First FTP test of the season - FINALLY
After much waiting I finally got my new Quarq CinQo and Garmin Edge 500 and rebuilt my tri bike late last week. I've been on the Jan OS protocol and just feeling it out for the past 10+ weeks...all on the trainer. I got the tri rig up and running Thursday evening just in time for a long course duathlon on Saturday. That was the first time I rode my tri bike since about October and jumping right into 90min in the aero position cold turkey is not something I would advise. I ran the PM for the race but had no reference so it was just data collection. Today I finally got outside for a legit 2X20. I paced it damn near perfect. The last 5-8min of #2 were everything I remembered 
but I finished strong and feel that I got a solid FTP estimate to work with = 245W. I won't even try to compare that to anything from last season because I was riding a completely different PM (Ergomo) and have no way to relate them. It is what it is. Happily I was finally able to replace the ??? in my sig with a real number.
Comments
Congrats on finally having a real PM and a real FTP to work with.
There's a big delta between your FTP and vDot numbers; I think you have plenty of room to improve that FTP, perhaps when you get more miles on the TT bike.
Well done!
I don't know what's more impressive...the test or getting that bike set up with all the gear!!!
P
Very cool Joel - would love to see bike pics. I am also looking to switch from Ergomo to Quarq (and considering some other upgrades like the Vuka, as well) - interested to see your build.
Also, how do you like the Edge 500 after being an Ergomo user? Do you miss NP, IF, and TSS, or do you feel like you learned enough about how to ride low V.I. with the Ergomo that you don't need NP anymore? I am trying to decide btwn Edge 500 or if I should wait for the Joule to have those again - I am leaning towards the Edge because of cost and availibility, but interested to hear perspective of another rcent convert
Btw, how did the LC Duathlon go?
I should be able to get some "before" pcs up in the next day or so. I'm away from home for a while and not sure if I loaded the "after" to Photobucket yet or not. I'll start a new discussion thread for the rebuild.
So far I'm really liking the Edge 500. It's nice and compact and the mounting system is simple and slick. They even give you 2 mounts and extra bands - nice touch. I only have a couple of rides on the Quarq/500 so far but everything has been good. I did the DU and FTP tests outside and one indoor trainer ride with the GPS turned off. I'm using 3sec averaging for the power display and it seems stable yet responsive enough for what I'm doing. I also like that you can customize 3 different displays with 3-6 (IIRC) pieces of data on each screen. As for IF, NP, and TSS - it would be a nice to have but was really more of a novelty when I had Ergomo. I didn't use it for anything specific in training or racing. It was neat to be able to see my TSS late in a long ride or check my IF and maybe use that as a little motivation to keep pushing the last 10 miles but it's tough to pay $200 extra. I like to have all the bells and whistles, which is why I originally ordered the Joule and I would have stuck with it if they had started shipping earlier. Bottom line for me was I was really anxious to get my power training back on course and I needed gear ASAP so I ditched the Joule order and picked up an Edge 500 online for a good price. IMO, the Edge 500 is everything you need unless you have some extra cash and want the novelty of IF, NP, and TSS. Another thing I like about the Edge, although really doesn't have anything to do with training/racing, is the GPS mapping and speed/distance. I've got a Forerunner 405 so I get to download the track for all of my runs. Now I do the same for my rides. And using the GPS for speed/distance I don't need an extra gadget hanging off my fork or frame. It my not be a precise as a calibrated wheel and deicated sensor but it's perfectly fine for my purposes.
The DU was good...considering everything. I think I was 7 or 8 OA and 1 in the 35-39 AG. It was a pretty small race but a great way for me to jump into the season. Unfortunately I had to bail out of VA Du this past weekend due to family health issues and the Carroboro Long Course DU I was registered for this coming wekend was canceled for some reason. You need at least 3 finishes to be eligible for USAT All American honors so I guess that's out for DU this season.
sounds like it's time to search for a few more Du's! we've got several coming up here in New England (a bit of a hike) throughout the spring...
Joel - that's awesome info about the Edge 500 - very much appreciate you taking the time to share your thoughts, and I think I am officially sold on it.
Nice work on the Du! Reason I asked is that I race in the VA area pretty often, so I've seen how fast you are when get onto good form - I was guessing that your reports above about current FTP and VDot were perhaps a bit modest, and that you probably still did rather well in the Du - sounds like that is the case.
Sorry to hear about the VA Du and Carborro - I hope all is OK with your family. I raced Carborro last year - love that course - it's going to be HOT this weekend for this time of year. I will be sitting it out this year also because I'm just not fit enough to justify the trip down there.
Best of luck in your season and hope to bump into you sometime at one of the races around VA.
- Mike
Here's the thread I started about my bike overhaul - CLICK