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There's no tension adjustment for wheel contact unfortunately. Just eyelets to move the roller closer or further away from the pivot for different wheel sizes.
Good point on the tyre choice, with it being a gel roller a normal tyre might be ok. I'm going to degrease the roller/tyre in case there's something on there.
Thinking about it again with the lower gearing/smaller wheel the wheel isn't spinning that fast so should be less wear on a 26"slick tyre.
But doesn’t that mean more torque, so more likely to sporadically slip? Just a thought.
Did Mills tonight - jeesus H christ! Felt like giving up at the sixth effort but somehow managed to hang on to complete the workout.
Had a pretty ragged effort on one of the cx ones this evening - katahdin. Think the first commute back to work must have shocked the legs, had nowt left.
Yeah, Mills is a toughie. Did it the other week and had to shut my eyes and pray during a couple of the intervals. The 30 minute one is worse... 😮
Crikey. 48hrs after a 20 min FTP test and it was Stevens - 5x6m at 105% of my [b]new [/b]FTP.
That was tough, I gutted out the 4th, but the 5th I was fading, I just couldn't keep the leg speed despite positive vibes so I had to knock it down a gear for 90 seconds, before resuming, but I did force 1 min at 140% approx at the end to finish.
A weird thing has happened to me over the last six weeks, in that I don't get aerobically challenged any more. What I mean is, I am sweating, and my HR is right up thier but above the waist I'm cruising the plans. Now its a case of can be legs hold out for the duration!
I'm assuming that means I've got fitter, and am just waiting for my muscle endurance to catch up!
I was finding interesting shifts in what's the limiting factor too, but the other way round!
I've always had quite good lungs I think. Almost always, for me riding up hills it's my muscles that are the limiting factor - I could suck in more air if I needed to, but my legs just couldn't push harder. More recently I've found on e.g. FTP tests that my lungs limit me more - I'm breathing as hard as I can, but my muscles could have done more.
My assumption was that the sweet spot base leading up to this did quite a lot of muscular endurance work and that it was working. Interesting how these things work!
I walked about 20 metres today. I rock.
Well done Gray - hope your recovery goes well.
I did Marion today (now that sounds wrong!) but found it quite straightforward. Usually the longer threshold intervals kill me so it's maybe time for an FTP test 😕
Anyone want a free month? I've just 'earned' one to give away.
With hindsight doing Keeler Needle as the first session back after a 2 week festive rest was a mistake.
Absolutely ruined now.
Did homers nose yesterday, actually felt better after the session than before, opened up the airways, will have a go at one of the longer aerobic sessions. Still full of snot though. Been over 6 weeks of cold nasties.
8 min test for me yesterday, re-starting swwet spot base two after a couple of weeks of no turbo work (real world riding though 🙂 ) increased ftp from 305 to 307 so no difference at all really! I did race on Sunday so wasn't maximally rested, I might start ramping up the effort a couple of percent to cater for this. Mont Albert for me this evening.
A weird thing has happened to me over the last six weeks, in that I don't get aerobically challenged any more. What I mean is, I am sweating, and my HR is right up thier but above the waist I'm cruising the plans. Now its a case of can be legs hold out for the duration!
Gearing/cadence? Lower cadence tends to tax the legs, higher cadence the cv system. So maybe up the cadence a bit for the power and it might be more even?
Some 8 min intervals on the road for me yesterday. First time on the TT bike since last race in September 😥 Having promised myself I'd not have such a long break. Power a fair bit down on the turbo, HR high, but could have been a lot worse!
Still full of snot though.
Was pouring out of my nose on yesterday's ride. Had a dangly snot beard at the end of each interval!
After a rest week and a week where I managed to do all 12 hours of training out on the trails last night was supposed to be back on the turbo.
Got home all ready and primed for the session but I had to fit a turbo tyre first. Tyre and tube fitted but when I went to inflate, I realised i'd pinched and punctured the tube. No spare tube, no repair kit so what did I do????
Thats right, I threw the whole contents of the pram out, sulked for 2 hours and ate a full bag of cheeseballs.... 😯
Thats right, I threw the whole contents of the pram out, sulked for 2 hours and ate a full bag of cheeseballs....
A turbo sulk 🙂
If I have to abandon a session (mechanical, legs not working, kids not sleeping, etc.) I'll be in a foul mood 👿 Usually the ice cream that gets it.
Did you go on the Phil P ride on the weekend? Going to try and get out on one of them if it becomes a regular thing. Can't do this weekend unfortunately.
Did you go on the Phil P ride on the weekend? Going to try and get out on one of them if it becomes a regular thing. Can't do this weekend unfortunately.
I did indeed...it was actually organised by a local lad and then all the big hitters turned up. I knew I was in for a tough ride when my NP was only 20w lower than my FTP after an hour and we still had about 2 and a half hours to go haha!
I made the stupid mistake of not taking any food with me too....3 and a half hours at that pace with those guys on a bottle of water didnt really work. I bonked big style on the way home
Ah yes, just seen it on Strava. If Phil P reckons it's a quick pace then we're all in trouble!
Ha, yeah....it started quick and didn't get any slower at all
Lamarck tonight - that had me sweating buckets. Pretty even efforts: the first three were 2 Watts over target and the last one under.
That's the last serious session of Sweet Spot Base Mid Vol 2, it's a steady session tomorrow night, proper riding at the weekend and then the recovery week next week before moving on to the Sustained Power Build plan, not sure whether to do the medium or high volume.
Fellow turboists... I'm after a decent stand that can replace the front wheel on a turbo bike? I guess something like an adjustable height pole with an axel at the top to stick a QR through would do the job. Anyone know of such a thing?
Fellow turboists... I'm after a decent stand that can replace the front wheel on a turbo bike?
There's a few variation on this sort of thing available
[url= http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/tacx-antares-support-stand/rp-prod43189?gs=1&gclid=CJzuwZzZl8oCFWXnwgodHVINQQ&gclsrc=aw.ds ]Tacx support stand[/url]
[url= http://www.evanscycles.com/products/cycleops/roller-fork-stand-ec021057?country=GB¤cy=GBP&esvt=1444-GOUKE1066816&esvq=&esvadt=999999-0-38526-1&esvcrea=61232128856&esvplace=&esvd=c&esvaid=50080&gclid=CMmy443al8oCFdEYGwodINkMJA ]Cyclops version[/url]
I've only ever seen ones that are designed to be added to the frame of rollers, but it wouldn't take much effort to screw the stand onto a couple of bits of 2x4 and you've got a freestanding version. Could be a think of beauty or functionally agricultural depending on the level of effort you want to put in.
I did wonder about having a wide base. Bike still rocks a bit in the turbo and wondering if it'd be better to have a narrow base that didn't fight against this action.
I did wonder about having a wide base. Bike still rocks a bit in the turbo and wondering if it'd be better to have a narrow base that didn't fight against this action.
Interesting... Off the top of my head, how about mounting one of the frame mentioned above on something like skateboard trucks. Or Simpler still mount it to a piece of board with a central rib on the underside to allow for side to side movement with elastomers/door stoppers/something squishy on the corners to limit and cushion the movement.
[edit] But this does seem like a time consuming and complex way to simulate the sort of movement you'd get from having a wheel in place, What's the reason that you don't want to use a wheel?
Getting complicated! 🙂
May pop down b&q and see if they have anything that can be bodged. Just a pole with a rounded rubber base and an axel at the top would probably do the job.
May pop down b&q and see if they have anything that can be bodged to do the job.
Pictures needed once the bodge is complete.
Wow Juneau hurt.
Just finished Jane Bald. Leg strength stuff . Really hard pace I thought considering it's supposed to be the start of a rest week.
Quick question , I've converted my MTB back to 2 x 10 so was using the 38 tooth at the front (instead of previous 32) Could this have anything to do with why I found it so hard ?
Wow Juneau hurt.
You're back then 🙂
Looks a good session that for this time of year.
Yep back to the turbo, on antibiotics. Chest is okay so I tried homers nose, and mount gosford as gentle intros (quite liked the drills on gosford) then as legs were feeling okay I thought I'd push it a little with Juneau whilst still keeping it below FTP. 3rd 20min interval hurt.
Plan to start sweet spot base next week fingers crossed. Don't really want to do an FTP test to see how much I've lost from illness. Strav as estimate is 30w 🙁
First turbo session in just short of a month as a bit of illness, Christmas then couldnt be bothered. Managed to get plenty of riding in though so wasn't as painful as thought was going to be.
Grassy ridge and enjoyed it, must be mad but glad I did as can just carry on now with build.
Is it possible for the instructions to be read out? I keep missing them.
How much do people's legs generally ache when training, did a more intense week last week, only did and hour on Sunday, nothing yesterday and I still have a 'warm' ache in my thighs, not sure whether to crack on with tonight's session or not. It's the sort of ache that goes once muscles warmed up.
Does anyone want a free month? I seem to have earned one. PM me if interested.
I struggled getting up this morning after doing Huffaker (VO2 intervals) last night.
DT - glad you are feeling better. The kickr is great!
I've been handed another free month as well as has my wife who only started on TR about six weeks ago. I wonder if the uptake of Zwift is affecting them.
I'm on the recovery week so some nice steady state rides for a change 😆
I've just worked out that my first race of the season is in 8 weeks. This is great because it means race season is approaching however it also means that since I've still got 3 weeks of sweet spot base to do I'm going to be pushed for time training wise.
I'm not sure what would be best, whether to continue as normal (finish sweet spot, go to 8 weeks build then another 8 weeks speciality) or to finish this weeks sweet spot and do 4 weeks build then 4 weeks speciality.
Any other ideas?
I'd have thought that depends a bit on how important your first race is, and what your calendar looks like after that. Presumably your overall season would be best served by doing a full program now, but if this first race is super-important (and quite 'specific' in the sense that the speciality phase will really concentrate on very specific aspects) then maybe the 4 build, 4 speciality idea isn't crazy. Another option might be to go with the full plan, but insert a few of the workouts from the speciality phase into your plan in place of some of the build ones... just a thought.
IANAC
Hi all, sorry for the silly question . I have just attempted my third 8 minute test after follwoing the bse training for 2 months now.
The target power , is that what to aim for if you want to maintain your FTP or improve it ?
Since my last test i have increased the resistance of the trainer by one level and changed that in trainerroad. i remember on my last test four weeks ago the target was X and i went for about 15 higher than that that, and inmproved my FTP numbers. I tried that tactic again today and blew up after about 5 minutes. I really really need to get a fan!
Still, all part of the learning curve. Thanks in advance
If you have an FTP value set then the target power in the 8 minute test would be what you need to hit to get that number from the test (so maintain current value.)
Get yourself the biggest fan you can! I have two of the 18" screwfix floor fans. The amount of heat you generate on the turbo is huge, and if you're overheating you won't be hitting your full potential.
Also if you have changed resistance setting on the turbo then you have altered the characteristics of your turbo. The pedalling forces required will likely be subtly different and this can impact test results (less inertia if increasing the resistance, hence having to put more relative effort into getting through the "dead spots".) This can be quite fatiguing and when you're at your limit this could easily be a few watts difference in the test. Also the curves for one resistance setting may give different results to another resistance setting for the same real power if using virtual power. I'd say that if using virtual power and you've changed resistance settings then forget about previous results and start afresh.
Oh and it depends on how well trained you are already, but 15 watts is a big jump! The more trained you get the smaller the advances will be (and sometimes you'll go backwards too 🙁 )
Yes to the fan ! I felt so , so hot it was unhealthy
Ok so what is realistic to go for then as a target to improve , specifically for ftp tests? 5 watts above the target power? I'm a little concerned about the alteration of the turbo changing so much . I just assumed that trainerroad would recalculate and take it into account.
Trainer Road just uses a curve to map wheel speed to power. It'll be different for each resistance level of your turbo. But the curve for resistance 1 may be a better match for your specific turbo than the curve for resistance 2. So an actual power of, say 250 watts, may be reported as 230 watts using the resistance 1 map, but 260 watts using the resistance 2 map. I'd be very wary of comparing power values from two different maps.
Also don't underestimate the difference in the feel of the resistance levels. Generating 250 watts at, say 90 rpm, on a light resistance with a big gear (high wheel speed and a decent amount of energy in the flywheel) will feel very different to generating the same power at same cadence on a high resistance in a small gear (with slow wheel speed and not much inertia in the flywheel.) May be easier, may be harder, tends to depend on the individual.
Re target. Depend how much you think you've improved. You're doing the sessions, you know how hard they use to feel and how hard they now feel. If you think you've not gained much maybe push for an extra 5 watts and see how it goes, you can always up it a bit during the 8 mins if it's going ok. If you think you're loads better than you were a month ago then be a bit more ambitious.
everyone - Member
I've just worked out that my first race of the season is in 8 weeks. This is great because it means race season is approaching however it also means that since I've still got 3 weeks of sweet spot base to do I'm going to be pushed for time training wise.I'm not sure what would be best, whether to continue as normal (finish sweet spot, go to 8 weeks build then another 8 weeks speciality) or to finish this weeks sweet spot and do 4 weeks build then 4 weeks speciality.
Any other ideas?
I'm in roughly the same boat, only I've only just started the second set of sweet spot base. Which series are you doing? My season is effectively over by May 10th (long break and a last race end of July). I am planing on continuing sweet spot base till end of Jan, build all through Feb, mix of build and speciality first week of March, taper for second week to first race and then speciality/taper depending on week to the May 10th race.
Did you increase the resistance because you were at max speed (i.e 52/11 or similar) on the easier setting some of the time? If not then I'd go back down a setting otherwise I'd agree with MrB and it's going to be hard to compare too much as grinding in a low gear on high resistance will feel very different to spinning the wheel at max.
I'm using a power meter but I'd say try for 5 watts for the first 8 minutes. If after that you aren't absolutely dreading the second 8 minutes then just push it a little higher.
Last season I went from 271 to 298 (so annoyed it wasn't quite 300..this year!!) doing Sweet spot base I & II and General build. Some of that gain though was probably in getting better at testing as well.
@sweaman2 yep that's exactly what happened. Was using top gear and not reaching some
of the targets . Thanks I'll try for five watts.
Mrblobby thanks that all makes sense . I did feel quite a difference when I made the move .
I've just worked out that my first race of the season is in 8 weeks.
No idea when mine is! I really must sort out what I'm doing this year 😕 Vague plan is to be on top form around August and September for TT's, with maybe a mini peak around May time too.
Last season I went from 271 to 298
I've dipped a bit since the summer peak. Maybe around 15 to 20 watts down. But I've amassed about 50% more TSS in the September to December period than I did last year. A lot more consistency and volume and less illness too. So be interesting to see what happens when my sessions start getting more race specific. I'm not panicking... but training really is an act of faith 😕