Your latest bike purchase?

[Steve O]

N + 1/2

I picked this up way over by the Arboretum and brought it all the way home like this. I had hoped to figure out a way to pull it along like a 1-wheel trailer, but couldn’t make it work that way.
[IMG]http://bikearlingtonforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=8991&stc=1[/IMG]
[IMG]http://bikearlingtonforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=8990&stc=1[/IMG]

[TwoWheelsDC]

Finally time to start using power. I decided that I wanted something I could use on both my geared and fixed gear road bikes, so the Vector was the best option…and the new version have an improved design and allow you to go with just left side power, with the option to add right side power later. I considered the Stages since it just involves a simple crank arm swap, but I still would’ve had to buy a new crankset for the Cervelo in order to make it work on both bikes, which would be dumb.

[hozn]

@Steve O 119120 wrote:

N + 1/2

I picked this up way over by the Arboretum and brought it all the way home like this. I had hoped to figure out a way to pull it along like a 1-wheel trailer, but couldn’t make it work that way.

Awesome!!!! Practice is slow (hard to find time) here, but slowly it is making more sense

[hozn]

@TwoWheelsDC 119122 wrote:

Finally time to start using power.

Awesome! Racing or just for training?

The L/R power would be nice. And Garmin makes good hardware, so hopefully this follows suite.

I have a 4iiii setup on my commuter, which has worked quite well, though definitely has some new-product quirks. In theory I could add a right-side strain sensor in the future, in practice I primarily have it on that bike to let me track exercise/burn-rate with more accuracy and because … data!

[TwoWheelsDC]

@hozn 119126 wrote:

Awesome! Racing or just for training?

The L/R power would be nice. And Garmin makes good hardware, so hopefully this follows suite.

I have a 4iiii setup on my commuter, which has worked quite well, though definitely has some new-product quirks. In theory I could add a right-side strain sensor in the future, in practice I primarily have it on that bike to let me track exercise/burn-rate with more accuracy and because … data!

I’m really just after exercise/calorie burn accuracy and data…and my b-day is coming up and I couldn’t really think of anything else I wanted. I considered the 4iii, but ultimately it had the same swapability limitations as the Stages, and simply isn’t compatible with my Cervelo’s current crankset. Anyway, I installed everything tonight and it detected and calibrated just fine on my head units, but given my class schedule, I may not be able to do a proper shakedown until Monday.

Had to switch my shoes over to Keo cleats to match up with the Vectors, but that’s not a big deal. I even followed your recommendations and grabbed the carbon Forte pedals from Performance to replace my other set of SPD-SLs.

[Dirt]

I’m going with Stages. The new gravel bike will have one. Probably the Salsa will have one too.

[dkel]

I don’t even know what you guys are talking about. :p

[hozn]

@dkel 119131 wrote:

I don’t even know what you guys are talking about. [emoji14]

That’s good; it is much cheaper that way.

[hozn]

@TwoWheelsDC 119128 wrote:

I’m really just after exercise/calorie burn accuracy and data…

Makes sense. I was surprised at (1) how bad/inaccurate the HR-based calorie formula that Garmin uses turned out to be and (2) how close Strava’s estimated power (and calorie data) turned out to be. I haven’t done detailed analysis for #2, but the calorie consumption for routine rides (like commutes) seems to be 5-10% of what I now get with the PM.

This explains why I was assuming my BMR was something like 3,000 calories a day (it’s not), I was basically only counting half my exercise calories using HR (e.g. ~800/day on regular commute instead of ~1500/day).

[TwoWheelsDC]

@hozn 119136 wrote:

Makes sense. I was surprised at (1) how bad/inaccurate the HR-based calorie formula that Garmin uses turned out to be and (2) how close Strava’s estimated power (and calorie data) turned out to be. I haven’t done detailed analysis for #2, but the calorie consumption for routine rides (like commutes) seems to be 5-10% of what I now get with the PM.

This explains why I was assuming my BMR was something like 3,000 calories a day (it’s not), I was basically only counting half my exercise calories using HR (e.g. ~800/day on regular commute instead of ~1500/day).

I use Strava’s total power output as a rough guide for calorie burn, but I’m curious to see what the real numbers are. Also, I’m riding the bike portion of a relay triathlon in August, which will be right about 16 miles, so I think getting a better idea of my FTP will help me maximize my performance there…the only problem is that I haven’t had time to really get in shape, so my performance won’t be that great, PM or not.

[hozn]

@TwoWheelsDC 119137 wrote:

I think getting a better idea of my FTP will help me maximize my performance there…

Yes, that also makes sense. I do like having data-backed confidence in races to know that either I can continue to push at a specific pace — or to know that a pace is indeed unsustainable.

Apparently there is a difference in calculating FTP inside (on trainer, which is what I did earlier this spring) or outside on roads. I think you can use long loops at HP (probably early AM) to do it outside; people do, anyway. Or find a 20+ minute climb; Mt. Weather reportedly works well for this. I need to do another test, but kinda dread it; it was not exactly fun.

[vvill]

Climbing power numbers (for me as well as others) tend to be higher than on flat ground, or on a trainer – something about out of the saddle body position I think. I find that on a trainer my numbers are the lowest. If anyone is super interested in the sports science of cycling power/wattage, there’s an excellent Google Group called “wattage”. They get very in-depth, although it gets a little intense.

I use power for a lot of things.
– Quantify a particular effort during a ride (usually 3min+ otherwise I won’t be looking at the screen).
– Plan what power to hold for a specific segment effort – not necessarily Strava; actually mostly timed sections on Gran Fondos, etc.
– More accurate calorie estimate
– TSS for estimating work load and managing training load / rest days, etc.
– Quantify improvement (when I was coming back from injury in 2013 I had a specific wattage goal for 5 minutes, which I hit sometime in the last 6 months)

For every ride with power it’s great because you can tell what efforts you did regardless of wind, drafting, terrain, weight of your bike/gear, etc. A really accurate power set up can even be used to estimate your aerodynamics/drag area. I think a power meter is a better upgrade than many of the bling bike things that get marketed if you want to learn more about your cycling efforts, and ultimately if you want to train to improve your performance.

For Strava users you can also get a window into the W/kg that other powermeter-equipped riders can produce on segments (and then go and cry about your own unathletic genetic gifts). Some pros publish some of their power data too.

I love almost everything about my Stages, but I definitely would prefer non-single sided power, especially since I have a sizeable shim on my left leg I suspect my balance isn’t 50/50. Eventually I think I would like a crank/spindle based solution on my “dream” bike so my cranks/pedals/wheels could be swapped around as I like without worrying about where the power meter goes.

[Vicegrip]

@hozn 119136 wrote:

Makes sense. I was surprised at (1) how bad/inaccurate the HR-based calorie formula that Garmin uses turned out to be and (2) how close Strava’s estimated power (and calorie data) turned out to be. I haven’t done detailed analysis for #2, but the calorie consumption for routine rides (like commutes) seems to be 5-10% of what I now get with the PM.

This explains why I was assuming my BMR was something like 3,000 calories a day (it’s not), I was basically only counting half my exercise calories using HR (e.g. ~800/day on regular commute instead of ~1500/day).

I also found Strava good in certain conditions. While better than some other methods Strava cannot use wind or lack of as a factor. Plug in your weight and go for a ride drafting some other folks and you will get power and cal burned numbers well higher than actual. Just today i had some fun with the power meter. On a long flat I was drafting someone for a bit and was pulling 120 watts. Same speed but 3 feet to the left and the wattage went to 280 while on the hoods. In the drops, elbows bent the wattage went to 220.

I found that the power meter is also handy when leading a group. Early on I can get an idea of the avg wattage the group can ride at and can maintain that wattage which takes hills into consideration.

I simply don’t count exercise cals burned. (Well to be accurate I don’t count calories at all. I just eat less cal dense stuff and more good for you stuff)

[Steve O]

@Steve O 119120 wrote:

N + 1/2
[IMG]http://bikearlingtonforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=8991&stc=1[/IMG]

Phuoc at BikeClub was right! You don’t forget. 3rd time up, and I went 50 feet. In 10 minutes I could ride a straight line indefinitely. Still need a lot of work, mostly on the windmilling arms. Also free mounting; only got up once out of about 25 tries.

Anyway, looks like the 2017 Air Force Classic is a go!

[Powerful Pete]

New supercommuter has landed. Two rides thus far and very impressed… more pictures to come.

[Author]

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