I've been thinking about this a bit...bike race categories (*on Zwift) are broken down into W/kg (ie A=>4.0, B=3.2-3.99...etc) at FTP, and while riding around in Zwift, everyone is able to see their instant pace/effort in terms of W/kg.
But, isn't it a better measure of effort to use intensity factor (IF)?
Comparing to weight is the first step in normalization to the population, as it's going to be a harder for the heavy people to go up hills but it doesn't really tell me about their effort level. Are they working as hard as me at 3.0 W/kg? This effort will be easy for an A rider and extreme for a C/D rider.
I did a Group Ride @ 2.5-3.0 recently and there were a bunch of complaints about how 'fast' the pace was. I thought to myself that I have no idea if it's fast for some or not because there is no relation to FTP.
Compare:
A 175 lb (80kg) male with an FTP of 320 Riding at ~3.0 W/kg=240w, which is 75% of FTP
A 175 lb (80kg) male with an FTP of 280 Riding at ~3.0 W/kg=240w, which is 86% of FTP
A 175 lb (80kg) male with an FTP of 240 Riding at ~3.0 W/kg =240w, which is 100% of FTP
A 155 lb (70kg) female with an FTP of 175 Riding at ~3.0 W/kg=210w, which is 120% of FTP
A 175 lb (80kg) female with an FTP of 175 Riding at ~3.0 W/kg=240w, which is 137% of FTP
Much easier for the big guy with the biggest engine, obviously. But no real ability to compare efforts while riding as FTP is not know, except for the fact that 3.0 is top end of FTP for C category, so I suspect that ride was really only for A/B riders.
Wouldn't it be a better comparison with IF? Or should anyone really care about anyone else's effort while riding or racing?
But, isn't it a better measure of effort to use intensity factor (IF)?
Comparing to weight is the first step in normalization to the population, as it's going to be a harder for the heavy people to go up hills but it doesn't really tell me about their effort level. Are they working as hard as me at 3.0 W/kg? This effort will be easy for an A rider and extreme for a C/D rider.
I did a Group Ride @ 2.5-3.0 recently and there were a bunch of complaints about how 'fast' the pace was. I thought to myself that I have no idea if it's fast for some or not because there is no relation to FTP.
Compare:
A 175 lb (80kg) male with an FTP of 320 Riding at ~3.0 W/kg=240w, which is 75% of FTP
A 175 lb (80kg) male with an FTP of 280 Riding at ~3.0 W/kg=240w, which is 86% of FTP
A 175 lb (80kg) male with an FTP of 240 Riding at ~3.0 W/kg =240w, which is 100% of FTP
A 155 lb (70kg) female with an FTP of 175 Riding at ~3.0 W/kg=210w, which is 120% of FTP
A 175 lb (80kg) female with an FTP of 175 Riding at ~3.0 W/kg=240w, which is 137% of FTP
Much easier for the big guy with the biggest engine, obviously. But no real ability to compare efforts while riding as FTP is not know, except for the fact that 3.0 is top end of FTP for C category, so I suspect that ride was really only for A/B riders.
Wouldn't it be a better comparison with IF? Or should anyone really care about anyone else's effort while riding or racing?