Has anyone ever used the bike leg of a Olympic Triathlon as their 1 hour FTP test? I figure an Olympic distance is almost all out anyway right? I am in the Chicago land area and it is going to be difficult to find a spot to hammer a concentrated 1 hour ride. I should be right around an hour (probably 65 or 68 minutes for the 40K). But I do have a race coming up in a couple of weeks.
Well 1:05-1:08 is really not an hour so I would say thats wrong. Also you need to think your FTP for a 60 minute ride is all out, as hard as you can go, not swim 18-30 minutes before hand and then run a 10k after. This is something that needs to be done on your own, not in a race. I know that when I race an Olympic I am not at my FTP, but then again maybe that’s just because I’m a shitty on the bike…
You probably count use it to get an idea of what your FT is, mine is 205 and my oly watt range is 185-190 watts. Just my .02
it will be a reasonable data point but the swim before, extra 5 minutes, and knowing you have to run after will definitely depress the number quite a bit.
Has anyone ever used the bike leg of a Olympic Triathlon as their 1 hour FTP test? I figure an Olympic distance is almost all out anyway right? I am in the Chicago land area and it is going to be difficult to find a spot to hammer a concentrated 1 hour ride. I should be right around an hour (probably 65 or 68 minutes for the 40K). But I do have a race coming up in a couple of weeks.
I would always do mine on a trainer. An Oly would be an okay-ish but not too accurate way of doing it. Hills, corners and other competitors will affect you. A 1 minute downhill will have a surprising amount of effect in resting your HR and reducing lactic acid which you would want to try and keep constant.
I’ve thought about doing that before since I’m getting very close to hitting the 1 hour mark for a 40K. That stated, I do ease up on the gas a little for an Oly because I would not run very well if I biked at 100%. I probably ride at 90-92% or so.
I have used it, I agree that it’s an almost all out effort. My results have been ~10 watts lower than a 2X20 (2’) on a flat course (Sylvania and Maumee Bay tris)
Definition of FTP is the power you can put out for approx 1 hour, not always exactly one hour. The flat part of the NP curve around 1 hr is what you look at.
If you have a race comming up in a few weeks it’s a good check provided you do your very best on the bike portion and not save anything for the run.
jaretj
Good points. Another question.
Looking at getting my current wheelset laced with the new powertap pro+ at wheel builders eventually… Given that I do all my winter riding indoors and that I have a computrainer, does it make sense to hang off on the purchase of the powertap pro+ till much later. Can I get my FTP test done on the computrainer? This would make the most sense for me as I can bundle my purchase of the reduced priced pro+ and the joule gps.
does it make sense to hang off on the purchase
No.
It adds to your data so in that way yes it is a useful measure. If you have a strong ride and felt like you gave it your all the whole way without blowing up. If the course has any significant downhills then take that into account. Factoring all these things it could be 95% or so of your FTP. Start out there and gather further data from your hard training sessions.
Has anyone ever used the bike leg of a Olympic Triathlon as their 1 hour FTP test? I figure an Olympic distance is almost all out anyway right? I am in the Chicago land area and it is going to be difficult to find a spot to hammer a concentrated 1 hour ride. I should be right around an hour (probably 65 or 68 minutes for the 40K). But I do have a race coming up in a couple of weeks.
An Olympic tri would be far better used to validate an FTP number than to come up with one. Most tri courses are not ideal for doing any testing. Even in sprints I have never been able to hit 100 as there have always been lots of turns, downhills, speedbumps, people in the way, whatever. Now if you had an Olympic with a flat out and back 40k and a course that was not crowded that might be entirely different. YMMV.
does it make sense to hang off on the purchase
No.
Is there a explanation behind that post for a layman such as myself? Is a computrainer not a useful tool when it comes to FTP test and training to FTP% levels?
does it make sense to hang off on the purchase
No.
Is there a explanation behind that post for a layman such as myself? Is a computrainer not a useful tool when it comes to FTP test and training to FTP% levels?
I overlooked the CompuTrainer comment. If you own a CompuTrainer, it will definitely suffice if you want to train indoors with power.
Good points. Another question.
Looking at getting my current wheelset laced with the new powertap pro+ at wheel builders eventually… Given that I do all my winter riding indoors and that I have a computrainer, does it make sense to hang off on the purchase of the powertap pro+ till much later. Can I get my FTP test done on the computrainer? This would make the most sense for me as I can bundle my purchase of the reduced priced pro+ and the joule gps.
Take a close look at this while you are at it.
http://www.competitivecyclist.com/za/CCY?PAGE=BUY_PRODUCT_STANDARD&PRODUCT.ID=10201&MODE=
Not sure that can be beat anywhere.
until you ride outside…
I agree - I think it is better than pulling a number out of thin air.
If you run well after biking - you can use the NP as a guesstimate that is most likely between 90% and 95% of FTP. I would say the closer to an hour you are the closer to 95% it’s likely to be.
If you don’t run well off it - well you’re probably closer to 98% or so 