The Price of Speed

Can you buy speed? I don't mean the street slang term for amphetamines, but rather miles per hour? Yes, yes, you can.

Here's my new TT bike. I went with a Leader LD-735TT frame and carbon fork. Total price of the frame, full carbon fork, and headset was $600. I decided on this route, as I didn't want to put a ton of money into a TT frame in the event I didn't use it a lot. I'd also read up on the Leader frames and for the money, they seemed like a great deal. The bike is outfitted with a combination of parts from my trainer bike and miscellaneous parts from around my workshop. The only new parts on the bike are the Profile Design T2 cobra aero bars, a Profile Design Razor aero seatpost, and the Mavic Cosmic Carbone SL wheels. Fully equipped as you see it here, the bike weighs 20.4 lbs. The key is that the rotational weight is low and the right parts are aero shaped.

I took the bike out the last few days and it fits me really well. I had Dave Schindler at FitPro dial in the aero position for me and I think he did a fine job. My first two rides on the bike were less than ideal and the post-fit ride was darn near perfect. No pain in the neck, back, or shoulders, and I felt like I was in a powerful position the entire time.

I chose Mavic Cosmic Carbone SL's for TT wheels because they can also double as crit and road race wheels. They really maintain the pace once up to speed and from everything I've been told by people, they are a darn durable wheelset. (Thanks for the deal Mark and Cody at Ballwin Cycles.)

So how did it perform compared to my standard road bike in a 30 min TT? My mph average over the 30 minutes increased by 2.5mph. (And that was with me being sick, too.)