This blog is about how I took my CdA from 0.218 to 0.208 in less than 4 weeks - And the strategy is not what you think!
It might not be as sexy as some new wheels or a new bike, but it's damn effective and the first place to start before you sink thousands into all the details of becoming truly aero optimised. At Sync, we find ourselves repeating this message like a broken record, so we thought we would share this in a blog.
I haven't ridden a TT bike seriously in years. Having children and running a business will do that to you. But I recently came across some extra time in each week, the motivation to get back on the horse - The faithful CADEX horse. The purpose was to run some Streamlines field aero tests on a few products, so the goal for myself was to ensure consistency and repeatability were inline with what we expect for robust aero testing, and at the same time make a case study out of the training strategy we like to use to truly enhance TT performance.
The Baseline
This was a reminder in how bad time trialling can feel. Not because of positional discomfort, but simply because folding yourself in half and riding at threshold power feels so vulnerable. Minimal vision and awareness of what is going on around you. This is the challenge of time trialling that really needs to be overcome.
The baseline, although a little rusty, was the baseline at the end of the day. I’ve ridden road and track over the past three years but ridden a TT bike less than a handful of times. The same configuration was used for each test run - Skinsuit (NoPinz), show covers (NoPinz) and helmet (ABUS TimeShifter). The consistency was horrible, and this can be seen in the drift in CdA as the runs progressed. Head position was equally as inconsistent. This is what amateur looks like, unfortunately, for some professional athletes, this is still what a time trial looks like.
Note the variability in head position, head height and chest height. Both are a problem, they average out to a similar distance for a run, but the consistency across traverses (4 traverses per run) is poor. Visually, when you see an athlete with an inconsistent head position, this is what the measurement looks like, and it kills aero performance.
The horse, mind you, is no slouch. It is the CADEX Tri, with CADEX Tri Wheelsystem, Disc rear and Quad spoke front wheel, a bike that Sync has used for testing various prototypes over the years and now has the next generation of AB03 installed. But the bike is not the problem. So what changed?
Over a 3.5-week period, I completed as many indoor sessions as possible. Some weeks it was 2 sessions, others it was 4 sessions per week, 60 minutes at a time. But here is where it gets a little different. Not on a stationary trainer (locked in), but on rollers (free rollers).
Yes, free rollers.
The purpose? To become one with the bike. Every movement, every twitch, completely controllable, no breaking position. Gaining complete confidence in all movement of the bike, and your ability to control every movement …. You know when you nail the task, you feel it on the road and you see it in the test results.
You see, the thing most people get wrong with training for time trial events is the assumption that every minute of every session needs to be on the TT bike. And the assumption that training on an ergo, on the TT bike, will be adequate adaptation to a time trial position. It absolutely is not. If your position is as refined as it can be, if your equipment (saddle, crank length, cockpit configuration, plus other details) is optimised, it is not the time trial position that is the difficult adaptation .... It's the development of the "sixth sense" that is the limiting factor on performance. This is where rollers come into play. This strategy provides an over-stimulus of proprioceptive feedback and challenges you to develop the skills you need to sharpen your time trial performance. Not only does it improve your outright CdA, but it improves the consistency of your aero performance (position discipline).
This translates to undeniable performance on the road. Shhhh, don't tell anyone, but this is actually what some of the world's best time trial athletes use to sharpen their form.
The Results?
Over the 3.5 week period, while still riding my road bike and track bike outdoors, I did not ride the TT bike once on the road. All TT work was done on the rollers.
The head is lower (2.6 cm) and the chest is lower (1 cm) and the consistency of those markers of aero performance is what you expect to see with good time trial performers.
What's it Worth?
A 0.010 improvement in CdA is worth 13 Watts at 45 km/h. And while 0.208 is also not an amazing aero result, it shows what is achievable over a very short period of time, with the right stimulus.
Practical Recommendations?
The following are some good rules that can guide a practical and pragmatic approach to implementing rollers into your routine.
The brand/model of rollers is not really important. They are a simple device, with very little resistance. Drums, spinning on bearings, connected by a very large O-ring. These are not a complex piece of equipment.
Don't ever put your TT bike on a classical ergo / stationary trainer. You are sending yourself backwards. By all means, strap your road bike in for the sweat sessions and get the work done. But save the serious TT sessions for the road. Yes, you still need to do those sessions.
Rollers are a must. Warm up for an ergo session on rollers. Warm down from an ergo session on rollers. An indoor recovery ride? You bet, rollers. Need some extras at the end of a ride? Again, rollers are great.
Heat sessions can be a bit difficult on rollers, mostly because of the volume of sweat that can end up on the front wheel / drum. Also you tend to become a little cognitively deprived towards the end of a heat session, after a long endurance ride …. So this is not really the time for a cognitive challenge. We don’t recommend this. It’s just not the right mix of stimuli.
Keep it simple – Short chunks of time, as frequently as possible, mixed in with regular training in the easiest way possible. Make it a fun and challenging addition that can be used in place of other low-load training.
