Racing with a power meter. Link to my latest tt.

A light bike doesn't replace good fitness.

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Privateer
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Joined: Thu Feb 03, 2011 2:28 pm

by Privateer

Looks like the flattest, straightest road in the universe. Perfect for TTing!

Nice work at the end there- I can almost feel your pain.

Your average cadence was quite low for a TT, no?

by Weenie


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CerveloBert
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Location: Los Angeles, CA

by CerveloBert

At 55 - I'd be happy to keep that cadence.

wineguy
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by wineguy

Great effort. Judging by your HR it looks like you weren't holding anything back. Any wind at all?

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Calnago
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by Calnago

Nice work! :thumbup:
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indigo
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by indigo

Yep, nice TT. Are you a triathlete ? I think that cadence is perfect for triathlete TT (and obviously fine anyway).

Machinenoise
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Joined: Wed Jun 22, 2011 9:39 pm

by Machinenoise

1. Reduce the variance! 40w on such a smooth flat course is too much! it gets even worse after the turn. on a course like that just dial into a natural cadence ( whatever that is for you.) and pick a gear which gives you the right output, and focus on holding it!

2. Start slow finish-fast you can't hold 320w for 20min so start just below 20min threshold more likely to be 290-295 and then nail the last two miles!

3. You are lucky to have such flat courses! the "flat/fast" ones near me in the UK have at least 100m(330ft) of elevation change in them.

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grid256
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Joined: Tue Dec 15, 2009 8:32 pm

by grid256

I'm jealous of this course, so flat!

Ghost234
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Joined: Sun Apr 24, 2011 2:21 am

by Ghost234

Juanmoretime wrote:
Machinenoise wrote:1. Reduce the variance! 40w on such a smooth flat course is too much! it gets even worse after the turn. on a course like that just dial into a natural cadence ( whatever that is for you.) and pick a gear which gives you the right output, and focus on holding it!

2. Start slow finish-fast you can't hold 320w for 20min so start just below 20min threshold more likely to be 290-295 and then nail the last two miles!

3. You are lucky to have such flat courses! the "flat/fast" ones near me in the UK have at least 100m(330ft) of elevation change in them.


The issue with keeping a tighter watts is when I'm on the areobars I cannot see my Garmin since its on the stem. What I do is set high and low alarms and just listen and adjust when I hear the alarm go off. I either need to figure out how to tighten the range or figure out were I can possibly relocate the Garmin and see it when in the aero position.

I would love to see links to others members races. Please post up if you have them. Or even power workouts.



If using the 500 try mounting it on the junction between the stem and aerobars. This should give it a 45 degree angle facing towards you. Like so:

Image

rchung
Posts: 97
Joined: Sat Jul 09, 2011 5:01 am

by rchung

Juanmoretime wrote:this was done on a Scott Plasma 2 with 3T Brezza bars, H3 in front and a disc in back. I have only had two weeks training on this bike ( 4 rides) and if was allot different position then my old tt bike.

Head wind out, tail wind back. Looks like your CdA is ~ .26 m^2, though that depends on exactly what the wind speed and direction were.

phourgenres
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Joined: Wed Sep 21, 2011 7:19 pm

by phourgenres

Great job. Nice wattage and cadence.

Machinenoise
Posts: 141
Joined: Wed Jun 22, 2011 9:39 pm

by Machinenoise

Juanmoretime wrote:
Machinenoise wrote:1. Reduce the variance! 40w on such a smooth flat course is too much! it gets even worse after the turn. on a course like that just dial into a natural cadence ( whatever that is for you.) and pick a gear which gives you the right output, and focus on holding it!

2. Start slow finish-fast you can't hold 320w for 20min so start just below 20min threshold more likely to be 290-295 and then nail the last two miles!

3. You are lucky to have such flat courses! the "flat/fast" ones near me in the UK have at least 100m(330ft) of elevation change in them.


The issue with keeping a tighter watts is when I'm on the areobars I cannot see my Garmin since its on the stem. What I do is set high and low alarms and just listen and adjust when I hear the alarm go off. I either need to figure out how to tighten the range or figure out were I can possibly relocate the Garmin and see it when in the aero position.

I would love to see links to others members races. Please post up if you have them. Or even power workouts.


Being able to see the numbers is a big issue! TTing is my forte, but for less than an hour I work on feel ( mainly cos is prefer to use a disc and can't afford to upgrade from a wired PT..) I've created many mounts out of spare bits and bobs +cable ties between the aero bars for testing training and 50mile TTs. Anything to get the garmin in eyeline will work.

Will be doing quite a few 10mile TTs in the next few weeks for testing new positions so will try to post them. I'm sure they will break my rules, but at 10mile level you can bend the rules a little over little rises and head windy sections once you know what you are capable of with very smooth power delivery. I will try and post them anyway!

Oh and finally being 55 is no excuse, my coach is about that age and can still put out 340-350w FTP. :) He finds it hilarious to kick 20 something year olds backsides on the local chaingangs!

rchung
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Joined: Sat Jul 09, 2011 5:01 am

by rchung

Juanmoretime wrote:Very interesting. Where does this fall when comparing to other riders.

The exact estimate will depend, as I said, on wind direction (pure head/tail wind, or quartering headwind out, quartering tailwind back) and the tires/tubes/road surface but let's ignore those things and say .26 m^2 is right. Are you extremely tall? If not, I'd say .26 m^2 is good but not great, and you have some room to improve. That H3 is quite good when used with with a narrow tire and in pure head/tail wind conditions but less so at non-zero yaw, or when used with a medium width (like, 23mm) tire.

I guess maybe posting pictures from the side and front in an Aero position?

The eyeball isn't a very precise estimator of CdA, but it can often be useful in making suggestions about what to do next.

rchung
Posts: 97
Joined: Sat Jul 09, 2011 5:01 am

by rchung

Juanmoretime wrote:
Juanmoretime wrote:77F and a 12 to 14 MPH wind out of the west. I did have nothing left after I pedaled over the finish line. 196 bpm is definitely my Max heart rate. Especially at my age! :wink:


I'm 6' even. The tt ran straight south to a turn around then north. Also many car, motorcycle, running and bike injuries over the years. Bulging discs at S1 and L5 and degenerative disc disease at C6 and C7 so getting my neck back is a challenge, I use a Rudy Project aero helmet. Even though I do have good flexibility.

I will get some pictures up.

Ah. Sorry. I missed the post about the cross wind and speed. It appears from the Garmin Connect graphs that it was very slightly downhill from the start to the turnaround, but your outbound speed was slightly lower and your outbound power slightly higher than inbound. So either the wind wasn't exactly due west or you adjusted your position to be considerably more aero on the way back. I presumed it was the wind, and that you had a net headwind out and net tailwind back. If not, just do what you did on the way back.

So, it sounds like you think you've got some limit in going low. How narrow/wide are you? What's the shape of your back, how'd you decide on that helmet, where are you carrying your water, skin suit or separates, gloves/bare hands, buckles on shoes, tires/tubes, UCI rules or not, type of front brake, how was your number attached, what's your crank length? The Brezzas are sexy as hell but on a flat out-and-back course like this do you need a basebar or could you (should you would you) go AOD (I once laughingly explained AOD to my wife and she unlaughingly forbade me from it)? Just as a reference point, one 6' tall guy has, via anal-retentive OCD and frequent measurement, dropped his CdA down into the .21 m^2 range. But he's nuts.

rchung
Posts: 97
Joined: Sat Jul 09, 2011 5:01 am

by rchung

Juanmoretime wrote:I believe the wind may have been slightly from the south that day. As far as narrow I go as narrow as the pads will adjust. [snip]

Nice looking bike. I wish the Egg brake fit better to the fork, and I've never been a huge fan of the side cable on that thing. Sometimes a bottle between the extensions (especially if they're *very* slightly inclined) will be better than no bottle at all. Sounds like a good reason to use the helmet you do -- at least, compared to the Giro. As you probably know, helmets should be chosen for the back (and possibly shoulder width) so the helmet that's best on one rider probably won't be best on a different rider. You've (obviously) got the major things taken care of -- the issues that are left are going to be small, incremental, and tedious. A guy I know, just a bit shorter than you (maybe 5'10"), started off at .25 m^2 and through the accretion of lots of .005 improvements is now ~.21 m^2. That took him a lot of field testing over about 18 months.

CerveloBert
Posts: 284
Joined: Tue Dec 20, 2011 12:43 am
Location: Los Angeles, CA

by CerveloBert

I use a Garmin 910XT with clip-on aero bars. Man - I would have killed to have your bike during the Wildflower race this past weekend.

Anyways - The way I get over not having to stare at my Garmin throughout my bike leg is to use the watchstrap on my aero drink attachments.

by Weenie


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