jamesdak 

So, I'm all over my fit on a standard road bike. But I landed a vintage old TT Funny Bike and am trying to sort it out for use. My knowledge of TT type setups is limited but I've been reading as much as I can. Wanted to post what I'm going to try here and see if I'm on the tight track. I won't be competing but I do ride 5000-8000 miles a year. For awhile I played around with an aero setup on one of my Lemonds but it'll be cool to get this one setup as a dedicated TT bike. Not looking to stay "period correct" just trying to do it on the cheap with mostly parts on hand.

Currently the saddle is setup at my normal road bike height and BB offset. My understand though is that I want to push that forward more, correct?

Am I on track with the bullhorn with clip on aero bars. I had the Scott setup on hand but am debating getting something more along the line of the Profile Designs T3+ setup. I'm planning on bar ends in the end of the aerobars with brakes revere mounted on the ends of the bullhorns. Does this sound correct. I've got some old Dura Ace brake levers I can use or get some specifically made to to insert into the ends of the bullhorns.

With the mockup bars in the picture below my back appears pretty much flat, the arms are pretty much 90 degrees on the raised pads and I can reach the aerobar ends just fine. Obviously the position feels odd but not uncomfortable. The drivetrain isn't complete but my hips and legs feel free to move when I turn the cranks like they are now.

Anyway, does it sound like I'm on the right track? Any pitfalls to my approach? Like I said, not looking to compete just have some fun with another cool old bike.

Those barends I'll actually be using will be a set of Shimano 10 speed ones.

If I go with the new Profile Design bars I'll assume I'll need a riser kit to move them up off the bars a bit.

I appreciate any feedback or advice. I'm out of my element here but I think I'm on the right track.

And finally a shot of the bike as I've got it right now. Just waiting for a few more parts.

Colnago Mixte

My universal solution to such problems. I ask myself WWRAD ("What Would Raul Alcala Do?).



ANSWER: Get a polka dot jersey, a disc wheel, and some blue SIDIs.

StephenH

Maybe I'm just ignorant, but I sort of assumed that the funny-bike and the aero-bars were two different solutions to the same problem, not something you used on the same bike. I guess I assumed that because the funny bikes I see on Ebay generally don't have aero bars on them, and I'm figuring they would have been built that way if they were intended to use with aero bars.
And, too, I sort of assumed all the funny bikes on Ebay were basically wall-hangers now, not practical (or legal) to race with, and undesirable for any other purpose.

jamesdak 

LOL, maybe I'm ignorant too. Just figure to have some fun with this so trying something that maybe isn't normal but so what?

Wall-hanges don't make sense to me. If I can't ride a bike and have fun with it I see no point in having it. Hence trying to do something with this one.

It'll probably turn out to be unrideable and kill me but hey, nothing ventured, nothing gained.

Bandera

After LeMond's stunning TT victory to win the '89 TdF by 8 seconds fitting aero clip-ons on the "funny bikes" of the era became SOP. Having built and test ridden more than a few for TT racers "back when" some were miserable handling ill-mannered beasts, especially when fitted with disc wheels.
There are good reasons most are wall hangers today.

PS: pic of LeMond in the 'Giro, he could ride anything very, very fast.

-Bandera

jamesdak 

Well, when I get mine sorted out and ridden a few times I'll report in on if it's ill-handling or not. If I survive, LOL!

I'm really curious about the stem in the pic above. Notice how the quill section is not inline with the headtube? What gives there?

Bandera

The geometry to accommodate a smaller front wheel, extremely sloping TT and weight bias produced lots of variations in "funny bike" frame design, in particular having the trail that allowed the handling confidence to put out max-watts. Looks odd? They are called "funny bikes" for good reason.

Since these machines were designed strictly for the TT discipline by experienced riders well adapted to the position and idiosyncrasy of handling of their bike keeping to well known flat roads and light wind conditions might not be a bad idea to test ride your example.

Have fun and remember: Big Gears!

-Bandera

jamesdak 

Well, yeah. The first ride will be either on the causeway to Antelope Island over across the valley where there's a several mile loop of mostly flat (for here) roads with long straightaways. This will just be an infrequent rider just to mix things up and have fun.

What I meant by the stem is how the quill staff appears to bend straight as it exits the headset. Maybe it's just how the pic is taken.

Colnago Mixte

Funnybikes in the 1990 Tour de TRUMP. Anyone remember that race? I think that was the first time I had ever heard of the man.

Their funnybikes seem to use relatively short, straight stems with lots of height:

texaspandj

Jim, those funny bikes were made pre aero bars. The funny bikes bull horn position was supposed to mimic hands on the drop position. So I would forego the aero bars and and just use bull horns.
But if I was determined to use aero bars then I'd get a tall stem and and set as low as my flexibility would allow.
Also to note is triathlon and time trials are more the same than different however still different. So set it like a rode bike no forward saddle/geometry needed.

texaspandj

Looking at your setup,
I would set my bullhorn bars to the same height/feel as my road bikes drop position. So saddle to bar, saddle to top of stem distance would be a factor. So depending on your parts bin as close as possible.
Only after that, I would add aero bars.

jamesdak 

Sounds like about where I'm at then. If I set the saddle at my usual height and setback from the BB that puts the bars at my normal reach. Then the drop is about the norm for most of my bikes just not quite as low as the setup on my Basso. I got on it mocked up by a mirror yesterday. The back is relatively flat. My arms look to be just a tad off the 90 degree angle. My hips felt free to rotate also. I tried pushing the saddle forward more and it felt like it was keeping my hips/legs from swinging freely. What I don't know is how the width is. I've got the pads set where it feels most comfortable.

I'm not looking to be serious with this. Just playing around with an impulse buy, 'cause I can.

I'll be real surprised if my bad back allows me to put any real miles on this at one time but I'm going to try.

I dropped it off at the LBS this afternoon to let them finish it up. I'd rather be out riding this week after work. I should get it back in time to test it Saturday. And hopefully I don't do a Steve Bauer impression like in the video above.

texaspandj

One thing I failed to mention, when you're on the bullhorn bars and (fit is fine) and go to the aero bars position, you're gonna be stretched out some. That's the reason riders initially moved their saddles forward. So maybe having a setup with a slightly shorter stem will actually make riding in the aero bar position more comfortable.

jamesdak 

Well, while searching for some spare inner tubes for the 24" tire I stumbled upon an old Profile Design removable face quill stem like I was looking for. It's a bit shorter and it may allow me to bolt on the Profile Design T3 setup I initially wanted to use. Those bars were going to give me about an inch more height with more overall adjustability. I may grab the stem just in case I still need to tweak on this.

jamesdak 

Ok, got this out for the first test ride this evening. Surprisingly it wasn't bad at all. Felt plenty solid while using the bullhorns. Unfortunately, the route I chose to do the back and forth test on had some serious broadside winds going. Tried getting on the aerobars but wasn't comfortable due to the winds knocking me around. So hopefully tomorrow I can get a calm morning ride in to see what I can do on them. Fortunately the new Schwalbe Durano tire arrived today too so I can get that old, probably unsafe one, off. On one test leg I opened it up a bit and ran in the 22-25 mph range with no problem. There was more left in the legs despite riding 25 miles a couple of miles earlier on my Prologue road bike.

This is how it's setup right now. Weighed in as pictured at an even 22 lbs. Not bad for a 30 year old steel TT bike.



Once I'm sure the bars are dialed in right I'll tape things up. Still not sure if I'm going to stay with these or go with the Profile Design setup....