I’m new to TR, and never ride a road bike. I’ve been riding XC MTB for 3 years, racing on a Cat3 level, usually top 5, but have never won a race. Fell in love with the TR podcast, bought a road bike, trainer, power pedals, and was pumped to jump in!
I did my first ramp test yesterday – 387, giving me a w/kg of 5.5 (I’m 155 lb). That seemed way too high, considering the numbers I normally see on the forum and discussed on the podcast, I was expecting in the 200’s. I did some research on the forums and it seems the ramp test may be deceptive because it’s only high power for a few minutes. So I did a 20 min FTP test today. Identical result – 387.
Tell me if I’m totally missing something – but these numbers seem too high. I’m fit, but not even competitive at CAT2 on a MTB. The only other thing I can think is it might be my power pedal – I have a Favero Uno, which only measures one side. I clicked “Double Power” on the Favero Assiamo app, which makes me suspicious that it might be doubling it in Favero AND Trainer Road (effectively quadrupling the power). But that doesn’t quite track either, since halving the power to 193 seems too low for someone that rides as much/hard as me. My other thought is maybe my power number is real, but TR will help me increase the length of time I can sustain the power? Finally – maybe I’m overreacting and 387 FT and 5.5 w/kg isn’t actually that great and I need to get off my high horse?
Any constructive feedback would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!
A130 Double power function for Assioma UNO via Bluetooth
This function only concerns Assioma UNO with power transmission via Bluetooth, it has no influence on the ANT+ transmission.
Some apps and bike computers do not interpret correctly the Bluetooth standard and display half of the total power transmitted by Assioma UNO. We have introduced this functionality to ensure the best compatibility.
This feature is available from the 4.02 firmware.
So first question is your connection method (ANT+ or BLE).
You may be best to contact TR directly to confirm the desired setting for their app.
I would be cautious about estimating your power if you have never used power before.
I don’t have lots of knowledge in the Favero pedals, but I sure think the “Double” option is not correct. There’s almost no chance your data is correct, IMO.
You are talking pro level numbers, and people don’t typically have that by accident without knowing it.
Other than the Double setting, did you do a proper Zero Offset Calibration after installation?
Thanks, I’m incredibly jealous now. My day is ruined.
Yes, this does seem quite high. You can do a static test on your Assiamo pedal if you have a ~10 kg object. There are a couple youtube videos on how to do that. Ideally you’d have an accurate measurement of the weight before you put in on, but even if you use a bathroom scale it will tell you if your PM pedal is way off.
I’m not sure how the ‘double’ setting works. I have the Assiamo Duos.
Double power is only for certain cases where the computer or protocol you are connecting to does not automatically double the power on its own. TR is not one of those cases, so you are not seeing quadruple power, but you are seeing double power. That probably puts you more around 2.75 w/kg. I would suggest resting up a few days and then repeating the test with the “double power” setting turned off.
Powermatch is a way to use the power from you power meter instead of the power from the trainer if you had a smart trainer. It doesn’t sound like this applies to you.
Because you have only ridden XC MTB until now you might be pretty fit as an average human but that doesn’t necessarily train the more sustained power output that would be required to have a high FTP. You may however have a good punch or repeatability that is not expressed in the single data point that is FTP.
If my assumptions are correct then 193 might be accurate but with consistent training on more extended intervals you should see that rise quickly.
Sadly, I think you’re right, @mcneese.chad. The connection is via Bluetooth. I asked TR directly, and they said, essentially “wow, that looks like a great FTP!”. No direct comment on whether the “Double Power” option should be on or off. It’s a slice of humble pie, but I bet you’re correct – I’m really 193 FTP, and got a little excited with doubled numbers my first time around. I’m definitely not pro-level, and knowing everyone on the forum agrees the numbers seem too high to happen by “accident” helps confirm it.
I did do a Zero Offset beforehand, yes. Assuming I’m doubling the power, can I just halve my FTP? Do I really need to do another Ramp Test with “Double Power” off?
Doing another ramp test with the setting corrected would probably be best, especially considering you have tested once now, you’ll probably get a more appropriate result in terms of effort expenditure (regardless of the number, first test is always a crap shoot).
Also make sure you have your crank length set correctly for the pedals. Unlike a crank arm or spider based PM, the pedals are very dependent on having the crank length set to the correct number.
this guy right here gets it lol I discovered this by accident a while back, not realizing it’s not necessary in zwift, but sadly never used it in a race
Here’s some info for reference if you think your ftp is too low:
My weight is typically between 155-160. I come from a dirt bike background and have above average handling skills. I ride singlespeeds, so I may be a little slower than I would be on a geared bike.
When I first started racing cat 3 after very unstructured training and low hours my ftp was around 184. ( I thought I was much faster than most people at this point since I hadn’t been exposed to racing or structured training yet)
When my ftp got above 200, I was in contention for most cat 3 podiums, but never actually won a cat 3.
Once my FTP got to around 230, I moved to cat 2.
FTP is currently around 270 at 153 pounds, and now somewhere around mid pack cat 2 pace.
I think I need to be at around 300 to be fast enough to win a cat 2 race.
