New way of thinking
I appreciate all of the questions about the ibike over the last couple weeks. As I mentioned in earlier posts, it seems to be more reliable now that I have the calibration process down. To this point, it's been a bit of a novelty. It's nice to have wattage measurements available during a ride but, so what? Novelties have come and gone during the history of cycling. What is going to keep this thing from going the way of those funky Scott handlebars that curled in from the drops towards the headtube. Here's the answer: Effectiveness and Utilization by owners that makes a difference.
Let's say a thousand of us purchase ibikes. Yet, we don't change the way we ride. The ibike will be relegated to the realm of "fancy computers". In the same vein, if I rode my computrainer like any other trainer without taking advantage the ability to define workouts based on my fitness, I've wasted my cash.
So, what's the point. I'm letting you in on my thinking. Is the ibike the greatest thing since sex and the wheel. Probably not. It has it's quirks. Like any good marriage, you have to learn to live with the good and the bad. Now that I've defined the quirks, it's time to change the way I use the device. I'll continue to ride my typical road schedule with the groups. Most of the time, that is Saturday and Tuesday. However, I rode today(Thursday) and it was fun and challenging. Other road rides will be dosed based on what I am trying to achieve. I'll know my wattage ranges and durations based on testing. I'll be able to monitor my progress by using Cyclingpeaks software. It should be fun. Let's see if this thing actually makes a difference in fitness. I'll keep you posted.
posted by David Field, Gulf Coast Cycle Fit @ 9:09 AM
4 Comments:
Good post.
Obviously they tool is only as good as waht you make of it. The question is that is it a good tool? I have not worked with power before so I don't know the specific parameters but consistency and accuracy seem to be the main concerns.
I've read that there are erratic numbers from rough roads and how it's slow to pick up the faster accelerations, how bad is this and how much will this affect proper analysis of data?
The topica wattage listserve had a very detailed discussion of the ibike vs. powertap. They noticed that longer duration average wattages were very comperable. Shorter duration began to show disparity. www.nyvelocity.com has a good discussion with graphs to compare.
The issue with rough roads is of greater importance. I've noticed the same thing.
For 1/4 the cost, some of these issues go away. If you are doing 15 second intervals, you are probably going all out. It's a max wattage event.
The more I use it, the more I see how I can use it for a training tool.
Here's another consideration. This thing probably has more computing power than all the computers that put the 1st man on the moon.
The challenge is related to determining the effective intensities for specific durations that are related to individual metabolic systems.
so now that the issues are identified the follow up questions are:
1) Are they fixable?
2) If not how will they affect your training?
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