I’ve been wondering why I’m so slow on flat terrain. My FTP is 290W, and I weigh 55kg, but when I put out around 300W on flat roads, I only manage 35-37 km/h on calm, windless roads and 33-35 km/h on open, windy roads, like those at the airport. What’s really puzzling is that I sold my Assioma pedals to someone who can sustain just 260W on their TT bike and hit 45 km/h, literally using my pm which seems crazy to me since I know I’m a stronger rider than him.
I’ve confirmed my power meter is accurate; Assioma verified the internal readings, and my mechanic torqued everything to 40Nm. Plus, I calibrate the pedals regularly. To give you an idea of my fitness, I recently climbed a 12.6 km, 7.6% grade local mountain in 43 minutes. So, I’m wondering—could it just be that I’m not aerodynamic enough? I do wear a somewhat bulky jacket and pants, but does that really account for such a big difference in speed?
300w is nice if you’re really skinny and small, but it’s just not that much watts. I could ride 300 for hours steady. Bigger people are just stronger in an absolute sense, so when they isn’t gravity to fight, they’re just faster than little guys
Your position on the bike must be upright no? Even when wearing winter kit I can average ~40 on my winter bike with less watts than what you are doing. What is your setup?
I’m your size with your power so I know what you mean.
I does sound like a very low speed for that power to me. Is it like this all year? Because air pressure makes a difference, and winter means more clothes and more air resistance.
I’d say if I put it 300 watts on a flat road at sea level on a still summer morning I’m definitely over 40 km/h. Without a doubt, without going into super aero position or anything crazy.
There’s plenty of folk Im stronger than or was but they will spank me in TTs especially on flatter terrain, being a smaller rider my self, because they are more efficient/ aerodynamic/ talented with what they’ve got and if you are wearing baggy clothes, perhaps sitting up right on a different sort of bike you will especially suffer from being less aerodynamic and will be easily slower.
PS great numbers. The last time I was in the 290-300w range I weighed 65kg. I might have been in it more pre power meter but I couldn’t be certain.
Yes, clothes are, together with body position, the single biggest factor when it comes to aerodynamic drag. That’s where I’d start.
A TT bike is not comparable to a road bike. You are more aero, but much more constrained. Plus, I assume that person will have a bodysuit or at least tight-fitting clothes.
Just had a quick play with an online calculator. Assuming weight, pm, rolling resistance etc are all in good shape your cda would need to be somewhere around 0.45 to only hit ~36kph off 300W in a flat road without wind. That’s a very, very high cda for someone at 55kg on a road bike so I expect there’s something else going on as well.
I can ride that 35 kph speed on the flat on my FS mtb on the road, sitting fairly upright, and I weigh a little over 200# (92kg).
Did you recently replace brake pads and not spread the calipers enough? Do your wheel bearings make a lot of noise, a scraping or crunching sound, maybe?
Oh maybe my speed is not that off because one of the strongest cyclist in my town (36min Seymour, only 2min slower than Phil Gaimon) rode the same route as I did and he was also averaging 35km/h @ 300w and I know he’s aero af.
I think we all know what is off, which is the power meter. OP has a 5.3 w/kg ftp and has come here to ask such a basic question? People with 5+ w/kg don’t get there by accident. I would imagine they are one of the best cyclists in their regional area
