Originally Posted by
Machin
Whilst I totally agree that the critical power of an amateur will be lower than a more experienced rider, in my experience when I have tested my non-cyclist friends their anerobic capacity is also comparably lower, and as a result the relative (i.e. percentage) difference between the mean maximal power output of a 60 minute ride compared to a 56 minute ride is similar for an amateur as someone more experienced. The general rule of thumb for rides of between 20 and 60 minutes is that as duration doubles, mean maximal power drops by about 5%. So the relative power difference for rides of 56 to 60 minutes tends to be much less than 1% whoever you are and whatever your experience.
while this is also only anecdotal "evidence", for myself, I noticed when I was less trained, if I biked at a hard level (near my FTP), I had a lot of trouble sustaining it and had a large drop off of energy and even pain tolerance starting around 20 minutes in. Now, I can sustain efforts above my FTP for longer than that without issues of energy or pain tolerance. This is consistent with what I've seen in other beginners vs experienced athletes. (but it is anecdotal)
Originally Posted by
Machin
... And that is exactly what my program says....so... I'm not sure what your point is? (But I do value your responses which hopefully are making interesting reading for everyone else on here!).
Sorry, I was just bringing it back to the original bike difference, no real point other than that.