Race Bike Testing

I've been riding my road bike -- a classic geometry steel Holland frame that I had made in 1990. It's just so nice to ride that I didn't want to switch over to the race bike till I had to. Well, I have to.

Took the TT bike out last night for a shakedown ride after completing the build. I have the 11sp Shimano drivetrain with bar-end shifters. Chainrings are 50/34 compact-style, with the big ring being one of those oval-ish Q-Rings. I like the Q-Rings since the crank speeds up very slightly coming over the top. When riding in a tuck, it makes the pedal circle feel smoother to me. I don't believe that the ring does anything for my power output, but I like the feel of it. The inner ring is a stock round 34. Largest rear cog is 32. That will allow me to stay in a nice cadence rhythm on the climbs, while keeping power down in the <180w range where I need it to be.

The biggest adaptation moving over to the race bike is the low front end. I ride the road bike with the bars about an inch below the saddle. On the race bike, the bars are a good 9 inches down. The armpads on the bar extensions are 7.5 inches down. In addition, the saddle moves from 8cm behind the bottom bracket on the road bike to 5cm in front on the race bike.

Initially, it feels horrible. Like I'm falling on my face over the front wheel. My head is in front of the steering tube; I have to look backwards and down to see my bike computer. But, once I got into a little rhythm, I remembered why I like this setup so much.

It's FAST. It's both aerodynamically fast, and it's power-output fast. I have to consciously back off to keep from riding too hard. The forward tucked position just invites aggressive riding. Cruising along at my goal 155w power level feels like hardly pedaling -- just keep the foot circles going and let the legs fall down. Of course, it does take effort and fatigue will build the same as riding the road bike. But, it takes no mental focus to keep the pedals going. Very easy to ride like this.

The downside to the setup is that I can't see up the road very far. It's unnerving and not entirely safe. My neck started getting sore after an hour, and my deltoid muscles hurt a bit from having my weight on my elbows, with the elbows close together. The safety problem is why I don't ride like this all the time. In races, the roads are closed, it's not pack riding, and it's not an issue. But in real life, I limit riding like this to the final few weeks before an event.

I'll get in 4-5 rides the next two weeks and will have adapted my neck and shoulder muscles just fine. I'm excited to be back on this bike. Saturday's ride in the wind up at Tahoe would have been a lot easier on this bike than on the road bike with the more upright position.