TT Bikes should be banned?

[Mark McM]

Originally Posted by shinomaster

When all of your weight is over the front wheel the bike becomes super nervous and twitchy and unstable. This all get exacerbated by the high speeds, wind and wet roads causing lots of crashes. Go try one see what it's like.

Just how are riders managing to get all their weight over the front wheel, given that the same UCI rule regarding minimum saddle setback applies to TT bikes as well?

Originally Posted by shinomaster

You’re saying a TT bike is just as stable and safe as a regular road bike in windy or wet conditions?

When the rider has their hands on the bullhorns, a TT bike is probably a lot more stable and safe then a road bike when the rider is in some of those crazy descending positions we've seen used in races:

[glepore]

The problem isn't the tt bike per se. Its the latest position-look at how high the extensions have become, and how close for some riders. Dygert's crash exposed a serious issue-if the bike has the slightest instability the position doesn't allow for it to be damped.

This is no different than launching Challenger at 38 degrees. Is the risk necessary?

I think not. We don't need to ban tt bikes, but we do need to regulate an inherently unstable position. Athletes will do anything-dope, whatever, to gain an advantage, its in their DNA. The powers that be need to regulate that impulse.

[Coffee Rider]

I used to be a pretty good (relative to my overall abilities) time trialist and found this article interesting. I do somewhat agree with the notion that there are a few crashes that there might not otherwise be due to the time trial positions, but at the same time realize that for pro bike racers, spending the time to be able to comfortably control the bikes is part of the job. I think a lot of us have seen people who are good enough on TT bikes to really handle them well. Also, it seems that outside time trials in big pro races, they are a completely different animal from other road events and it would make sense to me that in amateur stage races/omniums that one would only allow bikes with road bars to cut down on some of the issues. I think the special training and expense issue is more applicable in that context that in terms of pro bike racers. I like watching pro racers time trial in part due to seeing all the neat equipment, although it's more fun because you get to see the riders who really have something at stake completely bury themselves for extended periods, which is not so much affected by the all the TT stuff.

The great thing is that whether pro bike racers use time trial bikes or road bikes for time trials generally makes no real difference to any of us, but it gives us entertainment for discussion.

[FlashUNC]

Time trial bikes also look rad. The sport should retain some element of radness.

This article is dumb and bad and the author should feel dumb bad bad.

[Spdntrxi]

Originally Posted by FlashUNC

Time trial bikes also look rad. The sport should retain some element of radness.

This article is dumb and bad and the author should feel dumb bad bad.

agree 110%. I've been riding some version of a TT bike since the late 80s.

[bikinchris]

Originally Posted by Hellgate

I assume you've not old-school super tucked. It's stable at 50+.

And in motorcycle roadracing braking and turning is all about weight over the front wheel.

The weight on a motorcycle is MUCH lower and over the center or rear of the machine. That's why motorcycles can stop much faster than cars and they're inherently more stable in corners while braking.

[makoti]

Originally Posted by shinomaster

You’re saying a TT bike is just as stable and safe as a regular road bike in windy or wet conditions?

No I am not. I am saying that the person handling the bike is WAY more important to the equation. If they know how to ride, they adjust to the conditions. How is that any different than a regular road bike? Does being on one allow you to ignore conditions?

[Mark McM]

Originally Posted by bikinchris

The weight on a motorcycle is MUCH lower and over the center or rear of the machine. That's why motorcycles can stop much faster than cars and they're inherently more stable in corners while braking.

I don't think this is true. A car has a lower CG relative to its wheelbase than a motorcycle. While a typical street motorcycle has roughly the same stopping distance as a typical passenger car, racing cars have much shorter stopping distances than racing motorcycles. And I don't buy that motorcycles are inherently more stable than cars when cornering and braking, if only because cars don't fall when tires lose traction. Motorcycles may have a better power/weight ratio and be more nimble than cars, but they aren't more stable.

[echappist]

Originally Posted by makoti

No I am not. I am saying that the person handling the bike is WAY more important to the equation. If they know how to ride, they adjust to the conditions. How is that any different than a regular road bike? Does being on one allow you to ignore conditions?

Of course not, but there is inherently less control on the extensions of a TT bike.

My worst crash in the last five years occurred when I was on my TT bike. Something flatted my front tire, and the the air went out very quickly. The impact also knocked the front wheel sideways a bit. Couldn't even grab the bullhorns before I fell over.

Of course, had I been in the IAB, it would have been the same result. But had I been riding in the drops, I'd have been able to at least slow things down.

[Tandem Rider]

Originally Posted by Spdntrxi

agree 110%. I've been riding some version of a TT bike since the late 80s.

I have as well. I've raced in all sorts of weather conditions without the TT bike or my TT position causing an issue. The idea of me being a better cyclist than she is laughable.

Has the cause of her crash been published? From the video I saw, it looked like the front wheel had a mechanical failure. I can't imagine that she doesn't ride her TT position enough to have it dialed, and none of the other racers had an issue with that turn. She made it through bike inspection so her position met UCI regs. Everything points to a mechanical failure.

[FlashUNC]

Weird nobody was questioning Chris Froome's ability to handle a TT bike when he T-boned a building.

[oldpotatoe]

Originally Posted by Jaybee

Because then we end up with recumbents.

HA, I would love to see 'bents' trying to get up the last climb in this years TdF TT..

[dnc]

Originally Posted by Clean39T

While we're at it lets ban:

• Carbon wheels
• Clinchers
• SRAM
• Carbon frames
• Shimano
• Tires wider than 25mm
• Road tubeless
• Any form of dirt in a road race
• Chainrings smaller than 39T
• Cogs bigger than 25T
• Hills steeper than 13% in a road race
• Skinsuits
• Radios
• Powermeters

What did I miss?

/s

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Really though, I could get behind a "Merckx TT" format for professional racing.

Oval chainrings

[wallymann]

Originally Posted by dzxc

Going backward, the extra expense I think is interesting. We can argue about the budgets of various teams in relation to one another, but I think it's interesting to see what a team can do within a budget. Do they choose to have one fewer TT bike and allocate that money to a spare road bike? Do they choose to hire an extra mechanic or use that money elsewhere?

i remember back around the '84 olympics and the us cycling team's initial forays into funny-bikes...steve hegg said (paraphrased): ditch the expensive bikes and get decent food at the training center instead!

[makoti]

Originally Posted by echappist

Of course not, but there is inherently less control on the extensions of a TT bike.

My worst crash in the last five years occurred when I was on my TT bike. Something flatted my front tire, and the the air went out very quickly. The impact also knocked the front wheel sideways a bit. Couldn't even grab the bullhorns before I fell over.

Of course, had I been in the IAB, it would have been the same result. But had I been riding in the drops, I'd have been able to at least slow things down.

You think.
No way of knowing what would have happened, but yes, TT bike position is a compromise. Blowing a front tire can take you down no matter what you are on. He was arguing conditions, you are now bringing in mechanical failures.
Again, it is not the bike. It's the rider. Push limits or stay in control. Their choice.