One of my athletes recently performed an FTP test (Functional Threshold Power) on the bike, and had a slight decrease in power from his previous test 6 weeks earlier. This is obviously not the goal of training. We want to get faster from training. What could have caused this decease? Should we be concerned? Below …
Archive for the ‘Biking’ Category
Analisys of FTP Tests, How Fatigue and Form can Influence Test Results
Draft-legal Race Plan
Draft-legal events are hard to find in the US, but very popular in other parts of the world. The strategy and intensity on the swim and bike for a draft-legal event is very different than non-drafting events, and I thought our readers would like to see a race plan I created for one of my …
Preliminary Wind Tunnel Results on Apparel
Unlike frames, wheels, helmets, and hydration systems, triathlon apparel is rarely tested in the wind tunnel. Yet the potential for apparel to impact aerodynamics is just as great, as our recent preliminary testing indicates. The reason that testing apparel is so often disregarded is unclear to me. Is it because unlike their triathlon hardware colleagues, …
Happy Valentines Day PowerTap
Is it love? Addiction? Obsession? I used to judge others who where this way, now I’m one of them. I thought I would never understand but now I don’t know how I ever lived without it. I’m talking about training with power. I got a rear wheel with a PowerTap sl+ and Joule 2.0 computer about …
Preliminary Wind Tunnel Results on Hydration Systems
Note: The audio podcast associated with this report can be found in Tri Talk Episode 76. In 2003, I read an article by John Cobb that changed my view of cycling. A wind tunnel test he performed on various hydration systems and their placement revealed a wide range of aerodynamic consequences. Those consequences ranged from …
How to use a power meter to dial in your bike fit.
Below is an e-mail exchange I had with a Tri Talk listener about how to use a power meter to dial in your bike fit. I hope you’ll find it useful. Hi David, First, I would just like to thank you for sending an email to me a few months ago about Half-Ironman Pacing strategy. …
PowerCranks Review
Of all the products I have not reviewed, the one that I get the most questions on are PowerCranks. I thought I would post a reply to an e-mail from a Tri Talk listener: >>>>>>> Jon, Thanks for listening to the podcast. No review has been done yet, but let me tell you my experience. …
Specificity, If you know it why aren’t you doing it?
The really fast athletes already know this that is why they are fast! This is for all those who kinda know what they are doing. From time to time I run into a runner or swimmer who will tell me they aren’t getting any faster despite running or swimming consistently a few days a week. You’ll see …
Winter Training Tips
I know winter is a ways away but I’m starting to think about the winter training to come so I thought I’d make a couple notes about winter training. The nice thing about winter training is it scares a lot of people away. If you can train through the winter you will be killing those …
Road Bike vs Tri Bike
Buying a bike can be almost as confusing as buying a car, especially for triathletes who can only afford one bike, and must choose between a road bike or a tri bike. In my opinion the choice is actually quite a simple one, but before I reveal my method for choosing a road or tri …