LesterOfPuppets

Dang. I've been considering 9sp Ultegra barends, since I have a few wheels with 9sp cassettes on.

UnfilteredDregs

True...when done right they can be tasteful classics... Gimme an Impala or a 'cuda.

UnfilteredDregs

Yeah, there's some **** going on with Shimano 10 & 11 spd...I think it has to do with routing at the bars though. I say they're very friction sensitive. Maybe that's why they equip with the lubed cables stock...

rjones28 

I had AOL dial up until 2002.

rjones28 

5800 is very nice.

rjones28 

But, I'm still thinking of replacing it with Campy.

BillyD

UnfilteredDregs

Would be pretty nice if you weren't so damned egotistical.

Trsnrtr

Told this before:

How do you clear a disco?

Announce there's a Trans Am in the parking lot with its lights on.

Trsnrtr

Get Microshift bar ends. They're bulletproof.

Trsnrtr

Of course. You're an individual with style.

Mumonkan

do it! campy so good!

Bah Humbug

I briefly drove a black IROC. True story.

BillyD

That's not ego, that's deterrence, to deter theft.

LAJ

That's what we're talkin' about. Nice, @BillyD!

rjones28 

I'm going to attempt an 11 speed mashup on the CX bike. After the Allez gets it's Record upgrade, I'll move the Veloce FD and RD over and add some Athena levers. Based on my research, this should all work fine with the Shimano 11 speed cassette on the current rear wheel.

Mumonkan

from what ive read all 11sp except one kind of mtb RD is compatible so you should be good to go

with my trek im gonna keep my 10 veloce shifters and replace the drivetrain with sram 10sp which i know works, but the aforementioned cobwebs can tell you how much interest i have in that bike at present, lol.

campy shifting is my favorite style, and the hood ergos rock my world

WalksOn2Wheels

Let us know how it goes when you get around to it. When I had Campy on the Bianchi, I had one of those converted Shimano cassettes. I love Campy, but the prices on their cassettes are mind blowing.

Trsnrtr

It will work. I interchange 11 speed Campy and Shimano wheels/cassettes.

Heathpack 

Nice bird, @BillyD.

FTP is functional threshold power. It is a number you use to set training targets, similar to lactate threshold heart rate. It is defined as the maximal ave power you can sustain for 1 hour. You figure out what it is by ideally riding a maximum effort for 1 hour. Most people don't bother to do that, so there are various forumlae for calculating it from shorter effort- like 8 min, 20 min, or 40 min.

Many people who train see FTP as a gospel type of number but there are some drawbacks to the concept.

For example, it assumes that every one of us has the same exact power decline over time, that there is do difference between (say) the physiology of someone who gravitates towards Ironman type efforts and a track sprinter.

FTP is also dependent on a number of factors- heat, degree of rest/fatigue, experience with riding tests, position on the bike (which in turn affects muscles engaged and the ability to expand lungs), terrain, indoors vs outdoors, mental state, etc.

Some people (like me) ride a lot of efforts that are similar to FTP tests, so you can also just have a pretty good idea of the number by keeping an eye on your data. Often that is close enough, because the testing is a little bit of a loose things as is the entire concept.

Trsnrtr

Good explanation, Heathpack. You're right on.

My tri-friends make fun of my low FTP and then struggle to keep up with me on group rides and windy roads that require high power in short bursts. I, likewise, have struggled to keep up with them when we've let them float off the front for too far before the chase ensues.

Also, I surmise that heat build-up in stockier large muscle-types (me) is why I can generate a higher FTP on the road than on a trainer no matter how many fans I use.

At my age, I prefer FTP indoors and LTHR on the road combined with cadence. By using HR and cadence, I can monitor stress over time and prevent over-tiring myself which is a goal of mine so that I can enjoy daily riding as a life-long passion instead of specific events.

In other words, I want to improve or maintain over the Winter and spend the next 7+ months enjoying the Nirvana inducing spinning of the cranks.

WalksOn2Wheels

I think this is the weird part for me. I got a hold of the shop and they do indeed have a Wahoo Kickr I can do an FTP test on, but I kind of wonder how the heck I'm supposed to pace myself. I guess I could go off of my HR, roughly knowing my LTHR, but I would still wonder if I had gone hard enough. If I am supposed to go all out for 20 minutes, does that mean I should be nearly passed out or what?

Bah Humbug

"Nearly passed out" is perfect for the theory. For me, the final five minutes should be excruciating and I should legitimately feel like I couldn't have done more power during the test.

Mumonkan

imagine you had to keep going for a full hour, as hard as you can maintain without backing off

you will want to die by the end, hang in there.

Heathpack 

It definitely takes some practice to get it right. I happen to have a physiology that lends itself to long-sustained efforts without decrement in power. When I rode my first test with my coach, I also had a few months of power data. So he suggested that I start at X power, see how I felt after 5 minutes and then slowly increase from there. I rode a pretty good test (it was 40 min test) on my first try. But I went into it with a little more information than you have.

A test is basically the same kind of effort as a TT. If you do it right, your HR will be maxed out within approx 2 min, it will be right at your LTHR.

Ridining a test indoors on a trainer is going to mean two things: you will be prone to overheating because you don't have the cooling effect of moving through the air. This will cause your blood vessels to dilate and you will shunt blood to your skin for cooling purposes. This increases your heart rate and decreases your power. You also consume the oxygen in your immediate vicinity and will over time be more hypoxic than you'd otherwise be and your effort will seem way harder. The end result is that for most people, power output is lower on a trainer.

You can mitigate these effects somewhat by way increasing airflow- ie a really strong fan and a source of fresh air and the coolest temp possible. Even so, your power will probably be down over the road by 3-10%.

As far as pacing goes, start easier than you think you can sustain for 20 minutes. See how you feel after 5 minutes. If you're struggling, just try to maintain that. If you've got a little more in you, just try to increase by 2-3 watts every 3-5 minutes. You should feel pretty wiped at the end and vaguely nauseated.

Go into your test rested. Light riding for maybe 3 days before. Ideally the 2nd day before the test off and the day before the test an easy 1 hour ride punctuated by a few 2-5 minute strong efforts. It's really up to you how "right" you do the test, how worth it it is to miss a few rides. But for sure don't do it within a few days of a really challenging ride.

Ride a really through warm up (I'd do 40 minutes) and a good spinning cool down (10-15 min). Drink a protein-carb recovery drink during your cool down.

Dont sweat it if you get it wrong, you will get better at the tests over time.