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How do I convert a road bike to TT??

Hi,

As a student I don't really have a big budget to go out and buy a TT bike, and since I already have a fairly good road bike, I was wondering what would i need to convert the roadie to a TT, is pushing the seat forward with a seat angle of 78 or greater enough to make it TT capable??(with aero bars of course!)



has anyone tried the Profile design Fast Forward seat post??

Thanks

Chris

Comments

  • jonEjonE Posts: 1,113
    Hi,the profile fast forward was popular about 10 years ago,be careful if you have too many add ons the handling characteristics of you bike will go to pot.It may work out cheaper to source a cheap TT frame and transfer the components over.Also the bike is basically two triangles but by adding a fast forward seatpost the stress points will change and over use may see you in casualty.
  • The new Profile forward post is great. Not a lightweight but does the job of putting you in a steep seat angle. I also installed a 10mm longer stem to compensate.

    Only drawback is it only comes in 27.2 so you will need an adaptor to use if your bike has a 31.6 seat tube.

    [image]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v236/campled/RCLXentisbikes24.jpg[/image]

  • TTX PROTTX PRO Posts: 225
    Get a TT Frame.TRY this link.you may be suprised.http://www.bellatisport.com/shop/category/148/Wilier_2007.html
  • Hi Chris



    Some here seem to have missed your point that you don't have a lot of money to spare. Oh how it must be for those who can just go and buy a new frame or bike if they want one.....



    Have you tried tri bars with a regular seat post but with the seat right forward? I ask because you might find it a perfectly good set-up. I was riding 55 minute '25s' on a regular Look road race bike with some crude cobbled-together tribars (none on the market that I could afford gave me the position I wanted). No washing machine parts though. In the end and after seven or eight years of trying I finally realised that my elbows were too high so I bought a Look adjustable stem which helped a lot. If you're canny you can do a lot with a regular bike, and without getting into too extreme a tuck which, let's face it, isn't exactly comfortable, even if the pros make it look that way.
  • On a budget? A regular road bike, with tribars, is a good-enough solution. There's guys at my club who can put in pretty respectable times using this setup (one guy frequently turns up at evening 10s with mudguards, no tribars, and still ends up in the top third of the placings). You don't necessarily need to spend too much on a bike for time trials: most of your gains initially will be from training, tribars will help a fair bit.



    I use a regular road bike (just a basic ol' Spesh Allez), slightly smaller frame than I'd use normally, tribars on it. Other modifications: not many, for me: shorter stem, saddle moved a bit forward, suitable tyres- it works.



  • hi chris



    interesting post and interesting replies. First thing I'd say as a bike fitter and builder www.kinetic-one.co.uk, is don't try and get a road bike to go to 78degrees. The whole geometry and construction of a road frame is designed to be ridden at 73 degrees or so (depending on the maker). If you force the centre of gravity forward by using a fast forward pin etc , and then adding tri-bars etc, you will be putting yourself in the way of much unecessary danger.



    Specific steep frames have fork rakes and wheelbases designed to counterbalance the seat angles and keep you safe. We see roughly 5-7 people each year for fittings who have gone over the bars or lost it on downhill bends and its not pretty. Quite often its enough to shatter confidence on the bike so much that it takes people years to recover!



    I know these specific frames are not cheap but it is worth saving for one if you need to get to 78 degrees - you might get one second hand for as little as £150 if you trawl ebay. I know thats still alot but compared to the alternative......... Good luck. Andy
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