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I am trying to improve my pedalling efficiency and I got a Computrainer. When I plug in a flat course and am just doing a steady workout, what kind of spinscan score would be considered decent efficiency?
Obviously if I add hills or make the tension very high or very low, I can influence things a lot so that's why I am just asking on a flat section. I need a benchmark to be able to tell how efficient my pedaling is (so please don't just say "it all depends on the situation"--if you think that then give me a specific situation to get the CT in so I can test my spinscan in that situation).
I usually am a weak ass biker and pedal about 140-150 watts on there going about 19 mph according to the CT.
With a bit of work, time, and concentration you should be in the mid to upper 80s most of the time. After 6 years of off-season work when I had my CT my SC number was nearly always 85-92 unless I conciously tried mashing the pedals. In order to get to good numbers you'll notice you start fatiguing different muscle groups in the beginning...probably not unlike Powercranks...in fact, I'd expect PC users to score in the 90s all the time if they rode PCs on the CT.
On the other hand, there are those on the board here, some with more than a little expertise in exercise kinesiology, who will tell you that spinscan is a dubious training tool...so some folks mileage may vary.
why is it a dubious training tool? Or what is better?
"why is it a dubious training tool?"
Spin Scan shows you the average torque applied throughout the pedal stroke. In other words, a perfect number (100) would mean that the torque you produced going through the top of the pedal stroke is the same as the torque you produce pushing down through 3 o'clock. Because of the system of levers that our limbs and muscles create, there is much greater biomechanical advantage during certain parts of the pedal stroke. That is, you are able to produce much more power for a given effort at 3 o'clock than at 12 o'clock. So, given this varying biomechanical advantage, the only way to improve your SS number is to get stronger/work harder through 12 o'clock, 6 o'clock, etc. OR you can work less through the downstroke. To the extent using SS improves your strength through the weaker parts of the pedal stroke, it is probably a good thing (although some would disagree - as stated in a previous post). The danger in chasing SS numbers, IMHO, is the liklihood of decreasing power on the downstroke - the strongest part of your pedal stroke - during training in order to derive a better SS number. To some extent, I think this is true of PCs as well during the adaptation period. You will only be able to push down as fast (hard) as you can pull the other pedal up. However, with PCs, as your hip flexors get stronger you will automatically increase your power on the downstroke to match.
My $ .02.
Haim
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"Sometimes you need to think INSIDE the box!" -- ME
"Why squirrel hate me?"