300 Watts FTP will get me....

rmur17

all else being equal 300 vs. 225W @62min should get you in the 55-56 min region. good luck with the training.

__________________
rmur

bikerboy

TT'ing isnt the race of truth anymore. Its a competition of who can cheat more with ultra expensive wheels and aero frames. Only at the pro/ 1 level is a TT a legitimate contest... BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOORRRRRRRRRRRRING

bikerboy

TT's arn't worth upgrade points either because they are bogus.

dkrenik

http://www.analyticcycling.com/

Eden

TT's aren't worth upgrade points because you don't gain any bike handling or tactical skills by racing them. No one wants an ultra strong, but completely pack inexperienced person going up.
I also disagree that its all about equipment. All the aero stuff in the world won't help you if you don't have some measure of physical ability. Fancy wheels and fancy bikes will shave off seconds, but if you're not already finishing up near the top its probably not going to help you too much.

Pelotonium

Why don't you just answer the poster's real question? We all know what you're saying. The poster probably knows it, too. He asks a valid question, and you spin him around with a smart-ass reply.

What you're saying is obvious. What the poster is asking is legit, so why don't you stop showing off and help him out? Let's see what he can expect, and then we can check what he really does.

By the way, the calculator sites quoted above are pretty good starting points for this sort of stuff.

Good luck!

dkrenik

Good post. This thread has been getting a little sideways from the OP's question.

The Kreuzetter (sp?) calculator is a little more "user friendly"; the analyticcycling site requires the user to make more assumptions/haver greater knowledge of certain aspects of the ride and their profile. There's also "machinehead" software (free download) that's also more user friendly.

Either one of them will at least get you in the ball park.

Dave

PSUcycling

in a stage race you can upgrade with a TT.

win the TT, sit in for the other stages, win the overall. Now you have more than half the points you need to upgrade!

maybe that only works for cat2 to 1.

__________________
Chann McRae Cycling Coach
Velossimo Racing Team
Racing Blog
john@cmcoaching.com

Ergoman

There is no answer to the OP's "real question" because the OP's "real question" is just as bogus as your comments above. Some people want to guess at FTP without doing the work to actually determine it, then they want to use this magic number and a calculator to make a guess based on a guess to guess how they might perform under fantasy circumstances.

Why even ride or train at all? Just estimate what your power would be if you worked out and owned the bike of your dreams. Plug that number into your calculator and then sit back on the couch and eat a bag of chips while you watch the TDF and complain about all the dopers. If you're going to fantisize, you might as well go all the way.

Pelotonium

Your answer to the OP's question was useless. Why didn't you just sit this one out Ergo, instead of trashing the question? Some of us find some use for his question.

For instance, if the OP comes back and tells us that the online calculators were not good at predicting his time, then we've learned something useful. Or if they worked well, then some of us want to know that.

That's a lot better than saying: "if you want to know how fast you'll go on a TT, then do a TT". That's something most of us here already knew.

You see how that works?

And then ... big surprise... you go on and build a strawman:

Nice work. Treating people as though their experiences are lower down on the food chain than yours is always going to impress.

frenchyge

The OP has already explained that he does real TTs at his real (current) FTP -- no guesswork about it. What he wanted to know is how much improvement he might see from reaching his goal FTP a couple years down the road. I'm not sure what's 'bogus' or difficult to understand there.

Alex Simmons

Fancy wheels and bike with a good position will shave off seconds per kilometre, which over a decent TT adds up quite quickly.

__________________
http://alex-cycle.blogspot.com/
http://www.cyclecoach.com/

Ergoman

Pointing out the obvious is sometimes necessary and constructive, especially in a sport often driven by obsession. On the other hand, the insults you've spewed are never necessary.

Either you're just looking for an argument or you need to work on your reading and comprehension skills. In either case, I'm not going to help you.

vio765

i have done my share of TT's given the experience i have. this is my 3rd year of racing. i went from 185W and 174 pounds in my first TT to 225W and 156 pounds in my most current TT. relative to the time i invest, i am satisfied with my progress up to now. i plan on riding like a man posessed (courtesy: Phil Sherwin and the boys at Versus) in the next couple of seasons. here are two points i must address (briefly):

a.) TT's are unfair, due to who has the toys usually go faster (there are exceptions). but we all have the freedom to upgrade to that equipement. and all the aero toys are legal, so get those toys if you can. otherwise, choose another sport or deal with it. i, and many others, do.

b.)whether or not TT's are valid in upgrade points or helping with bike-handling skills is irrelevent in this thread.

now, to me, 300 watts seems like it would get me something faster than 55 minutes. i did the indiana state TT championships yesterday ( i got 3rd in the Cat4 at 1h3m45s). i ran into a guy who said he could push 375W. i saw his equipement and it was very aero stuff. but he clocked in at like 53 minutes. granted, that is very fast, but with 375 watts, i would expect more! recall my friend who can do a 52m TT at 325 watts. clearly, the 375W guy's position must be bad and my friend's position must be good. i would think that the extra 50 watts would be able to push through the wind despite the poor position on the bike. hmmmmm.