Just got a powertap - help me get started on the right foot with it
So, I just got a wired powertap with wheel off eBay. It'll take a few weeks before it gets delivered, and after IMLP I plan on giving myself a 3-4 week break from structured training where I can recompose myself mentally and give myself a chance to play around with and start getting used to how to ride with power.
Given that, what would you recommend as an approach for that? Just casually ride around, checking out the numbers, noting how they change going up and down hills, getting a feel for how the gearing will differ on ascents vs descents, etc? Or should I dive right into the training with power resources in the wiki, and immerse myself in the how-to for using things like WKO+ or Golden Cheetah? Or maybe it's a preference thing based on the person.
Thanks for any advice!
Comments
1. Watch the whole power webinar. It is amazing. Today.
2. Get a copy of Training and Racing with Power and read it until you get to the parts you don't understand/your brain is full. Repeat. Repeat. Repeat. I'm still not all the way through the book.
3. Sit down with the manual and learn how to use all the buttons.
4. Ride and have fun! The best advice I was given was to keep the heart rate monitor strap around, at least for awhile, and just observe power numbers.
as a new PT user, a lot of the equipment issues are actually just User issues. many of the technical problems will already be asked and answered in the power and pace forums.
also, FWIW I use Power Agent which came with my cyclopes PT and is a very simple to use software but not nearly as robust at WKO+...I am not ready to jump into that software just yet. You can do a lot with power Agent in terms of the Observations that Beth is speaking of. Observe while riding and then observe again through a fancy line chart...
yes, that's correct
Also, give some care to the venue you choose to test at. It needs to be repeatable, convenient, safe and have some room to hit it pretty good for 20 minutes without interruption.
Also - Power Webinar is a steal at double that price. THE book (Training and racing with Power) is a good reference, but hardly an easy read....
I'm also mulling around how to go about using those numbers in training, assuming there will be a large discrepency. I'm thinking I'll do the FTP test on the trainer, see what TR reports back, and see what the PT reports back. This way if the PT reports 200 as an FTP, and TR reports 230 - when I am outside I can go by the PT numbers, and when I am on the trainer and using TR I can base workout intensities on TR numbers. Might be a bit of a juggle during the riding season when some rides are outside and some are inside (especially if I have the wheel w/PT as the outdoor wheel, and my old wheel as the indoor wheel - so I don't have to keep changing tires when switching back and forth), but come outseason time, it'll all be indoors and I can use the PT wheel for best consistency.
After watching part 1 of the webinar yesterday, they spoke of using data from rides to estimate FTP - is this what you are referring to?
After you learn how to use your PT and have done multiple FTP tests, you can eventually get to a place where you can estimate your FTP based on how your 28 day power profile looks on WKO+. At this point, ignore that as your just trying to figure out the FTP.
In regards to your other post about doing a trainer ride to compare the PT to TrainerRoad....this will only be helpful in knowing the difference between the two and since one is an estimate based on the type of trainer you have, there are other factors that will make this more of a correlation than and actual comparison since very few trainers have a linear resistance curve. Also, that FTP from the indoor test is only good for when you train indoors. There is typically a higher FTP outdoors than compared to indoors and the ranges vary from 10-30+ watts at times.
As others have suggested, once you put the PT on just go out and ride to see what the numbers initially look like. I would then experiment with how to keep the numbers within a 10-20 watt range (example: if I pick 180, then I always want to see a number between 170 and 190 on the dial). When I'm trying to keep them consistent, pay attention to how quickly they drop on slight downhills & how quickly they spike at the beginning of hills. To try to prepare for a good first FTP test, pick a number and see what it's like to consistently hold that number for 8-12'. Then, based on that pick another number (or the same one) and see what 2 x 8-12' (2') feels like, then increase the number or the time --2 x 15', etc. This will help you have a better first test.
This highlights something I didn't think of - the power curve of the trainer is some multivariable equation, and the power curve of the real world would be a different multivariable equation. So if TR is off by say, 30W at an FTP value, it might be off by only 20W at something like 60% of FTP.
Thanks for the input!