Road Cycling

Off to try the local club 10 mile TT segment this afternoon and have a quick question which will probably be answered more quickly in here than in the TT thread...

I understand how to pace the 10 miles etc etc but my question is more about riding a TT to power and whether it's quicker/more efficient to:

  • Maintain threshold and blow up whilst crossing the line
  • Average threshold and blow up whilst crossing the line (i.e - cross threshold for the climbs and recover on the descents)
  • It makes no difference :o
  • Pancake :eek:
  • Buy another bike :p

Logic is telling me averaging set power makes the most sense but I am on a Monday brain derp potato today.
 
something is telling me you'll go quicker by applying more power in "hard" sections and resting slightly in "easier" ones. I read it somewhere but i can't recall where
 
I'm fairly sure maintain is the way to go :p Should be your 20 minute power rather than threshold though.

edit: I'm not a TT pro though so probably I'm wrong.
 
Interesting, kind of the line I was thinking along, slightly above for the mild climbs this segment has and then under to recover.

http://www.cyclingweekly.co.uk/fitn...mance-why-even-pacing-might-not-be-best-23148

These results run contrary to conventional wisdom – that an even-paced strategy is best for fast times. The fact that nine cyclists couldn’t even complete the rigorously enforced even-paced 20km, even though they were only asked to ride at the same average power output as they’d achieved in their best self-paced time trial, is remarkable.

It’s likely that in the self-paced trial, a slight variation of pace was better at preventing lactate build-up the cyclists’ muscles, compared to a completely constant power output.
Click to expand...

http://www.training4cyclists.com/time-trialling/

About 20 watts more power riding uphill will save you more time than you will lose by reducing 20 watts going downhill. This is because there is a stronger aerodynamic drag at higher velocities.
Click to expand...

i.e. the faster you're going the more energy & power needed to increase speed in comparison to increasing a comparatively slower speed by the same margin. The margin lost recovering on a descent at a lower output will still yield a net overall gain.
 
Last edited:
BennyC said:
i.e. the faster you're going the more energy & power needed to increase speed in comparison to increasing a comparatively slower speed by the same margin. The margin lost recovering on a descent at a lower output will still yield a net overall gain.
Click to expand...

makes sense... going from 15 to 16mph saves you 15 seconds over a mile, whereas going from 25 to 26 only saves you 6
 
BennyC said:
Off to try the local club 10 mile TT segment this afternoon and have a quick question which will probably be answered more quickly in here than in the TT thread...

I understand how to pace the 10 miles etc etc but my question is more about riding a TT to power and whether it's quicker/more efficient to:

  • Maintain threshold and blow up whilst crossing the line
  • Average threshold and blow up whilst crossing the line (i.e - cross threshold for the climbs and recover on the descents)
  • It makes no difference :o
  • Pancake :eek:
  • Buy another bike :p

Logic is telling me averaging set power makes the most sense but I am on a Monday brain derp potato today.
Click to expand...

Ride with Power, not to power! Should be pushing slightly above on uphill and below on downhills. Always fighting wind resistance, so make the most of when this is at a minimum ie slower sections. If it's not competitive you won't go as fast as you can actually go. Oh and build the effort as you go, so at the end your legs and lungs are screaming. But 10 miles is generally flat out from 2 minutes onwards so to speak.
 
change in topic, sorry.

How do people clean their cleaning stuff? ie, if you use a chain cleaner thingy...how do you clean it?

I ended up putting old grime back onto my chain this weekend.
 
With a chain cleaner cleaning tool... ;)

I find you can just hose most cleaning stuff down. Maybe a bit of pressure out the hose to get everything.
 
I've given up using the chain cleaning tool tbh, I find the jobs gets done easier and quicker with just:

1) get bike in bike stand, give it a quick blast with the hose to get mud off
2) spray chainset with muc-off degreaser spray
3) after a minute or two, give the cassette a scrub
4) hose it down
5) repeat from step 2 again if it was extra dirty
6) rinse everything with washing up liquid and water
7) hose it down

The muc-off degreaser spray is godly, it'll get your cassette shiny with no effort required.
 
Roady said:
Just keep pushing?
Click to expand...

SoliD said:
Ride with Power, not to power! Should be pushing slightly above on uphill and below on downhills. Always fighting wind resistance, so make the most of when this is at a minimum ie slower sections. If it's not competitive you won't go as fast as you can actually go. Oh and build the effort as you go, so at the end your legs and lungs are screaming. But 10 miles is generally flat out from 2 minutes onwards so to speak.
Click to expand...

Well I enjoyed that even if the random time I plucked out of the air of 25-26 minutes is a little out of reach... TT Segment

Given a recent FTP around 277w (need to update the power thread and remove the hilarious over estimate of Virtual Power) not bad for a first attempt at a TT given the conditions and inexperience...

QI9wOFy.png


blBdT2K.png


Strava Lap Analysis

Live segments ftw :cool:

azaeCuNl.png.jpg

The 25m round trip there & back doesn't help, nor does lots of wind or a calorie deficit or having to scrub speed and then blitz it through some temp traffic lights. No traffic at any of the junctions mind. Though I forgot the segment ends 0.5m past where it starts so dumped what I had left a little early.

Plenty of room for relatively easy improvement :) A little less over on the climbs and moaaaar the rest of the time.
 
Last edited:
Does anybody have any suggestions for an alternative to the Rapha essentials case, as i refuse to pay £45 (and even £25 for the light weight version).

Ideally i would like it to be made of leather as its soft and grippy so won't damage my jersey or move about.

My requirements are that it holds the following:
iPhone 6
door key
multitool
debit card
coins/notes

Thankies :D
 
alexisonfire said:
Does anybody have any suggestions for an alternative to the Rapha essentials case, as i refuse to pay £45 (and even £25 for the light weight version).

Ideally i would like it to be made of leather as its soft and grippy so won't damage my jersey or move about.

My requirements are that it holds the following:
iPhone 6
door key
multitool
debit card
coins/notes

Thankies :D
Click to expand...

The DHB Glasses cases or any large glasses case.

Don't forget your tubes & levers :p

Bear said:
Good job for a first go :cool:
Click to expand...

Thanks, not the best day for it with the wind :( Will definitely not treat it as a race or such urgency next time and remain focused. My pedal stroke efficiency kinda went out the window which would have cost me a fair bit of power. Shame as recently (overnight) my upstroke has come from no where and really been helping with both output and lactate.

Next attempt I'll have completed the TT conversion so be on aero bars and in a slightly different position too. Marginal gains and that...
 
Last edited:
Saytan said:
makes sense... going from 15 to 16mph saves you 15 seconds over a mile, whereas going from 25 to 26 only saves you 6
Click to expand...
See, I mostly knew this but hadn't really appreciated the slim margins once over 20 mph.
BennyC said:
http://www.cyclingweekly.co.uk/fitn...mance-why-even-pacing-might-not-be-best-23148
http://www.training4cyclists.com/time-trialling/
Click to expand...
Some good reading there, thanks! :)
BennyC said:
brain derp potato today.
Click to expand...
luls:D
BennyC said:
Well I enjoyed that even if the random time I plucked out of the air of 25-26 minutes is a little out of reach... TT Segment
Click to expand...
Awesome effort & good average for a first attempt Ben! Kudos! :)

My first day of commuting to the new house yesterday, 9.6 miles will be my new daily total (4 rides compared to previously 2*4.4). Green machine is still fun to ride & really looking forward to going out later for some decent mileage with a mate! :D
 
Thomas. PLease. said:
@Roady - Yep 54-60cm
Click to expand...

Measured my head at 60cm earlier and just measured my helmet at a smidge under 61cm so too small for me, sorry! :(

One of the few parts of my body that hasn't changed size lol

My grammar/typing is getting terrible, I had to edit the above statement 3 times!
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom