Originally Posted by
globecanvas
You want context before giving me an answer? But I thought this was the internet!
This is a stage race but it's scored on points, I could do well on the other stages, so it's a case of minimizing damage rather than trying not to lose the event completely on the TT.
I've only ever done 2 TTs, both with bike B in TT-ish setup (seat forward, slammed negative stem, clip-ons), and I did OK on them. I will have at least a month to work with any of the bikes.
I have very little experience measuring efforts without a PM, that's probably the variable that worries me the most.
What power meters are available to you? Can you *really* not get a PM onto bike A? Even if you have to swap meters out between bikes for a month, it might be worth it. Because bike A is the best choice, if only it had a power meter. If you're not used to TT efforts, the PM could be pretty helpful in pacing (even if just to assure yourself in training that you are better at pacing than you believe). Come race day, the PM might be more useful on the TT bike than the Venge, don't you think? So if you had to leave the PM on one bike, you might be better off leaving it on the TT bike that day.
If you *really* can't manage to get a PM on the TT bike, then go with bike B and ride it as much as you can in the next month. Position is the more important than most other things in a TT, so you want to achieve the best position you can manage in a month's time.