Today I borrowed a friends Computrainer and performed the FTp test from Traainiig With Power book.
It went something like this. Warm up for about 45 minutes,inluded in that 5 min all out effort, 3X1 minutes efforts. Then a 20 minute TT on a flat course and a cool down. I ended up with a 299 avg watts for the 20 minutes.
Last year I did an LT test on Cyclo Ops stationary trainer and my LT spiked at 315 watts.
I am wondering how those two numbers compare? The test results both measure LT wattage but by different means.
How would this compare if I did this test ona read. HOw much wattage do I lose to the Computrainer over a PT?
Just somequestions as I am trying to learn more about training with power. I do not have a power meter yet, but it might be in the near future.
If it matters, my current weight is 170 lbs as was my weight last year about the same time.
Thanks for your help,
Paul
I am not going to give my numbers (too embarresing) but, the test I did in open road vs. on computrainer average watts were a lot different. On CT it was much less. And they are both calibrated correctly. If you have one on the bike try it on the road and you’ll see the difference.
Hard to answer your question as there are a lot of different protocols for getting LT values and I’m not sure how you arrived at the 315 value. What happened at 315 watts precisely, i.e. your lactate values increased 1 mmol over baseline, you went over 4 mmols, etc?
As the other poster indicated, many folks report significant variation between indoor and outdoor FTP values, even when using the same equipment. Things get more complicated when going from one power measuring device to another.
In the end, power is a great tool, I’d seriously consider it for both training and racing.
I can’t speak to Computrainer vs. road, but I can say CT vs. another power meter.
I recently bought a SRM Pro power meter off eBay, and did my first FTP test yesterday with it on my CompuTrainer, following the protocol in Hunter Allen’s power book. I trained last year on the CompuTrainer and had some experience with watts (even though I was using HR on the road), so I wanted to compare what the SRM would say and if both sets of data would correlate well or be wonky in some way.
Throughout the test, the CT and the SRM showed similar numbers - 5 to 10 watts apart, sometimes one higher, sometimes the other. I presume different measurement intervals. The average for the 20 min TT was 203 watts on the SRM and 201 watts on the CT, which is about what I expected given my current cycling fitness. That’s only a 1% difference between the two systems. YMMV, of course, but I don’t think you “lose wattage” on the CompuTrainer.
The Cycleops trainer basically is a Powertap. I get similar power readings between my PT when I ride it on my CT using the 3D program, however, the PT readers are higher when I use the Erg mode. Another thing to consider besides powermeters and settings is positiong. I notice a big power difference at LT between my TT bike and road bike. Outdoors, the aero advantage makes up for decreased LT power. 260 watts might only get me 21-22 MPH on my road bike, but it will get me 25 MPH for an hour on my TT bike. I wouldn’t worry too much about your testing method. Go as much with your hunch. Remember power numbers are only part of the equation. Stuff like RPE can be just or more important than what a couple of digits say.
-Pete