Power Meters / Powermeters (SRM, Powertap, Quarq, Ergomo, Vector, Stages, power2max, P2M, 4iii, InPower, Cinch)

Ha! I unsubbed from this thread because it was the same shit all the time - "this number looks right/wrong, why? I don't race but I want to increase my , Is Stages the right thing to buy before I start my next commute?"

But since you asked, here's a different list...

The Sins of Sins – Top 10 (in no specific order):
SOS #1 – Not testing at all
SOS #2 – Not using an accurate power meter
SOS #3 – Using inconsistent methodologies
SOS #4 – Not replicating riding conditions in testing
SOS #5 – Ignoring signs that FTP has changed
SOS #6 – 95% of a 20-min mean maximal power = FTP
SOS #7 – Using NP from rides < < 1-hour
SOS #8 – Inappropriate use of the CP model
SOS #9 – Not performing maximal efforts
SOS #10 – “I’ve got an NP buster!”

http://alex-cycle.blogspot.co.uk/2009/07/sins-of-sins-testing-ftp-2.html

He's updated that recently to include NIRS.

Here you go:

"(I've thought about posting this before, but realized that I had missed the 10 y anniversary of my "seven deadly sins" post, so decided to let it go. A recent question I received via email, though, has made me change my mind.)

...er, ways of determining your functional threshold power (roughly in
order of increasing certainty):

1) from inspection of a ride file.
2) from power distribution profile from multiple rides.
3) from blood lactate measurements (better or worse, depending on how it is done).
4) based on normalized power from a hard ~1 h race.
5) based on mathematical modeling of mean maximal power data (better or worse, depending on how it is done).
6) from the power that you can routinely generate during long intervals done in training.
7) from the average power during a ~1 h (or ~40 km, if you prefer) TT (the best predictor of performance is performance itself).

Note the key words "hard", "routinely", and "average" in methods 4, 6,
and 7..."

Sorry, he then updated 3:

3) from physiological measurements, e.g., respiratory gas exchange, EMG, NIRS, etc. (for better or worse, depending on how it is done)."

so 20minutes = a load of crap?

looks like its 1hour efforts over the winter then!

oof... 1hr TTs on the turbo :-(

Can you not just get a general idea of where your ftp is from your training and confirm it in racing? Don't think I've done an actual ftp test for about 9 months. I can motivate myself to train on the turbo but pretty sure I'd struggle to get everything out in a 1hr test.

Yeah, seriously. Fuck that.

In the Slowtwitch long term review of the BSX Insight one of the major positives that the chap identified was that the testing protocol was way less tiring than a full hour at threshold, so you tested ore often and were able to train successfully the same day as a test.

my 20min test (-5%) is about 10% off my hour power.

20 mins is still a good repeatable test to gauge fitness/power though. I can ride the next day after doing a 20 min test but an hour effort had me in pieces for 3 days .

So you're not trying hard enough for the 20 minute test?

no, you could say I wasnt trying hard enough on the hour (-10%) but I don't think that is the case.

yeah, I cant see me being able to actually execute without a number on my back, I did a series of 40 minute tests last year which weren't too bad, and I suppose are less likely to be skewed by anaerobic fitness, so might stick with those, at least that way its a decent workout as well!

in other news my garmin vectors seem to be working again, I've been getting up to 25 dropouts in an hour since upgrading them to vector 2, it turned out it was an issue with the pedal angles, as they arrive with batteries in and some angles already in the memory, so unless you remove the battery for 10+ seconds they wont forget this, having changed the batteries over, I was clearly too quick!

Why does FTP need to be accurate?
What it needs is to be, is precise.

Select a test method that works for you, and that you can repeat. Consider when you are in the best shape for testing. Test, set targets, train, test, reset targets, repeat, win.

ED: need rest and sleep for 'win'. Not my area though.

Useless without accuracy though.

Accuracy is only REALLY useful for willy waving... So long as it's consistent it should be sufficient for the accurate setting of training and racing zones. It doesn't much matter whether the numbers say 200w or 400w, so long as the physiological reaction to those numbers is the same.

I've got multiple power meters...

Owning multiple powermers is willy waving no?

;)

I made this Excel file. Its very simple. But super useful. Idont really do specific time intervals so much as specific Climbs local to me. So I set a %FTP target to each, as well as a rough number of reps to og for.

Its not universal. My testing Method might not be the same as another persons, plus my Power curve will most likely be different (note how lame I am over 15mins). But once you have a simple chart you can adjust based on how training feels.

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I have no idea how I used to do these at 280 watts.

That an old 280w example?

Max HR of 166bpm isn't exactly all out, no?

Nah, that's today, was at 231 watts av for the first, 232 for the second - quite impressed at how well the turbo kept to the 231 target.

Max HR of 166bpm isn't exactly all out

It might be for him

That comment was based on having a rough idea of Dammit HR. Plus a solid mental image of his bare feet, that I could probably live without.

I did 7 of those high z5 drills last night.

My kind of work out. Aaahhhh this is horrible, oh I'm finished.

Bloody P2M spiked again though.
Didn't effect my training, and didn't effect data in TP. But I find it annoying none the less.