TEAM TIME TRIALLERS TESTED
THE CHALLENGE WAS TO RIDE FROM COAST TO COAST, SO WE GOT OUR TUCK ON TO SEE IF WE COULD PICK UP THE PACE TEAM TIME TRIAL-STYLE...
We ride coast to coast on four entry-level time trial bikes to see where the aero advantages lie.
There are many ways to cover long distances on a bike. The traditional panniers and pubs touring route, the bike packing adventure approach, or rattle along on a road bike reasoning. Then there’s the fastest timetrial-it option.
We wanted to discover just how practical that last one is? How uncomfortable is a purely speedfocused position after an hour, let alone hour after hour. Do the aero benefits still win out over a full day or does fatigue from an unfamiliar position punish you when it comes to overall performance?
We’re stood on Morecambe seafront early in the morning with four entry-level time trial/ triathlon bikes with the Irish Sea behind us and a full day of riding all the way to the North Sea at Bridlington ahead.
Recipeforsuccess
Looking at our four machines, the most obvious part of the rapid recipe is the cockpit. Gear shifters sit at the end of long tri-bar extensions for your hands, while forearms are cradled in padded cups. This keeps your front profile low and narrow to minimise drag, and takes the weight off your wrists. Seeing as you’re meant to spend the vast majority of time on the extensions, the conventional bar position is achieved with vestigial base bars or cow horns. Evolved from upturned, cut-down drops, these are just enough to hold the brake levers and give you somewhere to put your hands when it’s not safe to be on the tri bars. As well as the actual bars, the front end of the frames are kept low so those limber enough can get their backs as flat as possible to minimise drag.
Frame aerodynamics are a big part of maximising efficiency. Boardman and Giant use partial Kammtail profiles where the back is sliced
The most obvious part of the rapid recipe is the cockpit
off the traditional teardrop tube shape to create a tail of turbulence that proponents say smooths out overall airflow, especially in semisidewind situations. Stays and forks are slimmed down as much as possible to slice through the air. Seat-tubes are cutaway at the back to wrap around the rear wheel and hide it from the wind. On the Boardman and the Planet X it’s just a subtle missing segment on a conventionally angled seat-tube, while the Dolan and Giant use a full curved lower section with a vertical top and seatpost arrangement. To keep tyre clearances as tight and aero effective as possible, rearward facing horizontal dropouts are used to fine tune wheel position. Only the Dolan and Planet X get set screws to make sure the wheel doesn’t slip under pedal pressure.
Even brakes and their position are different on aero bikes. Rear brakes are hidden under the bottom bracket on the Boardman, Dolan and Giant, the last two also hide their front brakes behind/inside the fork legs. The Boardman and Giant use direct-mounted TRP U-brakes under the bottom bracket, while side-pull V-brakes (also TRP) bite on the front wheel of the Giant and both wheels of the Dolan.
The handling of aero bikes isn’t nearly as sketchy as it used to be. Head angles are often slightly slacker than a conventional road bike for a safe and stable steering feel when you’re down on the tri bars with limited leverage. This is especially useful if you’re going to upgrade to
deeper section wheels, which the wind is likely to tug around more.
The only other big adjustment you might have to make - apart from the bar setup - is that seat angles are generally steeper. It’s a move pioneered by triathletes as they found a more open pelvis angle made the transition from riding to running easier. Even if you’re just riding the more forward position offsets the fact that you’re likely to be bent lower over the bar. Most of the bikes here have seatposts with multiposition clamps to tune that effective seat angle.Sitin
It’s the seat angles and seats themselves that are the focus of the first few miles. The bluntnosed Fizik saddles (standard on the Boardman, an optional upcharge on the Dolan) are causing myself and Ryan grief, despite following the advice to run them a centimetre lower than normal. It’s not just the truncated shape that we’re struggling to adapt to, it’s the grippy, soft rubber cover. Excellent for pushing against when milling a monster gear on a 10-mile time trial, but by stopping shorts sliding around, you slide on the shorts instead, causing us a worrying amount of friction. Ryan has the more forgiving frame on the Dolan and he’s happy to start steady, tucking in on the back of the pack as I pull us past stationary contraflow on the bypass towards Kirkby Lonsdale. I’m not surprised when Ben cruises past on the Giant Trinity and lifts my 35kph pace past 40kph. I know from preliminary test rides that the Trinity feels like a proper power bike. While reach is average for a medium TT bike and the ‘hockey stick’ extensions are short, its tall 140mm headtube, plenty of spacers under the tri bars and ample Kammtail seatpost mean it’s the obvious bike for the biggest rider in our quartet. The split-nose ISM saddle has a convex shape that cradles its host more kindly than the Fiziks, and Ben looks totally comfortable as I tuck the aggressively-aero Boardman ATT 9.0 into his considerable wind shadow.
Alteredimages
Rich is hunkered down on the Planet X Stealth. The shortest head-tube of all the bikes and the EVA rubber cups of the cheap and cheerful tri bars of this bargain build are pretty position prescriptive. The Stealth frame is a seasoned campaigner, and while it doesn’t feel as advantageously aero as the other bikes, the Panaracer tyres and skinnier frame tubes keep life in the conventional saddle comfortable. Rich is the only one clicking through the cogs with SRAM tip shifters on the Force-equipped bike, while the rest of us wrangle ratios with Shimano 105. Not bad considering the Planet X is at least £700 cheaper than the others.
I know from preliminary test rides that the Trinity feels like a proper power bike
We’re 30km into the route at Wray by the time photographer Russ escapes the clogged traffic of Morecambe and catches us up as the parcours changes from busy road to basically deserted. As the Dales rise closer, climbing king Ryan is keen to push the pace through the 175mm cranks of the Dolan Scala. While the soft compound Mavic tyres aren’t the fastest rolling on smooth roads their compliant carcass and tubeless setup on the semi-aero Cosmic UST wheels help sustain smooth speed on rough road surfaces.
When we’re neatly lined out nose to tail, the aero advantage inherent in these bikes is obvious. Even into a persistent headwind mid-30kph cruising is comfortable, and we regularly roll past 40kph on sheltered sections. Even with enough space to get off the extensions and grab for the brakes in an emergency, staying safe at the back of the pack is more a case of sitting up or pulling out of the drafting line to avoid freewheeling into the wheels in front rather than having to put pressure on the pedals.
It’s not just the aero advantage of group riding that’s helping. Concentrating on pack position, not clipping wheels and maintaining the optimum gap all without touching the brakes at 25mph keep our minds off the more painful parts of the bent-double, burning-shoulders, pressurised-perineum bike fit none of us are used to. Still, the taller extension positioning and tubeless tyres of the Dolan and Giant don’t seem to be slowing Ben and Ryan down as we steam into Settle.
Upwardlymiserable
Even into a persistent headwind mid-30kph cruising is comfortable
We know our slightly modified coast to coast route claws up out of Settle steeply, but the fact the first few metres are on cobble setts is another twist of the knife. Ben is having to grunt hard to keep the extra kilo of Trinity going, while the combination of full-sized 53x39 chainrings and shorter-than-I’mused-to 170mm cranks on the Boardman means I’m soon zigzagging across the road to maintain momentum. Low base bars and arm rests that scuff the knees if you get too far forward out of the saddle don’t help. Close-ratio cassettes that work so well on the flat aren’t so splendid as we grind towards the summit. Russ cheerily sending us back down several bends worth of bloody hard hill doesn’t improve our mood. It takes a herd of Highland cattle blocking the road at the top to restore our sense of humour.
As we fly on towards the next dale Ben is using the stability-boosting short trail fork and frontend stiffness of the Giant to lead the way through
sweeping corners at 70kph-plus. The smoothness of the Dolan is keeping Ryan calm too, but the twitchier, sharper handling of the Boardman means I’m on the base bars more and bringing up the back of the pack. It never takes long to close the gaps back up under power or when I feel happy to tuck. Rich meanwhile seems to be making more of a meal of closing gaps the faster the group goes.
The speed stays high as the road levels out to a rolling swell. We’re onto the tiniest, grasscentred roads as we shortcut south of Grassington towards Appletreewick, and while gravel bikes might be more suitable for the surface, the route as a whole has been more beautiful and traffic free than I expected.
There’s no escaping the big grunt over Greenhow Hill, and it’s back to scraping knees on arm rests in bottom gear as we hit the vertical first pitch. My constant eating strategy backfires as I drop an energy bar. By the time Rich hands it back and I’ve scoffed it, our so far tight-knit group is spread out over a kilometre of rising moorland road.
Knowing the characters involved, Ben and Ryan won’t be able to help trying to hurt each other up and over the tops past Stump Cross caverns, and Rich will dig deep to try and close the gap. With only 90km of 260km done I’m happy to settle into a steady tempo and tuck as low as possible into the headwind. Twitchy Boardman handling means I lose more time
With only 90km of 260km done I’m happy to settle into a steady tempo
down the flat-out fast into the twisty steep section descending trap of Greenhow Hill that’s claimed a lot of casualties over the years. We regroup with a snack stop at Pateley Bridge.
The Boardman uses its massive chainstays and solid power delivery to lever its unforgiving 39x28 bottom gear over the summit of Smelthouses climb and around the winding Brimham Rocks road comfortably on the front of the group. I’m still feeling great at another picture stop in the beautiful Studley Roger deer park near Fountains Abbey but it’s Rich in the lead, pointing the Planet X towards his home in Boroughbridge where we’ve got a slap-up lunch and a pot of saddle cream waiting at exactly halfway, in distance terms. It only takes a quick glance at the pointy profile behind us and flatlands ahead to realise that we’re well over halfway in terms of workload. Thankfully the short, taped sections of base bar and burning saddle nose friction are no more painful after seven hours of faffing, photographs and stop/start riding than they were after 20 minutes. Balancing cadence against speed on
the Wahoo Elemnt squeezed between the extensions I’m surprised to see a steady, slow pedal churn yields 2kph more on average than a spin at the same perceived intensity. I’m happy to string the others out for a full hour to York, then nip them through the traffic-free but tourist crammed town centre while they digest their dinner.
Dragracing
The big bladed front end of the Trinity isn’t forgiving in terms of comfort and Ben should probably be on a large as post-ride analysis shows he’s 20 watts down on his normal cruising power. Finding the optimum position on an aero bike is a case of balancing drag reduction with the power reduction from a crushed and cramped riding position, so it pays to get as scientific as possible with your setup. That can be as simple as using a power meter on a turbo trainer or rollers while trying to get your frontal profile as small as possible. Or make use of something like Boardman’s new wind tunnel facility next to its new concept store in Evesham, Worcestershire, to get your drag coefficient dialled.
While shoulders and nether regions are suffering from being forced into new positions and angles, the aero element of the bikes makes holding a high speed easier than normal. We’re all gradually finding a sweet spot with our bikes too. Rich has rolled his arms into a more comfortable position on the Planet X armrests. Ryan has shifted his saddle forward on the Dolan and widened the tri bar stance to relieve the burning under his shoulder blades. It’s worth noting that Dolan and Planet X offer different
The aero element of the bikes makes holding speed easier than normal
sizes and shapes of contact points (and other components) as part of their custom build packages too. The Planet X came with the brakes the wrong way round though so be sure to check the build when unboxing. Ben has found a happier place on the Giant and the ISM saddle is winning in terms of comfort compared to the others as we close in on the 200km mark. None of us are more uncomfortable in fit terms than we were leaving Morecambe, and the fears of those first few kilometres are replaced by a realisation that we probably are going to make it to the coast before the sun sets. The tubeless tyres on the Giant and the Dolan make a difference to the smoothness of the bikes as we wind our way through the beautiful but rough surfaced valley of Millington. Swapping wheels around during pre-ride testing proved the Boardman was less sharp in feel with the Dolan’s Mavic tubeless setup rather than its conventionally-tubed mid-range Vittoria rubber. While rolling was less taxing on the rough, we could feel more drag from the stickier compound tyres on smooth surfaces so, as ever, it’s a case of swings and roundabouts.
Chuffinghell
Given the normal long range form of our quartet
- Ryan and Ben are top 20 Dirty Reiver riders, Rich’s just behind them and I mostly do short burst test rides under an hour - the fact I’ve been making pace for a lot of the second half speaks volumes for the Boardman’s speed. Ryan is uncharacteristically blunted on the Dolan and while Ben’s flat pulls on the Giant are powerful he’s suffering on the hills. Despite normally being the most combative rider Rich has rarely seen the front all day.
To my surprise I actually grunt clear of the group on the last climb out of the Wolds, mainly because my gears are higher, but the massive chainstay stiffness helps, and the descent towards the coastal plain is a blissfully long 45-50kph power dive.
The final leg is the most frustrating part of the day. While the coast is less than 20 miles away as the crow flies, the wellmeaning traffic-dodging intentions of the Coast to Coast route planners (view the official route at http://wayoftheroses.info/route) mean we’ve double that mileage left. To make it worse the constant ‘Etch a sketch’ right-angled direction changes cross Bridlington railway line countless times.
On the plus side I realise I’ve stopped flinching when I sit down on the Boardman and a quick heel check confirms my saddle has dropped in its internal wedge clamp. It’s something to be wary of if you’ve got the right saddle height set, but it seems the recommended 1cm lower than normal position of the noseless Fizik still wasn’t low enough. Now I’m sitting 2cm below normal life my undercarriage is suddenly a lot happier.
The dreaded ‘final hill’ out of Burton Agnes turns out to be less taxing than Ben and Rich remember as Ryan locos towards Russ’s waiting lens at 30kph. I add a few more kph to that on a final suicide pull up to the highest point just to see if my lower saddle has affected my pedalling, but the look on Ryan’s face says not.
To my surprise I actually grunt clear of the group on the last climb out of the Wolds
Icanseethesea!
The first glimpse of the sea washes a huge amount of fatigue and discomfort out of all of us and the last few kilometres into town are a relaxed celebration on wobbly but still working legs. We sweep down onto the deserted prom in cramped shoulder, scorched shorts celebration. It’s been an epic mission that we all agree was made faster - particularly in headwinds - by our radical aero rides. With more time to individually tweak our fit and let our bodies adjust to the cramps and contortions we’d have been even faster and more comfortable. Deep section wheels would have shaved significant extra time off too. As we pile into the fish and chips, we’re not talking about doing it over again on time trial bikes to go faster though. We’re talking about doing it on our normal bikes to properly enjoy the deserted back roads and beautiful views of this superb slice through the wonderfully diverse cycling landscape of northern England.