This morning I decided to compare the circumference based on calculation versus actual. For the workout app I'm writing I used the standard equation 2 x pi x r. For pi, I'm using 3.1416. 2 x radius is the diameter, so I add 622 + (2 x tire height).
In the case of my giant running gatorskin hardshell 25mm, that comes out to 622 + 50 = 172mm. When I plug the numbers into the equation, I get 2111mm for the circumference. When I measure the actual circumference using the rolling technique, I get 2140mm. That means a delta of 29mm. In percent terms, the calculated circumference is off by 1.4%.
Friday, February 20, 2015
Friday, January 2, 2015
Zwift Beta
Hurray, I got invited to Zwift beta. All of my bike sensors are dual protocol, so I'm "almost" ready to go. I ordered a ANT+ usb for my PC. As soon as it arrives, I'm gonna give it a try.
Monday, December 8, 2014
Castelli baselayer
I've been thinking about getting Castelli base layer for a while now and finally got one. Bike tires direct had them on sale for black friday, so I got one.
castelli-mens-flanders-long-sleeve-baselayer
I've been gradually replacing my Pearl Izumi bike gear with Castellie stuff as things go on sale at BTD. I honestly didn't think the fit of Castellie base layer would be drastically different, but the honest truth is, it's much better fit. The first different is the collar of Castellie is higher than PI transfer baselayer. It's not a turtleneck. It's kind of like a mock/short turtleneck collar. The end result is it keeps makes me feel warmer.
The thing I like most over PI is the fit. Castelli has more compression, which fakes my body into feeling warmer. The second thing I like is the small has shorter sleeves than PI small, so I don't have a bunch of fabric bunched up above my wrist. I'm a short stumpy guy with short arms, so little things like this are quite nice.
castelli-mens-flanders-long-sleeve-baselayer
I've been gradually replacing my Pearl Izumi bike gear with Castellie stuff as things go on sale at BTD. I honestly didn't think the fit of Castellie base layer would be drastically different, but the honest truth is, it's much better fit. The first different is the collar of Castellie is higher than PI transfer baselayer. It's not a turtleneck. It's kind of like a mock/short turtleneck collar. The end result is it keeps makes me feel warmer.
The thing I like most over PI is the fit. Castelli has more compression, which fakes my body into feeling warmer. The second thing I like is the small has shorter sleeves than PI small, so I don't have a bunch of fabric bunched up above my wrist. I'm a short stumpy guy with short arms, so little things like this are quite nice.
Monday, September 29, 2014
Specialized Evade
A month back I bought myself a new helmet for a couple of reasons. The first one is my old helmet was starting to really stink. Even though I replace the pads once a year and try to rinse it out every week, I sweat like a giant hog in a swamp. There's only so much sweat the helmet can take. I'm a very salty sweater, so that makes it even worse. At the end of Covac and Kings Tour of the Quabbin double metric, my jersey and pants are caked in salt. Here is a picture of both helmets. The evade is the first one and the Giro is the second one.
To be totally blunt, I didn't buy the evade for the aero features. I bought it for the looks. Of all the helmets at bike alley, the evade looked the best. Since I was shopping during Tax Free Holiday, I figure might as well get a good helmet this time.
I bought the Giro Eclipse helmet in 2011 from Nashbar for $40.00, so it was a great bargain. For comparison, the Evade cost over $200.00. Now that I've used it for over a month, I'm very happy with the purchase. The thing that surprised me the most isn't the aero features or the look. It's the vents and how much cooler I feel on a hot day.
At 15mph, I can feel the air rush over my head. At faster speeds my head feels cool, instead of like an oven or steamer. I know it's suppose to be designed for aero and save time/watts over 40K, but not overheating is by far the greatest benefit. Feel cooler lets me relax more during rides and lets me focus on riding. I'm not wishing for cooler weather or trying keep the sweat out of my eyes so I can see.
This isn't scientific, but I believe a couple of things contribute to the better cooling and less "sweat in my eyes". The first is the vent design results in much faster flow, which helps evaporate the profuse sweat pouring from my head. The second is the type of padding used isn't as spongy. The Giro pads quickly get soaked with sweat, which ends up pouring down my face and into my eyes. Third is the retention system seems to keep the helmet off my head, which gives air more room to flow. The end result is even when I'm going FTP and sweating up a river, sweat isn't pouring down my face. It's more like a couple of drops every 5-10 minutes versus a constant stream of sweat. I know it sounds gross and nasty, but there's no nice way to say it. I sweat ALOT and have very salty sweat. Back in high school I ran cross country. At the end of a 15mile run, my arms and legs had a layer of salt.
Back to the helmet. The evade is an excellent helmet for those who sweat profusely. It's clear the designers at Specialized took their time to make sure venting worked well. Even if you don't sweat like a hog, it looks great and will save you some watts.
I bought the Giro Eclipse helmet in 2011 from Nashbar for $40.00, so it was a great bargain. For comparison, the Evade cost over $200.00. Now that I've used it for over a month, I'm very happy with the purchase. The thing that surprised me the most isn't the aero features or the look. It's the vents and how much cooler I feel on a hot day.
At 15mph, I can feel the air rush over my head. At faster speeds my head feels cool, instead of like an oven or steamer. I know it's suppose to be designed for aero and save time/watts over 40K, but not overheating is by far the greatest benefit. Feel cooler lets me relax more during rides and lets me focus on riding. I'm not wishing for cooler weather or trying keep the sweat out of my eyes so I can see.
This isn't scientific, but I believe a couple of things contribute to the better cooling and less "sweat in my eyes". The first is the vent design results in much faster flow, which helps evaporate the profuse sweat pouring from my head. The second is the type of padding used isn't as spongy. The Giro pads quickly get soaked with sweat, which ends up pouring down my face and into my eyes. Third is the retention system seems to keep the helmet off my head, which gives air more room to flow. The end result is even when I'm going FTP and sweating up a river, sweat isn't pouring down my face. It's more like a couple of drops every 5-10 minutes versus a constant stream of sweat. I know it sounds gross and nasty, but there's no nice way to say it. I sweat ALOT and have very salty sweat. Back in high school I ran cross country. At the end of a 15mile run, my arms and legs had a layer of salt.
Back to the helmet. The evade is an excellent helmet for those who sweat profusely. It's clear the designers at Specialized took their time to make sure venting worked well. Even if you don't sweat like a hog, it looks great and will save you some watts.
Friday, August 29, 2014
Polar H7 HRM
I know Polar is one of the most popular brands of heart rate monitor out there, but my experience so far is the reliability sucks. I say this out of frustration. Over the last 3 years, I've bought 2 H7 and 2 replacement soft straps.
The thing is, they work fine for the first 10 months, and then go dead. The first one I had started not emitting a BTLE signal, so I sent it to Polar support. I had to pay for the shipping. The first time they spent 3 weeks on it due to the holiday and then mailed it back. That worked for roughly 3 weeks before it started to act up. In good faith I bought a second unit and sent the first unit back for service. Polar replaced the old unit with a new one, which was nice.
The second unit I bought started having issues after 5 months. At first I thought it was the sensor unit, but turns out it was the soft strap. I figured this out by testing the sensor with different straps. Rather than wait another 3 weeks, I went ahead and bought a replacement strap. Two more months went by and the new sensor unit started having issues. The behavior was the same as the first H7 I bought, the sensor stopped sending a signal. I sent the second unit in for service and again it took 2-3 weeks.
Polar didn't replace it, but they did get it working again. 4 months later the replacement unit Polar sent me died and stopped sending a signal. I tested it with new and old soft straps, no luck. This week, the second H7 died.
At this point, I've lost faith in Polar H7 and Polar products in general. I can understand some defect rate with hardware, but all three units died. Based on my experience, that's a 100% failure rate. I use my HRM almost every day and I do sweat alot. The thing is, these issues are fixable with proper design and QA. Earlier this year I got wahoo tickr to replace the first polar H7 that died.
Now that the second H7 died, I'm going to get another tickr instead. The other thing that sucks with Polar is their customer service. First thing is I paid 75.00 for each H7 HRM. Why do I have to pay to ship it to them for service? The right thing is to pay for the shipping. The second thing is the turn around time. It's never taken less than 3 weeks for polar to "service" the sensor.
In contrast, when my Wahoo speed/cadence unit died, they still sent me a replacement when it was beyond the warranty. They didn't have to, but they did. I got the replacement in 2 days and I was back in business. Another example of good service. When my stages power meter battery cover broke, stages sent me replacement covers. Both Wahoo and Stages provide excellent customer service.
Polar is a much bigger company, so they probably forgot what it means to provide good service.
The thing is, they work fine for the first 10 months, and then go dead. The first one I had started not emitting a BTLE signal, so I sent it to Polar support. I had to pay for the shipping. The first time they spent 3 weeks on it due to the holiday and then mailed it back. That worked for roughly 3 weeks before it started to act up. In good faith I bought a second unit and sent the first unit back for service. Polar replaced the old unit with a new one, which was nice.
The second unit I bought started having issues after 5 months. At first I thought it was the sensor unit, but turns out it was the soft strap. I figured this out by testing the sensor with different straps. Rather than wait another 3 weeks, I went ahead and bought a replacement strap. Two more months went by and the new sensor unit started having issues. The behavior was the same as the first H7 I bought, the sensor stopped sending a signal. I sent the second unit in for service and again it took 2-3 weeks.
Polar didn't replace it, but they did get it working again. 4 months later the replacement unit Polar sent me died and stopped sending a signal. I tested it with new and old soft straps, no luck. This week, the second H7 died.
At this point, I've lost faith in Polar H7 and Polar products in general. I can understand some defect rate with hardware, but all three units died. Based on my experience, that's a 100% failure rate. I use my HRM almost every day and I do sweat alot. The thing is, these issues are fixable with proper design and QA. Earlier this year I got wahoo tickr to replace the first polar H7 that died.
Now that the second H7 died, I'm going to get another tickr instead. The other thing that sucks with Polar is their customer service. First thing is I paid 75.00 for each H7 HRM. Why do I have to pay to ship it to them for service? The right thing is to pay for the shipping. The second thing is the turn around time. It's never taken less than 3 weeks for polar to "service" the sensor.
In contrast, when my Wahoo speed/cadence unit died, they still sent me a replacement when it was beyond the warranty. They didn't have to, but they did. I got the replacement in 2 days and I was back in business. Another example of good service. When my stages power meter battery cover broke, stages sent me replacement covers. Both Wahoo and Stages provide excellent customer service.
Polar is a much bigger company, so they probably forgot what it means to provide good service.
Tuesday, June 17, 2014
Power numbers on Reservoir street climb
Last nite I went and did the Monday Night Ride. Once we got on reservoir, george and I took off. I was for 7:50 on the segment, but I didn't go all out. I pulled for most of it and felt good. I ended up just shy by 3 seconds, which I could have done if I sprinted the last 200 meters. Looking at my times for this year, the power output seems to be in the same range.
The fastest time is from earlier this year on MNR with a couple of guys taking turns pulling. We also had a nice tail wind, which made a big difference. From what the data shows, times faster than 8:30 is consistently over 200 watts for the segment. According to Strava, my best 8:00 min avg power is 266. Last nite's effort was 261 avg for 7:53.
I know the goal is attainable, so it's just a matter of training and a proper warmup.
The fastest time is from earlier this year on MNR with a couple of guys taking turns pulling. We also had a nice tail wind, which made a big difference. From what the data shows, times faster than 8:30 is consistently over 200 watts for the segment. According to Strava, my best 8:00 min avg power is 266. Last nite's effort was 261 avg for 7:53.
I know the goal is attainable, so it's just a matter of training and a proper warmup.
Thursday, May 22, 2014
Looking at Watts and Weighted Avg Power
Now that I've ridden my regular lunch route a couple of times, I decided to look at my data. Here is a chart with the average watts, weighted avg power (WAP) watts, elapsed time in seconds and elapsed time in hr:min:ss.
So far my fastest time is 1:00:50 for an average of 189 watts or a WAP of 216. According to cyclemeter the wind that day was 10mph WSW. The day with the highest avg watts was 194, WAP of 214 and wind of 22mph SW.
If I compare the time for tuesday and wednesday of this week, there's roughly a 2min difference. The wind on tuesday was 22 mph NW, and wed was 5 mph E. The thing that interests me is the relationship between watts and time. Alot of bike manufacturers throw around numbers claiming their new aero bike saves blah watts and gives you a blah second advantage.
In reality, riding in the real world things are constantly changing, so "watt saving" doesn't translate to actual seconds faster. The only sure fire gaurantee for going faster is getting fit, loosing weight and proper training. The data I have so far doesn't prove anything, but it is interesting to see how power varies. As I get more data for my lunch route, I can do more analysis to see the correlation between time and power.
| avg watts | WAP watts | time secs | hr:min:ss | |
| 5/21/2014 | 180 | 198 | 3722 | 1:02:22 |
| 5/20/2014 | 174 | 192 | 3877 | 1:04:37 |
| 5/12/2014 | 189 | 216 | 3650 | 1:00:50 |
| 5/5/2014 | 183 | 214 | 3793 | 1:03:13 |
| 4/11/2014 | 188 | 214 | 3687 | 1:01:27 |
| 4/10/2014 | 194 | 214 | 3703 | 1:01:43 |
| 4/8/2014 | 182 | 204 | 3795 | 1:03:15 |
| 4/6/2014 | 174 | 200 | 3946 | 1:05:46 |
So far my fastest time is 1:00:50 for an average of 189 watts or a WAP of 216. According to cyclemeter the wind that day was 10mph WSW. The day with the highest avg watts was 194, WAP of 214 and wind of 22mph SW.
If I compare the time for tuesday and wednesday of this week, there's roughly a 2min difference. The wind on tuesday was 22 mph NW, and wed was 5 mph E. The thing that interests me is the relationship between watts and time. Alot of bike manufacturers throw around numbers claiming their new aero bike saves blah watts and gives you a blah second advantage.
In reality, riding in the real world things are constantly changing, so "watt saving" doesn't translate to actual seconds faster. The only sure fire gaurantee for going faster is getting fit, loosing weight and proper training. The data I have so far doesn't prove anything, but it is interesting to see how power varies. As I get more data for my lunch route, I can do more analysis to see the correlation between time and power.
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