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let's try this

2011-10-09T15:18:00.001-07:00

Back to two wheels

2011-05-22T08:03:00.001-07:00

After putting wheel covers on the trike I found the trike to be significantly faster but with the extreme laidback position it was too squirrelly in windy conditions. I wasn't willing to take the huge step backwards by racing without the wheel covers so I put the trike back to its original position. I considered racing like that with a tailfairing but there was just too must air resistance with all of the width. I don't like the feeling of racing through sludge or hurricanes.

On top of that I allowed myself to have a little bit too much fun chasing DFers on the American River Trail. Three times doing that over the course of three weeks was enough to shut my sorry ass down. It's been a rough spring. Anyway, after licking my wounds and otherwise wallowing in funk I've finally recovered.

I cobbled together a racing bike to do some of the local TTs. I'm using the original carbon frame I built back in 2003. It was dual-700 but I'm going dual-20 because I sold my 700c racing wheels and the small wheeled bike is just so much more road friendly. This is surely not my most aero setup but the body position on it feels very good all-around. Hopefully I can make up the difference with power.

I'm trying a couple of experiments with my training program and my pedal stroke. My training will be the same but with lower frequency and a single intensity level instead of rotating between 50 and 70%. As far as my pedal stroke goes, I'll wait and see how that pans out before saying anything else.

New riding partner

2011-04-08T21:19:00.000-07:00

All sealed up and ready to race

2011-02-16T16:36:00.000-08:00

RATRIKE!!!

2011-02-12T16:35:00.001-08:00

2011-02-03T11:26:00.000-08:00

While the trike is getting noticeably slipperier, after doing some tuft (the hairs on my hand and arm) tests I feel I could make it better. I decided to raise the seat base about 1.5" and move myself forward about 1.5" as well. This brings my hips more in line with my torso and flattens me out more. I reshaped the nose of the seat so it's almost flat. Raising the seat base and flattening it makes it (and me) flow behind the crossbar better (as can be seen in picture comparisons).

This new position feels more comfortable even though it is more extreme. It's five inch seat/BB height differential(9"/14") and seat angle make it feel very much like my last dual-20 lowracer. I liked its body position for producing power very much.

2011-01-31T10:45:00.001-08:00

Lowered the shoulder/neck support for better breathing and aerodynamics. Reduced the track three inches. Shortened the steering linkage arms and tucked the steering linkage behind the frame crossmember. Cut off derailleur post. To do: fair mainframe into crossmember and seat. Add trailing edges to crossmember, enclosing steering linkage. Break BritC's Putah Creek TT trike record. Figure out how to beat his overall recumbent record too.

New crossmenber

2011-01-24T11:02:00.001-08:00

Next step: hide that steering linkage behind the crossmember and remove the derailleur post.

Crossbar modification

2011-01-20T19:28:00.001-08:00

I added an alternate crossbar and will cut off the original. The original was fully exposed under the bike and the new one will be attached above the main tube instead of below and tucked into the window of my body. It should be a significant reduction in frontal area.

more trike racing mods

2011-01-07T10:26:00.000-08:00

I ditched the stock seat and replaced it with the one I had on my dual-20 lowracer and bonded it to the frame. I did the same with the upper back/neck support. This much improved the handling as the stock seat flexed quite a bit laterally. It also allowed me to be more laidback. In the interest of simplicity and cleaning up the rear end aerodynamically I beefed up the upper stays and cut off the lower ones. I also reinforced the main tube to compensate for the loss of torsional stability. It's a rock now.

Eventually I want to shorten the steering linkage arms so that the linkage is tucked behind the frame cross-member. Once that is done the plan is to add a trailing edge to the cross-member. I've toyed with the idea of reducing the track a couple of inches but I might be making more trouble for myself than it's worth.

I hoping to do my first TT at Putah Creek in March (if they start that early).

lower bottom bracket

2010-12-23T11:24:00.000-08:00

My high BB experiment didn't work too well. That position didn't deactivate my quads enough but it sure did drain them of oxygenated blood. It's very easy for them to go anaerobic. I lowered the BB 9". It looks more aero this way, too. I haven't ridden it like this but it should feel very much like my other laidback bikes. Who knows, given there is a slight forward tilt to my position compared to my two-wheelers, I might see a little more power.

2010-12-14T14:11:00.001-08:00

A couple of years ago I saw a picture of a British homebuilt lowracer with a laidback seat and a high bottom bracket and thought that if I ever built another race bike I would build it like that. I forgot about that idea and later built a lowracer with a relatively low BB. Lately I've been riding with an extra high BB and seat angle on my trike. While my legs, the knee area specifically, really liked this I found the position to be systemically stressful and tired of it. I laid back the seat to see how it feels with the high BB (14" over seat height) and initially, surprisingly, it feels very good and natural. I'll train with it and see how it goes. Hopefully I'll be able to activate my posterior chain more while not paying much of, if any, an aerodynamic penalty.

My goal, as of now, will be to beat BritCPower's trike record at the Putah Creek TT.

BB lift

2010-11-19T14:58:00.001-08:00

I raised the bottom bracket about three inches. There is about a 13" seat/BB differential now. I did this to reduce the activation of the quadriceps during the push portion of the pedal stroke. This shifts the effort from my predominately fast-twitch quads to my slow-twitch glutes and hamstrings. It's also easier on the knees. Given the upright seat I'm guessing it'll be more aero too.

I had to move the idler bolt forward and down a bit to clear the chain under the seat.

Helmet mod

2010-11-15T13:58:00.000-08:00

I Nils van der Walled my helmet to fit my tailfairing. I'm also trying out some Birk-like bars. They make me feel Euro-sexy.

seat back modification

2010-11-08T12:21:00.000-08:00

I put a lumbar curve in the seat back. This allows me better extension to the handlebars, opens my ribcage and allows me to sit into the tailfairing. This latest version of this bike was meant to be a toy but I'm getting a real good feeling about its race potential. It puts me into a good power position and handles better than any bike I've ever had. The good handling translates into a more relaxing ride and reminds me of my trike in that regard.

tailfairing mock-up

2010-11-06T14:51:00.001-07:00

Downsizing

2010-11-05T20:56:00.001-07:00