22mph threshold

[jonnydee]

Hello all,
I am interested in getting into time trialling, in a sort of non serious way, and have read that you can begin to consider yourself pretty good at it once you can ride 25 miles in an hour. However, I just cant seem to ride at over 22mph for more than say 5 minutes or so. I just seem to hit a brick wall at that speed. I have heard that that is the speed at which aerodynamics comes into play, but it doesnt feel like that is the problem (I have a normal 1000quid road bike). It feels like the bike just doesnt want to go faster than that! So my question is, what do Ihave to do to be able to ride at , say 27 mph for half an hour or so? Can it really just be training? If so, what kind? Or do I need to splash out an a TT bike (heaven forbid)?
Finally I wanted to know about saddle height for this discipline. Should I be spinning on a lowish saddle (heel on pedal measuring method) or putting it up a cm. or so from that height?
Any advice much appreciated. Thanks!
Jon

 

[Oldman]

Hello all,
I am interested in getting into time trialling, in a sort of non serious way, and have read that you can begin to consider yourself pretty good at it once you can ride 25 miles in an hour. However, I just cant seem to ride at over 22mph for more than say 5 minutes or so. I just seem to hit a brick wall at that speed. I have heard that that is the speed at which aerodynamics comes into play, but it doesnt feel like that is the problem (I have a normal 1000quid road bike). It feels like the bike just doesnt want to go faster than that! So my question is, what do Ihave to do to be able to ride at , say 27 mph for half an hour or so? Can it really just be training? If so, what kind? Or do I need to splash out an a TT bike (heaven forbid)?
Finally I wanted to know about saddle height for this discipline. Should I be spinning on a lowish saddle (heel on pedal measuring method) or putting it up a cm. or so from that height?
Any advice much appreciated. Thanks!
Jon

Find someone you know that time trials well and ask them how to train and to look at your normal road bike position before you spend any money. If you want to break an hour in a 40K you should be able to get within 2-3 minutes on a standard bike with a good position and reasonably aero wheels. Riding steady-state at your perceived maximum speed as a regular training regimen will not necessarily help.

 

[krebs303]

I increased my top speed by doing intervals. After good base training I would do timed intervals 15sec x 3 times till I worked up to 10x. over a period of 3 weeks. Then would drop to 5x but increase duration. My speed went up across the board.

 

[Condorman]

Hello all,
I am interested in getting into time trialling, in a sort of non serious way, and have read that you can begin to consider yourself pretty good at it once you can ride 25 miles in an hour. However, I just cant seem to ride at over 22mph for more than say 5 minutes or so. I just seem to hit a brick wall at that speed. I have heard that that is the speed at which aerodynamics comes into play, but it doesnt feel like that is the problem (I have a normal 1000quid road bike). It feels like the bike just doesnt want to go faster than that! So my question is, what do Ihave to do to be able to ride at , say 27 mph for half an hour or so? Can it really just be training? If so, what kind? Or do I need to splash out an a TT bike (heaven forbid)?
Finally I wanted to know about saddle height for this discipline. Should I be spinning on a lowish saddle (heel on pedal measuring method) or putting it up a cm. or so from that height?
Any advice much appreciated. Thanks!
Jon

Join a club. Give up fags, alcohol, burgers and ****ing. Watch, listen and learn.

 

[jonnydee]

hmm

not sure about giving up the latter (surfing? LOL) I thought that was just supposed to be abstained on pre race days. Anyway - thanks! Nice to know that I can carry on with my usual bike until I get much closer to the the goal of 25mph. Also good advice to push myself harder perhaps. Thanks
Any ideas about the seat height issue?

 

[krebs303]

Here is a start on TT/Tri bike fit.

Tour de Bike Fit

 

[Tapeworm]

1. Speed is a horrible measure of fitness unless you are in the relatively sterile environment of an indoor velodrome. There are too many factors which can effect it and thus give you good and back feedback.

2. How fast you go is largely determined by two things - the power you put out and the coefficient of drag.

3. At the Tour of Oman the pros were hitting ~41.5km on some hilly terrain on road bikes for the TT ie: you can go plenty fast on a standard road bike.

4. The biggest contributor to drag is YOU. So a lower position can be good. Clip on aerobars, aero helmet, skinsuit, aero gloves (smooth lycra) or no gloves, booties etc can all help the "aeroness" of your total package. If you are really keen then look at TT frames, wheels etc.

5. To improve power over a 30min period is you need to work on your aerobic system. Lots and lots of ways to do this. Google is your friend. But I would look at doing twice a week - 2 x 20min efforts @ TT pace. Then down to 2 x 10 mins and 3 (or 4) x 5 min closer to the event.

6. Biggest tip for TTs - Don't go out too hard. In case you missed that, Don't go out too hard, Don't go out too hard,Don't go out too hardDon't go out too hardDon't go out too hardDon't go out too hardDon't go out too hardDon't go out too hardDon't go out too hardDon't go out too hard!

If you smash it from the GO you'll dive into oxygen debt and loose valuable time while you "recover". The first few minutes should feel easy. Power meters help greatly here. Pacing is very important in a TT, the more you do the better you will get at this. You should just be able to cross the line before falling in a heap. If you can sprint for the line you've probably held back too much.

7. A decent warmup can help. Don't over do it, 20mins on a turbo trainer or rollers with a couple of TT pace efforts and you're good to go.

8. Last and most important. A professional fitting should be able to optimise your position on a road bike if TTs are your thing. Power CAN be sacrificed if you are a) more aero for it, b) are still comfortable. Don't be changing seat height or the like too dramatically, you can really mess up things with knees etc. Once your have a good seat height, glue that sucker, and don't touch it.

 

[Rock7586]

Very well put.

 

[tubularglue]

Join a club. Give up fags, alcohol, burgers and ****ing. Watch, listen and learn.

hands down, best advice EVER

 

[PainIsYourFriend]

1. Speed is a horrible measure of fitness unless you are in the relatively sterile environment of an indoor velodrome. There are too many factors which can effect it and thus give you good and back feedback.

2. How fast you go is largely determined by two things - the power you put out and the coefficient of drag.

3. At the Tour of Oman the pros were hitting ~41.5km on some hilly terrain on road bikes for the TT ie: you can go plenty fast on a standard road bike.

4. The biggest contributor to drag is YOU. So a lower position can be good. Clip on aerobars, aero helmet, skinsuit, aero gloves (smooth lycra) or no gloves, booties etc can all help the "aeroness" of your total package. If you are really keen then look at TT frames, wheels etc.

5. To improve power over a 30min period is you need to work on your aerobic system. Lots and lots of ways to do this. Google is your friend. But I would look at doing twice a week - 2 x 20min efforts @ TT pace. Then down to 2 x 10 mins and 3 (or 4) x 5 min closer to the event.

6. Biggest tip for TTs - Don't go out too hard. In case you missed that, Don't go out too hard, Don't go out too hard,Don't go out too hardDon't go out too hardDon't go out too hardDon't go out too hardDon't go out too hardDon't go out too hardDon't go out too hardDon't go out too hard!

If you smash it from the GO you'll dive into oxygen debt and loose valuable time while you "recover". The first few minutes should feel easy. Power meters help greatly here. Pacing is very important in a TT, the more you do the better you will get at this. You should just be able to cross the line before falling in a heap. If you can sprint for the line you've probably held back too much.

7. A decent warmup can help. Don't over do it, 20mins on a turbo trainer or rollers with a couple of TT pace efforts and you're good to go.

8. Last and most important. A professional fitting should be able to optimise your position on a road bike if TTs are your thing. Power CAN be sacrificed if you are a) more aero for it, b) are still comfortable. Don't be changing seat height or the like too dramatically, you can really mess up things with knees etc. Once your have a good seat height, glue that sucker, and don't touch it.

Just wondering about the 20 min intervals. Is it better to stay in the saddle for the whole interval? Or should you get up and smash those little hills as if you're racing? Or does it matter at all and it just comes down to personal riding style? Cheers

 

[Tapeworm]

Just wondering about the 20 min intervals. Is it better to stay in the saddle for the whole interval? Or should you get up and smash those little hills as if you're racing? Or does it matter at all and it just comes down to personal riding style? Cheers

Generally the "prescription" for 20min intervals are for steady state, ie: reaching a power output and holding it. That being said specificity is always a key factor in training so no reason why short efforts cannot be introduced, but best to keep them in the range of your aerobic tolerance, and then ensure you are "recovered" before resuming.