The Wattage Thread
Discussion
MadDad said:
I did my first ever baseline test session today on a Wattbike; LT test, FTP test, and a bunch of other tests - I will get the full report eMailed over to me this weekend but my headline figures were;
FTP = 285
20 mins sustained output FTP test = 300 watts average (think I could up this a bit because I was a little too conservative for the first 5 mins)
Power to weight = 4.41
He gave me a bunch of other stats but I was a little too broken to take them in, given I have a stinking head cold I think that's not too bad but having never really focused on power output before need to do a little reading. He did say it was a good place to start the year, I also managed to hit a cadence of 178 which was also the highest he has had on the bike in a while!
Did you do that somewhere local?FTP = 285
20 mins sustained output FTP test = 300 watts average (think I could up this a bit because I was a little too conservative for the first 5 mins)
Power to weight = 4.41
He gave me a bunch of other stats but I was a little too broken to take them in, given I have a stinking head cold I think that's not too bad but having never really focused on power output before need to do a little reading. He did say it was a good place to start the year, I also managed to hit a cadence of 178 which was also the highest he has had on the bike in a while!
MadDad said:
Thanks, I will post up the other results when I get them back. It's always nice to get some 'truth', speculation relating to my ability can now be put to bed - just need to figure out how to improve!!!
You could have always just entered a time trial or race. That ends speculation pretty quickly in most cases 
Rolling 14 mile time trial for me tomorrow. Averaged 355w last year, might be able to improve on that this year I hope while being more aero - I won last year but have some slightly tougher competition this year, Sean Yates brother in fact. And a few others.
ALawson said:
Did you do that somewhere local?
Yep, although it's a mobile setup so covers the home counties and West London. I have known the guy behind it for years as a friend rather than cyclist. He gave up a very lucrative career in the city a few years ago and re-trained as a coach, he has also been working a few days a week in an LBS to build his network and knowledge within the industry. He has always been a cyclist but like most of us enjoyed time in the saddle to forget about his time in the office, he has ridden across the States, from one end of Europe to the other etc etc. Really nice chap, already very well connected and extremely calm and enthusiastic.http://velocitysportscycling.com/
okgo said:
You could have always just entered a time trial or race. That ends speculation pretty quickly in most cases
Rolling 14 mile time trial for me tomorrow. Averaged 355w last year, might be able to improve on that this year I hope while being more aero - I won last year but have some slightly tougher competition this year, Sean Yates brother in fact. And a few others.
Funny enough I entered a local TT last year (Drift Road circuit). I was just looking for the 'official' results but can't find them, however iirc I placed 8 out of 50 and was the quickest on a standard road bike - everyone ahead of me was on a TT. My recorded time was 27:08 so I have something to work from. Rolling 14 mile time trial for me tomorrow. Averaged 355w last year, might be able to improve on that this year I hope while being more aero - I won last year but have some slightly tougher competition this year, Sean Yates brother in fact. And a few others.
As for racing, watch this space......keeping quiet about it for the time being but hope to join my first race for over 28 years in a few weeks time. I'll see how it goes from there.
I would love to think I could produce and sustain the sort of power you can push out, but realistically I can't!!! An improvement on today's stats will be a start for me, and putting some sort of structure to my riding this year will help. Last year was just about miles, which was great in so much as it forced me out of the door on days when I could have easily found an excuse to hide under the duvet! This year I am looking to improve my hill-climbing, increase my endurance output and if I 'click' with racing again try to attain Cat3.
Good luck tomorrow, I look forward to hearing the results!!
MadDad said:
I did my first ever baseline test session today on a Wattbike; LT test, FTP test, and a bunch of other tests - I will get the full report eMailed over to me this weekend but my headline figures were;
FTP = 285
20 mins sustained output FTP test = 300 watts average (think I could up this a bit because I was a little too conservative for the first 5 mins)
Power to weight = 4.41
He gave me a bunch of other stats but I was a little too broken to take them in, given I have a stinking head cold I think that's not too bad but having never really focused on power output before need to do a little reading. He did say it was a good place to start the year, I also managed to hit a cadence of 178 which was also the highest he has had on the bike in a while!
That's a great result! Impressive power to weight too.FTP = 285
20 mins sustained output FTP test = 300 watts average (think I could up this a bit because I was a little too conservative for the first 5 mins)
Power to weight = 4.41
He gave me a bunch of other stats but I was a little too broken to take them in, given I have a stinking head cold I think that's not too bad but having never really focused on power output before need to do a little reading. He did say it was a good place to start the year, I also managed to hit a cadence of 178 which was also the highest he has had on the bike in a while!
MadDad said:
I did my first ever baseline test session today on a Wattbike; LT test, FTP test, and a bunch of other tests - I will get the full report eMailed over to me this weekend but my headline figures were;
FTP = 285
20 mins sustained output FTP test = 300 watts average (think I could up this a bit because I was a little too conservative for the first 5 mins)
Power to weight = 4.41
He gave me a bunch of other stats but I was a little too broken to take them in, given I have a stinking head cold I think that's not too bad but having never really focused on power output before need to do a little reading. He did say it was a good place to start the year, I also managed to hit a cadence of 178 which was also the highest he has had on the bike in a while!
Yeah pretty decent especially considering you have a cold, are you going to give some racing a go as you should be very competitive unto 2nd catFTP = 285
20 mins sustained output FTP test = 300 watts average (think I could up this a bit because I was a little too conservative for the first 5 mins)
Power to weight = 4.41
He gave me a bunch of other stats but I was a little too broken to take them in, given I have a stinking head cold I think that's not too bad but having never really focused on power output before need to do a little reading. He did say it was a good place to start the year, I also managed to hit a cadence of 178 which was also the highest he has had on the bike in a while!
Surprised myself a bit by going and doing 372W (380 NP) for just under 31 minutes today, managed to beat Wouter's course record by one single second and take the win by a fair margin 35 or so seconds).
I think this is my strongest power day on the TT bike ever, but we will see if I can translate that onto the flat courses, there is no reason that 400w for ten mins shouldn't be possible this year to be honest.
I think this is my strongest power day on the TT bike ever, but we will see if I can translate that onto the flat courses, there is no reason that 400w for ten mins shouldn't be possible this year to be honest.
Edited by okgo on Sunday 8th February 15:42
okgo said:
Surprised myself a bit by going and doing 372W (380 NP) today, managed to beat Wouter's course record by one single second and take the win by a fair margin 35 or so seconds).
I think this is my strongest power day on the TT bike ever, but we will see if I can translate that onto the flat courses, there is no reason that 400w for ten mins shouldn't be possible this year to be honest.
Excellent early season power Okgo,bodes well for the year ahead! I think this is my strongest power day on the TT bike ever, but we will see if I can translate that onto the flat courses, there is no reason that 400w for ten mins shouldn't be possible this year to be honest.
Ponk said:
That is staggering!
I meant to say 400w for ten mile TT's rather than ten mins.It sounds like loads but sadly there are plenty of guys at the sharp end of the UK scene with similar, or more
- I am convinced though that if I could train full time I could add a fair bit to that, I'm still on around 10-12 hours a week training at the minute, with not much time for more.
It sounds like loads because it is loads! That just makes you all freaks.
I've got my club's early season TT (14ish) in a little over a month. I'd be over the moon if I could get near a 300w average. Breaking 40 minutes is my target.
In other news, I did my first interval session last week using power zones rather than heart rate. I found it much much harder than before, and I've been doing sessions weekly back to November! Oh well, no pain, no gain!
I've got my club's early season TT (14ish) in a little over a month. I'd be over the moon if I could get near a 300w average. Breaking 40 minutes is my target.
In other news, I did my first interval session last week using power zones rather than heart rate. I found it much much harder than before, and I've been doing sessions weekly back to November! Oh well, no pain, no gain!
okgo said:
I meant to say 400w for ten mile TT's rather than ten mins.
It sounds like loads but sadly there are plenty of guys at the sharp end of the UK scene with similar, or more -
I am convinced though that if I could train full time I could add a fair bit to that, I'm still on around 10-12 hours a week training at the minute, with not much time for more.
It would interesting to see just how much better anyone of a half decent standard could be if they didn't have to work. Not really just to be able to train more but also to be able to get some decent recovery in tooIt sounds like loads but sadly there are plenty of guys at the sharp end of the UK scene with similar, or more
- I am convinced though that if I could train full time I could add a fair bit to that, I'm still on around 10-12 hours a week training at the minute, with not much time for more.
fromage said:
It would interesting to see just how much better anyone of a half decent standard could be if they didn't have to work. Not really just to be able to train more but also to be able to get some decent recovery in too
It can make a big difference if you can handle the load I think. As you say, half of the battle is dealing with the lack of sleep, stress of work, getting pissed, etc etcBloody hell OKGO, that is impressive and knowing how much 300w hurt on a Wattbike I can only begin to imagine the suffering involved in holding 400 on a 10 mile TT on the road...... without wishing to blow smoke up your ar@e I didn't quite appreciate the numbers being mentioned on the thread until yesterday!
I did a little bit of reading last night and am quietly pleased with myself and results given my age, and how 'unstructured/unfocused' my riding is. I am planning on having a go at racing this year, it's one thing to produce reasonable stats on a static bike, another world altogether to put it into practice on a road shoulder to shoulder with people who I don't know or trust!
I raced in my teens (BMX's/Road/MTB), while it was competitive there was etiquette and being teens much less contact than I read about at Spillingdon etc! I have seen enough stupid accidents on Sportives where poor bike skills were obviously to blame, so am slightly nervous about hitting the track! Apparently moving from Cat4 to Cat3 generally results in less accidents so as long as I enjoy it, that will be my short term target!
I did a little bit of reading last night and am quietly pleased with myself and results given my age, and how 'unstructured/unfocused' my riding is. I am planning on having a go at racing this year, it's one thing to produce reasonable stats on a static bike, another world altogether to put it into practice on a road shoulder to shoulder with people who I don't know or trust!
I raced in my teens (BMX's/Road/MTB), while it was competitive there was etiquette and being teens much less contact than I read about at Spillingdon etc! I have seen enough stupid accidents on Sportives where poor bike skills were obviously to blame, so am slightly nervous about hitting the track! Apparently moving from Cat4 to Cat3 generally results in less accidents so as long as I enjoy it, that will be my short term target!
MadDad said:
Bloody hell OKGO, that is impressive and knowing how much 300w hurt on a Wattbike I can only begin to imagine the suffering involved in holding 400 on a 10 mile TT on the road...... without wishing to blow smoke up your ar@e I didn't quite appreciate the numbers being mentioned on the thread until yesterday!
I did a little bit of reading last night and am quietly pleased with myself and results given my age, and how 'unstructured/unfocused' my riding is. I am planning on having a go at racing this year, it's one thing to produce reasonable stats on a static bike, another world altogether to put it into practice on a road shoulder to shoulder with people who I don't know or trust!
I raced in my teens (BMX's/Road/MTB), while it was competitive there was etiquette and being teens much less contact than I read about at Spillingdon etc! I have seen enough stupid accidents on Sportives where poor bike skills were obviously to blame, so am slightly nervous about hitting the track! Apparently moving from Cat4 to Cat3 generally results in less accidents so as long as I enjoy it, that will be my short term target!
Its all relative, I did an hour at 300w on the turbo the other day while mucking about on my phone for half of it, Wiggins would do what I did today without even breaking into a sweat.I did a little bit of reading last night and am quietly pleased with myself and results given my age, and how 'unstructured/unfocused' my riding is. I am planning on having a go at racing this year, it's one thing to produce reasonable stats on a static bike, another world altogether to put it into practice on a road shoulder to shoulder with people who I don't know or trust!
I raced in my teens (BMX's/Road/MTB), while it was competitive there was etiquette and being teens much less contact than I read about at Spillingdon etc! I have seen enough stupid accidents on Sportives where poor bike skills were obviously to blame, so am slightly nervous about hitting the track! Apparently moving from Cat4 to Cat3 generally results in less accidents so as long as I enjoy it, that will be my short term target!
That is the good thing about having a powermeter is that you can now appreciate the effort it takes to be at the level of better riders.
As said you should be able to hold your own in some racing, and there most certainly is a massive vets racing scene!
MadDad said:
Bloody hell OKGO, that is impressive and knowing how much 300w hurt on a Wattbike I can only begin to imagine the suffering involved in holding 400 on a 10 mile TT on the road...... without wishing to blow smoke up your ar@e I didn't quite appreciate the numbers being mentioned on the thread until yesterday!
I did a little bit of reading last night and am quietly pleased with myself and results given my age, and how 'unstructured/unfocused' my riding is. I am planning on having a go at racing this year, it's one thing to produce reasonable stats on a static bike, another world altogether to put it into practice on a road shoulder to shoulder with people who I don't know or trust!
I raced in my teens (BMX's/Road/MTB), while it was competitive there was etiquette and being teens much less contact than I read about at Spillingdon etc! I have seen enough stupid accidents on Sportives where poor bike skills were obviously to blame, so am slightly nervous about hitting the track! Apparently moving from Cat4 to Cat3 generally results in less accidents so as long as I enjoy it, that will be my short term target!
Depending on where you are based certain circuits are much safer than others, for example I don't think I have ever seen an accident at Hog Hill for example. Where as I managed to get taken out by a rider from another race sprinting for 25th like a tI did a little bit of reading last night and am quietly pleased with myself and results given my age, and how 'unstructured/unfocused' my riding is. I am planning on having a go at racing this year, it's one thing to produce reasonable stats on a static bike, another world altogether to put it into practice on a road shoulder to shoulder with people who I don't know or trust!
I raced in my teens (BMX's/Road/MTB), while it was competitive there was etiquette and being teens much less contact than I read about at Spillingdon etc! I have seen enough stupid accidents on Sportives where poor bike skills were obviously to blame, so am slightly nervous about hitting the track! Apparently moving from Cat4 to Cat3 generally results in less accidents so as long as I enjoy it, that will be my short term target!
t at Velopark last week. I generally never take risks while racing and have managed to avoid many crashes but like the Velopark crash you can still be taken down if just 1 rider decides to ride like a knob.There was a crash on the last lap in the 4th cat race at Hog Hill on Saturday. I got caught up in it which was frustrating as I was feeling pretty good and I was fairly well placed before the last climb of the hill. Results aren't up yet but I think I managed about 16th.
I've raced three rounds and that's been the only crash so far. You could see it coming though as the attrition was pretty low and the bunch was pretty nervy.
With those power figures you would get round a 4th cat race no trouble at all. You would probably get round the 2/3/4 too to be honest!
I've raced three rounds and that's been the only crash so far. You could see it coming though as the attrition was pretty low and the bunch was pretty nervy.
With those power figures you would get round a 4th cat race no trouble at all. You would probably get round the 2/3/4 too to be honest!
Another interesting interview regarding the Hour record and Watts .. But this time for a 'Normal' racers attempt .
http://cyclingtips.com.au/2015/02/putting-the-hour...
http://cyclingtips.com.au/2015/02/putting-the-hour...
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