More power babies! (as requested by turp)

i really don’t see much benefit from being in the draft but WHY is it this way?

There’s probably some huge thread on zwiftinsider that covers it :man_shrugging:

The few race events I’ve done turned me off zwift racing because there was so little chance for recovery/drafting. I could go to the front and do enough watts to be involved on the flats (we’ll just ignore hills…), but there was so little difference in the power required while “drafting” that it feels like a TT effort.

Also the downhill mechanics felt weird and there was, again, little opportunity for recovery there.

Basically zwift racing is its own weird thing that shouldn’t be confused with actual bike racing.

Just one of many articles about pack dynamics models:

'splains why I did okay in flat crits.

i only got dropped today because fucking zwift dropped connection on a downhill. i caught back on but by then a breakaway had happened.
why do the little digital people motivate me so?

well they forced me up to a B. i feel like i was killing myself in the Cs to finish at the front! i can’t imagine how i’m going to hang with B but we’ll see in 30 minutes

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i got dropped after six minutes but it was fun and a great workout

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Great interview with Podgacar here. His zone 2 power is 320 - 340 and he weighs 60 - 64 kgs.

[The Peter Attia Drive] #318 ‒ Cycling phenom and Tour de France champion Tadej Pogačar reveals his training strategies, on-bike nutrition, and future aspirations #thePeterAttiaDrive
The Peter Attia Drive - #318 ‒ Cycling phenom and Tour de France champion Tadej Pogačar reveals h - Podcast Addict via @PodcastAddict

:sob:

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I could take every PED in the world and still not have zone two power of 320-340

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Just so we feel a bit more human - that’s not a big enough range for zone 2. The higher your FTP, the bigger those windows get.

If 340 is the top of if his zone 2, that would put his FTP at 453. Using Coggan zones, that would make his z2 254-340w.

Which is still insane but somehow makes it feel a bit more in perspective for me.

Also if his weight range is 60-64, probably his ftp goes down when his weight goes down. But, that still gives us 7 w/kg, which I don’t think is human.

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Must be nice to be able to cruise around at 25mph in z2.

Its a good listen, I just jotted that down,. was not meant to be a range, more a couple of numbers that he threw out. Sounds like he is really into heart rate, and doesnt particularly trust his power meter… Shimano .

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Yeah, I just meant that a number starting with 2 is still more human sounding, but he’s probably an alien creature anyway.

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I really do believe he is the new Eddy Merckx.

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The latest podcast in the Escape Collectives performance process is real interesting. I started it on my (car) commute this morning. Points out some things in the watts per kg metric that dont apply evenly across enviroments. Eg. A heavier person can you use less watts per kg on the flat, than a lighter person. So they have developed a metric which can effectively measure how good you are at NOT expending energy. A lower number is better. Aero obviously is a big factor, and how well you might hide in a bunch. Apparently it does away with testing as such and just analyses data. I’m only part way into it so far. http://xertonline.com

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My HRM strap is starting to give my skin ick. It is about 10 years old, so its probably time to replace it anyway. The pads have started separating from the band, which probably isn’t helping things either.

Looking at reviews the Polar H10 dies after 3 months. The Wahoo TRACKR gives spiky data. The 4iii HRM is no longer being sold, which leaves Garmin as the final option?

Cateye has worked well for me.

I have the current Wahoo Trackr strap and it seems to be pretty reliable, I don’t have another strap to compare it against for spikiness but it seems to match my perceived effort :man_shrugging:

let me introduce you to the COOSPO H808S Chest Strap Heart Rate Monitor

this little fucker gives a charming “BEEP” when you strap it in and it’s powered up, battery lasts longer than the Polar, Garmin or Hammerhead hrms I’ve used in the past. fucker gives a charming “BEEP” when you take it off and it powers down too.

recommended by former Jelly Belly pro rider and current cycling coach Ben Wolfe

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the coospoo and other ~$30 straps can be totally fine, but I’ve killed one Coospoo and one Powr Labs strap over the last two winters, maybe it depends on how much or how gnarly your sweat is though.