Road Cycling

Soldato
Joined
11 Jun 2015
Posts
11,089
Location
Bristol
Jeez I wish I didn't come into this thread! Makes the question I'm about to ask look beyond pitiful.

I got my road bike in August and if I'm honest, I'm loving it even more than I thought I would and did 730 miles from then until now.

I had set myself a goal on Strava to do at least 2500miles next this year (Though seeing a some of you post 6K and 9K miles makes me feel pretty pathetic :eek::p) and my reward for completing that was going to be an upgrade on my bike.

I figured either a power-meter or a set of carbon wheels would be a nice way to end the year and doing more than 3x the amount of cycling I did this year. What would be a better option to work towards? PM or Carbon Wheels?

Maybe 2500 is a bit of a pathetic goal and I'll set it as 3000 instead.

Some of you are ****** monsters. Jesus Christ
 
Soldato
Joined
25 Feb 2004
Posts
18,139
Location
Hampshire
PWM are very powerful tools, but for most completely wasted. If you have specific goals and are willing to commit to specific training you'll massively benefit, if not it'll just be a waste.

Carbon wheels are a good upgrade for many bikes, but only the right carbon wheels, many cheaper options are just as heavy as alloys and won't benefit you. are you on a rim brake or disc brake bike and are you riding all weathers or just on nice dry days.

PS most of us started doing a few miles here and there and its taken many years to do the miles we do. Quality over quantity
 
Soldato
Joined
11 Jun 2015
Posts
11,089
Location
Bristol
I'd like to think if I got one, I would actually try and train with it as otherwise I expect the numbers are all completely pointless in isolation? I have a thing where if I buy something I feel like I have to use it otherwise it would just be a waste of money. I like being frivolous but only if it's going to get use.

I'm on a disc brake bike. I'm trying to go out in most weather types other than heavy rain. I did go for the disc brake version of my bike in case I ever decided to upgrade to carbon wheels as I heard they don't play nicely with rim brake wheels.

Oh I know, I'm very much a beginner cyclist with some OK gear and very little idea. I'll just be too embarrassed to share my cycling progress with you guys this time next year as what would've taken me a year you would've all done in a few months. I'm definitely starting to cycle further more regularly now. a 25 mile cycle used to involve a stop at the half way point for a break whereas now I count a 25 mile ride with no stops as a regular trip now. Going to try and up that to 35 miles over the next few weekends but I'm still a long way off being able to say I'm a 'keen cyclist' when I see what you guys do!

Baby steps!
 
Soldato
Joined
28 Apr 2011
Posts
14,761
Location
Barnet, London
I think it's fine. I've only been cycling 3 years, my first year was about 2,500 miles. A bit like you, anything up to around 30 miles would be without a stop, but I aim to go at least 40 miles these days with a coffee/cake stop at around 20 to 30 mile intervals.

My advice for lengthening your rides, use this site - https://cafes.cyclingmaps.net/ Pick a nice stop 15-25 miles away and plan out a route there an back. My first 40+ ride was quite a challenge, but as soon as you do a few, they become the norm.

We have a great cycle stop about 18 miles away, I've got a variety of routes from 18 miles to 30 miles getting to this destination. When I'm there I chose the route home (just the same routes in reverse) Veloviewer is great for filtering routes btw (for planning beforehand, not when you're out and about).
 
Soldato
Joined
24 Feb 2013
Posts
4,125
Location
East Midlands
Jeez I wish I didn't come into this thread! Makes the question I'm about to ask look beyond pitiful.

I got my road bike in August and if I'm honest, I'm loving it even more than I thought I would and did 730 miles from then until now.

I had set myself a goal on Strava to do at least 2500miles next this year (Though seeing a some of you post 6K and 9K miles makes me feel pretty pathetic :eek::p) and my reward for completing that was going to be an upgrade on my bike.

I figured either a power-meter or a set of carbon wheels would be a nice way to end the year and doing more than 3x the amount of cycling I did this year. What would be a better option to work towards? PM or Carbon Wheels?

Maybe 2500 is a bit of a pathetic goal and I'll set it as 3000 instead.

Some of you are ****** monsters. Jesus Christ

Don't be put off by others mileage. The levels of intensity, amount of elevation, time spent indoors compared to outdoors, trainer settings not to mention available time amongst numerous other things all vary a lot. More mileage doesn't mean faster rider. Take a look on strava to see. I'm proof myself of that :D
 
Soldato
Joined
23 Nov 2004
Posts
10,646
Don't compare yourself to others mate. I've ridden 6k this year and since 2018 I've been over 4k. When I first started I was doing around 1600-1900 miles on a good year back in 2012.

Do you and try ride longer and with some intensity thrown in.
 
Soldato
Joined
9 Nov 2005
Posts
8,618
Location
Southampton
Jeez I wish I didn't come into this thread! Makes the question I'm about to ask look beyond pitiful.

I got my road bike in August and if I'm honest, I'm loving it even more than I thought I would and did 730 miles from then until now.

I had set myself a goal on Strava to do at least 2500miles next this year (Though seeing a some of you post 6K and 9K miles makes me feel pretty pathetic :eek::p) and my reward for completing that was going to be an upgrade on my bike.

I figured either a power-meter or a set of carbon wheels would be a nice way to end the year and doing more than 3x the amount of cycling I did this year. What would be a better option to work towards? PM or Carbon Wheels?

Maybe 2500 is a bit of a pathetic goal and I'll set it as 3000 instead.

Some of you are ****** monsters. Jesus Christ

https://www.probikekit.co.uk/cyclin...-3d-power-meter-105-r7000-black/12104435.html is close to as cheap as it has ever been, £199 short term deals before Covid started. Been a gamechanger for me that started with power meter integrated into the Elite Direto turbo trainer I bought in December '18, in as much as it changed how I tried to improve my bike fitness, bought the 4iiii in April '19.

How hard you ride compared to your own power zones makes all the difference. I've ridden everyday since November '21, mostly on the turbo, at least 30mins a day and sometimes close to two hours (usually ~1hr). If I did that at z4+ I'd be horribly "overtrained" within a few weeks. In reality, I've been averaging no more than two sub 40min Zwift races or two z4+ workouts a week, everything else has been z1 or z2.
 
Soldato
Joined
11 Jun 2015
Posts
11,089
Location
Bristol
I really need to get a heart rate monitor as my Apple Watch doesn't export heart rate data to wahoo/Strava so I've no idea what my zone is.

is that one of the things that should be first on my list?
 
Soldato
Joined
28 Apr 2011
Posts
14,761
Location
Barnet, London
Well, you have a HRM, so your issue is just that it doesn't sync to Strava? I mean, it would really bug me, but I guess the more important thing is you can see how you're doing? Mind you, a chest strap is only about £35, so I would say yes, get one. Between power and HR it's helpful to know how hard you're pushing or have pushed in a ride. I also just love data and stats, so a Power Meter was a pretty early purchase for me.
 
Soldato
Joined
25 Oct 2006
Posts
5,386
https://www.probikekit.co.uk/cyclin...-3d-power-meter-105-r7000-black/12104435.html is close to as cheap as it has ever been, £199 short term deals before Covid started. Been a gamechanger for me that started with power meter integrated into the Elite Direto turbo trainer I bought in December '18, in as much as it changed how I tried to improve my bike fitness, bought the 4iiii in April '19.

Spotted this other day and really tempting for my summer bike (need 170mm) but then I think about the fact I pretty much ignore it on my main bike.
 
Soldato
Joined
11 Jun 2015
Posts
11,089
Location
Bristol
Don't compare yourself to others mate. I've ridden 6k this year and since 2018 I've been over 4k. When I first started I was doing around 1600-1900 miles on a good year back in 2012.

Do you and try ride longer and with some intensity thrown in.

I'm definitely trying to up my intensity. As much as I have more fun when cycling with friends i've noticed I'm able to push harder when cycling by myself. Mostly as I'm not worrying about the consistency of my pace when I'm by myself. I think pushing and stopping would get annoying for others. Though I'm cycling the same routes so I can see I am getting faster. In some parts by a few seconds and in some segments it can be as fast as a minute or two quicker! I expect with all things, it'll be huge improvements at the start then I'll start to plateau

Well, you have a HRM, so your issue is just that it doesn't sync to Strava? I mean, it would really bug me, but I guess the more important thing is you can see how you're doing? Mind you, a chest strap is only about £35, so I would say yes, get one. Between power and HR it's helpful to know how hard you're pushing or have pushed in a ride. I also just love data and stats, so a Power Meter was a pretty early purchase for me.

If I tracked my ride on Strava and my Bolt I could always just delete one ride and then I'd have the data there but it just seems like a faff I don't need or want to do. I bought the Bolt so that I'd have the information and route in front of me so it seems silly to track it in two places. Plus knowing me, I'd just forget to track it on the watch! Just ordered the Wahoo Tickr. Was £40 but I had a £5 amazon credit so for £35 it seemed like a worthwhile purchase.

Are you sure it isn't a permissions issue?

I wish it was! Annoyingly the AppleWatch doesn't broadcast heart rate data over ANT+ How typical of Apple!
 
Soldato
Joined
20 Feb 2004
Posts
21,201
Location
Hondon de las Nieves, Spain
Not sure how things are setup for your tracking, but my Apple watch definitely used to transfer HR data to Strava when i used it for running/Zwift.

I'd say maybe record the rides using both devices, that way you get the Wahoo data in front of you during the ride, but then sync the Apple Watch activity to Strava, but then i imagine you're missing any kind of cadence info that the Wahoo would have. As said, for £30 i'd get a HR strap and sync to the Wahoo. Such a small outlay given some of your recent spending on bike stuff, but will make a huge difference.


Also to make you feel better, my cycling goal is 750 miles :)
 
Soldato
Joined
28 Apr 2011
Posts
14,761
Location
Barnet, London
I'm cycling the same routes so I can see I am getting faster. In some parts by a few seconds and in some segments it can be as fast as a minute or two quicker! I expect with all things, it'll be huge improvements at the start then I'll start to plateau

You seem to be on the exact same path as me. I did the same two routes for a year. Now, I'm all about exploring different lanes and cake shops :)

If I tracked my ride on Strava and my Bolt I could always just delete one ride

These are two and the same for me? Do you not link Wahoo and Strava? I just record on my Wahoo and it appears in Strava.
 
Soldato
Joined
11 Jun 2015
Posts
11,089
Location
Bristol
Ah sorry I think I've misunderstood you. My AppleWatch totally would sync heart data directly to Strava if I either do a workout on the activity app or if I were do track a ride on the strava app on the phone.
The same can be said if I do a ride on my Wahoo Bolt, it imports the ride into Apple Health, Strava, Komoot and Relive.

What I can't do from the Bolt is track a ride, import it to Strava and see my heart rate data nor can I see my heart rate on the Bolt as I cycle. The watch doesn't broadcast the data to the bolt, if that makes sense. I've purchased a heart strap now so it's no longer an issue

You seem to be on the exact same path as me. I did the same two routes for a year. Now, I'm all about exploring different lanes and cake shops :)

I'm slowly starting to deviate from my known paths. I'm tempted to (does the spending ever stop with cycling?) get one of those Garmin bike radars. I'm loving the country lanes but I sometimes lack confidence doing it by myself and worry about whats coming up behind me. I really need to stop buying all these toys!
 
Soldato
Joined
18 Feb 2006
Posts
9,571
I wish it was! Annoyingly the AppleWatch doesn't broadcast heart rate data over ANT+ How typical of Apple!

Ah, I see. You're trying to broadcast to a Wahoo bike computer. I'd say its worth getting the strap anyway as it reacts much quicker to changes in heart rate.
 
Soldato
Joined
20 Feb 2004
Posts
21,201
Location
Hondon de las Nieves, Spain
There was an interface that linked to Strava that allowed exporting of activities, if they're named differently then could possibly use that. I'll try and see if i have a link saved.

I guess Veloviewer that people linked to above would work, but not sure of it's cost. That allows filtering by activites based on Gear.
 
Back
Top Bottom