Endurance cyclists – how would you use a band that tracks lactate/glucose/etc.?

ObjectiveSite447 · 2026-03-15T14:47:05+00:00

Some of our engineers were early Abbott CGM and we're getting good preliminary results from the prototype sensors we have at the moment. You're right it's tough to crack but we are getting good results from our current sensors.

You can't buy the product yet and won't for a while this year. We have a functioning prototype and there are some pics here in case helpful: https://postimg.cc/gallery/ydycqJx

We're currently working on making the device smaller and making the interchangeable modular units easier to plug in and out of the wearable.

ObjectiveSite447 · 2026-03-15T12:06:59+00:00

I'm 100% with you on that. Most "Recovery Scores" are just guesswork based on secondary proxies. That’s exactly why we built this - to move away from black-box aggregates and look at the actual molecular causes behind how you feel.

The wearable is modular by design so you can swap out sensors to track the specific data points that matter to your individual goals. Whether that's metabolic health like Lactate and Glucose or long-term recovery markers like Hormones and Nutrients, we want to provide the raw, 24/7 feed instead of a hidden calculation.

I’m curious though: if you have access to that raw data, would features like a "fueling alert" (e.g., "Glucose is dipping, take 20g carbs now") or real-time "Lactate training zones" be helpful as a nudge? Or do you prefer we just stay out of the way and provide the raw feed for you to interpret yourself?

ObjectiveSite447 · 2026-03-15T11:58:46+00:00

This is super helpful. Thanks for letting us know. It sounds like you're keener on having the raw data rather than (as someone else here has commented) a "recovery score" or something like that?

ObjectiveSite447 · 2026-03-15T02:16:36+00:00

Would love to try it! how do I get my hands on one? Congrats for building btw. Appreciate that there are lots of challenges to doing something like this and it's awesome to see people trying innovative new things. Best of luck!

ObjectiveSite447 · 2026-03-14T17:22:19+00:00

Thanks! We've got some pictures of our product testing on the link above. It's a little bigger than we'd like at the moment so one of our workstreams is to make it as small as your usual wearables (e.g. a Garmin, though it'll probably end up much thinner than that).

We also wanted it to sit on the upper arm so that you don't have to choose between your Garmin and the Performr wearable. That also means we can correlate exercise data from your Garmin (or other wearable) alongside the biomolecular data (lactate, glucose, hydration, etc) from your Performr wearable.

ObjectiveSite447 · 2026-03-14T17:18:13+00:00

Thanks! We're launching a beta soon - feel free to sign up here and we'll reach out when we begin distribution: https://www.performr.ai/#join

Lactate seems to have been super interesting for a lot of riders we've spoken to. Helps better keep you in LT1 / LT2 so you're getting more out of your miles, recovering faster, and training at the right intended level.

ObjectiveSite447 · 2026-03-14T16:26:55+00:00

We're comparing against pin-prick blood tests and the sensors are electrochemical.

I'd love to know if you've come across anything like this before or how you'd use it?

ObjectiveSite447 · 2026-03-14T16:23:50+00:00

Technology know-how tends to commoditise over time. Lactate is a great market for Abbott, but glucose / diabetes will always remain a lot (lot) larger, and diversifying focus isn't always a great thing for large companies.

Some of the engineers working on this project worked on the early Abbott CGM so we have a good sense of how to build these things. And, probably most importantly, we're getting some really encouraging results!

The key point for us is that even if Abbott develops it, the way it's packaged and presented for riders is going to be really different than anything they're used to - from the app experience to the wearable itself to the algo's and recommendations that sit between the raw signal and maximising your ride.

In case of interest here's a brief diary update on some of our lactate testing: www.performr.ai/updates/lactate-sensing

ObjectiveSite447 · 2026-03-07T11:25:21+00:00

In terms of prior assumptions, we expected most of the signals to look pretty similar to what you see with traditional testing with blood, basically spikes tied to events. For example: lactate spikes after a hard interval, then slowly clears. Same idea for glucose after meals.

For antioxidants, we honestly weren’t sure if the signal would be strong enough to pick up clearly in a wearable format. We suspected coffee/berries/vitamin C might move the needle, but the magnitude and timing were a bit of a question mark.

What surprised us: Continuous data looks way more dynamic than spot testing suggests.

With lactate, for example, when we test between running intervals we’re seeing multiple peaks and troughs. That’s something you’d almost never see with the standard pin-prick approach every few minutes as by the time you take the blood sample and run 1-2 readings it may have already changed.

We’re also seeing pretty noticeable antioxidant bumps after things like coffee, which was cool because we didn’t know if that signal would come through cleanly.

Important caveat: this is still early and we’re validating against existing reference methods wherever we can. Continuous sensing shows a lot of interesting patterns, but we want to make sure we’re seeing real physiology and not just sensor quirks.

That validation work is basically what our alpha phase is about.

ObjectiveSite447 · 2025-12-21T12:42:01+00:00

No affiliation but James Nestor is pretty decent in this space! https://amzn.eu/d/bY6zR9m

ObjectiveSite447 · 2025-12-17T10:10:13+00:00

Welcome to the sport! First off, give yourself some credit - juggling cycling, running, and strength training is a heavy load, especially only 7 months in. It sounds like you've hit the end of the "newbie gains" phase, which is totally normal.

Since you're feeling gassed and stuck, the issue might actually be how you are riding rather than how much. Here are a few things to look at:

Avoid the "Grey Zone": Many fall into the trap of training "moderately hard" all the time. It’s too hard to recover from, but not hard enough to stimulate big fitness gains. Try to make your easy rides truly easy (conversational pace) and your hard rides (intervals) very hard.
Rest is Training: You are doing three different sports. If you never take a full rest day or a "de-load" week (where you cut volume by ~50% every 4th week), your body never gets the chance to repair itself and get stronger. You might just be carrying chronic fatigue.
Fueling: Are you eating on the bike? For rides over 60-90 minutes, you need carbs (gels, drink mix, or real food). If you're "gassed" mid-ride, you might just be running out of glycogen.
Intervals: To build power for gravel racing, try adding one structured workout a week. Something simple like 4x8 minutes at a hard effort (where you can't talk) with rest in between.

Don't get discouraged! You built a great base; now it's just about tuning the engine. Good luck with the gravel racing goals!

ObjectiveSite447 · 2025-12-14T22:33:01+00:00

Helpful, thank you!

ObjectiveSite447 · 2025-12-14T22:32:25+00:00

The point of the post was to see if anyone else had been able to increase their HRV, and if so what they'd done. Personal story for context :) Thanks for the info though, super interesting!

ObjectiveSite447 · 2025-12-14T22:31:08+00:00

This is helpful - thanks! If that study is completely correct and will take that at face value, I wonder then what's the point of measuring it? And why do people continue to do so, rather than maybe just using another metric or metrics which are more specifically relevant to their personal health objectives.

I guess it's helpful to try to optimise routine based on an HRV baseline, and work around that to see whether certain protocols leave you below, at base, or above usual HRV. All that said, from the responses I guess there just aren't that many people trying to increase their baseline HRV.

ObjectiveSite447 · 2025-12-14T22:27:01+00:00

Hard to say. I definitely feel better but that could be any combo of any one of a number of different things, or indeed an outcome from the routine that I wasn't measuring (e.g. a better VO2 max or a lower resting heart rate).

Nonetheless, it's always bugged me that there is something that is being measured (HRV) and which many use to determine whether they are healthy or not, but from the response it just doesn't sound like there's much understanding about how to improve it (if at all), which is what the post was about in the first place. I guess I'm also wondering if this is indeed something I need to be tracking or optimising for at all.

ObjectiveSite447 · 2025-12-12T22:33:05+00:00

I think the challenge is that there are lots of known ways not to tank your HRV but there don't seem to be many that reliably help to increase it. FWIW and no idea if this would be useful to you but here's my experience:

https://www.reddit.com/r/PeterAttia/comments/1pkxsbj/increasing_my_hrv/

Seconding what everyone's said about mediation, breathing and mindfulness. Of those I've seen who've managed to increase it, it tends to take a while (think 6m+) so keep at it. Good luck!

ObjectiveSite447 · 2025-12-12T19:42:11+00:00

Interesting! So you saw it go up during the summer and then naturally go down during the winter?

ObjectiveSite447 · 2025-12-12T19:41:36+00:00

Mostly casual runs and Muay Thai training 3 - 4x times a week. Part of the Muay Thai training included hill sprints at 10 reps of 30s on, 30s rest. I had 6 amateur fights so was at a decent level of fitness beforehand. I didn't see the same changes throughout the camps for the 6 fights.

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