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Message started by FlyingLaZBoy on Dec 10th, 2013, 4:29pm

Title: Computrainer / Spin Class riding
Post by FlyingLaZBoy on Dec 10th, 2013, 4:29pm

Thought I'd start a thread on indoor Computrainer rides people do...  given the icy conditions...   If you do these kinds of rides occasionally, post about it here!


I put the Xstream on the roof rack, and ventured out Sunday morning, navigating the treacherous 190 bridge across 75 to Coit, to go to Dallas Cycling Center for a two hour spin class...  When I got there, there was a layer of ice on all forward-facing surfaces of the bike...  

I haven't done one of these classes since back in the Spring...  The spin class was the farily flat Florida Ironman course, with Computrainers set to mimic the terrain/resistance.  There were ten of us crazy folks that came out for it.  It was interesting, in that it was a "race" of sorts, where you could see the others' readings and distance -- but they suggested you stay at ~80-90% of your "FTP" wattage - they guessed mine at 180 watts, which was about what I used back in the Spring.  Two guys were obviously power riders, along with one woman who quickly got a half mile ahead of me and stayed there...  but, after about an hour, I started gaining ground on her, and when I got within 0.1 mile I could tell she was pushing to try to hold me off...  but about 10 minutes later, she faded, and I took over 3rd and held it the rest of the way...  never did catch the guys, though, and they finished the two hours about 1 and 2 miles ahead of me.

I was pleasantly surprised that I could even DO a two hour indoor ride like this, with essentially no "coasting" downtime... and it was kinda fun chasing down the one rider   [smiley=duel.gif]

The Computrainer data report was kinda interesting, for what it's worth

Distance: 37.5 mi
Avg speed:  18.75 mph
Avg power:  175 watts
Avg W/kg:  1.92
Max Power:  335 watts
Max W/kg:  3.68
Calories:  1555

http://i977.photobucket.com/albums/ae256/pbrown8js/flachart.jpg (http://s977.photobucket.com/user/pbrown8js/media/flachart.jpg.html)

Of course, two days later, my quads are still telling me about it....  but it was good to get outta the house!!!

Next?

Title: Re: Computrainer / Spin Class riding
Post by Phantom Rider on Dec 10th, 2013, 7:01pm

sounds like fun, does anyone know of something like this on the Ft Worth side of town????

Title: Re: Computrainer / Spin Class riding
Post by AustinSkater on Dec 11th, 2013, 5:13am

I have been spending most of my time running these days, but with the weather being what it is, I fired up my CycleOps Virtual Trainer last night, and rode from Asheville to Craggy Gardens along the Blue Ridge Parkway.  That's a mostly uphill and very scenic route, and the person who filmed it did a very good job - it's probably one of the best videos I've found, if a little short.  It makes me want to throw a bike on the car and drive out there (maybe a spring trip)

Distance:  18.9 mi
Climbing:  3407 feet
Avg speed:  14.1 mph
Avg power:  265 watts
Avg W/kg:  3.43
Max Power:  545 watts
Max W/kg:  7.05
Avg Cadence: 81
Calories:     1369 (per Strava)

http://i868.photobucket.com/albums/ab244/bryanonabike/VirtualtrainingUserbryanonabike-Workoutdetail-MozillaFirefox_2013-12-11_04-56-27_zpsc20a46a3.jpg (http://s868.photobucket.com/user/bryanonabike/media/VirtualtrainingUserbryanonabike-Workoutdetail-MozillaFirefox_2013-12-11_04-56-27_zpsc20a46a3.jpg.html)

Title: Re: Computrainer / Spin Class riding
Post by FlyingLaZBoy on Dec 11th, 2013, 2:02pm

With that much climbing (compared to the Florida route), you would definitely exert more power over half the distance!!!  But 7 W/kg??  Urg....

;)


AustinSkater wrote:
...from Asheville to Craggy Gardens along the Blue Ridge Parkway.  That's a mostly uphill and very scenic route...

Distance:  18.9 mi
Climbing:  3407 feet
Avg speed:  14.1 mph
Avg power:  265 watts
Avg W/kg:  3.43
Max Power:  545 watts
Max W/kg:  7.05
Avg Cadence: 81
Calories:     1369 (per Strava)


Title: Re: Computrainer / Spin Class riding
Post by AustinSkater on Dec 11th, 2013, 2:39pm


FlyingLaZBoy wrote:
With that much climbing (compared to the Florida route), you would definitely exert more power over half the distance!!!  But 7 W/kg??  Urg....

;)


It should have been higher, but I was also watching The Avengers and got distracted a few times.

Title: Re: Computrainer / Spin Class riding
Post by TonyWard on Dec 11th, 2013, 4:45pm


FlyingLaZBoy wrote:
I was pleasantly surprised that I could even DO a two hour indoor ride like this, with essentially no "coasting" downtime... and it was kinda fun chasing down the one rider  


Do they have a "efficiency factor" when they are calculating your distance?  Being that a recumbent is typically more efficient than an upright bike you probably finished first.  At least that is how I would spin it ;D

In a side note - my wife mentioned the other day that I should go up there and try it sometime.  I guess all this sitting around the house is wearing on us both! ..... counting the days until summer......

Title: Re: Computrainer / Spin Class riding
Post by FlyingLaZBoy on Dec 12th, 2013, 10:31am

I'm signed up for the 9AM two-hour class this Saturday at DCC White Rock location... although I may regret this - they're doing the Longview Freeze Your Fanny route this time -- mas climbing, although somewhat sloped downwards.

http://i977.photobucket.com/albums/ae256/pbrown8js/fanny.jpg (http://s977.photobucket.com/user/pbrown8js/media/fanny.jpg.html)

Title: Re: Computrainer / Spin Class riding
Post by FlyingLaZBoy on Dec 12th, 2013, 10:36am


TonyWard wrote:
Do they have a "efficiency factor" when they are calculating your distance?  Being that a recumbent is typically more efficient than an upright bike you probably finished first.  At least that is how I would spin it ;D


Not really... given that the typical recumbent is ~10 pounds heavier, things kinda even out...  and then there's the whole BROL can o' worms argument about whether the recumbent position is as efficient as DF position climbing.  I tend to think of the 'bent as a rolling leg press machine...   [smiley=chinscratch.gif]

PB

Title: Re: Computrainer / Spin Class riding
Post by AustinSkater on Dec 12th, 2013, 11:09am


FlyingLaZBoy wrote:
Not really... given that the typical recumbent is ~10 pounds heavier, things kinda even out...  and then there's the whole BROL can o' worms argument about whether the recumbent position is as efficient as DF position climbing.  I tend to think of the 'bent as a rolling leg press machine...   [smiley=chinscratch.gif]

PB


My $.02 on climbing (something I know nothing about  [smiley=evil.gif]) aerodynamic position does not outweigh the benefit of being able to stand and put body weight and power to the pedal on a climb (and I like my knees too much to lock my back into my seat and put all that pressure on the pedals with no flex).

During the Texas Time Trails, I was mixing it up with some racers on nice aero time trial bikes.  They had no problems matching me on the flats, and rolled away from me on the downhills when coasting.  As soon as the road turned upwards, I would stand and pedal away from them - they were staying on their aerobars far too long.  Of course, if I had been on a 12 lb 'bent I'd probably have outclimbed them as well.




Title: Re: Computrainer / Spin Class riding
Post by FlyingLaZBoy on Dec 12th, 2013, 1:17pm


AustinSkater wrote:
During the Texas Time Trails, I was mixing it up with some racers on nice aero time trial bikes.  They had no problems matching me on the flats, and rolled away from me on the downhills when coasting.  As soon as the road turned upwards, I would stand and pedal away from them - they were staying on their aerobars far too long.  Of course, if I had been on a 12 lb 'bent I'd probably have outclimbed them as well.


Uhhh... this is when you rode the "fixie", right????  Not when you were head to head vs. JS?

Agreed, aero advantage doesn't typically exist while climbing -- unless there's a stiff headwind!!!   8-)

PB

Title: Re: Computrainer / Spin Class riding
Post by AustinSkater on Dec 12th, 2013, 1:28pm


FlyingLaZBoy wrote:
Uhhh... this is when you rode the "fixie", right????  Not when you were head to head vs. JS?


That was this year on the single speed, hence the ultra-light bike.  The year JS and I lit up the course I was on my Corsa SS.


Title: Re: Computrainer / Spin Class riding
Post by AustinSkater on Dec 12th, 2013, 3:29pm


FlyingLaZBoy wrote:
I'm signed up for the 9AM two-hour class this Saturday at DCC White Rock location... although I may regret this - they're doing the Longview Freeze Your Fanny route this time -- mas climbing, although somewhat sloped downwards.


Do you know which route they are basing this off of, it doesn't look like the 40 mile route that's posted on the official website.  I'd like to create the same route on my Virtual Trainer, so we can compare how the two courses come out.

Title: Re: Computrainer / Spin Class riding
Post by FlyingLaZBoy on Dec 13th, 2013, 10:36am


AustinSkater wrote:
Do you know which route they are basing this off of, it doesn't look like the 40 mile route that's posted on the official website.  I'd like to create the same route on my Virtual Trainer, so we can compare how the two courses come out.


Contact Rich Wharton at DCC...  he'd probably be happy to talk to you about it!

PB

Title: Re: Computrainer / Spin Class riding
Post by FlyingLaZBoy on Dec 24th, 2013, 9:53am

Here's the data on the Freeze Your Fanny route.   This was a strange one, in that there were a lot of short 3% rollers that didn't last long, but you couldn't really see them coming up on the screen, and you didn't know how long they were going to last -- so after a while, I just assumed they would be short, and powered through them -- the graphs show this.  Thus, I wound up averaging 120% of my "functional threshold power" for the ride.  We were "racing" in that you could see other people's positions -- I was about a mile behind one guy for most of the ride, then decided that I would attempt to catch him in the last 15 minute "home stretch" -- the third graph shows me mostly above 200 watts during that time -- and sure enough, I caught/passed him with about two minutes to go...    [smiley=duel.gif]

http://i977.photobucket.com/albums/ae256/pbrown8js/Graph_2vvdggwe.png (http://s977.photobucket.com/user/pbrown8js/media/Graph_2vvdggwe.png.html)


Duration:      02:00                          
Total Distance:      38.77 miles            
Average Speed:      19.35 mph       Max:      31.00      mph            
Average Pace:      03:06/mile        Max:      01:56      /mile            
Calories:      1724                  
Total Climbing:      1174      ft      358      meters            

Power Information (Ave 189w, Zone 5, FTP @ 180w)
Average Power:      189      watts      2.08      w/kg
Max Power:      529      watts      5.83      w/kg

Work:      1449      kJ

Power Zones             Time In Zone
Zone 1   (< 100)       01:03
Zone 2   (100-135)       12:04
Zone 3   (136-160)       23:39
Zone 4   (161-187)       34:47
Zone 5   (188-216)       24:27
Zone 6   (> 216)       24:21

Title: Re: Computrainer / Spin Class riding
Post by AustinSkater on Dec 29th, 2013, 5:49pm

Today was such a sad day outside, I took my bike to the Valley of the Sun, for a ride on the Iron Man Arizona Loop.  This loop is not nearly as scenic as the Blue Ridge Parkway, but it has a nice easy climb for 1/2 the ride, and then a return descent.  It's a good route for gutting out a power level, since it's a steady climb. (Elevation in yellow on the image)

Distance:  37.56 mi
Time: 1:41
Climbing:  1587 feet
Avg speed:  22.2 mph
Avg power:  270 watts
Avg W/kg:  3.49
Max Power:  565 watts
Max W/kg:  7.31
Avg Cadence: 85
Calories:     1644 (per Strava)


http://i868.photobucket.com/albums/ab244/bryanonabike/IMAZ_12_29_zps8d529f8b.png (http://s868.photobucket.com/user/bryanonabike/media/IMAZ_12_29_zps8d529f8b.png.html)

Title: Re: Computrainer / Spin Class riding
Post by FlyingLaZBoy on Sep 24th, 2014, 4:47pm

Well, I ventured back to Cycling Center Dallas for the first time in quite a while, taking advantage of a "come back for two free classes" offer...  since I'm anticipating doing Paluxy and The Wall in a couple weeks, I figured a little extra hard riding wouldn't hurt -- and I used the Rocket with the Hoagie seat, instead of the Xstream, because that's what I'll take to Paluxy

This was a "3 Minute Power Test" session, lasting an hour...  after a ~10 minute warmup, you upshift and give it everything you've got for three minutes, then recover for 5 minutes at an increasing ~50-70% of your "FTP" (Functional Threshold Power)... then repeat... and repeat... and repeat....and repeat.... and repeat a 6th time.

http://i977.photobucket.com/albums/ae256/pbrown8js/3min.jpg~original (http://s977.photobucket.com/user/pbrown8js/media/3min.jpg.html)

My "FTP" was set to 205W, as a reference.  

Not having done this sort of thing before, of course I "went out too fast" on the first 3 minute sprint, topping 500 watts and holding it for a minute before realizing that three minutes is a LONG TIME...   8-)   So, the rest of the sprint sessions, I typically held at 300-320 watts the entire 3 minutes, with a power burst the last 15 seconds.

Average overall power for the hour long session was 220 watts

Max wattage thresholds were
Max - 518
5 sec  -- 480
10 sec -- 478
20 sec -- 462
30 sec -- 461
60 sec -- 353
2 min -- 334

Doing the three minute sprint / maxout, I could kinda tell that I'm more used to doing TWO minute sprints...  that last minute was hard to hold....

I'm planning to do it again next Monday.

Title: Re: Computrainer / Spin Class riding
Post by FlyingLaZBoy on Sep 30th, 2014, 10:47am

Last week was the '3 minute test" practice prep session, with 6 cycles of 3 min sprint, 5 min recover...  this week was the "official" 3- and 8-minute threshold test -- about 20 minutes of warmup, with four short 15-second warmup sprints, then a 3 minute full out time at 2% grade, then 25(!) minutes of continued "level ground" riding, then an 8-minute test time holding as many watts as you can at a 2% grade.

I did this on the Rocket, with 559 wheel / 1.30" Durano tire.

For what it's worth, my 3 minute average was 310 Watts, and my 8 minute average was 259 watts.  Not bad for somebody who doesn't really "train"...

http://i977.photobucket.com/albums/ae256/pbrown8js/3and8.jpg (http://s977.photobucket.com/user/pbrown8js/media/3and8.jpg.html)

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