Hi All,
Got the Assioma DUO a few weeks back and now I’m trying to improve my TE & PS numbers.
I have to really keep it in mind to get some decent TE & PS but still nothing beyond the ordinary. What must I do, more single leg exercises? Another bike fit?
When the intensity goes up then my TE & PS also goes up but during the recovery periods, I am just too tired to worry about how I am pedaling.
These 2 screenshots from my Zone 2 workout so intensity is about 70% of FTP.
I don’t know of any studies suggesting improving either of these numbers will make you a faster cyclist. The numbers are there because marketers want to include it as a proposed benefit of these power meters, but nobody I’m aware of has ever explained how you could use these numbers to assess ability, and how improving them would change your ability (if you can in fact improve them).
I tend to agree. There doesn’t seem to be any real info other than speculation about “ideal” numbers. Something tells me these may be unwarranted goals, without a real reason behind them. There is one other thread that is discussing this a bit too, that didn’t seem to show much reason to spend time and effort on these values:
Thanks for the feedback. Curious if there are such data for the pros.
Found this via quick Google search:
thanks!
In the past days, I’ve actually been trying to unload on the upstroke and make my ankles more flexible and work a bit more throughout the stroke but this is a lot of work to keep the focus. According to the Element app, the TE & PS numbers did get better but I also got more tired having to keep focusing on it… Also giving more power on the push forward motion helped but I am not able to tell if my maximum power is above or below the 3 o’clock point. In the end, I guess maybe more hours will make it more natural? As of right now, I don’t think I can keep this up and still enjoy riding… 
Thanks for the links!
Like any new skill, it takes some conscious effort and deliberate practice to perform it well. Repetition can lead to adoption of that skill with less attention and effort over time. If it’s something you want to nail, take it in bites, work to grow the application and it should become more “natural” and relatively automatic with enough practice.
RISE RISE from the ages thread…RISE!!!
Just checking to see if what you’re talking about applies to what I’ve experienced with the 30t setup on my MTB in this thread… 30T Shimano 12sp Compatible Chainring for Power2Max - #5 by webdev511
Not a lot to go on there. Presumably this is on a rather steep climb, but what is your cadence?
Yes on the steepy steepness and low cadence. The feeling is more like the trailing leg coming up really fast and almost pushed past the top of the pedal and not very much of the stroke actually “taking” the power.
Seems like that’s a combination of steepness and low cadence, but it also didn’t seem hard, just slow and clunky. not terribly efficient compared to the 32t, but I’m giving the 30t a try to see if it’s beneficial later in a race like the 2nd time around on the last 5 mile climb at Sea Otter XL.
I’ll be honest, your first paragraph seems impossible. Not sure how a low cadence effort on steeps can feel fast up and over the top without much downstroke. There is minimal inertia in a situation like that so the main problem of a trailing leg would seem to be it not coming up with some ease and being a counter-lever to the needed downstroke at the lead foot.
The fact that it doesn’t seem “hard” with the 30t makes sense generally speaking when compared to the 32t as the ratio deltas would dictate. Assuming you are doing a similar speed in that lowest gear, you are doing it at a faster cadence (than with the 32t) which should be less demanding from a muscular level. That would seem to be the benefit in an efficiency set with an eye towards longer, more, repeated efforts and such.
Like any change, it may just take some time to adapt to.
This just sounds to me like what happens when you go to a much easier gear on steep terrain. You’ve increased your torque at the wheel for a given pedal force so the pedal will spin quicker through that spot. But when you’re in a bigger gear you become torque limited so you have to apply that force through a large arc of the pedal stroke. So the super small gears can start to feel a bit ‘stabby’ vs the ‘grindy’ of the slightly larger gear.
So when one is in that position is it a matter of being more. Aware of pedaling quadrants?
Granted I’ve only done one short ride with it that includes a climb where I needed the last two cogs. I’m going to take it out to Fort Ord (Sea Otter XL course) and see how it performs and if the mental adjustments are worth the physical effort “saved”.
Yeah I think you just need to be more controlled with the pedal stroke. It lets you ride at a lower power (or higher cadence for same power) but the trade off is that stabby feeling. The other consideration is sometimes if you aren’t careful that shorter, higher peak torque can cause you to lose traction on steep, loose terrain. But the difference between 30 and 32 isn’t massive.
