I'll be getting a PT SL at the end of next week - thx to everyone for their wheelbuild input (went with DT Swiss RR 1.1 rims, 28 CX-Rays 2x.)
I'm looking for any setup tips, stuff to look out for, etc when starting out. I'll be using CyclingPeaks software. I just did a lactate test and got a winter training plan from UC Davis Sports Med (Max Testa et al) so I'm set in that department, looking more for ways to avoid any technical difficulties others may have had.
One thing I'd love to know is if it is possible to somehow integrate altitude profiles in CyclingPeaks either using the Polar 725 I have or some other altimeter? I find a course profile very useful for knowing where certain events happen in a ride, as well as looking at races I've done then finding similar terrain for training.
Setup tips? Set the recording interval at the shortest (1sec). Set the averaging intervals for power, speed, HR and cadence at the shortest. Put a piece of foam between the receiver and the seat stay to dampen vibration. Install the cadence magnet and set up to get cadence from the crank.
One thing I'd love to know is if it is possible to somehow integrate altitude profiles in CyclingPeaks either using the Polar 725 I have or some other altimeter?
CyclingPeaks will read your Polar files, including the altitude data. Plot it against distance instead of time, and voila! you have the route profile you're hoping to see (assuming, of course, that the altitude data are accurate in the first place).
CyclingPeaks will read your Polar files, including the altitude data. Plot it against distance instead of time, and voila! you have the route profile you're hoping to see (assuming, of course, that the altitude data are accurate in the first place).
Can I get CP to read the Polar file and the PT file for the same ride and combine them? Or would I need to have duplicate files for the same day and flip between the two to get an idea of what happened where, how my power on similar climbs compares, etc. ?
Can I get CP to read the Polar file and the PT file for the same ride and combine them? Or would I need to have duplicate files for the same day and flip between the two to get an idea of what happened where, how my power on similar climbs compares, etc. ?
Unfortunately, CyclingPeaks v. 1.1 lacks the ability to merge files collected from different devices at the same time. So, you can either do as you propose, or manually combine the data in Excel before importing the file into CyclingPeaks.
FWIW, I'm currently testing a powermeter with a built-in altimeter, and I'm finding that while the altitude data are interesting, I haven't really learned anything from them yet. I personally would probably lean towards following the second course of action above, but only for courses (e.g., race routes) where I feel it is important to know the exact profile. Otherwise, it would be too much work.
I'm currently finishing a little application that shuttles between Polar and PT data. I'd like to see the Polar altitude data in CyclingPeaks but also I prefer some of Polar Precision Performance's workout, graphing and calendar functions... so as a result I spend time in both applications.
acoggan said:
and I'm finding that while the altitude data are interesting, I haven't really learned anything from them yet.
Once you get used to having the altitude data it's hard to go without it. I find it really useful for interpreting my rides and/or figuring out where in the ride I am when looking at the data. It's a lot easier to ID data as coming from the time you were inbetween two climbs as compared to determining if that was at 23.5 km or 0:45:32.
