SBR Utopia ~~~~ Permanently OPEN!! (Page 110)

Yeah I was curious how big you guys are.  I'm a lightweight (150-155lb) but I went 2:39 at one of my local halfs, incl. missing a turn and coming back about a mile.  Unfortunately I wasn't riding with power that day but my FTP was in the 235 range, and I bet I rode that course under 190 watts.

Don't forget you can use a power meter to dial in your position and improve your CdA.

OK, after 90' on the phone with Garmin (nice fellow), I am mostly operational.  The 910, 920 and 800 all upload to GC and all go automatically to TP (although I had to manually upload each workout individually from 8/4 through 12/24 - tedious but very happy not to have lost them!) and now also to Strava.  Pretty cool, actually.  Even have Kim using GC for the first time since we bought the 910's a few years ago (and syncing automatically to Strava).  All in, fairly slick - as long as it continues to work!

The one thing I'm still trying to figure out is BT.  I can no longer see any of my devices in the upload page.  I've just linked to my GC account but have not seen anything come over.  What I'm concerned about (we'll see) is if it will pull ALL my data in - even if it's a duplicate.  That would make 2014 look like a much better year, for sure, but not the way I want!

I just hope I don't have to go back and delete stuff, cuz I won't (and will likely just ditch BT logging altogether if I lose my last 2+ years of baseline data from duplicates).  Same token, I cannot get BT to see my devices now - even if they're plugged in.  Really odd...

Oh well, like I said before - FIRST WORLD PROBLEMS!  I'll take them all day long (and be thankful that this is the stuff I'm worrying about).

Thoughts on BT anyone?

Thanks!
Matt

All this talk inspired me.  

I hopped on the trainer and did 5x10' at last season's HIM HR and got pretty close to the same wattage I raced with.  I think this is a sign that:  1) I didn't go long enough today to see the divergence of power and HR that would happen if I stayed for another 10'; and 2) I raced last spring in the worst biking shape I've been in since starting back cycling 3 years ago.  

That all said, it was good to grind for some longer intervals and not entirely blow up - even if it was at a HR/W that I used to be able to hold for 2.5 hours!  Ha!

Matt

What happened with BT for me was that it sync'd over the past 30 days of workouts (including duplicates) and I had to delete a bunch.  That was day one of the release though so maybe you won't have that issue.

I connected the BT and GC accounts (others are working OK) yesterday, but haven't seen anything pulled over.  If it's only 30 days, I don't mind going back and deleting stuff.  Unfortunately, nothing seems to have come over to BT through Garmin Express, yet I still can't see any devices that now use Garmin Express rather than ANT+ (which I had to remove to install Express).

I'm sure it'll all work out, but it is a bit frustrating to spend this much time with it (wow, I must be getting OLD to have technology take more time than actually working out!).

Matt

Have you done any new workouts since syncing the two?

I spotted this on Slowtwitch today:

http://www.performancebike.com/bikes/Product_10052_10551_1163555_-1_400934__400934

It's actually $679 after you add it to your cart.  For an entire powertap G3 wheelset *and* a Joule 1.0.  This weekend only.

Edit: if you want something to train and race with, I'd probably get a hub built into a better quality wheel.  But for training this is a great deal.

Sorry no Facebook for me.

Hey guys, hope everyone's enjoying the holidays.  James, sent you a FB request. I rarely post but have an account. Matt, I have nothing to assist on the garmin connect issue. I did, however, resolve my garmin soft strap frustrations by switching out to an old Polar strap. The erratic readings at the start never really bothered me but it started to just drop off in the middle of workouts. After changing the battery, trying old garmin straps, buying a new garmin soft strap, and generally mucking around too long...I did what I should have done in the first place. Checked out dcrainmaker and followed Ray's suggestion re the polar strap. What's funny is the strap is probably at least 10 years old - from an old Polar RS 100 - and is more comfortable than the garmin straps. It also works like a charm. 

Originally posted by BrotherTri

Originally posted by mcmanusclan5

Warning:  First World Problems rant ahead! 

I am a lucky duck and The Better Half got me a 920xt for Christmas (suh-weet! I already love this thing).

However, I'm now in the middle of Garmin hell.  I transferred over to Garmin Express from ANT+ and seem to have lost all my files from my current 910xt (and can't get any files off my 800 onto Garmin Connect or Training Peaks - never mind that TP counts all my swims as runs for TSS and runs as swims for TSS - talk about some messed up numbers!). And I have several months of stuff that I'd like to get onto GC and TP.

I suppose that if I had switched as soon as Garmin Express came out and worked diligently to get all my files on all the online repositories and curated all the data right as I did the workouts, I'd be all good.  Buuuuuut, I have been a bit lazy and just logging here and on Strava.  Now that I'm back into more serious training, I'd like to use TP again.

Ugh - I think I'm going to have to do more work getting the electronica back in order than getting my FTP back where it should be (or at least not so in the basement anymore).  Any suggestions?

Like I said, first world problem, huh? 

Happy Boxing Day!

Matt

Did you get it all figured out? If not you can always go Polar. What is boxing day? The boxer rebellion? Never understood that day. BIG........btw If my weight drops from 180 lbs to 165lbs will that affect my power negatively?

How tall are you?  There are lots of strong riders at 165, so while you might lose some explosive power, I don't think you'd drop much in FTP.  I bet you'll see a pickup in your running at 15lbs lighter, though.

Just sent you a friend request....and one to a number of others in here as well.  I don't post a ton, but do read a few times a day.

Speaking of issues with the Garmin HRM straps -- I had a number of the soft straps die on me, so I eventually called up Garmin and they sent out one of the older hard straps back in March or so of this year.  For the most part, I haven't had any issues with it....but just recently, it started chafing me quite badly.  The old soft one did that as well, and DC Rainmaker had a post about that where he put a bandaid on it or something -- I did a similar fix, but with a piece of duct tape. 

But for the hard strap, I'm not sure if I can do the same.  Has anyone had issues with the hard strap chafing?  Has anyone had issues with either the hard or soft strap chafing and then switched to the Polar to have no issues?  It only does it on runs....and seems to only be the fast or long ones.  An hour easy run has rarely (maybe never) resulted in chafing.  And FWIW, I have adjusted the tightness to see if that was the issue and it doesn't seem to be.

Nicole, my switch to the polar strap was motivated by dropped readings but I did have chafing on the sternum with the garmin soft strap. Not bad enough to initiate looking for a different strap, but noticeable. Don't know if I would have had the same issue with a hard strap.  I've only worn the polar strap a couple times but no chafing.

James, I am no expert, but in my personal experience it really depends on how you lose the weight. If you crash it off by starving yourself then yes, you probably will lose some of your power. I tried to keep my weight loss down to less than two pounds per week and was able to hold my ftp the same all the way from an out-of-season high of 172 down to 142lbs. Once I got where I felt was right I was then able to switch gears and actually build my FTP up a little more before really getting in to the meat of race season and got just a hair over 4w/kg. And that is what you have to remember: the change in your w/kg is going to go way up even if your ftp does go down a little. For instance, if you dropped the 15lbs your FTP would have to go down by over 20 watts (and there is no way it will unless you decide to lose the weight by eating your own leg) before you suffered any net loss in w/kg. In flat cycling races pure power is where it is at, but in races like you are targeting w/kg really matters more. Throw in a run afterward (no matter hilly or flat) and that is where you will really see the payoff like Mark says. My pace per mile followed almost exactly the trajectory that many report: 2 seconds per mile per pound lost, and that kind of "free" speedis nothing to sneeze at. And it just cascades from there: the biggest gain I made by lightning up considerably was that easy runs were not only faster, but they were actually easier as well, and I recovered much quicker, which then led to being able to run more. The only real downside I suffered was that my swimming went backwards and I really had to swim a lot of yards (for me) to get back where I was. My coach says it was because I lost so much buoyancy and it wrecked my balance in the water. I did a fair amount of sets with a band last summer to get that back.

I too had constant problems with garmin's switch to soft straps, and just used my old polar straps with the Garmin transmitter as well. Everyone of them eventually quit working though I think because of corrosion between the contacts, so you may want to make sure you always take the transmitter off the strap after you use it? I eventually just went back to the hard straps and never had any problems with it (use electro gel with it). After I got my 620 this summer though I did start using the newest Garmin soft strap (I wanted to be able to record the cadence info the new transmitter provides) and haven't had any problems with it yet. I do wash it in the laundry once per week as Garmin reccomends, and alway make sure the gray patch on the side is soaking wet. I did get chaffed by it the first time I wore it, but just tightened it up a bit and wore it in a slightly different spot. I did see on DC rainmaker a fix for that as well using an piece from an old mouse pad....

None of the soft straps ever worked that well for me. Polar swap or otherwise. I picked up a Wahoo Fitness hard strap awhile back and it's been working well awhile now. Forget exactly when I got it. It's not any less comfortable than the soft straps so I have no reason to go with those. Did pick up a newer Polar hard strap as well as that's what the treadmills at the gym use. Holds in place much better than the older ones did.

Originally posted by spudone

Originally posted by BrotherTri

Originally posted by mcmanusclan5

Warning:  First World Problems rant ahead! 

I am a lucky duck and The Better Half got me a 920xt for Christmas (suh-weet! I already love this thing).

However, I'm now in the middle of Garmin hell.  I transferred over to Garmin Express from ANT+ and seem to have lost all my files from my current 910xt (and can't get any files off my 800 onto Garmin Connect or Training Peaks - never mind that TP counts all my swims as runs for TSS and runs as swims for TSS - talk about some messed up numbers!). And I have several months of stuff that I'd like to get onto GC and TP.

I suppose that if I had switched as soon as Garmin Express came out and worked diligently to get all my files on all the online repositories and curated all the data right as I did the workouts, I'd be all good.  Buuuuuut, I have been a bit lazy and just logging here and on Strava.  Now that I'm back into more serious training, I'd like to use TP again.

Ugh - I think I'm going to have to do more work getting the electronica back in order than getting my FTP back where it should be (or at least not so in the basement anymore).  Any suggestions?

Like I said, first world problem, huh? 

Happy Boxing Day!

Matt

Did you get it all figured out? If not you can always go Polar. What is boxing day? The boxer rebellion? Never understood that day. BIG........btw If my weight drops from 180 lbs to 165lbs will that affect my power negatively?

How tall are you?  There are lots of strong riders at 165, so while you might lose some explosive power, I don't think you'd drop much in FTP.  I bet you'll see a pickup in your running at 15lbs lighter, though.

Also thinking the drop at those weights should have less of an effect if you're not really tall, though there are some who are still strong and quite thin. Have you been there before? Could help make it easier too. Dropping it off over time tends to go better than all at once too.

Well, I almost made it to 2015 without complaining about the cold.  -23C with the windchill for my run today, Christmas day it was +14!