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

A light bike doesn't replace good fitness.

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mrlobber
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by mrlobber

Look 596 size M / Syntace C3 / Zipp 808 FC tubulars with Veloflex Carbon / Omega brakes; myself, I'm 1.79m / 74kg / 31 years.

http://content25-foto.inbox.lv/albums/m ... G-9257.jpg" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Obviously, need to work on the position (and flexibility) to make the power gap between road and TT bike smaller , however, personally it doesn't look too slow, does it :lol:
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mrlobber
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by mrlobber

Look does have a default shallow seatpost angle, but, turning it over (also in my case), you go to 79 degrees anyway. I have fairly long forearms, which dictates that for a low / flat back position I need either to have a very short headtube or somehow compensate for it with a low stem position (which the Look allows doing). My current position is as low as it gets (no wind tunnel testing unless I go somewhere abroad... not an option), I can play a little with stem lengths / aerobar positioning, but that's it.

While disc certainly would give some extra speed, I wouldn't believe it is as big as more than 2 kph, so I still seem to have the most un-aero TT bike around :D

Another explanation might be the powermeter gives wrong readings, but in this case, I'm tempted to believe the watts since I have a Quarq on my roadbike to compare to, and also ran a Powertap a year ago, and all these have shown more or less similar readings (no sudden "gains" or "losses" in fitness, as much as I have it at all).
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Machinenoise
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by Machinenoise

mrlobber wrote:Look does have a default shallow seatpost angle, but, turning it over (also in my case), you go to 79 degrees anyway. I have fairly long forearms, which dictates that for a low / flat back position I need either to have a very short headtube or somehow compensate for it with a low stem position (which the Look allows doing). My current position is as low as it gets (no wind tunnel testing unless I go somewhere abroad... not an option), I can play a little with stem lengths / aerobar positioning, but that's it.

While disc certainly would give some extra speed, I wouldn't believe it is as big as more than 2 kph, so I still seem to have the most un-aero TT bike around :D

Another explanation might be the powermeter gives wrong readings, but in this case, I'm tempted to believe the watts since I have a Quarq on my roadbike to compare to, and also ran a Powertap a year ago, and all these have shown more or less similar readings (no sudden "gains" or "losses" in fitness, as much as I have it at all).


Hmm i have a few ideas but a head on shot (even on the turbo) would answer a few of my questions, a lot of drag is defined by the bits that hit the air first!

If the position is more aero I'm sure you could adapt to it over a few months of consistent riding in the position. I always do my winter turbo sessions on the TT bike so that I never lose the flexibility and comfort I have on it. If i'm being honest the hip angle looks like it might restrict power a bit, but i would only raise the stem by 5-10mm. Its amazing how little changes can help. The difference with a disc would only get another 5-8W back over an 808. Maybe use a buff or similar, to control the hair flapping in breeze outside of your helmet, or cut it if that is your preference.
By the way the power graph looks nice, could be a little tighter but I know that's very hard to do.

Machinenoise
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by Machinenoise

Well done Juanmoretime! Kudos! 800W at the start is pretty hot, you were clearly fired up for it!

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Tapeworm
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by Tapeworm

A 800w start means you started too hard!
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markc
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by markc

Very nice effort. Chapeau!

Have you considered trying to increase cadence? I went from low 80s to mid-90s over the last two seasons and it helped me go a bit faster. Power went up and I became more consistent from race to race. Mileage may vary of course.

--Mark

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Tapeworm
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by Tapeworm

Nice result Juan! Do you have the power details for this one?
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mrlobber
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by mrlobber

Here's mine from last Wednesday.
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/348646682" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Not exactly a true TT, but a bike leg from a "backyard" triathlon (0.6km swim + 28km bike + 7km run) race instead. 2nd best bike split of the day :D

So standard helmet (Catlike Whisper Size L), no shoe covers, no rear disc (Zipp 808's F & R). Also, the distance has 1.5 km of cobbles + non-tarmac roads on start / end, real fun to ride it on a TT bike :D :D
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frohrider
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by frohrider

Not a typical TT Race.. but the closest to what I've done since getting a powermeter (quark elsa) -> http://connect.garmin.com/activity/350065058. A little bit of a fast start, but otherwise happy with the performance. Still need some more work on on the power-to-weight ratio.. hints for climbing specific training sessions are welcome ;)
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Tapeworm
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by Tapeworm

Looks like a damn finely executed TT, slight decay in the 3/4 and then picked up again, which interestingly was done with a lower cadence.

Well done!
"Physiology is all just propaganda and lies... all waiting to be disproven by the next study."
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MattSoutherden
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by MattSoutherden

Couple of races from the last month. Both rides done on the road bike with clip-ons.

Haven't done much racing this year (2nd child just turned 1), but I've managed to get a couple of TTs in over the last month.

Club 10 - http://connect.garmin.com/activity/353280009
- 22:52 / 338W
- 2nd Best 20min power.
- Round rings.

Open 25 - http://connect.garmin.com/activity/353238835
- 57:36 / 312W
- Struggled with a knot in my left calf cramping up, so reasanably happy with that.
- Doval rings
- Winner today was Dr Hutch with a long 49

Photo from the Open 25 today.

Image
Last edited by MattSoutherden on Mon Aug 05, 2013 2:58 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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MattSoutherden
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by MattSoutherden

Thanks.

That course doesn't undulate much, so pacing isn't too difficult.

I've put my last 3 TTs with that setup into the Chung calculator on the Cycling Power Lab site (with observed weather from record) and they came out at 0.285/0.286 CdA. Their CdA estimator for someone my height/weight on an optimised TT setup is 0.245. If I could get to .25 that would knock over 2 minutes off my time at the same power.
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WMW
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by WMW

Do those calculators assume no wind?

Being tall is definitely a disadvantage, but guys like Wiggins for instance can still get very aero. He's probably ~.20. I think you might have a lot of gains to make via position.
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MattSoutherden
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by MattSoutherden

It assumes that the course is a loop and that the conditions are constant over the duration.

Their estimate for Wiggo is ~0.24. I don't think anyone in a UCI position is going to get right down to ~0.2. Some of the mid 90s superman and Obree positions would be ~0.18, though.
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WMW
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by WMW

I just took another look at it. They don't account for wind, so if there is wind it can skew the results quite a bit.

I made this awhile ago to get CdA if wind is a factor. http://forum.slowtwitch.com/gforum.cgi? ... ply;so=ASC

Seems to work well. At least the 4 times I've used it it's been very consistent.

And if Wiggins has a .24 CdA... well, I just don't believe it. Remember, he is right around the best in the world in a flat TT and he doesn't weigh much. If he can put out enough power to push a .24 CdA that fast, then he'd be way ahead in the climbs. Froome for instance must have quite a bit higher CdA.

I'm not quite as tall as him but considerably fatter, and my CdA is .225 with old equipment. Pretty sure I could hit .21 or even .20 with the latest and best stuff.
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