Hermes

A power meter is very expensive however, there are wired Power Taps for $600 to 800 not including the wheel. I would start by purchasing Training and Racing with a Power Meter by Coggan and Allen https://www.amazon.com/Training-Racin.../dp/1931382794. It is a very good book on performance cycling and racing. It discusses the different power meters and the accompanying software.

So take the red pill and I will show you how deep the rabbit hole goes.

IMO, performance cyclists who train with heart rate but have a knack for and interest in human performance will love training with power. It is great for racers who have coaches because we can upload training files to the Training Peaks web site and the coach gets a complete record of our ride. He can track the performance over time and modulate the workouts based upon the upcoming race or event schedule and amount of intensity that should be included and type of practice.

The power meter records watts, kjoules, torque and cadence. The recording interval on my Garmin 705 is every second. On the ride, I monitor, instantaneous power, 3 second power, cadence and time. Generally, I do not look at HR although I have it on the screen. And many rides, I do not wear my HR monitor.

Power zones are based on percentages of the function threshold power which is defined as the power that one can sustain for one hour. Let's assume the FTP is 200 watts, then the z4 power zone would be 185 to 215 watts. So, if my FTP were 200 and my prescription was 3x10 minute intervals at 90 cadence at z4 power then I could achieve that result by doing all three at 185 watts of average power. The key is to complete all three intervals in the z4 zone. Doing the first one at 215 watts and the last one a 170 watts is BAD. So the first benefit of power training is that you train where you need it most AT THE END. Races are lost at the end. Centuries and club rides are a problem at the end not the beginning. If one can do 3x10 at 215 watts great. If one can do 3x15 at 185 watts even better! Duration in the power zone is the key. 3 minutes at 215 watts is BS. Now, 5x5 minutes at 220 watts each with 5 minutes rest between sets is great and are VO2 Max intervals. And the last 5 minute interval should be as strong as the first!

Training FTP is where the action is and it accomplished by pushing it up from the bottom, attacking it at value and pulling it up from the top z5 intervals. However, the fundemental training interval is z3 or SST or sweet spot training. So if you are training under FTP, one is building the foundation. So once again, it is duration at z3 in the z3 zone for longer times >10 minutes and the longer the better.

What is the FTP? This is the most difficult number to get and one must suffer to get it. Yes, one must perform a test on the road or get it from a time trial. It is generally lower than cyclists think. One hour of constant power is a very difficult standard to achieve. The other way to get at FTP is by looking at the power distribution graph in Training Peaks WKO. Since FTP is difficult, cyclists tend to ride more, slightly below FTP. z2 power is easy, z3 power is more difficult and z4 power is tough and one must focus to do it and sustain discomfort. So on the power distribution graph there is a step which can be identified as where the FTP is.

Once you know the FTP, it is plugged into a formula and the power zones are developed. Within training peaks, there are software algorithms that look at the power and compare it to a percentage of FTP. This complex calculation determines a training stress score or TSS. A 40k TT raced at FTP for one hour is a TSS of 100. So if you ride above FTP, there are more points added to the score. The more you are above FTP the higher the score and intensity factor IF.

The TSS is plotted and shows how hard you really stress your body. The longer you ride and the higher the intensity the great the TSS. There are other performance management tools that I am not going to discuss.

So my coach has my power distribution and TSS score. And I provide him a daily qualitative matrix of how i feel and how hard or easy it felt to make power. He uses both the quantitative and qualitative information to make changes to my workouts. And he uses what is on my calendar. When I was training for a stage race of two hard days of racing, I would do two or three hard days back to back. My HR would be low but it would simulate race conditions. When one races multiple days in a row, the HR drops but one can still produce power. The caveat is one must have a very good fitness base. Hence, coaching and training is an art form as much as it is based upon power numbers.

Yes. One has to do repeated FTP tests and it is hard and a lot of work. However, it is a total blast and I love the software and power measurement.

So my recommendation is if you have the cash, get one, it is a lot of fun.

The Weak Link

Will it help me to crush to souls of my enemies, see them scatter before me, and allow me to hear the lamentation of their women?

If so, count me in. Except for the cost thing. No way with the Medicare cuts.

Hermes

Listen...I can set you up with a guy who will ride your bike and crush 2000 watts. When you park your bike at Dunkin Doughnuts leave the display set at max power. The other poseurs / Freds will see the 2000 Watts and think you are the real deal and their women will be after your ass. Just make sure you keep your stomach sucked in at all times.

chinarider

So, is this kind of the back door to determine how the workouts are affecting your body and how your body is adapting to the training?

Hermes

Not really a back door but more of a front door. FTP is the basis of most road training and is the leading indicator of fitness. The famous ratio of 6.7 watts/kg to win the TdF is about FTP. According to my coach, FTP is very trainable but takes a long time. His example is filling a big swimming pool with a garden hose. When you train at FTP you are filling the pool. When you training at VO2 max you run a fire hose for a short period of time. However, the z5 efforts only work for a few weeks and then a break is required. Now some very good crit racers may have lower FTP but great abilities to sustain large numbers of accelerations at high power and sprint very well. If you want to ride crits, then the training is different but FTP is still the basis for the power zones and ultimately the TSS.

My FTP has been going up but very slowly. If that were not the case, we would all be much better than we are. So power training, much like HR training starts with threshold and one has to figure that number out. The best way is a test. Since I time trial and do long hill climbs, I get FTP tests all the time.

Also, most cyclists get dropped from group rides due to accelerations of 30 seconds at 20% over a power they can sustain for that period of time.

Allegheny Jet

by

Can't the same be accomplished by setting up the unit's calibration incorrectly? That's what I would do in addition to buying the largest display available.

Herme's is this a ploy to bring more of us over to the PT side? I am waiting for the pedal technology to be perfected so I can move the unit between bikes for road, cross, mtb and racing wheels.

cyclinfool

+1 When it's integrated into the speedplays I'm in.

Hermes

Not with the Garmin 705 setup I have. I met a racer, who has a Quarq and is a software engineer, who was telling me that he had some firmware that would allow the Quarq calibration to be changed as well as the display on the 705. But for the PT and Quarq, they are first zeroed and then calibrated automatically. The SRM has some fancy calibration capability since one of the elite 1/2 guys programed another racer's SRM on our team to flash "HTFU *****" when he turned on the unit. That is what the Weak Link needs. However, a more tasteful message to flash to his doughnut and bear claw munching buddies.

We know the Metrogear guy and so far they are still having "technical issues". It may happen and it may not. I suspect next year for version 1.0 and then another year for reliable commercial unit.

Most of my racing buddies have SRMs.

Cleave

Hi Hermes,

I have begun the process of ordering a PowerTap training wheel from Psimet. A PowerTap race wheel (carbon tubular rim) will probably follow. Heck it's only money.

The Time-Crunched Cyclist instigated all of this.

Hermes

I have a Quarq Cinqo and with a crank based system, you can use all your race wheels. However, it only works with Shimano.