power output.

fuzzynavel

I was on another cycling forum and they have a running thread showing their power to weight ratios. Is this a valid test for fitness if you take your average over a set period..such as 1 hour and compare to others?

I have knackered my bike and have been relegated to using the gym...the bikes show wattages and I have started to use this to see improvements in my fitness. To make it a fair test I use the same bike with the same settings over the period of one hour and take my average.
Here is an extract from the following link. They are the work of a professional cycling coach. http://www.cyclingnews.com/fitness/?id=2004/power2

"I cannot tell with certainty whether or not they've improved unless they have a power meter," says Monnier. "If they average 300 watts for a 30-minute test and last time they tested at 280 watts, they've improved. Whereas if we looked only at heart rate or speed, we wouldn't really know because each is subject to many variables. For example, the athlete's average speed may be slower but perhaps there was more of a headwind than the prior test. And heart rate is subject to both internal and external influences. That's why the power information is so vital."
does anyone else do this?

fuzzynavel

I guess my question has been answered....nobody looks at their wattages

Alex_Simmons/RST

I think you'll find that the Beginner's Forum is not the place to ask for people's experience in the use of power measurement in training simply because very few here probably use a power meter.

Nevertheless, a basic understanding of the principles would be most valuable for many here and applying many of them doesn't actually mean you need a power meter.

Good training is good training no matter how you measure/record it. Power meters do however take much of the guess work out.

In answer to your question, yes using power to weight ratio for a given duration is a very good indicator of fitness. There are other factors to consider as well though.

Some reading for you:
http://www.cyclingpeakssoftware.com/power411/
http://www.cyclecoach.com/index.php?opt ... Itemid=112
http://www.trainwithpower.net/

Gym bikes are tricky. Notorious for not being well calibrated. So using the same one each time is a good start. But also be aware that their "slope" can be out as well. What I mean by that is it might be 5% wrong at 150 watts but 10% wrong at 250 watts.

But if your yardstick is the same machine, then that's a good place to start for an indicator of changes in fitness, provided that the resistance at any displayed wattage value is the same each time you get on and ride (it's not always the case with these trainers).

You might find the first 30 pages or so of this monster thread of interest. About a 60+ yo guy who uses a gym bike to learn about using power in training. Nowdays he is producing 300+ watts for an hour. When he started he could barely do 150W IIRC.

http://www.cyclingforums.com/t314849.html

fuzzynavel

Alex_Simmons/RST wrote:

I think you'll find that the Beginner's Forum is not the place to ask for people's experience in the use of power measurement in training simply because very few here probably use a power meter.

Nevertheless, a basic understanding of the principles would be most valuable for many here and applying many of them doesn't actually mean you need a power meter.

Good training is good training no matter how you measure/record it. Power meters do however take much of the guess work out.

In answer to your question, yes using power to weight ratio for a given duration is a very good indicator of fitness. There are other factors to consider as well though.

Some reading for you:
http://www.cyclingpeakssoftware.com/power411/
http://www.cyclecoach.com/index.php?opt ... Itemid=112
http://www.trainwithpower.net/

Gym bikes are tricky. Notorious for not being well calibrated. So using the same one each time is a good start. But also be aware that their "slope" can be out as well. What I mean by that is it might be 5% wrong at 150 watts but 10% wrong at 250 watts.

But if your yardstick is the same machine, then that's a good place to start for an indicator of changes in fitness, provided that the resistance at any displayed wattage value is the same each time you get on and ride (it's not always the case with these trainers).

You might find the first 30 pages or so of this monster thread of interest. About a 60+ yo guy who uses a gym bike to learn about using power in training. Nowdays he is producing 300+ watts for an hour. When he started he could barely do 150W IIRC.

http://www.cyclingforums.com/t314849.html

thanks for your very informative reply. I will have a look at the links you gave me....I guess I should look at the advanced thread a bit if I am looking for further info.
I have read up on hubs for recording wattages but are there any other ways to record the data in a gym setting?

Alex_Simmons/RST

fuzzynavel wrote:

thanks for your very informative reply. I will have a look at the links you gave me....I guess I should look at the advanced thread a bit if I am looking for further info.
I have read up on hubs for recording wattages but are there any other ways to record the data in a gym setting?

There are three basic types of power measuring device:

- on bike power meters, such as the Powertap, SRM and so on. These devices not only measure power but they also record it on a second by second basis for later download and analysis on computer

- turbo trainers into which you place your bike and that can control power resistance, usually by a roller unit pressed up against the rear tyre. Some models record the power like the on bike meters, some don't. Examples are Computrainer and some Tacx units

- dedicated ergometers. complete dedicated cycling ergometers that can control the resistance and/or measure/record power. examples are Velodyne, PT300, SRM ergo

Gym bike sort of fall into this last category although they are typically not well calibrated nor provide a recording/storage/download facility.

sjaszczak

While I find this interesting, I'm one of those newbies that isn't concerned about power from a performance point of view. Sure my main goal is increased physical fitness, but my measurements when I get my bike will be simple factors like average speeds/distances I can cover as well as weight and shape (which is less quantitative, more qualitative).

So long as I see improvements in those terms, I will be happy and less concerned whether I am actually recording something that would give a better representation of fitness even though an improvement there is my main goal!

Steve

Bronzie

sjaszczak wrote:

Sure my main goal is increased physical fitness, but my measurements when I get my bike will be simple factors like average speeds/distances I can cover

At entry level and for just general fitness, these are good indicators, although they have their limits (ie speed alone is meaningless unless you ride the same or very similar route each time and you can factor in weather conditions etc).

As and when you get to the stage of trying to shave time off your PB for a time trial (for example), then being able to quantify your power output and more importantly, improvements in your power output become much more useful.

fuzzynavel

Bronzie wrote:

sjaszczak wrote:

Sure my main goal is increased physical fitness, but my measurements when I get my bike will be simple factors like average speeds/distances I can cover

At entry level and for just general fitness, these are good indicators, although they have their limits (ie speed alone is meaningless unless you ride the same or very similar route each time and you can factor in weather conditions etc).

As and when you get to the stage of trying to shave time off your PB for a time trial (for example), then being able to quantify your power output and more importantly, improvements in your power output become much more useful.

I have knackered my bike and can't afford a new one at the moment so I am using my gym membership for cycle training. I have no aspirations of racing at the moment but my sustainable wattages are going up as my weight is coming down. I also have some decent hills nearby so I want to be able to breeze up them once I finally get a bike. Wattage training is the way I see of doing this. heart rate training is no good as it is affected by so many factors..... I can quite happily sit at 175 +/- 5bpm for the whole hour that I ride in the gym......the burn in my legs is what decides how hard I can push