Australian Cycling Forums - Bicycles Network Australia

toolonglegs wrote:Can you download the data off the Watt Bike?...you will need your best 1 minute average at the end of the test.

I guess I could plug my own laptop etc in? There's nothing obviously connected. At a quick glance at the Wattbite website (should have looked there earlier! lots of stuff there), it looks like I can review per-minute info at least from the bike itself.

toolonglegs wrote:Has it got really big fans keeping you cool?...the main thing is that it is perfectly repeatable so you can compare with your next MAP test.

No big fans, but the room seems to be a consistent temp for the few times I've been in there.

Cheers,
Simon.

Have fun then ...a proper MAP test is fun .
Although I never understood why my best MAP result was lower than my best 5 minute average...probably an indoor/versus outdoor thing.

toolonglegs wrote:Have fun then ...a proper MAP test is fun .
Although I never understood why my best MAP result was lower than my best 5 minute average...probably an indoor/versus outdoor thing.

It's definitely extremely unusual and it probably is (or a power meter thing).

e.g. an individual pursuit might be ridden at 90-93% of MAP, maybe higher.
But a very hard 5-min hill climb versus a test on an indoor trainer, it's possible for a discrepancy.

Alex Simmons/RST wrote: But a very hard 5-min hill climb versus a test on an indoor trainer, it's possible for a discrepancy.

Yes it was on a 5 minute climb...but I didn't feel like falling off at the end like I did after a couple of MAP tests .
Oh well...all a thing of the past now,no power meter or fitness anymore .

I would love to give a WattBike a go. anybody heard of a gym in Perth that has one?

sorry for hijacking the thread

Too much family stuff this week, only got to the gym tonight.

I had a bit of a play with trying to vary, hold, increase and decrease power, and it's not that easy to stick to a constant power! With a pretty constant cadence power could be over a range of 20-30W.

I took my Garmin HRM strap, and the Wattbike computer had no problem using that. I've also worked out the review section of the computer. According to that my heart rate maxed out at 169 bpm and although I didn't really push it I don't think I could have gone too much harder. Two weeks ago I had a one hour bike ride around the local crit track where my HR averaged 169 bpm and had a max of 183. I'm not at all sure why there's such a difference there...


Oh, and that guy on the Wattbike website in all the embedded videos gets annoying to listen to after a while

Cheers,
Simon.

For various reasons (mostly associated with laziness) I haven't played on the Wattbike until last night.

I tried a somewhat adjusted basic RAMP test - warm up for 10 minutes at about 140W and then upped every 1/2 min until about 260W and then upped each minute. The final minute before I gave up was an average of 376W with a peak of 314W. I forgot my HRM so don't know what the heart was doing. According to the chart on the previous page of this thread, that 1 minute average puts me well below "untrained". This is somewhat disappointing. Does "untrained" on that chart mean "no format training", so a weekend hack would indeed fit in that category? This was also after no riding since last weekend (about 9 days). I don't know if that has an impact at all?

I found using the climb adjustment was the easiest way of varying the wattage. Adjusting about half a unit added between 15-20W if I kept cadence pretty constant.

Still learning and having a bit of fun.

Cheers,
Simon.

snark wrote:I found using the climb adjustment was the easiest way of varying the wattage. Adjusting about half a unit added between 15-20W if I kept cadence pretty constant.

perfect

bit easier than on a road bike & trainer...i'm about due for another ramp test, havent done one in a while.

snark wrote:upped every 1/2 min until about 260W and then upped each minute

i'm no expert but i would have kept it at 30sec (at ~25W/min increase)

just reading through the posts kinda makes me want to invest on a good condition 2nd hand powermeter!

Guys as a newbie question, is it safe to say if you can reduce your weight and make sure its not muscles your losing, its the fastest way to increase your power to weight ratio? I guess the biggest question there is how to properly lose weight huh?

JV911 wrote:

snark wrote:upped every 1/2 min until about 260W and then upped each minute

i'm no expert but i would have kept it at 30sec (at ~25W/min increase)

The info about RAMP tests on the Wattbike website said to hold each increment to the next power level for 60 seconds. I thought I was taking a shortcut by using 30 second increments early on

You're suggesting going up by approx 12W each 30 seconds instead of 25W each 60 seconds? I guess than then at the blow-up point you'd be averaging two different levels over the past minute. Maybe I'll re-read the section about RAMP tests rather than go from memory...

Cheers,
Simon.

My power to weight at best...390w av at 90kgs for 20 min... 4.33 w per kg
If I improved my power output by 10%...429w at 90kgs for 20 min...4.76 w per kg
If I lost 10% of my weight and kept the same power ...390w at 81kgs for 20 min...4.81 w per kg (and less frontal mass!)

Increasing my power 10% would be great,but it was never going to happen (I was getting close to a 400w 20min of a few occasions)...maybe a 2 or 3% improvement.
But dropping my weight another maybe 8kgs down to 82kgs was well with in my grasp.

Now I reckon I could hold 300w for 20minute at absolute best....300w at 106kgs for 20min... 2.83w per kg gosh,the difference a year makes! .

aeroslavebigbelly wrote:just reading through the posts kinda makes me want to invest on a good condition 2nd hand powermeter!

Guys as a newbie question, is it safe to say if you can reduce your weight and make sure its not muscles your losing, its the fastest way to increase your power to weight ratio? I guess the biggest question there is how to properly lose weight huh?

Provided you are not incredibly lean/underweight to begin with, then yes. Caveats:
Don't attempt to lose weight too fast (otherwise training will be sub-optimal).
Ensure you are eating a balanced healthy diet.

The best advice is:
Train to improve power, eat to get lean.

Might want to look at out "Fat2Fit" plan:
http://www.rstsport.com/joining.htm

snark wrote:You're suggesting going up by approx 12W each 30 seconds instead of 25W each 60 seconds?

yep. as advised by alex - check out his site

JV911 wrote:

snark wrote:You're suggesting going up by approx 12W each 30 seconds instead of 25W each 60 seconds?

yep. as advised by alex - check out his site

Thanks, I'll have a read there.

Tonight I tried a warm-up at about 180W and then jumped fairly quickly to about 350W (over a minute) and the last minute before I conked out got 414W. I actually started trailing off maybe 6-8 seconds before the end of that last minute and finished off the minute around 380-390W. Then couldn't breathe for another two minutes after that .

Given the different method, I'm not sure the two tests can be compared.

Again note that I'm really just having fun here, there's no specific training goal other than it's something to play with during the week.

Cheers,
Simon.

Look I don't have a power meter yet... I've got lots to learn still.

However is there any way of seeing how much power it takes sprint at 50k (seems to be my max at the moment)? Like are there tables or something with this in? I know it would only be an estimate.

Woooow... there is a free app for that!

http://bikecalculator.com/

Comedian wrote:Woooow... there is a free app for that!

http://bikecalculator.com/

it will only tell you steady state power, not that required for accelerating. and GIGO applies. if the input assumptions are wrong then the estimated power will be as well.

analyticcycling.com is a better site for this sort of stuff

Results of yesterday's MAP test with Alex

After a good warm-up the test started at 100w and increased at 25w/min...but the end (lasted ~12min) i was a dribbling mess

Physiological Data:

Body mass 72.0 kg
Height 175 cm
MAP 360 watts
FTP ~260 watts

Key Ratios:

FTP:MAP ratio 72.2%
BMI 23.5 kg/m^2
FTP Fitness Rating Good / Cat 3

Alex provided an excellent summary of results including training zones to help make the most of my training.

If you've never done a MAP test i reckon you should. It's tough, very tough...but fun!

HR-based power???

http://velonews.competitor.com/2011/06/ ... set_178521

JV911 wrote:HR-based power???

http://velonews.competitor.com/2011/06/ ... set_178521

Jesse must have sold his soul to say some of that stuff.

Tweet from @f_cancellara

Today the peleton had the great idea to go fullgas for almost 80km.That was not nice. Had over 300w average. pain pain.

http://twitter.com/#!/f_cancellara/stat ... 2960054272

Jack Bobridge at Romandie

Summary:
Time: 04:38:32
Distance: 169.72 km
Elevation Gain: 2,227 m
Avg Power: 290 W
Max Power: 1,192 W

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/82329233

Tour de France: Stage 4 power output analysis

453 Watts for the final 2km: A look at Stage 4

Horner covered the final 2km in 4:16, with an average power output of 453 W. The mass being used by SRM is 64kg, and that means that his final 4:16 was done at 7.1 W/kg. There was a 2 min stretch in the middle, shown in the figure above where the power output was 502W, an enormous 7.8 W/kg. Note the spikes in power and the not insignificant period of time spent above 540 W, mostly towards the bottom part of the climb.

another player in the market

http://www.power2max.com/produkt_vega.php