it called that before.

I wasn't sure what to call it. Crossed leg? But they are both crossed. Top leg? I just thought hanging because one is on the ground and the other hangs over the top, swinging away.

Lumen

DirkVoodoo wrote: »

I wasn't sure what to call it. Crossed leg? But they are both crossed. Top leg? I just thought hanging because one is on the ground and the other hangs over the top, swinging away.

Whoosh!

DirkVoodoo

Lumen wrote: »

Whoosh!

Wotevah!

Raam

DirkVoodoo wrote: »

When I sit with my legs crossed the "hanging" leg pulses quite noticeably in time with my heartbeat. It's very weird and very annoying.

Same for me. I can feel my left leg pulsing now, like Lumen describes. Am I going to die of a heart attack?

DirkVoodoo

Raam wrote: »

Same for me. I can feel my left leg pulsing now, like Lumen describes. Am I going to die of a heart attack?

What am I, a doctor?