P&G on a bycicle?

[HyperMileQC]

The results are in! : Post #2

[Piwoslaw]

Originally Posted by HyperMileQC

But remember that my computer records calories even if I am coasting, and that when I did my P&G (B) tests, I removed my computer when coasting. When doing the steady speed (A) tests, I tried to not coast, and maintain a 19.7 AVG Speed. So READER SKEPTISISM IS AVDICED.

If you removed the computer when coasting, then how did keep track of speed, average speed, distance, etc.? Did you have a second computer for those tasks?

[HyperMileQC]

Originally Posted by Piwoslaw

If you removed the computer when coasting, then how did keep track of speed, average speed, distance, etc.? Did you have a second computer for those tasks?

I have used the same 2.5 kilometers (1.55 miles) route for all the tests so I did not take into account the distance recorded by my computer. For the AVG Speed I calculated it with my watch timer and the distance (2.5 Km).

For the speed, I removed the computer when reaching 30 Km/h then I reinstalled the computer when I was around ~10 Km/h (estimated the speed, but was always good.)

[Vman455]

Originally Posted by bikin' Ed

Do you want to measure P&G by heart rate? You could get a monitor with current and average BPM.

The problem I see with this is the fact that heart rate does not respond immediately to increased work, and takes a while to come back down after the workload is decreased.

To the OP, calorie meters on cheap bike computers are based solely on speed and do not take into account basal metabolic rate, wind speeds, terrain, rider mass, etc. You might be able to make some sort of general comparison between two runs, but to do a really accurate test of this kind I think you'll need to start with a power meter.

At the ends of long rides, I find myself naturally trying to coast more. But I can't say if this is physiological or just psychological.

[bdesj]

A valiant effort, HMQC. You earned a donut (or better yet, a dozen!) for the attempt, but the odds are stacked aginst anybody trying to get energy useage data from a bicycle without expensive equipment.

As an example, last year I tried to document the differences caused by one very simple variable. I just wanted to see how much difference there was between my commute time with "Tires A" and Tires B". But soooo many other uncontrolleable variables popped up that after 6 weeks of alternating tires every week I couldn`t distinguish the difference I was looking for from the daily variations caused by wind, clothes, energy level, etc.

[SoobieOut]

Great thread. I know they make a device that measures watts of power at the crank or drive wheel. Pro bikers use this to measure performance.

Cycling power meter - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

I used to do endurance cycling events 200 miles in a days. And I noticed that body position is more important than anything else. Even experimented with sitting upright and twisting my body to align with wind direction. This helped greatly on coasting further.

Good luck with your testing.