My TT Bike (Scott Plasma 2, 7.5kg w/ Hed3 + Super 9)

[woz9683]

Thanks guys. I'm pretty happy with the way it came out, I got the routing as clean as I could. And yes, those are the 404s on there, without the disc cover over the rear. I'll probably get a tri-spoke for the front at some point, I'd imagine that will look even cleaner. I'll try to get it back outside today to get some pics in better light, show the cable routing, etc.

With the full length shift housings going straight into the frame without stops, the housings were definitely rubbing badly. You could already see some heavy scrapes on the outside of the housings where they entered the frame. I used some insulating tape and wrapped the housings to create a little stop/pinch, I think it will keep the housings from shifting around so much while steering.

[woz9683]

And a couple of position shots. What do you think? These are stills from video, so should be a fairly accurate depiction of my position. I need to concentrate on keeping my head down and just eyes up, if I do that my head/helmet lines look much better.

[woz9683]

So, that's 7.43kg with the disc cover on, as shown.

I have a couple of questions.
- Anyone using the Arundel chrono? It feels like its holding the bottle solid side-to-side, but if I barely nudge it in a direction straight away from the cage it practically falls out. Just does not seem stable, which surprises me from Arundel.
- Speed/cadence sensor? I'll use my Edge 500, so obviously I get speed from GPS and I don't know how dependable the speed readout would be off a disc or disc cover anyway, and I'm just wondering if its even worth it for cadence only. I guess it will be nice for trainer miles.
- Helmet? Looks and feels really high on my head and I have to shove it way back to get good contact with my back. Should I be looking at other options. (can't believe I cropped it out of the stupid video, but I think you get the idea from what is showing)
- Oh yeah, one of our new sponsors for next year. I need to find out more details on the hub and the weight, but I should get a really good deal on this:

[woz9683]

Yeah, a power meter is on my long-term list still, and I think a wind tunnel is out of my league, but I'll keep playing around with it. Good point on the crank length, that is a 172.5, I will go to a standard crank to get a bigger ring at some point, and I'll plan on going down to a 170 when I do.

I like the Wingspan, almost got one instead of the Advantage last year. I was kind of thinking about something with a visor though, the Selector maybe.

Hope the pictures do help, the top tube routing doesn't look great from above, but very clean from the front which is what matters I suppose. Did you notice the little "plugs" I put on the shift housings where they enter the top tube? Those are the rub points, and definitely need something to 1)keep the housing from working its way down the tube eventually effecting steering as it pulls taut at the top, and 2)wearing/rubbing the cable housings in the process.

[miltmaster3]

if you are planing to race on a TT race you are bun!!!! look and you will see why (the nose of the saddle must be 5cm from the center of your crank) it took me 2 months to find the right position

http://www.slowtwitch.com/mainheadings/ ... rules.html

if you are planing to race on a triathlon then you are ok

[TerribleCadence]

if you are planing to race on a TT ... the nose of the saddle must be 5cm from the center of your crank)

Only relevant if its a UCI sanctioned event. Not an evening TT series

[woz9683]

Yeah, it won't be an issue for me. However, I had noticed that, and measured just out of curiousity. I'm actually 2.5-3cm behind the center of the BB. That last side-view picture is a bit deceiving too, the fence line makes it look almost inline, but the front wheel is slightly downhill. If it did become an issue for some event, I could slide the saddle back a couple cm and sit a little further out on the nose. The no-slip on the nose of the Prologo is nice for that, I didn't feel myself shifting around at all.

I did get out on the road for a short time yesterday. I've got a nice, slightly rolling road where I can put some real miles in. I noticed a few things. First, I rolled over some reflectors in the road and almost immediately ejected the water bottle. I'd really like some opinions from anyone with similar experiences (or disimilar, maybe mine is defective, twisted out of the mold or something), or on an aero bottle/cage that actually holds in place.

Second, the disc was surprisingly hard to control. I've never ridden anything deeper than the 404s, but never had any issue at all with them in some pretty strong crosswinds, but man, I really felt like I was fighting it yesterday. It seemed like once I got up around 27-28mph I got a strong gyroscopic effect; I was trying to counter-steer for the crosswind and it didn't want to let me Now, this road runs north-south with winds out of the west, so I expected the crosswind, but didn't think it would be that difficult to control (and the wind wasn't that bad yesterday either). I'm 5'10" 155lbs so not heavy, but not terribly light either. I kept thinking maybe the cover wasn't screwed on tightly and it was gapping open at some point, but I checked and all the fittings were tight. Only other thing was I didn't cover the slot for the valve stem, myabe that didn't help? In any case, I'll take it back out this afternoon and give it another run, maybe I just need to get used to it.

Everything else felt great, it's going to be a lot of fun to ride. I'll do some short TT intervals today, I didn't really push anything difficult for too long yesterday, losing light too fast

[woz9683]

Yes, the blade seems to have been a good choice. I put the bike on the trainer and shifted back and forth repeatedly to get the feel of friction shifting, and it shifted very cleanly. I don't notice any noise from it on the road, although I'd imagine if you did have some noise from the drivetrain it would probably amplify it; it's such a thin plate in some areas. It also seems stiff enough, I haven't done any real sprint efforts, but for normal use, fine so far. In the end, I felt comfortable getting it because it's only a 50T and I live in MS, so I don't really shift off of the big ring that much.

I felt much more comfortable controlling the bike when I got back out on the road on Sunday, in similar conditions, so maybe I just got used to the feel quickly (I hope anyway). I did several short, intense intervals and clocked times that were comparable to season bests for me on hillier terrain than normal. The tuck is much more compact than what I was getting into on the road bike, and mainly pulling my elbows in so much made my shoulders sore after a while, but I'll get used to that. Overall, I did 30 miles in relative comfort in a nice aero position, only stretching a few times; it was more than I was expecting for just the second day on the bike.

Another question; the right shifter has this little plastic bushing in it that doesn't seem to be doing anything, it just fits loosely inside the housing. It rattles around with any road vibration and gets annoying, I was going to add a little grease or oil to it, but I don't have any idea why it's even in there? I can take pictures if needed.

[woz9683]

It's the SRAM TT900 index shifter. I'll take a pic tonight. Maybe I can find a blowup view from SRAM, installed in the wrong order perhaps.

I'll have to look at the blade again to be sure, but my first impression was that it looks like the new KCNC cobweb from the inside, but they left a thin sheet of material in between the "spokes" to keep that solid look on the outside. I'll try to get a pic of the inside tonight too, maybe get a caliper on it as well, to see how thin the material actually is.

I'll get it back on the trainer and really crank on it for a few miles tonight too, see if I can flex it.

[woz9683]

I noticed fairwheel has a pretty good shot of the backside of the chainring on their site. Here's the one I took though.

Here's the shifter. The little white plastic ring is just floating around behind the red cap. Thoughts?

[woz9683]

Hed3c came in, looks sweet! Here's a crappy phone pic.


SRAM Red TT crankset on the way as well. 54/42t, 170mm with the SRAM tt outer ring. Got a good deal, and it came with a ceramic BB, which I need to change on my road bike before next season anyway.

[hansonator69]

Hed3c came in, looks sweet! Here's a crappy phone pic.

Get a Highroad decal on your HED3, for the nostalgic Highroad look

[woz9683]

What if I matched the font and put my actual team name on the wheel? I don't wear team kit during TTs, so that would be a good way to give them some recognition. Yellow isn't one of our colors, but it would make people look twice (or I could do it in white).

[jdp211]

I think that'd be pretty slick, but keep it true with the yellow. Keen eyes will recognize it, I know I would!

[woz9683]

Alright, I'm going to see what I can do. Team is "absolute racing" so I can do "absolute" on one side and "racing" on the other. Just a single spoke, of course.