Racing with a Power Meter Redux:
- Thread starter Spunout
- Start date
You're right Spunout (cheers btw), nice article indeed.
But I thought these guys had a minimum bike weight to meet. Was it 6.8kg or something?
Having virtually unlimited budget, I thought that on one hand, they'd increase the bike weight a bit by installing a pm, but on the other hand they were cutting weight somewhere else.
Em I right in thinking that powermeter or not, all riders meet the miminum bike weight in mountain stages?
I have an other question/comment. It's been puzzeling me since the begining of the Tour.
Why these guys are keeping their hairs
We evacuate 60% of the body heat by the head (or at least that's what I learned while being a lifeguard). At 20-29 degrees I'd understand. But at 35 (over 100f)? When I see them pooring some water on their helmet, I can't stop thinking how fresh this would feel with their head shaved.
But I thought these guys had a minimum bike weight to meet. Was it 6.8kg or something?
Having virtually unlimited budget, I thought that on one hand, they'd increase the bike weight a bit by installing a pm, but on the other hand they were cutting weight somewhere else.
Em I right in thinking that powermeter or not, all riders meet the miminum bike weight in mountain stages?
I have an other question/comment. It's been puzzeling me since the begining of the Tour.
Why these guys are keeping their hairs
We evacuate 60% of the body heat by the head (or at least that's what I learned while being a lifeguard). At 20-29 degrees I'd understand. But at 35 (over 100f)? When I see them pooring some water on their helmet, I can't stop thinking how fresh this would feel with their head shaved.
I totally agree about racing with a PM (even my PT Pro model *with wires* -- gawd that thing weighs a ton! ), but I didn't feel the article was very convincing on the merits. The example given (using a PM and online tools to help estimate the necessary power improvement needed to beat a competitor's time) can actually be achieved without using a PM during the race. IOW, if you know the winning time from last year you can still use online tools to estimate the power you will need to bring, even if you didn't race it last year, or raced it without your PM.
For me, the most important benefit of racing with a PM is to help understand *why* I got the result that I did. Did I have a bad day, or were others just much stronger than me? Did I spend too much time in the wind? Did I crack based on a single large effort, or was I sufficiently weakened by a series of attacks with too little recovery? Did I win the sprint based on peak power, or by conserving during the long wind-up? Did I go too hard on the Col du Columbiere, and not save enough for the Col du Jeux-Plane, that kind of stuff?
There are also some uses for a PM during a race, but at this point I get the most value out of being able to analyze the data after the heat of battle has worn off, and assess my performance objectively. The athlete in me is never satisfied if I don't get the win, but racing with a PM allows the coach in me to give that deserved pat on the back when I've done my best, yet still been beaten by a stronger rider.
), but I didn't feel the article was very convincing on the merits. The example given (using a PM and online tools to help estimate the necessary power improvement needed to beat a competitor's time) can actually be achieved without using a PM during the race. IOW, if you know the winning time from last year you can still use online tools to estimate the power you will need to bring, even if you didn't race it last year, or raced it without your PM.For me, the most important benefit of racing with a PM is to help understand *why* I got the result that I did. Did I have a bad day, or were others just much stronger than me? Did I spend too much time in the wind? Did I crack based on a single large effort, or was I sufficiently weakened by a series of attacks with too little recovery? Did I win the sprint based on peak power, or by conserving during the long wind-up? Did I go too hard on the Col du Columbiere, and not save enough for the Col du Jeux-Plane, that kind of stuff?
There are also some uses for a PM during a race, but at this point I get the most value out of being able to analyze the data after the heat of battle has worn off, and assess my performance objectively. The athlete in me is never satisfied if I don't get the win, but racing with a PM allows the coach in me to give that deserved pat on the back when I've done my best, yet still been beaten by a stronger rider.
frenchyge said:
not that i'm whinning about it, but i don't get long to write the articles... there's lots of other stuff i could have talked about, but limited time etc!
ric
Sure, and I realized after I posted that that may not have really been the intended point of the article. Consider my post as backup support for the article, rather than criticism.ric_stern/RST said:
Edit: Did anyone catch the commentators referring to Floyd's "SRM?" D'oh!
frenchyge said:Sure, and I realized after I posted that that may not have really been the intended point of the article. Consider my post as backup support for the article, rather than criticism.
Thanks. Also, the reason i based it on what i did, is that one of the major issues i hear from people why they can't use a power meter, is cos it's too heavy.
my second best season was achieved with a super heavy PT Pro
LOL!ric
ric_stern/RST said:my second best season was achieved with a super heavy PT Pro
ric
My best season ever was on a super heavy PT pro on an Open pro 32hole hub: won the State RR, a crit, a stage race, the TT in that stage race and the Michigan points series - and I've got power files for every race!
Now I've got an even heavier PT pro/HED alps for racing.
I caught that, which Floyd's coach quickly clarified. Did he call it a "wireless light" or something? I wish I had that interview on Tivo so I could listen to his response again.frenchyge said:Did anyone catch the commentators referring to Floyd's "SRM?" D'oh!
I'm almost positive Floyd is using a pre-release version of the upcoming wireless PowerTap SL. One thing I thought was fascinating was that (1) he doesn't wear an HR strap and (2) he didn't switch his PT computer from the bike with the broken spoke to the new bike. The new bike had its own PT computer and I didn't notice whether or not he turned it on.RapDaddyo said:
What I wouldn't give for copies of his PT data files for all of his TdF rides, even if I would have to spice together some of the files to account for the couple of times he's had to switch bikes mid-stage!!
--Steve
Well, he rode the SL2.4 last year. I think this may be an even newer version of the SL2.4. But, I'm not sure what the differences are.ZimboNC said:
His coach has been pretty open about Floyd's PM data. I wouldn't be surprised if the files are posted (e.g., on Saris's website) after the race is over. In the future, these PM files will end up in the International Cycling Hall of Fame.ZimboNC said:
Allen Lim posted some highlights http://www.bicycling.com/tourdefrance/article/0,6802,s1-7-123-14949-1-0-0-0-1542,00.html.ZimboNC said:
RapDaddyo said:
Because his fellow competitors don't learn anything from that data that would help them beat Floyd. The sponsor Cycleops will derive great benefits from the exposure. Robbie Ventura mentioned that Floyd was basing his effort off of PE, and that he might "glance at the PowerTap occasionally".
RapDaddyo said:I wouldn't be surprised if the files are posted (e.g., on Saris's website) after the race is over. In the future, these PM files will end up in the International Cycling Hall of Fame.
His data shows nothing extraordinary. There have been other riders who have matched those numbers, and some were not doping. (I'm not suggesting that Floyd was doping, just that it can be done without doping.)
Can one really get that much of a benefit by looking at a competitor power file anyway? Time trial maybe a slight benefit from strategy, but aside from that...
SolarEnergy said:
A good coach can work out a riders strengths and weakness's from power data. I wonder if this is the reason that the wko files stopped appearing at the Cyclingpeaks site for Vandevelde and Voigt from stage 11.
Maybe Mr Lim could see that no one else was coming close to Floyd and released the info to further demoralise the opposition.
It is a great confirmation that using power is the best way to monitor our efforts and that the extra weight (if there was any) is well worth it.
Hamish Ferguson
Cycling Coach
fergie said:
The SL hub weighs ~100 g more than a Record hub. None of that Shimano rubbish on Landis' bike
Lim (it's doctor rather than Mr) had data available for last years Tour as well.
Definitely, very useful having that power data from racing.
Ric
Yes I can appreciate that. But by looking at a competitor's power file recorded during a road stage? Not sure it is that useful.fergie said:
I am not saying it is not interesting, but nothing to prevent teams from making their rider's file public IMO.
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