Let's See Your Time Trial bike

[mattr]

Depends on which 80 TBH. But generally, it'll be fine.
Regularly saw people testing on 80's (and occasionally on deeper!)

Caveat is that it's not too gusty! Some wheels are worse than others with gusty winds.

[Jugi]

What's the feeling of time-trialing on a 80mm front? I have never used anything higher than 50 up front and is tempting to try a 80...

In general the deeper wheel is faster, but there is a possibility to lose performance in crosswinds. It depends on how relaxed you are on your bike. During last season one of my races had about 5m/s steady crosswind and 8m/s gusts. In hindsight I would have propably been faster on a 50mm (or even a 38mm) than a 80mm, as the wind was breaking my rhythm and concentration.

[CrankAddictsRich]

I've raced on an 88 front the last two years. It can be a little sketchy if the wind is up, but otherwise deeper is faster.

[Shrike]

What wind speed would you consider too blowy for an 80? Just picked up an 808 front, but won't be able to test it for a while. Used a 404 on the road bike in anything up to 19mph before (not that I'd advise it).

Was thinking the 808 could be for sub 10mph wind days.

[mrlobber]

I did several k kms on a 808 Firecrest front, and I remember only one occasion where a passing truck almost threw me sideways. Otherwise, I've been fine and in control. YMMV, and it's better to start with something less deep if you're not sure.

[mattr]

What wind speed would you consider too blowy for an 80?

Depends on the rim, and how gusty it is........ TBH it's one of those things where i'd take a couple of sets of wheels and make a call a few minutes before the start. (if i had mulitple deep section wheels to choose from)

I mean, i used to do that with MTB tyres, take a couple of sets of pre set up wheels with a combination of suitable tyres based on the course and weather over the last few days. Then choose after a pre ride and just before gridding. In 250+ races i reckon i got it wrong less than half a dozen times (on those occasions i had spare wheels available!)

[Shrike]

Yeah that's wise

Generally speaking should you find it easier to control deep wheels on the TT bike because you have more weight over the front, or does the narrowness of the extensions and hand position negate that?

[Jugi]

Generally speaking should you find it easier to control deep wheels on the TT bike because you have more weight over the front, or does the narrowness of the extensions and hand position negate that?

I find the narrowness negates the weight distribution benefit. In my opinion it is basic physics - if contact points are further apart (ie. road bike handlebar), bike's unwanted movements do not affect the rider's balance so easily. If contact points are closer together, unwanted movements are harder to control.

[jekyll man]

What wind speed would you consider too blowy for an 80? Just picked up an 808 front, but won't be able to test it for a while. Used a 404 on the road bike in anything up to 19mph before (not that I'd advise it).

Was thinking the 808 could be for sub 10mph wind days.

It depends more on what you are using on the back; ie it should be a greater depth than the front.
Running a pair of similar height wheels can cause buffeting of the front more than the depth being the reason.

Also how your front wheel interacts with the fork and affects it stalling is a contributory factor,

[Nefarious86]

It has to be a properly unpleasant wind for me to not run the 808. As long as it's not changing constantly then the 808 is fine even with bigger steady wind if you stay loose and keep on the pedals.

[CrankAddictsRich]

What wind speed would you consider too blowy for an 80?

Depends on the rim, and how gusty it is........ TBH it's one of those things where i'd take a couple of sets of wheels and make a call a few minutes before the start. (if i had mulitple deep section wheels to choose from)

I mean, i used to do that with MTB tyres, take a couple of sets of pre set up wheels with a combination of suitable tyres based on the course and weather over the last few days. Then choose after a pre ride and just before gridding. In 250+ races i reckon i got it wrong less than half a dozen times (on those occasions i had spare wheels available!)

I did this last year, for my first race with the 88/Disc combo... the first race of our season is out on a beach road in a national park. Even on the best days, the wind condtions on this course can be scary. I brought the 88 front + disc rear on the bike, but also had a 60 front and 88 rear along with me.. so I could run 88/disc or 88/88 or 60/88 or 60/disc. I got to the course early (very early) and took a pre-ride to see what the wind felt like. I decided it was fine to go 88/disc and that's what I raced.

Generally speaking should you find it easier to control deep wheels on the TT bike because you have more weight over the front, or does the narrowness of the extensions and hand position negate that?

I find the narrowness negates the weight distribution benefit. In my opinion it is basic physics - if contact points are further apart (ie. road bike handlebar), bike's unwanted movements do not affect the rider's balance so easily. If contact points are closer together, unwanted movements are harder to control.

I totally agree... the first ime I got on a TT bike was scary. the closeness of the contact points at the front really changed things. I also spent a lot of time building up core strength prior to last race season and that seemed to help a lot as well.

[Shrike]

@ crank How long did it take you to confidently be able to go full gas on the TT bike? Thing I'm concerned about is having to do U-turns on narrow mini roundabouts. I won't get much road time on mine this winter so wondering if I can quickly play catchup skill wise come spring. I had clip-ons on my road bike on the trainer last winter and when I went out on it in spring it was a nightmare. Super twitchy and unstable. Definitely was setup all wrong, but on the trainer it seemed fine! eBay'd the clip-ons after a few tries outdoors. Nice setup by the way, you look strong too

@nefarious - that's the kinda answer I like

Finally ordered some brakes. Didn't get the Tri-Rig front brake I was eyeing up, will save that for a treat next year. Got SRAM aerolinks on eBay for £100 so that'll do for now.

Will get pic up build up when they arrive.

[CrankAddictsRich]

I guess it depends on what you mean by "confident enough to go full-gas." I had the bike all built up and ready to ride in July of 2017... I raced it in two TT's toward the end of the summer and was defintiely a little sketchy in the first one. Throughout the fall of 2017 I did a bunch of training rides on it.. maybe a total of 250 miles or so.. 10 rides, 25 or so miles for each. Then, in 2018, as I started building up my training for the race season and weather started getting nicer, I began using it for 1 or 2 training rides a week. I was also adding in steady core training... pushups and planks to get the back, chest, shoulders etc, used to holding that position. By the time race season kicked in, I felt fine and I was defintiely trying to go as fast as I could in every race, not really worried about the handling of the bike.... that being said, most of our TT's are fairly straight forward from a technical perspective for the course.. out and back, one-way and some circuit courses, but even those don't have any crazy technical turns. I felt ok on the bike all season, but it definitely doesn't handle the way a road bike does. Just like anything, the more time you spend the more comfortable you will get.

[Shrike]

Sounds like you adapted to it pretty quickly actually

Hoping for the same!

[NiFTY]

I have never run anything but my reynolds aero 90 front and rear in races or training rides(Don't have a disc). Although it can be a bit tricky in severe crosswinds it have never got off the extensions because of wind during a race. Going faster actually helps your stability too i find.

Refining and practising the position to be comfortable is essential. I felt i was going to die for the first few rides, and not having the brakes at hand is disconcerting. You will get used to it. Core work is also great advice. Enjoy the learning experience.