Precor Elliptical: Watts vs Cyclist's?

(PeteCresswell) said:

1.2...... 150.... seems like an awfully big diff.

Quoted message said:

Am I calculating something incorrectly? Maybe dropping a
decimal point....

Probably your machine's "calories" are actually kilocalories whereas
your conversion uses actual calories which would make the result off
by a factor of 1000. Then again, 1200 W sounds superhuman for a
long-term effort, so I would guess that it displays something the
energy you consume rather the energy that would be used for locomotion
(making the comparable figure something between 240 W and 300 W), or
that the meter just shows some random numbers with some positive
correlation to actual energy expenditure (I have had one piece of
fitness equipment with such a feature).

Per Phil Holman:

Quoted message said:

3 things, 1.2 should be 1200w (kilocalories v calories) and the numbers
quoted for your burn rate assume a 25% efficiency. That is, your actual
useable output would be 1200/4 = 300 watts. These machines are usally
pitifully inaccurate. 300 watts for cruising should see you with a pro
contract :-)

So... suspicions confirmed: No actual relationship to reality....

The big thing to me is that it's repeatable and, maybe,
comparable (i.e. I can sneak a glance at the guy next to me and
see how I'm doing compared to him....)

But I suspect that even the "comparable" aspect is suspect. Seems
to me like I can game the system - higher resistance settings
produce higher calorie readings with less perceived effort than
lower settings. And, of course, a lot of people just hop on the
thing and start booking - without punching in their body
weight.... so they're getting artificially low readings unless
they're quite light.
--
PeteCresswell