cyclinglevel.com - too optimistic?
 

Anybody tried cyclinglevels.com? I did and found I am at Elite level and am "faster than 100%" (sic) of cyclists my age. Of course this isn't true, I have an acceptable fitness level but know many guys my age that are way faster than me, and they are regular sport cyclists, not even racers.
Forgot to say I'm 73, maybe they have too few data for this age group?

Can't find the site:
https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...a3fe1931f7.png

yea not sure that is really accurate...says I am faster than 100% my age and 96% of all cyclists when I put i my most recent 80 mile ride and 100% age and 90% of all based on my latest 100 mile ride....not sure what watts mean or translate to but on the 80mile says 268W and FTP323 andthe 100mile 243 watts and 302 FTP. maybe it pays to be fat and old :)

drop the s

Even with my Garmin stats they show me in the upper percentiles. So I wouldn't put any amount of weight to them, other than it shows there are a lot of others that are part of the statistics that don't do anything and might not even be cycling in a way that improves their health and fitness or seek to ride fast or far at all..

I get a unsecure website if I try to go there. And I wont go to a unsecure website. So you are going to have to verbalize yourself what you want us to see and give opinion about.

Perhaps you meant https://cyclinglevel.com/

Where is the website getting its data? From a handful of other users?

Way too many variables to properly extrapolate fitness level from just age, distance, and time. This "calculator" is pretty much meaningless unless we all rode identical bikes, on velodromes.

that is what I thought..sure made me feel good tho :)....seems a guy riding 100 miles with 10,000 feet of climbing would be different than another riding a flat course with a tailwind....

Sorry, my fault.

A 268W average over 80 miles is pro level. So unless you are a pro it’s a conplete bs estimate of your actual average power.

not really even sure what watts are relating to cycling, the only thing I am a pro at is drinking beer :). i plugged in this ride and my weight is 210lbs and 65yoa. I am sure if used an actual power meter I would be depressed.
https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...a9cd09a05e.png
https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...7cdda69148.png

All it does it take time over a distance, both manually entered.

Not exactly the most accurate model. Doesn't take into account elevation gain, any big climbs, weather, road surface, CdA, etc, etc, etc...

Yes, totally meaningless without elevation. I can ride 100 miles on the flat in well under 5 hours, but it could take several hours longer with climbs.

Just to give you an idea of real world average power, I did a 100 mile flat-ish ride (700 m total elevation) in 4 hrs 50 mins at an average measured power of 170W. If I plug that ride into cyclinglevels it comes up with an estimated 260W and says I’m faster than 100% of all riders in my age group. I wish!

Edit: It also estimates my VO2 max at 75 😂. In reality it’s more like 50 tops.

I'm backing PeteHski for age group World Champ in 2025! 😁👍

I just plugged in my last century - 400m elevation - 4:48 @ 20.7 mph. Garmin power was 190w average.

Cycling stats has me at 266w average for the ride, FTP of 332, VO2 max of 72.5, VO2 power of 431w.

All of those numbers are wrong, buy a large margin.

Here is the flaw in their calculations (aside from ignoring elevation gains) - it says my speed at FTP (332 according to them) is only 22.8 mph. I'm not super aero, not on an aero bike - and I can ride 23 at 230-250w.

Just for goofs, I plugged in the data from my last century(actually 103 miles.) Finishing time of 6:52:00, average speed of 15.1 mph, but with over 14,000' of climbing.

The "calculator" tells me that I'm only faster than 35% of cyclists my age, calculated average power was only 141 watts, and that my calculated FTP is only 178 watts. In reality, I'm in the top 5% for this course, the actual average power was 210 watts, and my FTP is roughly double the "calculation."

Obviously, the elevation gain is something this app doesn't factor. 210 watts would give quite a higher average speed on a flat century, and I would be able to put out a higher average power on a flat century, as there wouldn't be extended descents.

I wish there was an outfit that would rent power meters. I am an old fat guy so in reality I really don't need to know what I am putting out for jut riding around logging miles and I am not competing so more of a curiosity than anything. On the other hand maybe better off not knowing...it might show that I am actually dead....

Most of the benefit is for racing and/or structured training. Outside of that, it's mostly curiosity or as a pacing tool on difficult rides. Even as a tool, the first couple years I had a power meter, I really didn't know what I was doing with it...it pretty much collected data and I didn't use it to its fullest. Nowadays, I understand enough about power zones and workouts, to really utilize power. Besides being a training tool, I just like to geek out on analyzing power data after a ride.

Just buy a pair of used power meter pedals, use them for a while and then sell them on. Net cost would be pretty minimal.