@@donm1979 Really good. I'm in the process of changing my Princetons to VeloElite too as Tom has some new rim shapes coming. Also just in the process of releasing a new disc wheel too which I've used a few times and have been very impressed. Tom knows how to build a wheel!
I really appreciate how open he was about process he went through for the record. Super interesting and nice to see budget options like the Prime bars and Ultegra.
No doubt he is a monster on the bike, but I think to us we shouldn’t sweat it. We pay for our bikes which we ride for leisure. Speed and performance isn’t a priority. For him, as a sponsored rider, it’s his bread and butter.
It's interesting to see how time trial bikes have always been the subject of experimentation. Alf Engers was the first UK rider to beat 50 minutes for 25 miles ( 30mph plus with a time of 49-24 back in 1978). He was as I recall already aware of the importance of aerodynamics; well ahead of his time. At one stage he even taped over his shoelaces to reduce air drag. He also put his brake levers behind his drop handlebars, on the 'tops' but this was banned by the Road Time Trials Council (RTTC, the governing body of time trial sport in the UK at the time). He used a single chainring with a close-ratio freewheel block and very close clearances on his bike - not a road racing bike, but close. Much like George's is in this modern era, it seems to me!
Very good point. And he was one of the first to selectively race. Most people raced every week. Not Alf Engers. He targetted very few races and courses. He was weight obsessed. Drilled out his chainrings for instance.
@@winstoncat6785 wasn't it Engers that used to ride to events the day before and sleep in hedges? No wonder he did it selectively! Also regarding aero, he was famous for drilling holes in equipment to lighten it. I dread to think what an aero disaster that was but at the time lightness was best and he'd drill away any material he deemed unnecessary
@@grahambrant6664 HI. I couldn't say about sleeping in a hedge. I remember a Cycling Weekly article on his exploits, from the late 80's. After he was "retired". But I can't recall all the details. Very interesting anyway. The drilled chainrings were featured in the article however. I think he ran single chain ring too. But iirc, not fixed gear.
Great video and super nice guy. Seems like the main adaptation from a ‘normal’ road position is the narrow bar and turned in hoods which allows him to adapt a TT style arm position. That would seem to be an easy CTT rule change if they want the category to be more about increasing participation from people racing their normal road bikes
That's insanely fast! At my peak as a Cat. 1. 22 year old winning road races I only managed 21:22 on a 2011 Specilized Venge with some rolling terrain and no wind.
Actually while watching this an interesting thought pops up: if we can just use TT bike with road bars for road use, doesn't it render the "aero-road" bike redundant? What I see is a super nice super charged "aero-road" bike which totally surprised me. For flat terrain I see no problem going with this setup -- especially for most of us who usually just ride 2-3 hrs/ride and we ride for the fast (no fun in the slow, isn't it?). I actually have my "endurance" road bike set up towards TT. I ran 88mm rear and 50mm front... Everything slammed to the extreme with straight seat post and saddle pushed forward beyond the limit, and I want to go even more aggressive. Isn't it just much more easier if I just go with the opposite route and start from an TT frame and relax things a little? This is very intriguing. Thanks for the interview! Super good content.
@@benturp3492 I see... In bunch races like criterium (well and the tours?) the handling might become a problem. I only thought those solo-ish rides I do. In general riding situations the handling difference would not be that much, you get used to whatever relatively quick.
I did the 25 in less than an hour a fair few times, and once did a 10 in 19:54....back in 1991, on a Peugeot Ventoux road bike.... Wasn't a club rider, just did it for fitness/fun.... 🤷🏽♂️
@TriathlonDan Lolz... I didn't know it was fast at the time. It was on a stretch of the A419 between Blunsdon and Cirencester. Took me twice as long to get back, as my legs were shot.... 😆
What strikes me is that his bar position is extremely low but not that long - kinda the opposite of where positions have been going in the last few years in both road and TT. Maybe because he only has to hold that position for 20min? Tough to imagine holding that for 6+ hours…
The set up used at the RB Champs has allegedly evolved since this video to the point that there is an official complaint and there appears to be a case to answer. He admits in this video he has pushed the boundaries. Now the question is where is the boundary.
This video was from 6 months ago and talking specifically about the setup used last year to break the record. This video was posted on November 4th 2023.
@@georgefox7333 so that is confirmation that the set up has evolved and comments by tt community on the basis of this video may not be valid. Thanks for clearing that up.
Please also understand that this is me pointing a camera at George and firing questions with no prompts or script. I hope that his passion for performance and understanding of the rules comes through rather than people analysing one or two words he uses in a 14 minute video.
@@benturp3492 sorry - I assumed these comments were in relation to the recent road bike TT champs, in which he used a road helmet as the rules had changed by that point, you’re right he had a TT lid on in this video as those were the rules at the time. Cheers 👍
Except the set up used has evolved since to the point that there is an official complaint and there appears to be a case to answer. He admits in this video he has pushed the boundaries. No the question is where is the boundary.
Exactly, optimising every area! Martyn thanks for your comment, but just because there's a complaint doesn't mean any rules have been broken. Innocent until proven guilty?
Guaranteed we're not far off going back to basics. No power meters, fixed wheel only etc. All this watts watching and tunnel testing seems broadly very tiring.
Qudos but I’m afraid I fall in the camp of having a standardised road bike, same frame, wheels, angles, kit, gears and make it a test of person vs person and less about who can spec the best bike, helmet etc (as well as being incredibly fit) not a hater just my opinion for an alternate type of TT, not a replacement just another category
I think we'll see the rules change to be more like this, it's only the minority really wanting to optimise as much as possible, the majority will just rock up on what they do the club ride on
I know this is a predictable comment but I wonder what Mr sturgess would have done on this set up in his prime------yes I know----would mercx have better podgar-----ect------just an observation 🤔 .
I guess we'll never know, but George won't mind me saying, he's very good but he's not the level of those guys in terms of power, so it would be reasonable to assume they'd be quicker!
It’s really interesting isn’t it, the bike itself is clearly within the rules, so if it’s speculation about the position / forearm / wrist thing that is the reason for complaint then half the field need DQ’ing. I can understand why the winner would be the subject of a complaint, but dowsett in 2nd was probably riding in exactly the same way and doesn’t appear to have been complained about. I’ll just stick to riding my bike 😬
Isn’t this just a chubby bloke riding a TT bike with narrow aero road bars along pan flat dual carriageways and getting a hyperbolic UA-cam video dedication to said situation? Sports and more specifically, events and / or disciplines are defined by their rules. A road bike TT is one of the worst ideas ever as they will asymptote toward TT bikes very rapidly over time.
Well isn't the "mojo" of road bike TT the spirit of "hack" ? You hack the rules and hack the "road bike" to go as fast as possible. You don't even have to go with an expensive frame, I even see local folks "aero tubing" their road bike with foams and sticky plastic tapes which costs nothing. Even the position you can go with can be altered by a negative setback (front flare) seat post. If the rule allows (UCI banned this, don't know otherwise), you can even use 26 inch front wheels to lower the front end. It's just easier to start from an TT frame. I actually find the idea in the video that the standard for whether or not a bike should be a road bike or a TT bike should the appearance of a TT bar quite insightful. It's a valid point because the main difference between the two is how you support your body weight. If you go with 34 bar width or even smaller, you still have to actively engage your triceps and can't really relax. It's still the "road position" and how you ride is the same. The aero bar just make it easier to hold it longer. I run clip-on aero bar on my road bike and when I in that aggressive position my trunk angle actually is the same, just how I support the weight is different.
@@TriathlonDanNo, it’s an account of someone who races in Europe in real races over, god forbid, actual climbs where morphing yourself into a 80kg+ aerofoil sees you slip and slide your way into the broom wagon 😉. This gimmic is pointless: just employee a team of F1 engineers and almost anyone cat 2 or above could top-ten a nationals.😂
Still seems strange that for a couple of months I was the fastest, EVER!
Love it you are a good sport love the idea thanks for doing all these videos for Dan. I have really enjoyed them
Thanks :) still a few videos to come 👊
Wow for your setup very nice
How do you like the velo elite wheels?
@@donm1979 Really good. I'm in the process of changing my Princetons to VeloElite too as Tom has some new rim shapes coming. Also just in the process of releasing a new disc wheel too which I've used a few times and have been very impressed. Tom knows how to build a wheel!
I really appreciate how open he was about process he went through for the record. Super interesting and nice to see budget options like the Prime bars and Ultegra.
Very much so! I love that it’s basically his winter training bike, he’s transformed it back into that guise just now 🤣
Not only did he ruin the TT. He also ruined a cat 3 race I was in when he decided to go off the front with 3 laps to go 😂
My bad! I had one match left that day after doing the E123 before we started the 3/4 too 😬😬
@@georgefox7333 I guess having the break in play really worked to the advantage too. Well done on a epic year 👏👏👏
Hahahaha love this 😂😂
Super humble. Doesn't even mention the engine he has. Give me all that equipment and I'd still be shit 😂😂 very interesting video.
Hahaha me too 😂😂
No doubt he is a monster on the bike, but I think to us we shouldn’t sweat it.
We pay for our bikes which we ride for leisure. Speed and performance isn’t a priority. For him, as a sponsored rider, it’s his bread and butter.
It's interesting to see how time trial bikes have always been the subject of experimentation. Alf Engers was the first UK rider to beat 50 minutes for 25 miles ( 30mph plus with a time of 49-24 back in 1978). He was as I recall already aware of the importance of aerodynamics; well ahead of his time. At one stage he even taped over his shoelaces to reduce air drag. He also put his brake levers behind his drop handlebars, on the 'tops' but this was banned by the Road Time Trials Council (RTTC, the governing body of time trial sport in the UK at the time). He used a single chainring with a close-ratio freewheel block and very close clearances on his bike - not a road racing bike, but close. Much like George's is in this modern era, it seems to me!
Very good point. And he was one of the first to selectively race. Most people raced every week. Not Alf Engers. He targetted very few races and courses. He was weight obsessed. Drilled out his chainrings for instance.
This is great info, thanks very much :)
@@winstoncat6785 wasn't it Engers that used to ride to events the day before and sleep in hedges? No wonder he did it selectively! Also regarding aero, he was famous for drilling holes in equipment to lighten it. I dread to think what an aero disaster that was but at the time lightness was best and he'd drill away any material he deemed unnecessary
@@grahambrant6664 HI. I couldn't say about sleeping in a hedge. I remember a Cycling Weekly article on his exploits, from the late 80's. After he was "retired". But I can't recall all the details. Very interesting anyway. The drilled chainrings were featured in the article however. I think he ran single chain ring too. But iirc, not fixed gear.
Great video and super nice guy. Seems like the main adaptation from a ‘normal’ road position is the narrow bar and turned in hoods which allows him to adapt a TT style arm position. That would seem to be an easy CTT rule change if they want the category to be more about increasing participation from people racing their normal road bikes
George seems like a nice fella and a hell of a rider! Good luck to him. Not sure I could even get in that position, let alone pedal in it!
He sure is! Haha me either, can’t fold my stomach up that much 😂😂
That's insanely fast! At my peak as a Cat. 1. 22 year old winning road races I only managed 21:22 on a 2011 Specilized Venge with some rolling terrain and no wind.
Nuts isn't it haha! That's a great ride though!
Actually while watching this an interesting thought pops up: if we can just use TT bike with road bars for road use, doesn't it render the "aero-road" bike redundant? What I see is a super nice super charged "aero-road" bike which totally surprised me. For flat terrain I see no problem going with this setup -- especially for most of us who usually just ride 2-3 hrs/ride and we ride for the fast (no fun in the slow, isn't it?). I actually have my "endurance" road bike set up towards TT. I ran 88mm rear and 50mm front... Everything slammed to the extreme with straight seat post and saddle pushed forward beyond the limit, and I want to go even more aggressive. Isn't it just much more easier if I just go with the opposite route and start from an TT frame and relax things a little? This is very intriguing. Thanks for the interview! Super good content.
TT frames handle differently mate
I use an endurance road bike with clip on bars a lot :D
@@benturp3492 I see... In bunch races like criterium (well and the tours?) the handling might become a problem. I only thought those solo-ish rides I do. In general riding situations the handling difference would not be that much, you get used to whatever relatively quick.
where is his front rotor
brakes only slow you down
A lot of new road frames changed into TT frame geometry in about 2014 . So technically they aren't road bikes?
Exactly this! George has ridden within 20 seconds of this on a Giant Propel
His set up is quality, fair play! A lot of jealous comments read out there 😂
Nice isn’t it! Haha isn’t it just 😂 I even avoided the worst ones!
I did the 25 in less than an hour a fair few times, and once did a 10 in 19:54....back in 1991, on a Peugeot Ventoux road bike.... Wasn't a club rider, just did it for fitness/fun.... 🤷🏽♂️
Corrrr thats FAST on that equipment in 1991!
@TriathlonDan Lolz... I didn't know it was fast at the time. It was on a stretch of the A419 between Blunsdon and Cirencester. Took me twice as long to get back, as my legs were shot.... 😆
What strikes me is that his bar position is extremely low but not that long - kinda the opposite of where positions have been going in the last few years in both road and TT. Maybe because he only has to hold that position for 20min? Tough to imagine holding that for 6+ hours…
Yes lots of TT positions have gone longer haven't they, I expect he tested it :D
Who the hell is doing 6 hour TTs?! Irrelevant
@@roadcyclist1 Most triathletes, thousands of fondo riders…
@cmmoll1 triathlons are a circus event. fondos? No. No one is doing a 6 hour solo break away in a fondo lol.
cycling interviewing and commentary worthy of Phil Liggett. Good job all round chaps!
Haha thanks very much!
I had a bike fit from George and he’s a great chap and a fantastic bike fitter.
Great to hear! I’ll be coming back to him for a fit that’s for sure :)
Cassette size?
11-28 👍
How can you set a road bike tt record on a tt frame?
Position on the bike should be under similar rules to the athletes hour record. The Argon is just a TT bike with road bars.
Honest question - if you’re going to wear long shorts and then wear super long aero overshoes, why not just wear tights?
tights material doesn't have high end aero properties as long aero shoe covers **rolls eyes**
I thought the geometry of a TT bike made it feel odd to ride as a road bike
I guess he’s used to it, I’ve never ridden one 🤷♂️
The set up used at the RB Champs has allegedly evolved since this video to the point that there is an official complaint and there appears to be a case to answer. He admits in this video he has pushed the boundaries. Now the question is where is the boundary.
This video was from 6 months ago and talking specifically about the setup used last year to break the record. This video was posted on November 4th 2023.
@@georgefox7333 so that is confirmation that the set up has evolved and comments by tt community on the basis of this video may not be valid. Thanks for clearing that up.
@@martynheritage-owen3804 it’s confirming that 6 months ago when this was posted I couldn’t talk about a setup that didn’t exist yet.
@@georgefox7333 a politicians answer.
Please also understand that this is me pointing a camera at George and firing questions with no prompts or script. I hope that his passion for performance and understanding of the rules comes through rather than people analysing one or two words he uses in a 14 minute video.
Looks like a TT bike with road bike handlebars 😂 Also TT helmets should not be allowed too!
TT helmets aren’t allowed, he used a road lid :)
@@TriathlonDan the picture in the video shows otherwise:)
@@benturp3492 sorry - I assumed these comments were in relation to the recent road bike TT champs, in which he used a road helmet as the rules had changed by that point, you’re right he had a TT lid on in this video as those were the rules at the time. Cheers 👍
Well done George. Hope to see you have another crack at it soon.
Me too! Peer pressure 🤣🤣
I love it when people nerd out about every single detail to win. Fully deserved the crown.
Except the set up used has evolved since to the point that there is an official complaint and there appears to be a case to answer. He admits in this video he has pushed the boundaries. No the question is where is the boundary.
Exactly, optimising every area! Martyn thanks for your comment, but just because there's a complaint doesn't mean any rules have been broken. Innocent until proven guilty?
@@TriathlonDan correct. It's just some people are jumping to the conclusion that this is the set up at issue and it isn't.
@@martynheritage-owen3804 got it 👍
I wonder what his average power is for 10 mile tt
He normalised just over 380w for this ride :)
Guaranteed we're not far off going back to basics. No power meters, fixed wheel only etc. All this watts watching and tunnel testing seems broadly very tiring.
George your a legend Sir
Not bad is he 😬
Used to ride "road bikes" for TT's, before TT bikes were a thing.
Love it 💪
Qudos but I’m afraid I fall in the camp of having a standardised road bike, same frame, wheels, angles, kit, gears and make it a test of person vs person and less about who can spec the best bike, helmet etc (as well as being incredibly fit) not a hater just my opinion for an alternate type of TT, not a replacement just another category
I think we'll see the rules change to be more like this, it's only the minority really wanting to optimise as much as possible, the majority will just rock up on what they do the club ride on
wow no front disc brake
Haha only as he had the rotor on something else, it had a brake fitted for the ride
I know this is a predictable comment but I wonder what Mr sturgess would have done on this set up in his prime------yes I know----would mercx have better podgar-----ect------just an observation 🤔 .
I guess we'll never know, but George won't mind me saying, he's very good but he's not the level of those guys in terms of power, so it would be reasonable to assume they'd be quicker!
saddle height increase due to going from 170 to 165?
Probably! Only a small change though :)
Yes, up 5mm due to higher foot at bottom dead centre.
Such a great bike. Very nice
Thanks :)
I do wonder if it was the like of Alex dowsett with George's setup would there have been of a fuss over the setup over George?
It’s really interesting isn’t it, the bike itself is clearly within the rules, so if it’s speculation about the position / forearm / wrist thing that is the reason for complaint then half the field need DQ’ing. I can understand why the winner would be the subject of a complaint, but dowsett in 2nd was probably riding in exactly the same way and doesn’t appear to have been complained about. I’ll just stick to riding my bike 😬
Dowsett was very complimentary to George’s win. It’s all within the rules as was Dowset.
@@iamthedalilama exactly - Alex’s video was great
Bravo!!
Cheers!
Hello frend
Hello 😬
Isn’t this just a chubby bloke riding a TT bike with narrow aero road bars along pan flat dual carriageways and getting a hyperbolic UA-cam video dedication to said situation? Sports and more specifically, events and / or disciplines are defined by their rules. A road bike TT is one of the worst ideas ever as they will asymptote toward TT bikes very rapidly over time.
Isn’t this just a keyboard warrior sat behind an anonymous account 🤫
Well isn't the "mojo" of road bike TT the spirit of "hack" ? You hack the rules and hack the "road bike" to go as fast as possible. You don't even have to go with an expensive frame, I even see local folks "aero tubing" their road bike with foams and sticky plastic tapes which costs nothing. Even the position you can go with can be altered by a negative setback (front flare) seat post. If the rule allows (UCI banned this, don't know otherwise), you can even use 26 inch front wheels to lower the front end. It's just easier to start from an TT frame.
I actually find the idea in the video that the standard for whether or not a bike should be a road bike or a TT bike should the appearance of a TT bar quite insightful. It's a valid point because the main difference between the two is how you support your body weight. If you go with 34 bar width or even smaller, you still have to actively engage your triceps and can't really relax. It's still the "road position" and how you ride is the same. The aero bar just make it easier to hold it longer. I run clip-on aero bar on my road bike and when I in that aggressive position my trunk angle actually is the same, just how I support the weight is different.
Lots of people agree, beautifully put 🤩🏆
@@TriathlonDanNo, it’s an account of someone who races in Europe in real races over, god forbid, actual climbs where morphing yourself into a 80kg+ aerofoil sees you slip and slide your way into the broom wagon 😉. This gimmic is pointless: just employee a team of F1 engineers and almost anyone cat 2 or above could top-ten a nationals.😂
@@PatrickHolgate wow, you must be a big deal. Thanks so much for gracing the internet with your presence. Have a great ride at Le Tour.