Power Vs weight - shall I stick to running or swap?
Discussion
1. Your power output is already really good,
2. Running is great training for cycling, especially longer distances that increase your aerobic ability
3. It is your build that is the limiting factor. Your power to weight is excellent making you a natural climber, where you lose out, as you have found, is on the flat where heavier riders of equal fitness will be faster as they are producing more watts.
4. You are already pretty fit so any further fitness gains will require a huge commitment
Enjoy the climbs and draft as much as you can on the flats,
Unless you intend competing in races I suggest just keep doing what you are doing, enjoy your running, enjoy your cycling and don't get sucked into the obsession with power meters and the like, it becomes too much of a focus for an awful lot of recreational riders in my opinion, fine if you aim to be a Cat 1 racer!
2. Running is great training for cycling, especially longer distances that increase your aerobic ability
3. It is your build that is the limiting factor. Your power to weight is excellent making you a natural climber, where you lose out, as you have found, is on the flat where heavier riders of equal fitness will be faster as they are producing more watts.
4. You are already pretty fit so any further fitness gains will require a huge commitment
Enjoy the climbs and draft as much as you can on the flats,
Unless you intend competing in races I suggest just keep doing what you are doing, enjoy your running, enjoy your cycling and don't get sucked into the obsession with power meters and the like, it becomes too much of a focus for an awful lot of recreational riders in my opinion, fine if you aim to be a Cat 1 racer!
Edited by Mr Ted on Monday 20th May 18:48
You could do some intervals on your commutes, if you have a Garmin you can program different routines. My commute is quite rural so I don't need to worry about traffic lights or other possible problems and distractions.
Be aware that at some you can over do it, training doesn't work well if you don't have recovery time built in.
Be aware that at some you can over do it, training doesn't work well if you don't have recovery time built in.
I‘m a couple of kg heavier than you, and I can maintain 250-270w for an hour. Probably 220 for 5 hours. I’m also good on hills and mediocre on the flat! Being more aero than the big riders closes the gap, and that is mostly the rider, not the bike.
Don’t trust estimated power figures, especially if you are riding in a group.
Anyway, I run and cycle. By run I mean a couple of times a week ... and maybe 3 bike rides too.
I advise you to keep up the running, for general fitness. I think it doesn’t help cycling performance, because my recovery from runs is annoyingly slow.
I stopped running for three years and focused on cycling. When I then returned to running I was shocked at how weak I was. Never again, for me at least.
Don’t trust estimated power figures, especially if you are riding in a group.
Anyway, I run and cycle. By run I mean a couple of times a week ... and maybe 3 bike rides too.
I advise you to keep up the running, for general fitness. I think it doesn’t help cycling performance, because my recovery from runs is annoyingly slow.
I stopped running for three years and focused on cycling. When I then returned to running I was shocked at how weak I was. Never again, for me at least.
"I don't have a power meter"
Everything posted above in this thread will be garbage, including any things you've drawn from average speed in a mass start event - harsh perhaps, but that is the truth. Along with the running being any good for cycling, wrong, and that you're already really fit, probably also wrong. But it does depend whether you care, I agree that if you're not aiming to race, or haven't done and are stuck with that kind of mentality (like me) then don't worry about it.
Basic logic dictates that small people generally produce less power than big ones. Outliers are the big people that lose a lot of weight, the thin ones that are blessed with a large enough engine to just about keep up on the flat stuff and destroy people on hills. Loads of stuff in the middle exists of course, people that sprint well, people that have a great 1 minute vs 20 min etc but the above be the general rules of thumb IMO, and until you have actual power readings, nothing of use can be said.
Everything posted above in this thread will be garbage, including any things you've drawn from average speed in a mass start event - harsh perhaps, but that is the truth. Along with the running being any good for cycling, wrong, and that you're already really fit, probably also wrong. But it does depend whether you care, I agree that if you're not aiming to race, or haven't done and are stuck with that kind of mentality (like me) then don't worry about it.
Basic logic dictates that small people generally produce less power than big ones. Outliers are the big people that lose a lot of weight, the thin ones that are blessed with a large enough engine to just about keep up on the flat stuff and destroy people on hills. Loads of stuff in the middle exists of course, people that sprint well, people that have a great 1 minute vs 20 min etc but the above be the general rules of thumb IMO, and until you have actual power readings, nothing of use can be said.
Edited by okgo on Tuesday 21st May 10:50
I really only use my power meters to help me with fuelling and pacing, particularly on longer rides. It’s nice to have actual numbers to work with, so that I can judge my efforts, and have personal reference points. I really wouldn’t get too bent out of shape about what those figures are, or what average speeds they equate to. There are so many variables that it’s like nailing jelly to a wall. For example I know that if I am doing a particular route, on a particular rig, in particular conditions, I need to keep my weighted average power in a certain range, and eat and drink a certain amount, according to a certain schedule, or I’m running the risk of the ride becoming more of a chew than it needs to be. What that output relates to in terms of speeds / times doesn’t concern me, as there are so many other variables at play.
anonymous said:
[redacted]
On the face of it sub 5h for 100m is pretty good. But less so if you were sitting in all the time and enjoying the draft. Strava will most likely assume you had your nose in the wind for the entire route, so ignore the power estimate. There's always room for improvement. The question is "to what end?". What are you trying to achieve?
Given that you're relatively small and light it is not surprising that you're happy on climbs and have trouble on the flat when the pace goes up. There is certainly a load of stuff you could do to increase leg strength and endurance, but again - to what end?
Kawasicki said:
I‘m a couple of kg heavier than you, and I can maintain 250-270w for an hour. Probably 220 for 5 hours. I’m also good on hills and mediocre on the flat! Being more aero than the big riders closes the gap, and that is mostly the rider, not the bike.
Don’t trust estimated power figures, especially if you are riding in a group.
Anyway, I run and cycle. By run I mean a couple of times a week ... and maybe 3 bike rides too.
I advise you to keep up the running, for general fitness. I think it doesn’t help cycling performance, because my recovery from runs is annoyingly slow.
I stopped running for three years and focused on cycling. When I then returned to running I was shocked at how weak I was. Never again, for me at least.
I'm 6 foot and 79 kg, so another step (or two!) away from you guys. I also try to run twice a week and ride 2-3 times. I really struggle with recovery, but I think running means the cardio side of cycling is ok; it's my legs that fade quickly when on the bike. Although on Sunday when I did a 100km ride, my back gave out after around 70 km and getting comfortable all the way home was near impossible. Don’t trust estimated power figures, especially if you are riding in a group.
Anyway, I run and cycle. By run I mean a couple of times a week ... and maybe 3 bike rides too.
I advise you to keep up the running, for general fitness. I think it doesn’t help cycling performance, because my recovery from runs is annoyingly slow.
I stopped running for three years and focused on cycling. When I then returned to running I was shocked at how weak I was. Never again, for me at least.
My running pace is around 10 minutes a mile, I am happy with that, if it means I can go for about an hour and climb 2-300 metres. There's a running event in July locally that is 6 miles and will have that amount of climbing that I would like to go well at, so I am progressing towards that. I try and get a longer ride in at the weekends, and some intervals in the week but my legs are still sore from Sunday's ride. At 54 it seems to take a while to get over a big effort, but if I am honest I have been like that for 20 odd years.
anonymous said:
[redacted]
I wouldn't put too much into what Strava tells you. The power figures are generally b
ks. If you are really interested in your numbers and improving them then get a PM. But the question should be what are your goals? Do you want to become a really good cyclist? Or are you just doing both for fun?anonymous said:
[redacted]
Let me rephrase. How attached to running are you? You are very light and that's a benefit, in fact your half the weight of me. That's why you fly up hills. >20mph over 100m is a strong effort. If you want to push yourself in cycling then yeah, fk off the running for a bit. There are plans and sessions on the British cycling website. By a power meter, pick a place, pick a race and fking go for it. You must be putting out decent watts to tun that time in the Velo so your power to weight is already pretty tasty. Sure the same applies in running, but cyclists are cooler than runners. I'm a triathlete, I am bottom of the cool pile.JPJPJP said:
anonymous said:
[redacted]
Depending on the course and the group you were riding with, I would say a 4h52m 100m ride is better cycling than 8 minute miles running...So cycling at 20mph requires a bit less power than running at 8min/mile.
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