I must admit that I was really surprised that no one mentioned Virtual Power. I have been training for years and I still can’t afford a power meter, but the main attraction of TrainerRoad, when I signed up 7 years ago, was that they could come up with a calculation for my power.
I know that TR has a lot health data. I would kinda be interested in knowing the income distribution because I still ride the same bike that I had 10 years ago because that’s all I can afford. It’s interesting to speculate about how many people use Virtual Power, how many use power meters, and which type, and also which trainer?
I can’t remember the name of the questioner but I think someone should let them know about Virtual Power.
I listen to the Cycling Podcast and they had an episode called Service Course where they investigate the technology and this time they were looking at 3D printing handlebars and frames.
Anyway they spoke to the boss of https://hexr.com/ who has developed a system for 3D printing helmets so they were customised to each individual’s head. I think they either scan your head in the studio or they send you a skull cap to wear and you take photos of your head yourself and they work it out from there.
Just sounded like another option for anyone interested . I don’t have any crash data or any affiliation to them.
Definitely interesting. I’ve been training with power since June but my power meter pedals are currently out for a warranty replacement so I have power indoors on my smart trainer but no power outdoors. Trying to do structured workouts based on RPE is, indeed, easier knowing what various power levels feel like, but I also did it successfully before I had the power meter.
400WATTSCLUB would like to extend that friendly bet with @Nate_Pearson and Keegan Swenson to see who can do 400 watts for 30 min by spring 2021 (plus an extra month) April 20.
Will give $100 to whoever can get it first!
This is be the perfect pre season prep motivations right?
I agree. I started out using Virtual Power. It took me a while to get it dialed in, but eventually I got it figured out and used it long enough to get hooked on TR.
Last spring I did find a good deal on a used power meter so I pulled the trigger on that spend, but I’m still using my 2nd hand Cycle-Ops wheel-on mag trainer and it handles just about everything I throw at it, other than sprint bursts, just fine.
To round this out, should there be a variety of drinks at your disposal, one for each host?
My proposal:
Jonathan: Topo Chico
Nate: Wine
Chad: A beer that’s at least 8%ABV
Amber: A beer that’s less than 8% ABV
Amber’s is the only one that I don’t really have a reason for suggesting, just pretty sure I remember her guffawing at some of Chad’s strong beer choices.
@Nate_Pearson
Thank you for your discussion on helmets. I was familiar with the Virginia Tech helmet site. It is a great resource for helmets in several different sports. The cycling helmet specific site can be found here.
You also commented on being interested to know how they did their research. I was also interested and researched their site further to find detail on how they performed their study. They have posted their “Development of the STAR Evaluation System for Assessing Bicycle Helmet Protective Performance” in the peer-reviewed Annals of Biomedical Engineering.
I think it was this episode that @Nate_Pearson reluctantly said that new, faster bikes really won’t make you that much faster when compared to training and especially in a dollar/watt ratio comparison. This is true, but another variable to this equation is time. Time is as valuable, or more, than money. So for someone who doesn’t have the time, buying a $15k bike, best wheels and best tyres etc might be much easier for them than trying to find 10 hours/week to train. Of course, that approach has a ceiling, but a good option to take for some who have disposable income, but limited time.