Bethany

I get most apps are pretty basic and results vary depending on which on you use. I figured I'd try out Strava and see if I liked it. I do like it, but have to ask about how watts/power work. Obviously without a real power meter results will be skewed or wildly inaccurate. What is a normal power reading for a basic rider? For example, one of my "power" spikes reads at 1186 although Strava says my average power is 117. Is this how hard I push on the pedals to move the bike?

I'm not about to go spend a huge amount of money on a power meter. I don't plan on racing or anything fancy. Just find the stats interesting even if they are most likely beyond skewed.

Since I don't have anyone that rides the same road, there isn't any competition or whatever else Strava does for people. I usually use "My Tracks" or another app that I can't spell. LOL.

chasm54

Strava power readings are inconsistent and potentially misleading. They have to rely on algorithms that cannot take account of road conditions, so it isnt surprising that they throw up weird results. Their average figures may be more or less in the ballpark, but pay no attention to outliers.

As for "normal power for a basic rider" there is no real answer to that. Yes, it is, in a sense, how hard you push on the pedals to move the bike. You can google for the definition of what a watt is, if you like. But to give you sense of scale, the top track cyclists in the world will be able to generate 2100 watts for a few seconds at a time. The guys winning the Tour de France will climb mountains at around 500 watts, and they can sustain that power output for maybe a half hour at a time.

The important thing is power to weight ratio. Big heavy guys like me might put out quite a number of watts, but because we have a lot of weight to shift we'll still be slow. So for competitive cyclists the important thing is watts per kilogram, described as the number of watts per kilo of bodyweight that they can sustain for an hour. The very, very best might have 6 w/kg. I have slightly less than 3w/kg. That's good enough for entry-level racing, but i'm not going to win much...

Sorry, that's probably far more information than you wanted. But it isnt a simple subject.

TrojanHorse

It's also highly dependent on what strava thinks the incline of the road is, which is frequently wrong on a micro scale. If you look at 5 min. or 10 min. results you will probably get reasonable estimates.

It's also highly dependent on what you put in as your weight.

Bethany

Thanks for the answers. Makes perfect sense especially the weight to power ratio with those of us clydes/athenas. I just know I'm slow trying to haul myself up a hill..LOL. Makes for interesting physics when you start putting all the numbers/variables required to get what you want from yourself and the bike.

mkadam68

+1

Just for kicks, here's a chart for estimated power/weight ratios put out by Andy Coggan, well respected cycling power researcher & author. However, it probably is inaccurate, and in racing tactics, mental accumen & ability to suffer play (probably) more important roles than just plain power. Also, you can't use this with Strava because of Strava's inaccuracy.

vesteroid

I would use it over time to see if I was increasing....I wouldn't consider it accurate, or worry about comparing mine to others.