Wattbikes are static, indoor exercise bikes that allow clear and concise monitoring of power, cadence, heart rate and a whole host of other parameters that you might need or want for cycling. I have read criticism of them over the width of the bottom bracket: that it is too wide when compared to an actual bike, and the slight difference is noticeable, but my feeling is that the pros definitely outweigh the cons. That said, at over £2k per bike it's a lot of cash to fork out: I'm just lucky that I have one at work that I can use for free!
Wattbike offer, at the time of writing, seventeen pre-set tests and training sessions that link into the Wattbike Hub app that is available on both Android and Apple platforms, from a ten-minute warm-up and the 3' test, through to a training plan for a sportive. It also has a desktop profile where you can view your workouts in more detail. This gives you a nice visual and written display to work to, with target power, heart rate, and cadence, based on the numbers that you have previously set on the nauseatingly grim 3' aerobic threshold test...
The 3' test is an all-out test designed to estimate aerobic capacity, providing average power (Max Minute Power, or MMP) and maximum heart rate (MHR) figures as a basis for other training sessions and training zones. Even if you don't train with the power, the heart rate figures and zones are useful guides, though heart rate as a training tool does have its drawbacks (this requires another write-up I'm afraid!) It has been shown that the 3' test can be used to establish peak VO2 and to estimate the maximal steady state*
After doing the recommended 20' warm-up, which is a significant workout in its own right, I got down to the business of the threshold test. My colleague Paul had done it earlier in the day and we have a little ongoing competition around this, but he wouldn't tell me what numbers he'd hit as this would have given me an unfair advantage.
Last time I did it I made the mistake of setting off too hard and was unable to maintain the high cadence and resistance I'd set myself. Determined not to do so again I began at what I thought was a sustainable 110 RPM, pushing out something close to 400W. However, again I overcooked things and by the half-way stage I knew I couldn't sustain it and my numbers dropped notably. I still managed to average a respectable 355W, which worked out to 5.22W/kg, representing the all-important power-to-weight ratio (yet another piece of writing required) rather than absolute power. My previous effort gave me 5.04W/kg so a clear improvement, but given that Paul increased to 5.4W/kg I've clearly still got some work to do!
To put this into some context, Chris Froome pushed out 5.78W/kg on a 40 MINUTE CLIMB IN le Tour in 2015! Amazing!
*https://www.researchgate.net/publication/6701355_A_3-min_All-Out_Test_to_Determine_Peak_Oxygen_Uptake_and_the_Maximal_Steady_State
*https://www.researchgate.net/publication/6355877_Determination_of_Critical_Power_Using_a_3-min_All-out_Cycling_Test
After doing the recommended 20' warm-up, which is a significant workout in its own right, I got down to the business of the threshold test. My colleague Paul had done it earlier in the day and we have a little ongoing competition around this, but he wouldn't tell me what numbers he'd hit as this would have given me an unfair advantage.
Last time I did it I made the mistake of setting off too hard and was unable to maintain the high cadence and resistance I'd set myself. Determined not to do so again I began at what I thought was a sustainable 110 RPM, pushing out something close to 400W. However, again I overcooked things and by the half-way stage I knew I couldn't sustain it and my numbers dropped notably. I still managed to average a respectable 355W, which worked out to 5.22W/kg, representing the all-important power-to-weight ratio (yet another piece of writing required) rather than absolute power. My previous effort gave me 5.04W/kg so a clear improvement, but given that Paul increased to 5.4W/kg I've clearly still got some work to do!
To put this into some context, Chris Froome pushed out 5.78W/kg on a 40 MINUTE CLIMB IN le Tour in 2015! Amazing!
*https://www.researchgate.net/publication/6355877_Determination_of_Critical_Power_Using_a_3-min_All-out_Cycling_Test
