Hi just wanting to know if or whats the best way to use a power meter pedal, my ftp is 202 and wanted to know which power/wattage should i be in ideally for the most part if im doing a 100 mile road bike event. how do i determine from my ftp where or how much power would i be able to sustain for most of the ride? given im hydrating and eating gels every 30 mins for the ride. tnx!
*planning to do 102 miles and 4802 ft of elevation if that helps
You can use a tool like this
Distance alone isn’t very useful, total elevation gain and elevation profile are really important when it comes to pacing.
same as distance alone is not enough.. FTP alone is also not enough.. if you have a lot of base miles, you could probably maintain a higher percentage of FTP for 5-6 hours (e.g. IF 0.75- 0.8). If you train 3 hours per week.. I would use a lower percentage (IF 0.7).
Also keep in mind that w/kg is key when climbing, and raw watts on the flats. also, will you be riding in a group (getting could draft), or solo..?
power meters are very useful, but it’s just a part of the picture, you need to learn how the numbers apply to you, that takes time (building experience).
Being old, before the time of powermeters, we used heart rate zones. I still find better pacing while doing an event using heart rate rather than power numbers.
true.. specially for long events (including climbs..) at the end, your brain might think you should be able to hold x watts, but if your body says no… it’s not gonna happen, and you will endup in a hole
I ride by RPE and look at the PM for fun, and then after the ride for analysis.