LowCel 

Ever since I bought my new bike about three weeks ago I have had problems with the rear wheel on it. It was out of true when I got it and I have already had to replace five spokes in it. Part of that is because I only know enough about trueing a wheel to get me into trouble and part of it is because the wheel is a complete piece of crap.

Anyway, here is the new wheel that will be replacing the Cole Rollen pos that came with the bike. It's nothing special and it certainly isn't light but it should do the job.

tuxbailey

Good looking. No PSIMET?

LowCel 

I got it via employee purchase so I couldn't pass it up.

af2nr

Good to know the new rear wheel came in, when do you plan to break it in? Maybe you could let me "borrow" it some day so I could see how weak I really am. Of course then I may have to purchase my own to see how weak I am more frequently...

LowCel 

I'm going to take it out for a ride tomorrow morning/afternoon. You are welcome to try it out any time you want. Since it is wireless and uses the Garmin it will only take about a minute and a couple of zip ties to put it on your bike.

colombo357

Why so many spokes? Is this going to be used for downhill mountain bike racing or bmx?

LowCel 

There is nothing wrong with a 32 spoked rear wheel. It will be used as an all around wheel, plus I'm fat.

LowCel 

On the bike and ready to go.

valleycyclist

That looks nice. It is almost the same as the rear wheel I'm using (32 silver Sapim Race spokes, SL+ hub, RR465 rim). It should hold up very well. I built mine with cross-3 lacing. It looks like yours is cross-2, and that works very well for the PowerTap due to the large flange diameter. I didn't know CycleOps has prebuilt wheels with RR465 rims. I thought they only come prebuilt with Open Pros.

LowCel 

I actually ordered it with an Open Pro but this is what showed up. I ran an SL laced to an Open Pro for several years and never had any problems. The only reason I sold it was because I was told that my riding days were over. Now that I'm back on the bike it just doesn't feel right not being able to see wattage.

Creatre

Sheesh, wish I had your funding for my bike needs. You are getting all the stuff on my wishlists! Very nice though, hope it works out good for you!

LowCel 

Well I thought I was weak and slow and the powertap has confirmed it. Here is the information from my first two rides using it. The only good thing is knowing that the more time I spend on the bike the less embarassing my numbers will be.

https://connect.garmin.com/activity/44357738

https://connect.garmin.com/activity/44479505

valleycyclist

Thanks for sharing your training information. I looked at the information from the second ride. The calories consumed look incorrect, and it is maybe double what I would guess is the actual calories burned. Is there a way you can get total KiloJoules out of the Garmin instead? To estimate calories consumed from KiloJoules you can multiply it by 1.1. That will be better than the estimated calories from the Garmin since the KiloJoule information comes directly from the power output. Just curious, what is your weight and age? Your cadence got fairly low on the climb and looks low for most of the ride. It looks like the average grade of the hill is less than 6%. What gearing are you using? If you aim for a cadence of around 90 I think you will see your power output go up. (I'm not a coach, but try it and I think you will see improvements. It will also be easier on your knees.)

LowCel 

Thanks, I am just getting back into cycling after four knee surgeries and gaining about 80 pounds. I am currently 241 pounds, down 19 pounds so far (since July 4th). I am an ex cat 3 that now couldn't race cat 7. My gearing is 34/50 with a 12/27. Parts of the climbs that I was doing hit 12-16%, maybe a little more. The Garmin actually shows them around 20% but I think that is a little exagerated.

For what it's worth, my old theshold was 291 watts and my old max was 1269 watts. I was also much lighter back then. I have a very long way to go to get back in shape and I am aware of that. I was actually using a coach back in those days, used one for about three years and it is amazing how much they help and how much knowledge you gain from them.

As for the calories I know they are exagerated but due to my weight I believe they would be more than 1.1 per kj. Total kj's burned that ride (which I felt terrible from the beginning to end) was 844. I should have stayed home on the couch yesterday instead of being on the bike.

I'm not sure if I mentioned but this is my second powertap. I sold my first one after my surgeon told me that my riding days were over.

brian416

His average power on those rides is lower because of so much coasting. You can display Kj on the Garmin computer, but when you upload the data, GC ignores this and uses a guess for calories burned

valleycyclist

I think you made the correct choice by riding and not staying home. It will take time and hard work, but I'm sure you can get back into it.