bward1028

i've seen it done, but is anyone here using a fixed gear as a dedicated time trial bike? i'd like to see how others have done it, because i'm considering it for this racing season. i imagine i'd have to find a gearing that wouldn't be too big or small, and that i would be able to spin and get up to a good speed.
ps, search sucked.

c0urt

try the guys in the track forum. they know how to get good speed.

not that we arent fast. but for serious help. i would look there to

andre nickatina

if you have a pista concept with an hed3 on the front, you're in luck. simply swap out the risers for aerobars, add a disc in the back and throw on a couple brakes. voila! time trialists will cry when they see your racing machine.

bward1028

^case in point?

trons

no holes in a pista concept, dog

andre nickatina

blatantly violating UCI rules ftw!

c0urt

i said look there to

i ride a time trial bike, I just didnt feel qualified to give advice

Briareos

I used to (still am, I guess) interested in fixed-gear time-trials. I started a thread in the road-racing subforum almost a year ago and found it useful:

https://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...ighlight=fixed

Here is a great CyclingNews article on Stuart O'Grady's fixed-gear TT bike for the Giro d'Italia prologue course:

https://www.cyclingnews.com/road/2005...ech/?id=wilier

Fixed-Gear time-trials are popular in the UK (as is TT'ing in general). Any pictures you find of fixed-gear TT'ers are more often than not English racers.

Momentum

Search google and you might find some stuff. I've heard about it (as the guy above says it's popular in the UK). Gearing depends on you and the course so try a few combos and see how it goes. I think around 90" would be a good starting point, as TTers usually go for slightly lower cadence for power than would be used on a track. Position and set up is pretty much as it would be for a geared TT bike.

shogun17

hell yes. with an 808 up front.

bward1028

well, that's almost exactly what i'd be doing. BFSSFG IRO and all. neuvation wheels, too

Doctor Who

I used to race a 10 mile time-trial series on my converted LeMond Zurich, with Syntace bullhorns and a Profile aerobar. As I would ride the bike in Cincinnati, a pretty hilly place, I was running a ratio of 42x15, but the time-trial course was on heavily rolling terrain, so the ratio actually worked out pretty well. I remember that I would spin out on some downhill sections, and I'd have to bleed some speed with my brake, but so did everyone else on their geared bikes.

I also put in some excellent times. I'm no powerhouse, but I definitely came in the top-third on more than one occasion. I also did a couple of races on my geared bike and my times were only marginally better. However, that geared bike was a cyclocross bike, so I guess it's a bit of a wash.

I have no doubts that if I were to go out there on my 'real' road bike, that I'd put in a very good time, likely better. However, I really felt no major disadvantage by racing on a fixed – the climbs up the rollers would have hurt just as bad as they would on a geared bike, and I think that by riding on a fixed with a set ratio, I was actually faster in the climbing portions than some of those guys on geared bikes...except for the big guns on the Felt TT rigs with Zipp discs. Those guys were always faster than me.

Psydotek

I did a triathlon afew weekends ago on my fixed gear bike. The 12 mile out-and-back course was pretty flat and the gearing i've got is 46x17. I can maintain 20mph easily though if i hadn't run 3 miles immediately beforehand (it was a reverse tri) i could have pushed it up to 22mph. While i don't plan on changing my rear cog (at least not until it's worn) i feel i could've run a higher gear if i wasn't tired from running already.

visitordesign

my guch was designed to go both ways:

asherlighn

I never get tired of seeing that Yamaguchi.

xylophonecks

that bike is ****ing gorgeous.

i didn't realize that was yours

artblur@artblur

+1

Yoshi

Fixed gears are UCI legal for TTs, as long as they have at least a front brake.

I plan on using my track bike for time trials next year as I already have a pretty good pursuit-setup for it.

Yoshi

Oh, and I've ridden that Yamaguchi. Jealous?

xylophonecks

indeed.

bward1028

quote of the day?

andre nickatina

the joke was that since a pista concept has no brake holes as trons so quickly pointed out, you'd be riding my suggested concept w/ hed3 brakeless and therefore against UCI rules.

marqueemoon

Seems ok for a short, straight tt or a hill climb. If you have to take it easy in the corners to avoid striking a pedal you're going to lose a lot of time. Ditto if you're going to be topping out your gearing on descents.

ex_ssn_yn1

how much did you say you're selling it for?

bward1028

man, i really want to do this now. it sounds like fun! i hate time trials anyways, so i might as well enjoy myself.
i was looking at results from a race last year. 4.5km course, out and back. top time in what will be my division was 6min 24 sec.
if i can push 53/14, i can get up over 40kph at 90rpm, which is actually a little above the average speed of the top 5 riders. interesting. something to think about, for sure.