Hi, I'm a (running) sprinter using an assault bike to redevelop a base for sprinting following an injury, and I've been putting up pretty solid wattage on the bike and thinking about giving velo racing a try, as I live within an hour of a track. My best performance is probably 1290 watts average for 25 seconds, but I have no idea if I could perform similarly on an actual bike. Is there a standard way to estimate a conversion?

I'm of the school that situational awareness is a primary concern when on the bike, whether in a group or out solo. So to date, I've stayed clear of wearing headphones even when out on long solo rides.

But with the advent and maturity of bone conducting headphones, and the fact I'm seeing more people wearing them, I'm starting to reconsider. Having something to listen to while out on the road for 5 hours of solo Z2 would be nice, but I very much want to be aware when a vehicle is coming up from behind.

What are the thoughts from those of you who've tried them, or regularly use them. Are bone conducting headphones adequately safe? And if so, are they any use out on the open road with wind noise? If you're a fan of them, which brand and model would you recommend?

Anyone else experience this? My fit feels fine doing endurance to sweet spot efforts but once I hit sustained threshold intervals or a Zwift race I start to feel some discomfort in my lower back.

I’m trying to remain cognizant of my position and I think it’s helping but I also am not too sure what else may be the problem. Outside everything is fine and my fit feels the most comfortable its been in a long time, except when I’m pushing it.

Maybe I need to focus on more mobility work for the glutes/hamstrings? Strength wise I’m probably stronger than any cyclist needs to be, but I’m sure cycling + desk jockey is causing some sort of imbalance.

I recently moved to an area with more mountains. Today I did 3 hours, about 1500 meters of elevation gain. Before, I lived in a flat area and rarely did more than 500 meters in 3 hours. Is there any benefit to having an elevation gain on low-intensity rides? I have the physique of a climber (maybe a bit more big for the years of flat terrain but im still to skinny. I can maintain the intensity on almost any climb. Can training now on a terrain that favor me improve my performance? all the years training on the flat improve my climbs, but Idk if it has something different that can improve my climbing now more than when I was on flat terrain. I mean, its the same power but its different effort.

I have noticed that at the end of my rides my heart rate tries tends to drop.

For example, if I have 3 intervals of 30 minutes, the HR drops for the 2nd and 3rd even if I keep the same power and cadence. This concrete example was on a 2:45 min ride on the trainer, but I see the same outdoors and outdoors my HR tends to drop even more!

The image attached is my HR for an indoor ride with 10x8min tempo intervals. in the last interval I wanted to check if I could raise my HR and verify that I was not energy depleted so I did 8 min at +30 W.

https://preview.redd.it/m1fikw4uezge1.png?width=1126&format=png&auto=webp&s=742f9fba125d5321ecb16613e2ac1e89839dd93a

I dont think its a hydration issue. I am fueling adequately (over 70g carb/hour). HRM is also working properly since I have seen this with several chest based ones.

Is this normal? How would you explain this?

How'd your races go? Questions about your workouts or updates on your training plan? Successes, failures, or something new you learned? Got any video, photos, or stories to share? Tell us about it!

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Hi all, been slowly upping my volume, whilst also lifting heavy 2x a week. Also doing a minimum of 1 threshold session a week which has gradually been getting longer or upping the wattage so I have progressive overload.

I know 4 hours is not a lot but even at that I'm feeling a bit cooked. Is a rest week advisable? Considering I am slowly upping volume and intensity? Along with progressing my lifting.

Thanks in advance.

I'm flying solo to Tucson for TBC and was curious if any of the more seasoned travelers have any advice. I purchased an EVOC bike bag so fingers crossed Southwest treats it well.

Aside from the obvious, are there things you always bring, things that are better left at home, etc?

Then more specifically for TBC, my plan was to ride to all the race starts, is this feasible? Hopefully the overall vibe is good.

When I go on big mtb ride days with my friends they all like to talk about their garmin stats at the end. But none of them have power. So does looking at average HR or calories burned tell you anything about your fitness compared to your friends? It seems like it needs to be formed into a fraction more like wats/kg to be comparable?

Something like avgHR/riders-alltime-maxHR or calories/riders-weight

Live in a rural area and occasionally travel to a gravel or road race. However I'm usually training either by myself or with a small group so I always struggle dealing with a big pack and getting the positioning right.

Also clueless around strategy with attacking and whatnot so the result is I tend to put down way more watts than the people finishing around me but without getting the results of people with a similar fitness level with better skills.

Can someone explain how riding alot at a low intensity increases your ftp? I know riding above ftp and breathing hard helps raise your vo2max...ect.

Looking for advice especially from folks with leg/hip issues.

30M, 163cm, 55kg, relatively new to cycling. Currently riding a flat bar (Cube Nulane) but want to make the switch to a drop bar gravel bike when possible.

Goal is to be able to do gravel races in southern Germany, which means being able to do quite a bit of elevation and steep grades. I don't have any delusions about winning, I just want to make it to the finish line.

I have damage to my right knee and right hip from sports injuries in my childhood. I have Ehlers-Danlos and was not diagnosed at the time, so I frequently dislocated both patella and hip. The damage built up and even after PT I have about 1-2cm effective leg length difference due to a tilted pelvis, as well as muscle adhesions throughout the entire leg and hip.

Last week, I went for a bike fit because my hands (outer three fingers) were going numb and I couldn't figure out how to get my seat in a position to stop that. The bike fitter raised my seat by 4cm and recommended I swap to swept back handlebars. He also gave me some exercises to do to strengthen my core and hip flexors.

The problem: He told me not to point my toes when pedaling and to drive my heel down at the bottom of the pedal stroke instead. My right leg does not have enough flexibility to do this consistently, especially at the beginning of rides when I'm not warmed up. When I am able to do this, I do get significantly more power. But it comes at the cost of stability on the bike, and my hand pain is worse. I did swap the handlebars so now my thumb and two fingers go numb, but the numbness persists off the bike which is kinda scary.

My questions:

• Should I say fuck it and lower the seat a bit now, or give it a few more days of doing the stretching and exercise before throwing in the towel?
• Should I go back to toe-down pedaling or keep giving the heel down a chance?
• Will I be unable to ride a bike with drop bars, like the bike fitter told me? I really don't want to believe this because if a guy with one leg can race, surely I can manage to at least sit on the damn bike and pedal.
• How do I balance off-bike strength exercises with time on the bike? I've found that my knee is more unstable on the bike now that I'm tiring out my legs off the bike.

Have found my knees slightly sore that last 2 weeks after starting intense v02 block (zero issues during my month long z2 training). It has not stopped me from training and is only a dull pain for the rest of the day. The next morning I'm ready to go again

Curious if everyone has this feeling after v02 efforts. My concern is Ithat I may be fixing something that isn't broke with a new bike fit

Anyone else see that the pro/1 fields for armed forces classic are by invite only. What do we think of the selection criteria they’ve included on their site?

Like in the title - if you go above your FTP for prolonged time, what becomes the factor that makes you feel that you need to slow down and cannot continue?

Is it muscle pain or some sort of general nausea?

In my case the limiting factor seem to be the muscles - what would be your training tips in this regard? More anaerobic workouts? More threshold work?

Did a FTP test today and my muscles "left the chat" even before i could reach my max HR.

My primary endurance activity is running and for the same perceived level of effort my cycling HR seems to be 10-15 beats lower.

When fresh, my HR is about 140bpm at 220-230w (Z2), but after just a single 5 minute hard effort my HR at 230 watts shoots up to 155 bpm and feels noticeably harder for an hour or more after, and doesn't come back down, after the effort my HR at 140bpm is 180-200w, a lot lower than when fresh.

It happens with Z2 power as well, sometimes after 40 minutes at Z2 my HR has drifted from 140 to 155 at the same power, even without a hard effort.

Besides eating carbs and good sleep, is there anything else you’ve noticed that’s made a big benefit in your recovery after a hard ride?

Hey all. I live in Marin County which is a cycling paradise but there is a lack of any crit races in the county. I think the biggest obstacle is large areas where you can set up a course. I was thinking about organizing informal races and looked at the fairgrounds parking lots here as a possibility. That said, I was hoping for some feedback on the course I’ve laid out here. Any constructive criticism is very much appreciated.

Relatively new to group riding,today i was the rider behind i did a shoulder check the same time as the rider in front but held my line as best i could and got shouted at lol.How can i improve?here is a short clip https://youtu.be/UitU_RqGrZ0

Thanks for all the tips.I will not be doing shoulder checks when in that position again unless on the front or at the rear.I think i just shoulder checked at the same time as the lead rider and the swerve and a little change in pace caught me out a touch!camera doesnt really show but i grabbed the brakes or i would have hit for sure.lesson learned!

Hey all, I’ve been training over the last year or so (10-12 hours a week) and can’t seem to tame lower neck issues.

I have gotten multiple professional bike fits, have used all the online bike fitting software, and am confident playing with my fit.

I am mid 20s and come from a running background so I have a good baseline flexibility and strength.

Living in a colder climate I tend to ride most of the winter months on the trainer. When on the trainer I have no pain, my fit feels really dialed. But as soon as I get outside I start having lower next pain 1 hour in.

Last week I went 4 hours inside and felt great, no pain whatever. But earlier in the week went 70 mins outside and ended with a stiff sore neck.

Does anyone have any suggestions/tips on how to strengthen and/or prevent lower neck pain?

Thanks!

Specifically male riders, weighing in between say 55-65kg, what's some insights or lessons you've learnt related to training, racing, etc?

Are higher W/Kg more or less achievable for "flyweights" compared to heavier people?

Seeing 100kg people push 300W avg like it's a fart, while weighing for example 60kg and doing 3w/kg only equals 180w, just looks so week on paper. I've at best been in a position where I had an ftp of just ~4w/kg at 62kg - but never placed better than mid-field in real life TTs (including hilly ones). Comparing online, with Zwift as an example, I feel that there's a huge advantage to being heavier with an equal w/kg in almost all cases except the strictly uphill races etc (I find myself dropping people uphill only to then have to chase them down the mountain). No real point here, it's just frustrating sometimes to see people do Z2 rides near your own ftp (looking at watts and not w/kg - I'm aware of the differences).

Basically, is X w/kg equally impressive and/or competitive no matter your bodyweight, and do you feel your mass (be it big or small) is an advantage or not in various competitive scenarios? Should one generally aim to drop bodyweight while maintaining power, or possibly increase musclemass (and weight) and increase actual wattage?

I have finished both a vo2 max and a sweet spot progression over the last 8 weeks. Everything I have read says that progressive overload is key to training. I was planning on restarting progressions but adding a threshold progression as well. Do you just keep adding more volume/ replacing easy rides with intensity? How can you maintain progressive overload for extended periods of time?

Hello! I'm drastically changing my focus this season from long slow miles to a local TT series with a course that generally takes around 20 minutes. Any advice on how to specifically tailor my training to maximize performance on 20 minute efforts? This is so far outside of my normal wheelhouse that I don't even know where to start. Typically my training consists of miles and miles and more miles, but I feel this sort of short intense effort will need a wildly different approach.

Looking to make my winter training more structured to get some bigger goals this summer, but here's the issue - the gym I go to only has stationary bikes that don't have gears to switch, and there's no indicator as to how much resistance is the magnet is giving except for exertion. The magnet adjusts via a long screw with a knob on the top, and basically moves in and out towards the 'wheel' to add or remove resistance. It does have a small display which shows cadence and time, but doesn't really have any other useful info.

Last winter I basically just did intervals or long rides - I had a sheet with scheduled intervals of higher or lower exertion, and would basically just go off perceived effort/heartrate to go between high/low intervals. This worked ok, but it was hard to tell if I was improving at all between sessions, since there's no baseline value except for feeling good at a certain cadence. Has anyone done a more structured program on something like this, or have any ideas/hacks that can help me figure out how to make more concrete metrics?

Context: 92-93 kg with a sprinty boi power profile. Bout 5 pts off from a cat 3 upgrade. One podium and multiple in the points finishes last season.

Typically, my game plan is ride top 10-15 wheels and wait for a sprint. Was riding solo this year on a team this yr, but don't necessarily see team tactics at this lvl.

Signed up for Central Park NYC next week. Seeing the race on YT and from experience in other park races, what I notice is there's always a swarm from behind which then leads to a wall of riders in front during the bell lap. Closing you out for a sprint finish at times. Don't see much of a proper pace line or single file, it's usually just a bunch.

How do I avoid this, besides going up in cat?

This is probably a stupid question, I am a roadie novice. I am about to purchase either Favero Assioma Uno or Garmin Rally sinhle-sided (my preference, since I am used to the Shimano cleat). I don't want to break the bank completely, hence only purchasing one. Would I be able to eventually supplement this with another pedal if I need (e.g. to correct for power imbalances)? Are these pedals specific to either left or right side? Any advice welcome!

I posted this on r/cycling but someone mentioned I should post it here, actually:

I just got a smart trainer as I'm getting back into racing after nearly 17 years away from the sport (raising kids, drinking beer, gaining weight, riding recreationally and with my kids). I took the full frontal test to see where I'm at. I've been riding maybe 40 miles a week for years, and am about 50 pounds over my old racing weight. I'm 53.

I was a Cat 2 back in the day, did some high level national caliber races, but stopped after having kids.

Here are my results, which rather dismal? I have no idea what my old FTP was because was didn't even have power meters back in the day. I'm wondering what others think--I guess it is only up from here? Have others made progressions from such low FTPs back to what it takes for Cat 2 level racing?

|NM|611 watts|

|AC|333 watts|

|MAP|213 watts|

|FTP|184 watts|

TLDR: Any downsides to riding my gravel bike instead of my "race" bike during training sessions.

Got my gravel bike a little over three years ago, after years of fixies and bike share. Have become more serious about my riding with each passing month, and last fall, I finally added to the stable with a proper carbon race bike. Over time, I've discovered what I must enjoy is going as fast as possible as far as possible, not grinding through the woods, which requires me to get in my car and water precious riding time (dad with twins).

At least once or twice a week I bike the ~23 miles to my office to get in reps. I've mostly done that on the race bike because it's my new toy, but especially with the shit weather in NYC recently, I've gone back to the gravel rig.

What I'm wondering is, does it make a difference which bike I ride while "training?" I put that in quotes because I don't race, I just love riding and going fast, so I'm trying to up my fitness for those weekend adventures on the fast bike. I assume so long as I'm hitting right the same zones/HR/power, it should all be the same to my body and my fitness?

Anything I'm missing out overlooking in that equation?