Mountain Bike Fit

It's great to be back into mountain biking again! My last mountain bike was a dual suspension. This time I picked up a single speed. I've always wanted one because they are so simple. It's back to the basics.

Here's the good news for you. It will be an opportunity for me to go through the fit process for a mountain bike. Proper fit isn't just for roadies and triathletes. There are many similarities between various bike fits. They all have the same goals. On the mountain bike, I want to be in the best position to apply power to be the pedals. Also, I want to be balanced between the saddle and the handlebar so that I have the best control.

Handlebar width can easily determined. I can cut the bar so that bar fits you best.

Most of all, once you have been fit, you will get the most power and performance possible.

Ride fast.

iBike Pro

I purchased the iBike Pro the other night. The iBike Pro is a handlebar mounted wattage meter. If you haven't heard about it, stop by any of the local bike shops and ask. I've been telling them about this for several months. I intend to use this to set up my training plan. I will use the Computrainer to test my wattage and then I can program to ibike so that I can do the workouts on the road.

When considering wattage meters, there are several things to consider: Price, accuracy, reliability, utility and weight.

The iBike Pro's are suppose to ship at the end of March. I'll let you know when it comes in.

Great Workout

I decided to sleep in this past Tuesday morning. Weather in the 60's and 70's spoils my cold weather fortitude. So, when I read that it was going to be in the 40's, I chose a different training route:).

On the other side of the coin, you can tell when you are really interested in training. If you skip a day, you miss it. I could tell that I missed being on the bike. I decided to do a late night workout last night. I've been working on my cp20 performances lately because research points to this workout duration as a great base builder. I increased my cp20 wattage to 223 watts and set sail for two twenty minute bouts of work with a small break in the middle. I fully expected to complete the first bout but I had concerns for the second. To my surprise, I completed both with relative ease. My HR averaged about 161 which is about 15 bpm lower than my LT threshold. It was great workout. Most of all, it was encouraging. On the 3rd of March, I did a CP20 workout at 221 watts and I was only able to complete 20min 36 seconds. In just the past couple weeks, my wattage tolerace has improved significantly.

I recalculated my CP20 and my next workout is set at 229 watts. I'll let you know how I do.

On another topic. I ordered the ibike pro wattage meter yesterday. They are suppose to ship at the end of the month. Once I have it, I'll have the ability to monitor my power output at home via the computrainer and on the road with the ibike.

Here's where the coaching begins.

Time to Celebrate

It's time to celebrate. I far exceeded my expectations in the practice crit yesterday. To my surprise, I was able to stay in the main group. Based on my training, I fully expected to be shot out of the back of the group during the accelerations. At the end of the event, the spirit of stupidity took over and I decided that I could outrun the entire group in an early sprint attack. I was wrong.

Here's what I learned. My foundation of pedaling efficiency training served me well. During the entire ride, I was able to maintain my technique. I was able to chase breaks and close gaps.

Pedal circles! It's working.

Advantages of wattage based training

To followup on my previous post.

Wattage based training looks to provide significant changes in the way we train. However, they tend to be cost prohibitive. The polar and powertap meters are $900-1000 and the SRM is well over $2k. There is a new watt meter that is about to be released. It's called the ibike pro (www.ibikesports.com) and it only costs $350. It is suppose to be released at the end of the month. I'll give you a review once mine arrives.

Here's how the wattage based training can give you an advantage. As I mentioned in my previous post, I was able to maintain 221 watts for 20 min 36 seconds. 221 watts was my previous CP20. Now, based on calculations, my cp20 is 222 watts. I plan to do my next cp20 workout tomorrow night. I'll set the computrainer to 222 watts. It will be my goals to complete and exceed 20 minutes. If I do, I'll recalculate my cp20 and raise the bar for the next workout. If I'm not about to complete 20 minutes, I'll keep it there until I do. This should sound familiar to you if you have lifted weights.

This same format could be used for CP3, CP5, CP30 etc. Once you know your Critical Power levels for different durations, you can manipulate the training to meet your needs.

I'll keep you posted on my progress. I plan to do 1-2 CP20 workouts per week.

Good emperical news

It's fantastic to see that the emperical data regarding my cycling performance has not changed in spite of the fact that I've been off the bike taking care of other life issues(like watching the Olympics and American Idol). I haven't lost a significant amount of wattage. That said, I retested myself on my CP20 workout last night. I didn't expect to complete it but I was pleasantly surprised. If you remember from a previous post, CP20 is the average watts that a cyclist can generate over a twenty minute period. My CP20 is 221 watts. I was able to maintain that wattage for 20minutes and 36 seconds before I reached failure. It's a good sign that my capacity to create work hasn't changed significantly.

HOWEVER!,

My bike weighs the same as last summer. The weight of two water bottles hasn't changed. But, I'm about 15lbs heavier. I'm amazed by the loss of competitiveness by an addition of just a few kgs.

This should be a point of encouragement for many cyclists that find themselves within the "bell curve". There is one easy way out. Drop the luggage and you will ride faster.

Here's the calcuation. Each lb of fat is 3500 calories. Miss a meal and ride longer to help burn more of your fat stores. By default, you will ride faster. The gain in average speed is even greater when the road turns up.

How do you determine your training program? Do you just ride or do you have a plan. Set your goals and design your program to achieve your goals.

If you need help, let me know.