Power Meters / Powermeters (SRM, Powertap, Quarq, Ergomo, Vector, Stages, power2max, P2M, 4iii, InPower, Cinch)

I think I'm about to buy another Stages XTR. It's worked well for me, I have multiple XTR cranks and I could do with a dedicated one on the turbo. Everything else works out as twice the price.

twice the price.

Twice the measured power though...

Just retested my FTP. No tyre shredding this time, I managed a fairly consistent power output with a negative split. Looking back I feel like I might be able to go a bit harder but at the time it seemed pretty tough.

That's standard. Think you could have done more. Probably could have.
Emptying the tank is a fine art.

Very hard to do without a number on

I know, I know.

@Sam thinks I should be doing TT's. Pointy hats though.......

Or cross. Either way with your physiology it seems a shame to restrict it to sportives and dropping your mates on club runs.

@dan has a pointy hat and some clip ons that I'm sure you can borrow...

We have club runs?

And mates?

He does sportives?

Come and do a cross race.
Ved needs the competition.

One more bike to buy Nick.
Race track like a real man?

Mates, but no runs.

@Sam thinks everyone should do tt's :)

You could even do hillclimbs if you can ever get your filofax in order..

Don't mention the f word to @Chalfie

Herne Hill is too far from Camberwell.

If it helps, my pacing method is to aim for 5% above my previous effort if I've had an 8 week training block behind me. This usually works out at about 5 mins at 5-10w below previous, 5 minutes or so around the previous effort, 5 mins at 5w above and then see if I can move this up in the final 5 mins without surging. So far it feels like I'm really holding on in the last 90 seconds, and I've hit around that 5% mark each time. However I've a sinking feeling this improvement is going to start dropping off!

What is the trainer road 5 minute 'blowout', just a max effort for that interval? I am only 9 months into this turbo business but the protocol used for FTP is different again - my 'blowout' is 2 x 1 minute max with 3 mins easy between. They are horrible, and I find them far worse than the actual 20 minute test.

5min interval? Sounds like vo2max..

I really disagree with this 5min "blowout" effort before a 20min test. It's very difficult to standardise, no-one knows or explains how hard you should go (because if you do a proper 5min max then your 20min effort will be ridiculously low) and just do a normal warm up instead.

For people that really worry about the 20min/60min relationship then do a 20min test, and within a week or so do a 60min test without whinging about it and work out the % difference so that you know for sure.

The way I do my ftp test starts off with 5 minutes of watching motivational videos of lance Armstrong eyeing up Ullrich on the L'Alpe d'Huez. I rub my legs with hot butter whilst doing this to get warmed up. After I'm feeling suitably limber, I spend 8 minutes getting dressed so I can really give my max performance for 20 minutes. Once I'm fully into my Rapha I jump on the turbo and go straight in because 20 minutes is hard enough as it is.

For the first 5 minutes of the test I like to ride around 20W harder than my last best because whats the point in testing unless you're better than before. Around 10 minutes the pain usually becomes too much and I give up. I like to curse and hurl abuse at how fucking shit turbo training is during this phase. About 30 seconds after that I find the eye of the tiger and jump back on. I smash the next 9 minutes, at the start of the final minute I think about Van Dam avenging his brothers honour against Tong Po. This gives me the strength to pump out a real strong 45 seconds or so after which I stop because 19.45 rounds up to 20.00 mathematically anyway.

I then do some maths to determine accurate 60 minute FTP. I usually do this by taking the average of the first 10 minutes, *0.95 *1.05 +10W + last 9.45min /2 +10W. After that I look at where I stand on the ftp chart of truth and realise I am nothing. I then sell my turbo. And then buy another turbo a few months later because my mum didn't raise a quitter.

Who said max? I didn't say max.
Previously I've done 105-120% FTP depending on what stage of the block it was done.

As for standardisation, that's up to the rider, just like all the other test variables.

Bloody rookies, coming in here, complaining about test consistency to a bunch of sportive riders armed with Stages...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YfdLh0MHqKw

Da boy is bang on.

You have talent . . . when it comes to writing it seems.

Well done, I enjoyed that.

If you could post a video of you rubbing your legs with "hot butter", I'd find that most useful.

Many thanks in advance!

I'm not saying you did, just that the 5min blowout thing is confusing to a lot of riders and will introduce variability akin to a thousand Stages.