Live blog: Alex Dowsett to ride Red Bull Timelaps, cyclists shown to be safer drivers than non-cyclists according to insurance firm, more tri bikes with disc brakes launch, Tour de France trophy stolen from the NEC Cycle Show + more

@Smoggysteve Yes, I definitely have less control. So, for that reason and the other reasons why I think TT bikes should just be banned from UCI comp, I ride with normal road bars, in the road bike category.

@Mr Blackbird > "With regard to crosswinds, it depends more on the depth of your front wheel rim. Don’t forget that there is more body weight on the front wheel in a TT position." I run an aerofoil shaped tri-spoke on my road-bike in TTs where the organiser allows. The front is /very/ snatchy in cross-wind (I imagine cause the aerofoil spokes generate a significant "lift"/side-force as the AoA increases in cross-wind, and then stalls in the gusts as crosswind and AoA increase - which would suddenly "release" the lift/side-force). I also have a pretty low / over the front position on my competition bike - my position is more extreme than a few of the guys on TT bikes. So on those factors, my bike is little to no different to the TT bikes (indeed, my front wheel is probably more prone to sidewinds than deep section normal-spoke wheels that many T bikes are using). But.. cause I have road bars, my hands are out from the pivot point, I have more leverage over the bars and more stability and control in cross-winds.

@Paul J So if you - by your own admission - put TT bars on your road bike, is that now a dangerous bike?

@Paul J That's not making the BIKE dangerous, that is the rider adopting a position on it. And as is mentioned, his brother didn't witness is so its hearsay. A rider could be on a regular road bike and take their hands off the bars, sit up, or even lay their arms in puppy paws (its a training ride after all no UCI peaking over their shoulders) and potentially not be in full control or reach of the brakes. Does that make the BIKE dangerous?

@OnYerBike His brother, who must have some reason for stating that - I assume because he spoke to Seff!

@Paul J Yes. Your hands are further from the brakes. That is why it is important to train in places where you are less likely to encounter pedestrians and erratic traffic movements, with the head in a position that gives maximum visual warning of any impending problems. I think pros sometimes forget these points. With regard to crosswinds, it depends more on the depth of your front wheel rim. Don't forget that there is more body weight on the front wheel in a TT position. Most club and open TTs have road and TT bike categories, so if you choose to race a road bike good for you. It's a free country. In fact our club TTs are typically a 50/50 split between road and TT bikes and open TTs are around 25 - 30%road bikes. You don't automatically get a huge performance benefit from a TT bike. Training in the position and the extra core strength required is something that has to be worked on. Riding a TT bike is an art in itself. And my last point, some of the road bikes I see cost more than my road and TT bikes combined.

"Lovely relaxing bike ride" Of course the original was furnished by Mark Twain ("Taming the bicycle"): "Get a bicycle. You will not regret it, if you live". Albeit the drivers he had to content with were in carts, carriages, or behind herds of animals. Dogs were a major issue then as now, though.

@Mr Blackbird I have ridden road bikes with TT bars, yes, but I generally stick to a road bike when doing TTs in the local scene here. Your hands are further from the brakes, your reaction time before you can get on the brakes in response to some event is higher. As Seff's brother, Matisse, is quoted in the article: "because Seff was in his time trial handlebars at that moment, he couldn’t brake in time and crashed head-on into that car." You also less control over the front in windy conditions - a danger I've heard some of my fellow testers remark upon on days when we've had a lot of cross-wind. > I suggest you have a look at some of the road bikes that get used for racing in club and open TTs. They certainly aren’t cheaper than a TT bike. That some people choose to spend loads of money on a road bike is irrelevant here. That money is largely to show off, it's not buying any significant extra performance over a low-mid range road bike. Whereas even a lower end TT bike is a significant benefit over any road bike. I use a pretty cheap road bike in competition. Around €1300 for the bike, and another €450 for the wheels (I could have gone a lot cheaper on the bike TBH, a Chinese no-name frame would have halved that cost). Requiring *2* bikes for people to be competitive in UCI road cycling, where 1 of those bikes is pretty specialist and niche (in general market terms) and hence always more expensive, is just wrong.

A friend of mine used to describe his Brompton as an expensive pet. That was in the days long before some Bromptons went bling. I wonder what he'd say now.

@Paul J His brother who didn't actually witness the collision...