Originally Posted by
Banchad
How comparable are power readings on a static spin bike to a real world situation?
According to one published paper that I read (that I can't cite because I can't find it), power output on spin bikes is comparable to what one can do in the real world.
Of course, it depends on the spin bike and the quality of the power measurement (i.e. is it a crap power meter or not). Also, crazy high "blips" show up even in the best power meters. Back when I first started racing I was good for about 1,500-1,700W. One day I saw "Max Wattage: 2,400W" from my older SRM and was like "Whoooooah!!...." But what had happened was that the power meter got wet during a rainstorm when the bike was on top of the car the day before. Condensation was still in there monkeying with the sensors.
So, you have to take the numbers you get with any power meter with a dose of common sense.