Unfortunately, it also needs to be completed.
The plan is to ride the TT bike probably twice a week for at least a portion of the longer rides to start, and then use it exclusively for longer intervals. If you remember the disastrous TT I had in June (if you don't remember, it's here), you remember I spent approximately 30 minutes on the TT setup before the race. Pretty bright on my part, I know.
We're going to nip that problem in the bud this time around. It's going to take about $150 to get the bike ready to roll -- I'm using the SRAM Force derailleurs and the Ultegra crank/brakes from my Felt. So what's left?
Shifters. I need shifters. I'm going to order some SRAM TT900 shifters and brake levers next week and get stuff going. Ideally, I'd pick up another pair of pedals so I don't have to swap a ton of stuff back and forth, but I think I'll probably just make do for now. It's not a big deal.
By the way, after a few days of actual, focused riding (as in paying attention to things like HR, cadence, etc.) I'm feeling pretty solid. Still very, very early, of course, but it's nice to get back into the groove.
Plus, I'm already losing weight. Down to 158 this morning. I won't complain about that.
8 comments:
Those brake levers sure are fancy. I always used cheapo stuff on the TT bike. It just had to function and weight wasn't so much an issue. The wheels you're getting with the Madone and your TT helmet along with a possible skin suit will make way more difference than anything else on the bike.
On 2nd thought, those levers might be wise. The levers I used pretty much had an exposed cable in the front. So when it rained during a TT race, I think I had a ton of water that seeped into the cable housings. Those Srams look like they're pretty well covered.
Your TT bike is shaping up to be a monster.
If you lose much more weight, you'll bantamweight classed for all your cage fighting! Feisty!
mike - well, I know where to get a discount on the fancy brake levers, so I'll go ahead and bite the bullet there. I'm going to have to modify the bullhorn base bar to get it to do what I want, but it should do the trick.
This bike is certainly going to be fun.
lucas - my aim is 155 pounds of cage-fighting fury. grrrr!
I have a pair of ultegra pedals and another pair of ultegra sl pedals I need to sell. Let me know if you're interested.
The single biggest thing you can do is make sure you have the proper fit, Kent is really good at the set up part. You'll need to be persistent he is hard to pin down.
If your set up is poor you might as well go back to the clip on bars. Oh yeah, make sure your wheels are on good and tight too.
Maybe now that we have a few more folks with TT rides, maybe we can start the Tuesday night TT again????
shim - I do know how to get ahold of Kent reasonably easy, so I bet I could get the fit thing figured out. And I wouldn't be averse to doing a little TT work once or twice a month. If we could set up an informal crit and TT on alternating weeks, that'd be nice.
Now that you have a staff maybe you can get those set up. The hardest part with the crit if finding the right place.
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