UT Dude, any chance you can scale down that pic so that people don't have to scroll left and right for each of the responses (or maybe it is just me with my tiny screen).
Rizz, some examples of shaving seconds.
1. The biggest place to lose time is the turnaround. It is not uncommon to see turnaround time (the time from the moment you start braking to the time that you are back up to cruising speed) rest in the neighborhood of 45 seconds or more. Usually this is because people are slow to get back up to speed, but it can also be due to poor turn technique. With good technique, the actual time from braking to accelerating should be in the neighborhood of 10 seconds, and one can/should be back up to speed and in the bars in about 20 seconds.
2. There are also seconds lost a lot of the time at the start (mashing too big a gear and not getting to speed in a reasonable amount of time) or cresting a rise, where again, a TTist wants to get up to cruising speed ASAP. Essentially, all of these mean short sprints.
3. For equipment, booties are actually a common way to lose time. Most don't change drag, and a number of them create drag. In my (and others have verified this) time in the tunnel, it was agreed by all that there is one shoe cover/bootie that is consistently shown to lower drag (though it is miniscule).
4. Vent taping. The legality of this is in a gray area (I believe, unless someone can provide a definitive answer one way or another), but at least for USAC rules, there is nothing specifically barring it, and it is a great way to shave seconds from your time. This includes taping the underside of the tail section of your helmet.
5. Cables. Cables create huge amounts of drag (on the order of 1 watt for every inch of exposed cable. Try to hide these from the wind by getting them in front f your frame, behind your hands, or against the frame. This includes computer cables as well. There is a reason Lance liked Dura AX brakes. They were center pull and positioned the cable in front of the head tube. John Cobb has an "Aero Brake" mod explanation sheet on the Blackwell research site, which significantly reduces your braking power, but makes the front end more aero by trimming the brake and bringing the cable in front of the head tube. Trim or bend extra brake and derailleur cable to get it out of the wind.
6. Bar tape. Again, we are speaking of small amounts, but do you really need to increase the diameter of your cowhorns by a great deal when you spend 30 seconds out of an hour using them?
7. Number pinning. I just saw something that showed a stupid (relatively) amount of drag is caused by numbers and the pinning position/method. 99% of TTs say "right side" for the number, but I always put mine in the middle of the skin suit with the bottom edge just barely above the chamois (the top edge will be below the rear cross seam). Use Super 77 to glue the number on. Some will use double sided sticky tape, but I have not found it to be effective in maintaining a guaranteed hold. If you DO use safety pins, orient them vertically, not horizontally. I have never been at a TT where they can't read the number in the middle of my "posterior."
This probably does not belong here under small things, because it is no small thing, but knees that flare tend to create lots of drag. In the off-season, focusing on a "knees-in" pedal stroke can save you lots of time. Just don't do it at the expense of possible injury or discomfort. On the other hand, look at any rec rider, and their legs will almost always flare out significantly. Compare that to a pro in a breakaway or a TT specialist, and you will see the legs nearly brushing the top tube with every stroke.
Also, as a general rule, ride the TT bike once in a while. Even if it is just a recovery ride, 2-3 or more times a week (30-50% of workouts) will show huge results just because of neuromuscular adaptation. I won't comment on Basso other than to say that there IS some justification to his becoming better in 2004 that may indeed be due to him riding the TT bike for 6 hours at a time through the mountains and just getting comfortable with the bike. Bottom line, if you are not comfortable, you are not as fast as you could be.
Those are a few things off the top of my head. I would be interested to hear from Skydive or Racer X as I believe they have valuable info/experience that they may be willing to share as well.