Ok the point is that 30kph is very fast so your power is way over estimated. If you are not pushing like you did when you were 20 years old max effort for 20 minutes, you should find a curve that puts you close to 15kph. It’s hard to say all this, maybe you were a world tour cyclist when you were younger. I don’t know your current skill level. But just using averages you should find something that is about 75watts or 15kph or so to get you closer to where you should be. This way we can help you understand the numbers better.
After selecting this one, I failed to restart the app so my measurements were still based on the previous selection.
This morning, when I rode, it loaded the Magneto curve and gave slightly more plausible results. Cadence was the same but speed and distance were slightly less which is puzzling since I did not change gear ratio. Watts was also less.
@Alex Do you have some idea why it now measures 1 km less for the same cadence and time?
WRT the generous power calc, I theorize that the MAG power curve profile assumes a higher resistance than the magnet alone. Instructions say the knob that applies force against the tire be tightened two full turns beyond initial contact but that wears unevenly on the tire, so I only tighten it so it doesn’t squeak.
I’ve been gradually increasing the force (1/4 turn) against the tire when I could exceed 30 RPM. Now that I got my HRM, I have one more metric. What BPM should I target for a 72 year old?
You could either try a range of different bpms, say 90, 95, 100, 105, 110, 115, 120 and see how it feels at those levels.
Or you could ride as you have been and check what HR that gives you. Using that number / range as a reference point, try riding at 5bpm below and 5 bpm above for short periods to get used to how that feels.
It is probably sensible to ride mostly at a level of exertion that enables you to continuously talk, out loud, in full sentences, as you are riding (not that you should, but that you could!).
There may be moments where you need to / want to go a bit harder, but overall this is about aerobic conditioning, and higher exertions should be used sparingly imo.
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Here is the result today. Peak HR reached 135. I wonder if I should keep increasing resistance so I struggle to reach a cadence of 80 or watch my HR?
What are your objectives from these rides / workouts?
128 average HR and 135 peak. How would rate the perceived exertion of that ride on a scale 1 (easy) to 10 (hard). Were you able to talk out loud, in full sentences, throughout?
Personally, I wouldn’t want the resistance so hard that I struggled to reach a cadence of 80. But I generally pedal at 90/92, so 80 would be low for me.
Choose a cadence that is comfortable for you, if that is 80 - that’s fine - and consider if you want to do a few minutes of the workout at, say, 75 or 85. Cadence changes can be useful.
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- Be able to keep up with my wife. At the start of last Summer, she stayed behind me keeping an eye on me. She soon got bored of it and left me in the dust. I recently got my own trainer and offered to set her’s up with her bike but she has not rode all Winter so I might have a chance now.
- A year ago I could barely walk and I still walk like a drunken sailor. I still cannot achieve as high a cadence I once could.
- Not overdo it and die.
The stroke affected my speech so I cannot use it to gauge my level of exertion but I am breathing too heavily none the less.
Breathing too heavily is not, I say, the optimum aim here.
I would aim for a lower HR, say <120 or even 115, and seek to extend beyond 20 minutes. Maybe add 1 minute every other ride until you get to 30 minutes?
Maybe every 5th ride, aim to include just a couple of 1 minute higher efforts - getting up to touch, say, 130 - 135 HR at the end of that effort, then dial it back down.
I wouldn’t worry about cadence. Keep it as fluid as you can and vary the resistance to keep the HR down to those lower levels.
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Exceptional advice.
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Today, I set up her MTB on her Saris Fluid2. She does not use sensors and does not use an app to track so I cannot compare.
Physical exertion - moderate
Mental exertion - hard
I don’t know how people can spend an hour or more on a stationary bike. I count the seconds until it’s over.
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I watch youtube. The time passes quickly enough for me.
I suggested a table to set my laptop on in front of my bike but the wife vetoed it. Meanwhile the wife set her bike up in front of a window overlooking a bird feeder.
When the snow melts, I will set up my trainer in my shop where she has no jurisdiction.
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If indoor is hard, only use it as a consistency tool. If you stay consistent indoors then when you get outdoors you will be way ahead. I suggest making it feel closer to easy. Easy can bring amazing results. If you need to do 15 minutes of easy 5 days a week or even 7, then when you get outdoors things will all fall together. Start with easy and once easy is too easy then add some hard.
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I have been adding a minute every day and am upto 28 minutes so far. When I reach 30 minutes, I will plateau and work on increasing resistance first and cadence second. I’ve increased the resistance slightly twice in order to regulate my cadence closer to 70 while not driving my HR too high.
Soon I will be able to take my MTB on the road.
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Today was the last ride of the season on the indoor trainer. I will be vacating the guest room that was my temporary pain cave. Since TrainerDay does not have an outdoor mode and since I don’t have a cycle computer to interface with TD, I am going to be going low-cech.
My doctors have been adjusting my meds insisting that I need to get my cholesterol levels below what is normal for a healthy person. Initially they had me on statins that did a number on my muscles so I stopped taking it months ago. Now they put me on ezetimibe that does not have as devastating an impact as statins, I am still losing what I have gained in the last few months so I am pausing it. I have been off work for more than a year now and I officially retired this month.
If you have a phone (andriod / apple), do take a look at Cyclemeter
Enjoy the outdoor season!
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