People have some strange things on their head units
Iām going seriously controversialā¦
Iām amazed how many people show cadence. I find it almost pointless for a majority of riding. I thought the data was pretty solid on self selected cadence being ideal for most riders, most of the time. Iād go as far as saying, Iāve almost never looked at it in 7 years.
Thereās also a recent study demonstrating that more data has a negative impact on peak performance, as it is too much cognitive load. Iāll try and dig up the study.
In terms of screens I have the usual bunch, with a multitude of options. However, if Iām training I just use a very simple screen. It took me a long time to workout what you actually need to display. Bin anything superfluous.
3sec power 30sec power HR
That pretty much tells me everything I could possibly need to know.
How hard Iām going.
How hard Iāve been.
How Iām responding.
If you know your LT1 HR, LT2 HR and your other HR zones etc. Thereās a bunch of info to be had from that single HR number.
Time. Normally irrelevant as I never do regular intervals. They are based on climb length etc. I choose the segment to ride for length of interval. Obviously, this only works if you have the terrain etc. It is less info and best deleted if you can.
Speed. Irrelevant in training. Iām training me, not going for a KOM.
All that extra info is on other screens for amusement.
I find itās a useful metric for me. I donāt pay close attention to it but I do glance down occasionally and see Iāve lazily slipped below 70rpm on hill. That seems to be the grind threshold for me, spin above it and I can go on all day and recover faster, but fall below it and Iāll start to tire.
Iām also guilty of upping the gears to keep power targets and perceived speed but again letting the cadence fall towards a grind. A quick glance a cadence will tell me I am falling into that trap and I drop the gears which actually makes me faster and more sustainable.
Iāve tried pacing TTs on cadence and power and I found it was just one too many metric to monitor when youāre flat out. It gets a good fast and sustainable time for me but not a pb time though.
Given my slight position change last year and also being half blind in my next TT. I think Iāll ditch the 130 for my larger 1000 and ditch the cadence to make the screen bigger again
Iām looking to set up a race screen on the roam. Got a .75mi x 20 laps crit coming in a few weeks and would like to really only have important bits. 3sec power and HR are must haves, what else are you crit guys using for your race page?
I thinking about my setup I run for TTs. Ive been running:
3/10s power,
Average Speed (I find actual speed freaks me out downhills, average speed takes so long to settle and on some courses into a headwind it can be too demotivational )
Distance
% Max HR
Iāve been particularly thinking about the latter (4. % Max HR) Iām finding I donāt blow up using it but perhaps on a good day Iām limiting my self too much I might swap that for %FTP as my brain can process a % better than a number or NP or a target power.
Iāve got a 100k mtb race coming up & Iāve been thinking about what to use for my primary screen for the event. Power data isnāt gong to do much for me because Iām not going to be limiting myself & truly wonāt be able to on the climbs so I think Iām going to go with Elapsed Time & Miles. I may also run a Course which will give me a Climb Pro screen option on the Gramin. The only issue I foresee is the route not tracking well -it can be wonky in the woods in my experience. I think Iāll have a chance to try it out a day or two before the race but either way, Iāll also be using the elevation profile with key climbs clearly marked with mileage figures taped to my handlebars.