It's killing me but..........

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Glad you derived some benefit from this thread BB. I expect to see you declaring that you have an FTP of 300Watts plus in the near future. ;) TYSON
280W is the immediate goal, at a body weight of 70kg. Only 3 kg more to lose. That is the easy part. Good luck selecting your home training system.

280W is the immediate goal, at a body weight of 70kg. Only 3 kg more to lose. That is the easy part. Good luck selecting your home training system.
Thanks, but I think I need more than luck. As is usual in the cycling world I need to consult a professor of acronyms. Why can't they just give these contraptions simple names like "Slog", "Slog but in colour", "The Rack" , "It's a killer but". http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d150/tinkletinkle_/1001.gif

I am as strong on the bike as I have ever been, and it's only January! I'm really looking forward to the upcoming season.Cool. About the time it thaws out up there, you'll be storming!:D

Just thought I'd add that I had a 2 hr ride (outside of course) today with some NMP bursts. The plan called for mid-high tempo range for the bursts, but the legs felt so good I was riding most of the main session of the workout at what I've got right now as the 100% FTP mark.

Temp was 3C when I left the house, 6-7 mph winds. Got in a couple "race like" truck chases. I find dump trucks provide the perfect draft for me.

Anyway, hope you all get great rides outside in too!

VW

Just thought I'd add that I had a 2 hr ride (outside of course) today with some NMP bursts. The plan called for mid-high tempo range for the bursts, but the legs felt so good I was riding most of the main session of the workout at what I've got right now as the 100% FTP mark.

Temp was 3C when I left the house, 6-7 mph winds. Got in a couple "race like" truck chases. I find dump trucks provide the perfect draft for me.

Anyway, hope you all get great rides outside in too!

VWWent to the gym forgetting that it is always closed the day after a National Holiday. Was tempted to go to Starbucks and have a coffee instead.
Then my new iron will kicked in; went home, pumped up the tyres and did 3 hours in the mountains.
At first things were fine, and as it was a lovely sunny but cold day (5C), and the snow of 2 days ago had almost disappeared. However, as I climbed up the snow at the roadside got deeper and deeper, then there was ice on the road which I could only avoid by cycling on the crown of the road where it had melted.
But then I hit a bad batch with compressed snow and ice all over the road. Luckily I only had to walk about 100 meters before rounding a bend where the sun was shining, so got back on and made it to the highest point. The other side of the mountains was bathed in sunlight so made it back home without any mishap.

Although my workouts have been less demanding than last year, I easily managed to get up to 26mph plus on the way back across the rice paddies.
Altogether a very satisfying ride on what could have been a wasted day!

P.S. My wife has agreed to me buying a trainer. Just have now to decide the best way to buy it - internet or through my LBS.;) TYSON

P.S. My wife has agreed to me buying a trainer. Just have now to decide the best way to buy it - internet or through my LBS.;) TYSONWhat are you going to buy?

P.S. My wife has agreed to me buying a trainer. Just have now to decide the best way to buy it - internet or through my LBS.;) TYSON
Took me forever to find a stateside retailer that would ship the KK road machine to me at my FPO address. Still waiting for confirmation from the folks I ended up buying it from. Simple annoyances. But it was much cheaper than the LBS down here can get me one for.

What are you going to buy?
The one you recommended coach. And I'm not going to attempt to name it, as I'll only get it wrong.:D Have printed out the relevant page and will check with my LBS first, but shall probably have to do what Nomad did and get it shipped directly to Japan.

Can't wait to start phase 2 of "It's killing me". Think about it RD, I shall have it rigged up to my computer and will produce graphs with loads of figures etc.
What a nightmare I'm entering, but I'm nevertheless raring to go!

The one you recommended coach. And I'm not going to attempt to name it, as I'll only get it wrong.:D Have printed out the relevant page and will check with my LBS first, but shall probably have to do what Nomad did and get it shipped directly to Japan.

Can't wait to start phase 2 of "It's killing me". Think about it RD, I shall have it rigged up to my computer and will produce graphs with loads of figures etc.
What a nightmare I'm entering, but I'm nevertheless raring to go!Now you're talking! Before long, you'll be posting your Performance Manager data!;)

The one you recommended coach. And I'm not going to attempt to name it, as I'll only get it wrong.:D Have printed out the relevant page and will check with my LBS first, but shall probably have to do what Nomad did and get it shipped directly to Japan.

I don't know how reliable they are, but I found at least one stateside retailer who says they "are glad to ship orders to all U.S. Military APOs and FPOs."
http://penncycle.com/page.cfm?PageID=11

No, I'm not a US serviceman, but I went through KK's dealer list trying to find retailers who are willing to ship overseas (specifically to Japan). I found a few of them and at least two of them explicitly mention about shipping to APO/FPO addresses.

In the end, though, last month a friend of mine was going to Honolulu to run the Honolulu Marathon, so I asked him to buy one there and bring it back home for me... I'm a happy KK owner now thanks to him.:)

And no, I don't think there is any retailer in Japan who carries KK trainers... (Googling only Japanese sites with the phrase "Kurt Kinetic" yielded mostly indirect links to my own page describing my experience with my KK Road Machine, and the others weren't even in Japanese).

Ken

And no, I don't think there is any retailer in Japan who carries KK trainers... I ended up using "Seasonal Outfitters" through Amazon. One of the nice things with Amazon is they appear to require USPS shipping as an option which makes everything with them available to APO/FPO.

Thanks for the penncycle site though. Added it to my bookmark list.

I have done my first 3 rides on the 300PT. I guess I soon have to find out what my real FTP is. Because I estimate it now at 230-260 watt (and 69kg).

My 3 rides:

1.) Goal 2x15minutes of L4
T 15:02, AP 221, NP 221, HR 171, C113, TSS 21.3 IF 0.92
T 12:57, AP 259, NP 259, HR 184, C110, TSS 25.1, IF 1.08

2.) Goal 1x30minutes of L3
T 30:21, AP 212, NP 213, HF 162, C 104, TSS 39.5, IF 0.888

3.) Goal 1x40minutes of L3
T 40:28, AP 217, NP 218, HF 167, C 106, TSS 55.3, IF 0.908

Tomorrow I will take a rest day and friday I will try 2x20minutes of L4 (first 230 and second 240watt)

With 'CT' RapDaddyo meant the CompuTrainer. All those abbreviations on this board! I also have to do my best to understand every message here. :D

A computrainer with a Powertap SL would be a very good combination! My problem with the cycleops indoortraienr is now that I can't buy a powermeter for my racebike. Hmmz.

Ooh, at the moment it's to wet and dark outside when I have the time to cycle. ;)
When I see Powertap in a post, I skip over it so have no idea what it is. Why would I need a Powertap SL with my compu trainer.:confused:

When I see Powertap in a post, I skip over it so have no idea what it is. Why would I need a Powertap SL with my compu trainer.:confused:You can use the powertap SL outdoors: training with a powermeter in the mountains!! And when you are using your computrainer you have a reliable powermeter (more reliable than the computrainer)

You can use the powertap SL outdoors: training with a powermeter in the mountains!! And when you are using your computrainer you have a reliable powermeter (more reliable than the computrainer)
So you're saying that the Compu Trainer's power readings are unreliable, therefore what would be the point of me getting one then?

So you're saying that the Compu Trainer's power readings are unreliable, therefore what would be the point of me getting one then?No not unreliable. But the powertap is more accurate and you have the same powermeter indoors and outdoors. You don't have to re-calculate your power-range for an outdoor trainingsride.

You can use the CompuTrainer for the trainingplan. Set it for example at 280 watt for 20 minutes and you see at your powertap that you did 20 minutes of 270 watt with an NP of 275 watt. When you want to do 280 watt you can set your CompuTrainer at 290watt.

You can use the powertap SL outdoors: training with a powermeter in the mountains!! And when you are using your computrainer you have a reliable powermeter (more reliable than the computrainer)I think there is a little confusion here. IMO, if one has a CompuTrainer Pro or Velodyne there is no reason for an additional power measurement device (PT or SRM or whatever) for the indoor rides. The CT Pro and Velodyne measure power with completely acceptable accuracy. In fact, I'm not certain that the PT or SRM do measure actual power more accurately. I'm sure that one of the guys who has both can weigh in on any differences they see (if any). The PT or SRM or whatever on-bike PM would be of value for road rides, but I see it as completely redundant data for indoor rides on a CompuTrainer or Velodyne.

I think there is a little confusion here. IMO, if one has a CompuTrainer Pro or Velodyne there is no reason for an additional power measurement device (PT or SRM or whatever) for the indoor rides. The CT Pro and Velodyne measure power with completely acceptable accuracy. In fact, I'm not certain that the PT or SRM do measure actual power more accurately. I'm sure that one of the guys who has both can weigh in on any differences they see (if any). The PT or SRM or whatever on-bike PM would be of value for road rides, but I see it as completely redundant data for indoor rides on a CompuTrainer or Velodyne.

The half-dozen or so Velodynes with which I have experience have all been quite accurate (i.e., w/in 1-2%), provided that you followed the warm-up and calibration routine carefully. Still, I prefer to use a bike equipped with a powermeter on the Velodyne, for several reasons:

1) to get accurate data I don't have to wait while the Velodyne warms up, but can just hop on and train;

2) if I want to analyze the data using WKO+, being able to download the powermeter file after the fact saves me from having to capture the Velodyne data in real time using a dedicated PC (which in fact I have never actually done);

3) while it's been years since I regularly used the Velodyne in anything other than ergometer mode, using a powermeter means that I could ride a simulated course and later download the data (see #2); and

4) having the powermeter on the bike gives me something else to entertain myself while riding, e.g., I can record intervals, see my cadence or heart rate*, etc.

Having said all of the above, if you already own a Velodyne (or CompuTrainer), the only reason you really need a powermeter is to be able to measure your power when cycling outdoors.

I think there is a little confusion here. IMO, if one has a CompuTrainer Pro or Velodyne there is no reason for an additional power measurement device (PT or SRM or whatever) for the indoor rides. The CT Pro and Velodyne measure power with completely acceptable accuracy. In fact, I'm not certain that the PT or SRM do measure actual power more accurately. I'm sure that one of the guys who has both can weigh in on any differences they see (if any). The PT or SRM or whatever on-bike PM would be of value for road rides, but I see it as completely redundant data for indoor rides on a CompuTrainer or Velodyne.I'm sure it's been covered before but....

In an either/or (semi budget-constrained) situation, I think you would be better with a Powertap power meter and a reasonable indoor trainer (like the Kurt Kinetic often mentioned). This will enable the flexibility to accurately measure power for any ride you do on your bike, whether on a trainer or outdoors. This would be the first priority (aside from actually training of course;)) as having power data from all rides is such a highly valuable training aid.

While the Computrainer (or Velodyne) also measures power output with accuracy* the additional benefit is it also enables you to pre-set a resistance level (in watts), hence you can programme a workout and just ride it - the machine will automatically set the resistance for you.

The latter is useful when doing testing, you really want to target a specific wattage level, or want to use a pre-programmed course to help relieve the boredom of indoor training. But of course if you don't have a Powertap (or other on bike power meter) then you can't measure power when out on the road.


* these are accurate, reliable and long life training machines. They may not however exactly match the power output shown on a Powertap (or other on bike power meters). Much depends on the calibration, set up and the error range of each power measurement device. But they will be pretty close and will be consistent and often they can be modified so that they match exactly.

I have ridden one Computrainer with PT a few times and the CT was consistently reading about 5-6% higher than my PT. I have never ridden a Velodyne.

I have ridden one Computrainer with PT a few times and the CT was consistently reading about 5-6% higher than my PT. I have never ridden a Velodyne.Not having directly compared either the CT or Velodyne with my PT, I have no reason to dispute what you say. Of course, it brings up the usual question, "Is it important that the power measurement number is exactly correct or is it sufficient that the number is consistent from day to day. For example, Tyson made huge progress using the power meter on his gym bike. Is the gym bike accurate? Probably not, but it didn't stand in the way of him measuring his performance gains from week to week and managing his workouts with a great deal of consistency. I absolutely endorse the value of a power meter for road rides and I see Andy's points above about the value of both a Velodyne and a PT or SRM for trainer rides. But, in Tyson's case, he does most of his riding indoors, with maybe one outdoor ride per week. No, he wouldn't know his power on his road rides (which would be great), but I think the higher priority for him is a great indoor riding setup. The KK+PT option is a great one. The CompuTrainer or Velodyne options are great as well. Lots of good options.:D