Eldron Posted August 14, 2014 Share Great post Just to add to this....weight is single most important change you can influence to change your speed....I mean changing your legs into tree trunks that can kick out big power numbers are near impossible, physiologically....cut out coke, chips and bread much easier Amen Rouxster! It's all about power to weight. More power is better and less weight is better. The power you develop with sweat - the reduced weight you develop with self control The other factor is VO2 max - the ability to get oxygen from lung to leg. This is largely genetic but can be tweaked by training - it's best for the average man to ignore this factor and let the power training develop the VO2 max. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spoke101 Posted August 14, 2014 Share Here is my 3 min test data over the past few months. - I do almost training on the open road Sea point chappies Sea point. 28 June 2014 - 386w 10 July 2014 - 411w 5 August 2014 - 422w 14 August 2014 - 439w Maybe I am just getting better at watt biking That's a huge improvement. >22% in 4 months. I know guys who train a whole year and only see a 10w gain. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DJ84 Posted August 14, 2014 Share Great post Just to add to this....weight is single most important change you can influence to change your speed....I mean changing your legs into tree trunks that can kick out big power numbers are near impossible, physiologically....cut out coke, chips and bread much easier Cut out coke and chips,That is sacrilege. Man i need Wattbikes at my gym so that i can figure out how many watts i am doing to see how my training is going. On the old bikes that give you average watts for your ride, who knows how consistent that is and if you can do the 3 min test on that consistently? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eldron Posted August 14, 2014 Share that is half of the equation....weight is another...that will influence your speed as eldron suggested in his post. I can kick out 1500 watts no problem(but only for three seconds...whahahahha like in whose line is it anyway...peak numbers mean nothing really) It's like speakers. PMPO numbers are huge but RMS is tiny. Cheapie companies quote PMPO - quality companies quote RMS! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jcza Posted August 14, 2014 Share Amen Rouxster! It's all about power to weight. More power is better and less weight is better. The power you develop with sweat - the reduced weight you develop with self control The other factor is VO2 max - the ability to get oxygen from lung to leg. This is largely genetic but can be tweaked by training - it's best for the average man to ignore this factor and let the power training develop the VO2 max. Don't forget about the difference Aero wheels can make for roadies - available from Eldron of course I saw some very interesting research where the difference between Elite cyclists and weekend fun riders is a straight line on VO2Max graph (i.e. linear), however the difference between champion elite cyclist and domestique elite cyclist is way more complicated. Some elites that never won a thing had massive VO2 numbers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndrewF Posted August 14, 2014 Share So my 2 cents: Total wattage is good to measure, but means nothing on it's own. The number that matters is your power to weight ratio. Take the wattage and divide by your weight. Read: Wattbike power to weight Last time I tested (20km TT) was at 385 watts and my weight was 76 kg. 385 / 78 = 5.06 watts/kg Now, say someone who weighs 105 kg tested the same, this would be their result. 385 / 105 = 3.66 watts/kg That's a big difference! So saying "I tested at 485 watts" doesn't mean much. Power to weight is the main number I care about when it comes to cycling. Scrumpy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pure Savage Posted August 14, 2014 Share That's a huge improvement. >22% in 4 months. I know guys who train a whole year and only see a 10w gain. In all honesty my first number was in bikeplus constania at altitude. The other three were all in same conditions at VA with similar days, similar rests and time of day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eldron Posted August 14, 2014 Share Some elites that never won a thing had massive VO2 numbers. Agreed! Being "fast" is a combination of many many things: Ability to deal with pain.Ability to "read" a race.How to hide from wind.When to go fast.Power to weight.VO2 Max.Supporting team.Equipment.Immune system.Training methods. There are a million others as well. Numbers on a page will only give you a theoretical idea of how fast you can be on a bicycle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rouxtjie Posted August 14, 2014 Share 385 / 78 = 5.06 watts/kg cheese and rice..... :eek: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rouxtjie Posted August 14, 2014 Share Agreed! Being "fast" is a combination of many many things: Ability to deal with pain.Ability to "read" a race.How to hide from wind.When to go fast.Power to weight.VO2 Max.Supporting team.Equipment.Immune system.Training methods. There are a million others as well. Numbers on a page will only give you a theoretical idea of how fast you can be on a bicycle.Jirre but you on fire today....another great post eldron. Numbers are potential on paper...but we dont ride on paper no do we..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndrewF Posted August 14, 2014 Share cheese and rice..... :eek: Thanks! That was prior to Ironman... I am now 5 kg heavier and probably 20 watts down - comeback time Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jcza Posted August 14, 2014 Share Agreed! Being "fast" is a combination of many many things: Ability to deal with pain.Ability to "read" a race.How to hide from wind.When to go fast.Power to weight.VO2 Max.Supporting team.Equipment.Immune system.Training methods. There are a million others as well. Numbers on a page will only give you a theoretical idea of how fast you can be on a bicycle. Yip...Cavendish is a great example. He didn't have the numbers but British Cycling stuck with him because he had the attitude of a racer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eldron Posted August 14, 2014 Share Jirre but you on fire today....another great post eldron. Numbers are potential on paper...but we dont ride on paper no do we..... Ha ha ha nah - just a stubborn old school codger who hasn't bought a power meter yet Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fandacious Posted August 14, 2014 Share So my 2 cents: Total wattage is good to measure, but means nothing on it's own. The number that matters is your power to weight ratio. Take the wattage and divide by your weight. Read: Wattbike power to weight Last time I tested (20km TT) was at 385 watts and my weight was 76 kg. 385 / 78 = 5.06 watts/kg Now, say someone who weighs 105 kg tested the same, this would be their result. 385 / 105 = 3.66 watts/kg That's a big difference! So saying "I tested at 485 watts" doesn't mean much. Power to weight is the main number I care about when it comes to cycling. Scrumpy well it means different things. 485 watts on a flatt will kick 385 watts on a flat, *almost* regardless of weight. w/kg becomes more relevant on climbs where you have to contend against gravity as well Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madbradd Posted August 14, 2014 Share well it means different things. 485 watts on a flatt will kick 385 watts on a flat, *almost* regardless of weight. w/kg becomes more relevant on climbs where you have to contend against gravity as well Especially where wind resistance goes up with the square of speed.... But all the numbers mean nothing if you can't handle the burn. Lots more to performance than just numbers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madbradd Posted September 15, 2014 Share Anyone noticed the big discrepancy between the wattbike MMP result and the MMP recorded on garmin connect? To clarify.... I did the 3min test on wattbike and result was 446 watts. Had my 910xt paired so Look at the data for the test on garmin connect, select the 1min average max power (above the power graph) and get 506 watts. Anyone know which is the correct one or did I read average power from the wattbike and not MMP? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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