Originally Posted by
merlinextraligh
1) most everything in training with power flows from FTP. if your not testing it, and basing training from there, you're just scratching the surface of training with power. Read Training and Racing with power by Coggan and Allen.
2) the suggestion that position on the bike is more important than watts ( in the context of climbing, and this a thread about climbing) is absurd. Sustained climbing is almost entirely about w/kg.
1. I could extrapolate my 20 minute and 40 minute by applying a formula (as many recommend) to determine my FTP. Strava and Zwift have done that for me. Plus I have gone all out for an hour on my rollers(with magnetic resistance) so my FTP is not totally unknown to me.
2. Yes, this thread is about climbing and FTP and so I should have qualified my example by stating "on a flat road". No where in my statement did I state that position on the bike is more important than power out.
3. As a heavier rider (192 lbs) no one is more aware of watts/kg than me
. 6+% appears to be the gradient where this really kicks in for me, this is when the smaller riders smile as they pass me on the climbs.