WATTS for triathlon

[pantani]

Normally use heart rate for the cycle phase whilst doing triathlon. By using the Isport will I be able to calculate watts needed to keep to an aerobic level by using the fit test.
Cheers Pantani

[coachboyd]

Yes you will.
Frank Overton just did a great article on Velonews about using a 20 minute test top determine threshold power and then create your training zones based on this.
You can read the Velonews article at http://www.velonews.com/article/87556/c ... -new-power

The excel sheet where you can plug in the results of your fitness test to get your training zones is here
http://www.fascatcoaching.com/goopages/ ... 0Zones.xls

Credit for this goes to USACycling certified coach Frank Overton. His website is http://www.fascatcoaching.com

[pantani]

Cheers
Thankyou to coach Boyd for the answer on watts.

[turbomentor]

I haven't seen many triathletes on the forum here, so let me chime in to what Coach Boyd has to say.

The new firmware for the iPro and iAero has some amazing features that will assist triathletes. If you press the Total button a few times, it will display NP (normalized power) IF (intensity factor) and TSS (Training Stress Score). The only other PM that has this info real time is no longer in business, and that makes iBike poised to break into the triathlon community big time.

By using IF during a triathlon, you can manage how hard you are working on the bike in order to have enough gas to manage the run.
For sprint triathlons, your IF should easily be .96-1.00.
For an Olympic distance, your IF should be something like .90-.95
For a half iron distance, your IF should be something like .8-.85
for an iron distance, your IF should be something like .70-,75.

These are approximations for mere mortals. Your mileage may vary of course. But by exceeding your IF on the bike, you are risking not being able to "run" the run...the longer the bike ride, the more important it is to manage IF. This is why many first time ironman athletes fall apart on the run; they blaze the bike and have no energy left for the marathon.

In any case, even if you don't have the iPro/iAero, you can manage a race simply by watching your wattage and staying under a target goal wattage. Frequent testing to determine your max functional power is essential to know how hard to push.

Hope this helps.

[jvandyk]

I was wondering about using the iBike during a triathlon event with specific reference to the pre-ride wind calibration of the unit as the bike sits in transition. So, I rack up my bike in the morning or for bigger events the day before, I do the wind offset and wake-up the wireless sensors in the transition area then head to the start of the swim, complete the swim and then get ready to ride. At this point I assume the computer has shut-off and I will have to wake it up again (since there would be roughly 30min between doing the pre-ride calibration and reutrning to the bike). Will the wind offset need to be re-done at this point to properly read the watts?? Or will the initial wind offset be "stored" in the computer so I can simply ride away?

The reason I ask is because when we do the coast downs and 4 mile ride we are instructed to do a wind offset prior to the coast downs. When I leave my home I do the wind offset first, ride to my location for the coastdowns and then proceed to do another wind offset check before doing the coast downs.

Again, if the initial wind offset is completed in the transition area prior to the swim and I turn the unit on as I transistion to the bike portion will the wind offset be correct?

Is the tilt affected by this as well since the bike may be hung from the saddle??

Thanks for your input.

Jack

[turbomentor]

I was wondering about using the iBike during a triathlon event with specific reference to the pre-ride wind calibration of the unit as the bike sits in transition. So, I rack up my bike in the morning or for bigger events the day before, I do the wind offset and wake-up the wireless sensors in the transition area then head to the start of the swim, complete the swim and then get ready to ride. At this point I assume the computer has shut-off and I will have to wake it up again (since there would be roughly 30min between doing the pre-ride calibration and reutrning to the bike). Will the wind offset need to be re-done at this point to properly read the watts?? Or will the initial wind offset be "stored" in the computer so I can simply ride away?

Do a wind offset when you set up your bike in transition before the swim. When you exit the swim, it takes about 10 secs to wake up the iBike and the speed/cad sensor. You can actually do that while running your bike to the mount line. Get on your bike and off you go. Simple.

The reason I ask is because when we do the coast downs and 4 mile ride we are instructed to do a wind offset prior to the coast downs. When I leave my home I do the wind offset first, ride to my location for the coastdowns and then proceed to do another wind offset check before doing the coast downs
Again, if the initial wind offset is completed in the transition area prior to the swim and I turn the unit on as I transistion to the bike portion will the wind offset be correct?

As I understand it, the iBike stores the most recent wind offset and uses that for your ride. So it's only the most recent wind offset that matters.

Is the tilt affected by this as well since the bike may be hung from the saddle??
Thanks for your input.
Jack

When you set up your profile, you should do a tilt cal then a wind offset, then coast downs then a cal ride.
Once you do that and create your profile, part of your profile that is stored is a value for tilt calibration. Nothing you do short of knocking the mounting unit off the position you had it when it was cal'd will change the tilt. When you rack your bike, the iBike will register a huge tilt, but once you ride, the tilt is going to read true.

[lorduintah]

One minor addition is to set the altitude (same time you do your offset). If there is a big shift in air pressures - somehow - the tilt gets an additional correction,

Tom