Today climbed Seymour Mountain in 44 minutes and 25 seconds. The route is 12.2 kilometers long with a 7.5% elevation gain. My weight was 53.1 kg in the morning, but with clothes, water, fuel, and shoes, I estimate my riding weight was about 54.5 kg.
During the climb, my Assioma power meter showed an average of 284 watts. I noticed the Queen of the Mountain (QOM) time for the segment is 39 minutes and 59 seconds, held by Nadia Gontova, who weighs the same as me and averaged 281 watts for her climb
However, Nadia was riding Duo and a lightweight high end carbon bike with an aerodynamic suit and HED carbon wheels. (seen from her strava), while I was on a exactly 12 kg (weighted) Trek domane aluminum gravel/road bike. There’s a time difference of 4 minutes and 25 seconds between us at basically same W/kg. Could this be due to the disparity in equipment quality, or is there another factor to consider? Will I be as fast as her if I spent tens of thousands of dollars on high-end equipment? Any insights would be helpful.
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34
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Cycling lol
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buy an expensive bike and test it.
(or do some racing on zwift and get sponsored)
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I’d guess so. I rode with less fit people who dropped me all the time when I used a casual bike.
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4-5 kg weight difference (6-8%) giving a 10% time difference seems in the realm of possibility.
Is it consistently 7.5%, were there extended flattered sections where you averaged over 24 km/hr?
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2600 bro wrote:
4-5 kg weight difference (6-8%) giving a 10% time difference seems in the realm of possibility.
Is it consistently 7.5%, were there extended flattered sections where you averaged over 24 km/hr?
It was consistent climb here is elevation profile:
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She is probably more aero and has better tires (rolling resistance) than you do.
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Was your power output consistent?
Regardless:
Bike weight, tires, drivetrain friction, aero effects can explain a lot!
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I tried to keep it consistent by looking at my watch but obviously it’s not as smooth as riding indoor erg mode. Power graph:
I thought it was normal for outdoor power to be very spiky tho. Also everytime I shift gear the power drops by a lot and it goes back up. Is that normal? Or is it because I’m riding a 8speed Claris groupset?
This post was edited 2 minutes after it was posted.00 -
Justin_Y wrote:
I tried to keep it consistent by looking at my watch but obviously it’s not as smooth as riding indoor erg mode. Power graph:I thought it was normal for outdoor power to be very spiky tho. Also everytime I shift gear the power drops by a lot and it goes back up. Is that normal? Or is it because I’m riding a 8speed Claris groupset?
It’s not like you were dying at the end of the effort.
Yes your bike is holding you back in absolute terms. But you can still train very effectively.
8 speed Claris is perfectly fine! Just heavy!
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Gp4000 wrote:
She is probably more aero and has better tires (rolling resistance) than you do.
Yes, besides weight and aero, rolling resistance is likely a huge difference between you and her. For example, the site below has a list of test results for watts used per tire. Double it since you have two tires. The lowest is 5.6 watts per tire (11.2 watts total). The slower tires that they tested are over 20 watts per tire. So you could be losing 30+ watts more than her just heating up your slower tires more (rolling resistance loss going into heat).
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Online calculators put you at 43min based on the data you've given, though variations in gradient (vs a steady 7.5%) will slow you down, as will inconsistent power delivery. Numbers look right to me.
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randomcoach wrote:
Online calculators put you at 43min based on the data you've given, though variations in gradient (vs a steady 7.5%) will slow you down, as will inconsistent power delivery. Numbers look right to me.
Yep when a professional cyclist barely managed to break 40 minutes drafting behind a dude on a $20,000 bike in an aero suit, I think OP’s time being 10% slower on her gravel bike is quite accurate.
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In the order I think it would matter:
1) weather or wind affected differences in conditions for attempt
2) your power meter was reading high or hers lower, relatively speaking
3) aerodynamic setup
4) non aerodynamic loss (drivetrain loss, rolling resistance differences in tires)
5) bike weight
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Yes, equipment matters, but probably not to the extent of 4+ minutes. Cda/bike handling/fitness/weather/power meter accuracy all factor in. Want to get faster? Bike more. You can carve out some aero gains but fitness is still fitness.
This post was edited 51 seconds after it was posted.20 -
Justin_Y wrote:
Today climbed Seymour Mountain in 44 minutes and 25 seconds. The route is 12.2 kilometers long with a 7.5% elevation gain. My weight was 53.1 kg in the morning, but with clothes, water, fuel, and shoes, I estimate my riding weight was about 54.5 kg.
During the climb, my Assioma power meter showed an average of 284 watts. I noticed the Queen of the Mountain (QOM) time for the segment is 39 minutes and 59 seconds, held by Nadia Gontova, who weighs the same as me and averaged 281 watts for her climb
However, Nadia was riding Duo and a lightweight high end carbon bike with an aerodynamic suit and HED carbon wheels. (seen from her strava), while I was on a exactly 12 kg (weighted) Trek domane aluminum gravel/road bike. There’s a time difference of 4 minutes and 25 seconds between us at basically same W/kg. Could this be due to the disparity in equipment quality, or is there another factor to consider? Will I be as fast as her if I spent tens of thousands of dollars on high-end equipment? Any insights would be helpful.Adding on to what others have said, W/kg is very important, but it's not literally everything. With every other factor likely leaning massively in her favor (bike weight, aerodynamics, pedalling smoothness, pacing, drafting(?), conditions(?)), it's not at all surprising that she'd open up that big of a gap.
This said, if you're able to push 284W for 44 minutes at 53kg (5.3 W/kg), you're a very talented cyclist (even as a man). I assume you train a lot or otherwise know some serious cyclists? If you're not a serious cyclist yourself, you should become one. If you are, ask your cycling friends, not us.
If you're NOT a serious cyclist, or say an extremely talented athlete in another sport, then maybe your power meter is messed up.
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Keep us updated when you get a $5500 bike and try again
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oh I so hate seeing f**king biking sh*t posted here. keep it off the forums my guy.
miserable to read this bullsh*t
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Shoes and all wrote:
I’d guess so. I rode with less fit people who dropped me all the time when I used a casual bike.
Keep telling yourself that
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It’s cycling not biking
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