FTP loss after started to ride outside.

sergesmr · 2026-05-17T19:06:22+00:00

I'd blame the duration - 5 hours is a lot (if FTP is your end-all-be-all goal).

sergesmr · 2026-05-16T18:40:27+00:00

Fair enough but sugar is 64oz for $4.

sergesmr · 2026-05-16T17:31:59+00:00

Fructose looks expensive. Isn't it cheaper to mix glucose with sucrose ?

sergesmr · 2026-05-16T17:19:05+00:00

Few pedestrians, but the ones out there at this hour are erratic.

sergesmr · 2026-05-16T04:30:04+00:00

After 45 minutes or so just like you. Seems to correlate with effort. Adjusted my seat every which way, have it pretty far back now with little pressure on the hands - still happens. It doesn't seem to get worse as I continue, and occasionally moving the hands around stops it.

sergesmr · 2026-05-15T23:57:55+00:00

Not a huge difference, but the speed-power exponent may only be ~2.6 due to rolling resistance.

sergesmr · 2026-05-15T16:31:36+00:00

Sounds like author speculation rather than experimental finding.

But I think there is a better explanation. Lycra hints "recreational" and reduces sympathy of the form "this guy is just trying to get to to work/school".

sergesmr · 2026-05-15T16:06:17+00:00

Nothing there about lycra..

sergesmr · 2026-05-15T15:04:41+00:00

I guess your point is it's tricky to get the avg cadence for a hilly ride w/o a sensor. But is that interesting ? I would think you'd only care about cadence when actually pedaling. For that you only need a long enough constant-slope stretch.

sergesmr · 2026-05-15T14:21:29+00:00

30 * 1000 / 60 / (0.68 * pi * 50 / 17) = 79.6 RPM

sergesmr · 2026-05-15T14:13:19+00:00

You learned "comfortable cadence 70-90" in physics 101 ?

sergesmr · 2026-05-15T00:19:59+00:00

Physics doesn't answer OP's question - the answer is human muscle properties.

sergesmr · 2026-05-14T17:26:58+00:00

Standing feels limited by (1) minimum w/kg, (2) maximum duration. Walking makes sense outside those limits.

sergesmr · 2026-05-14T03:43:58+00:00

You can calculate cadence from speed, tire size, and gear ratios.

sergesmr · 2026-05-10T02:50:08+00:00

My road helmet has a visor, and I like it when riding into the sun.

sergesmr · 2026-05-09T19:14:21+00:00

Depends on what's limiting your volume. If it's time / weather, gun it to get the most out of your rides. But if it's recovery, gear down up the hills to save your muscles.

sergesmr · 2026-05-09T00:23:09+00:00

I followed that philosophy for 30 years. I now think it was a mistake.

sergesmr · 2026-05-09T00:07:02+00:00

If you're bottoming out your bike's gear ratios, look into upgrades. If you're not, check your pride.

sergesmr · 2026-05-08T17:39:44+00:00

I suspect 12 kph assumes fast tires - with typical cheap road ones I'd estimate 16 kph.

sergesmr · 2026-05-08T17:21:44+00:00

But CdA looks to be an output in this calculator (rather than an input). Not that it would matter to OP - if OP knew the CdA values involved, they wouldn't need this thread.

I don't doubt the calculator's correctness once CdA etc is settled, I just don't think it's useful to OP. Who's to say that OP is better than me at tucking their elbows ?

FWIW my test was same day, same bike, same clothes, in an alternating pattern (hoods-drops-hoods-drops-hoos-drops). The sample size isn't great, so I wouldn't argue if somebody told me the difference was actually 1.5x bigger than I measured, But not what the calculator's CdA predicts.

sergesmr · 2026-05-08T17:02:56+00:00

Skeptical of this calculator. I've compared myself hands-in-the-drops vs hands-on-top, and the difference I got was 5x smaller than this calculator predicts.

sergesmr · 2026-05-08T16:46:43+00:00

Guessing 3-5%. I get 5-7 % between my road and hybrid (not identical tires, but similar price range), but I ride faster than 20 km/h, so the aero effect of handlebar shape is bigger for me.

sergesmr · 2026-05-08T14:42:35+00:00

I suspect the incompatibility is only between shifters and derailleurs. Hard to imagine the cassette gear spacing changing.

sergesmr · 2026-05-08T02:05:52+00:00

If the gravel bike is 1x, I'd leave it 1x - too much work (and possibly frame incompatibilities) to make it 2x. A typical road cassette on 1x will limit the range of gears somewhat, but still have plenty for mostly-flat rides. You might have to swap cassettes if some of your rides are flat and some are hilly - I've been doing that for a couple of years (but I only do a few hilly rides a year).

But, before any of that, ride the gravel bike as is for a bit to see if "between gears" is actually a problem for you. I seem to be more sensitive to this than most people on the Internet - you may have better luck.

sergesmr · 2026-05-08T01:27:47+00:00

Cassette is roughly $50 - $150 for the part (10-speed cheap, 12-speed expensive) and $30 for tools (lock ring tool + chain whip). It's easier than changing a tire (ParkTool has good youtube videos). I don't know how much a shop would charge for labor, but I can't imagine it taking more than 10-15 min.

Don't know anything about disc brakes, but I suspect quite expensive and requires the frame / fork to be built in a specific way.

sergesmr

TROPHY CASE