I train too inconsistently to deserve a powermeter, but could afford one and am a number-neard by profession. This profession takes 70-80 hours a week, so I've taken the challenge to see what level of CTL I can maintain with very limited training time (currently 30 TSS/day with TSB around -30).
Main part I get from 1h30 to 2h lunch-time rides at IF=0.95-1.00 (these rides are the basis for estimating FTP to 260W), which rewards me TSS of 150 to 200. Rides contain 20 mins of 280W L4 climbing or/and 5x1min at 350-400W.
I have tried to add some 'bonus' TSS by riding the indoor trainer late night after kids (and wife) go to bed. But it doesn't work. Here are the issues and questions:
1) The main problem is that I have MUCH lower power indoor than outdoor. Outdoor, I can without too much effort do 10min at 300W or go 'forever' at 200W. Indoor 300W is painful in the legs, and I have a hard time holding 200W. Its almost as if 200W indoor feels like 280W outdoor. Can this really be true? Is there any posibility that powermeter doesn't work indoor?
(powertap 2.4 on blackburn trainer trackstand ultra)
2) A possible explanation for the power-difference is that outdoor I generally spin with 100-105 rpm, without need to focus. Indoor I find that cadence hard to keep, and end up 85-95 rpm. Could it be that I output similar muscle force indoor/outdoor, but for some reason can't get the legs spinning indoor?
Changing to higher gear doesn't work - just gives faster muscle-fatigue.
3) Derived technical questions: How much should one tighten the fly-wheel onto the bike-tire? I find that above 400W it starts to slip, and I have to tighten screw so that it pushes 5mm or more into the tire, which looks damaging. If I want to train sprint or <1min intervals, I have to tighten even more to avoid slippage. Could this also be related to non-fluid pedaling style? I have vittoria tubulars with 10 bar pressure. (know they are not the best for the trainer - one day I'll try to get a second powertap on robust clincher for indoor and rainy rides). how deep does your flywheel press into the tire?
Secondly, how tight do you tighten the screw that holds the skewer? Is there a risk if that is tightened too much? The blackburn is a bit strange: once there is contact, you can keep turning quite a bit without much torque, as if something is flexing - maybe the stand itself.
4) So, keeping 200W (=80% FTP) indoor requires full concentration. My hope was to get small amounts of 'bonus' TSS from low-intensity indoor while doing the more simple parts of my work (administrative emails, reading articles etc...). I can keep ~150-180W while watching a movie, but mostly can't afford the that amount of leisure time. If cycling while reading or writing on the computer, I can only keep something like 130W (=50% FTP), which gives me a lousy 25 TSS points for 60 minutes. Does this mean that 60 minutes at 50% FTP is useless, or is it of some use but not accounted for in the TSS/performance-manager model, which is designed with serious cyclists with higher training volumes?
Alternatively put: If I do 260W (FTP) for 15 minutes, I also get 25 TSS points. Is it a better use of my time to do a 15 minutes intensive ride and then work concentrated the other 45 minutes?
5) I normally sleep rather little (5-6 hours). But feel lowering TSB below -30 will require more sleep. Are there any (semi) quantitative experiences with how much extra sleep a certain level of training neccessitates?
Main part I get from 1h30 to 2h lunch-time rides at IF=0.95-1.00 (these rides are the basis for estimating FTP to 260W), which rewards me TSS of 150 to 200. Rides contain 20 mins of 280W L4 climbing or/and 5x1min at 350-400W.
I have tried to add some 'bonus' TSS by riding the indoor trainer late night after kids (and wife) go to bed. But it doesn't work. Here are the issues and questions:
1) The main problem is that I have MUCH lower power indoor than outdoor. Outdoor, I can without too much effort do 10min at 300W or go 'forever' at 200W. Indoor 300W is painful in the legs, and I have a hard time holding 200W. Its almost as if 200W indoor feels like 280W outdoor. Can this really be true? Is there any posibility that powermeter doesn't work indoor?
(powertap 2.4 on blackburn trainer trackstand ultra)
2) A possible explanation for the power-difference is that outdoor I generally spin with 100-105 rpm, without need to focus. Indoor I find that cadence hard to keep, and end up 85-95 rpm. Could it be that I output similar muscle force indoor/outdoor, but for some reason can't get the legs spinning indoor?
Changing to higher gear doesn't work - just gives faster muscle-fatigue.
3) Derived technical questions: How much should one tighten the fly-wheel onto the bike-tire? I find that above 400W it starts to slip, and I have to tighten screw so that it pushes 5mm or more into the tire, which looks damaging. If I want to train sprint or <1min intervals, I have to tighten even more to avoid slippage. Could this also be related to non-fluid pedaling style? I have vittoria tubulars with 10 bar pressure. (know they are not the best for the trainer - one day I'll try to get a second powertap on robust clincher for indoor and rainy rides). how deep does your flywheel press into the tire?
Secondly, how tight do you tighten the screw that holds the skewer? Is there a risk if that is tightened too much? The blackburn is a bit strange: once there is contact, you can keep turning quite a bit without much torque, as if something is flexing - maybe the stand itself.
4) So, keeping 200W (=80% FTP) indoor requires full concentration. My hope was to get small amounts of 'bonus' TSS from low-intensity indoor while doing the more simple parts of my work (administrative emails, reading articles etc...). I can keep ~150-180W while watching a movie, but mostly can't afford the that amount of leisure time. If cycling while reading or writing on the computer, I can only keep something like 130W (=50% FTP), which gives me a lousy 25 TSS points for 60 minutes. Does this mean that 60 minutes at 50% FTP is useless, or is it of some use but not accounted for in the TSS/performance-manager model, which is designed with serious cyclists with higher training volumes?
Alternatively put: If I do 260W (FTP) for 15 minutes, I also get 25 TSS points. Is it a better use of my time to do a 15 minutes intensive ride and then work concentrated the other 45 minutes?
5) I normally sleep rather little (5-6 hours). But feel lowering TSB below -30 will require more sleep. Are there any (semi) quantitative experiences with how much extra sleep a certain level of training neccessitates?