SBR Utopia Season II - OPEN (Page 81)

For the quarq users.  What happens when you calibrate before each ride...normally get values between -315 and -360...then all of a sudden you get a value of -240 one day?  Calibration process was the same as normal to the best of my knowledge, and the weather was a typical day.  Also same time/place as my normal weekday ride.  Tried the calibration again and got the same value.  I did forget to calibrate at the end of the ride to see if there was a difference. 

Ride ended up having unusually high power.  My legs did feel really good, but I was anywhere from 10-30 watts higher than normal for my 3x15' efforts.  Recoveries also felt like they were 20-30 watts higher than normal.

Is it possible I did something wrong, or is there something I need to fix.  The only thing I did before this ride was clean my bike.  Removed the chain and re-lubed, etc.  Nothing out of the ordinary.  I did just come off a down week last week so maybe the increased power was not a fluke.  15' efforts were 240, 260, then 280.  Original goal was to ride at 235-240 for all three.  I'm assuming FTP is around 265 but I haven't tested in a long time.

Yea, I never got that.  Some people said the rubber grommet on the speed/cadence sensor causes issues, but I always had plenty of clearance.  I'm running a DT Swiss 465(?) with a PT Pro.

(Bike.jpg)

My list per the fitter, and my responses

  BMC TM02  - It's not a TM01, which looks cool.  The older TM02 were fugly, new ones *might* be better, hard to tell what paint scheme goes with what year

  Cervelo P2 - Like it, however is slightly too tall, he said it could work, makes me a little nervous

  Cervelo P3 BUT 2012 model - good luck finding one.... I like the 2013 model, but it's too tall at the size he would want me on (61) and I guess you can't just say why not go own one size to a 58???  

  Felt B series - Don't like the look, bt the B16 Arend noted actually is... OK

  Kestrel 4000 - on the WB list, too bad as I really like this bike

  Orbea Ordu -  would have to go silver edition, meh paint job

  Trek SC - on the List, fitter also said it would be maxed out and qould require a negative stem, again makes me nervous at the edges.  And a fugly green color frame (unlike neil's which I like)

Some of my concerns are aesthetic, but I have to be stoked about my bike.

My PX is a Large and has a 510 stack so it's REALLY small on me.  Don't want to repeat that mistake.

Going to ask about Quintana Roo CD0.1 and Scott Plasma as well.

Others made it work too by taping the cover to the spokes to pull it in that much tighter. Can't remember that not working.

And I can't remember if Project One has expanded to the current 7 series yet, but will for the 2014 ones.

Originally posted by ligersandtions I'm off to Catalina Island for a four day backpacking trip. Hope everyone has a good rest of the week and weekend! Managed to get in a good swim and run this morning...no SBR for a few days, but lots of time on the trails. Have a good one

Have fun, Love Catalina.  I did a jeep tour around the interior, looks like a great place to camp

Well, despite the Di2 convo, the opinions of Arend and Jason may have swayed me.   My LBS can get a '14 TM02 with 105 in my budget.  Framewise, it's one of the ones that I really like.  The paint job is OK, but it would grow on me.   Plus I'd like to support my LBS rather than an etailer.  

I think it's only a problem if they start talking back.

Originally posted by ratherbeswimming Did a little reading/catching up. I've missed this little group

Nice to see you again! I remember there being a few races you wanted to do well at. Were you able to do them?

Dang it...I thought my FTP somehow jumped 10-15 watts...thanks for being a party pooper. 

I'll see what the offset is today when I ride.  It will be basically the same workout as well.  As for torqueing the bolts...how do you know how tight you're supposed to go.  And is there a certain technique/pattern you're supposed to follow when doing so?  I don't have a digital torque wrench so I would be very hesitant to do this myself.

Originally posted by ratherbeswimming Did a little reading/catching up. I've missed this little group

Hi Elaine, welcome back!  

Originally posted by brigby1

Originally posted by ratherbeswimming Did a little reading/catching up. I've missed this little group

Nice to see you again! I remember there being a few races you wanted to do well at. Were you able to do them?

Not much racing this year. I feel like I'm playing catch-up with my tri fitness.

Debating if next year should be a first 140.6 or a 70.3 rematch... or the year of the Oly. So many choices!

Originally posted by ratherbeswimming Did a little reading/catching up. I've missed this little group

Welcome back!

Originally posted by ratherbeswimming

Originally posted by brigby1

Originally posted by ratherbeswimming Did a little reading/catching up. I've missed this little group

Nice to see you again! I remember there being a few races you wanted to do well at. Were you able to do them?

Not much racing this year. I feel like I'm playing catch-up with my tri fitness.

Debating if next year should be a first 140.6 or a 70.3 rematch... or the year of the Oly. So many choices!

If you had been back last week we would have pressured you into signing up for IMMT.  

Originally posted by axteraa

Originally posted by ratherbeswimming

Originally posted by brigby1

Originally posted by ratherbeswimming Did a little reading/catching up. I've missed this little group

Nice to see you again! I remember there being a few races you wanted to do well at. Were you able to do them?

Not much racing this year. I feel like I'm playing catch-up with my tri fitness.

Debating if next year should be a first 140.6 or a 70.3 rematch... or the year of the Oly. So many choices!

If you had been back last week we would have pressured you into signing up for IMMT.  

FYI: Foundation Slots are still available..... Oh, and welcome back Elaine!

yes - everyone needs a small "click" type torque wrench that measures in Nm!

Jason - Marc is right - if you ride a quarq you really should get in the habit of back pedaling 5+ times occasionally while freewheeling downhill during your rides. This tells the PM to reset the zero offset (this is actually what is happening when you tell the quarq to recalibrate - it is just adjusting the zero offset - recalibrating is quite different). What happens when you backpedal with no load on the pedals is that the PM gets a cadence/rpm value but a force reading of zero. It understands this as an instruction to reset the offset value. Power taps do the same every time you freewheel, you just don't have to backpedal for obvious reasons. PMs are sensitive to temperature and moisture fluctuations, but this will be especially noticeable on a quarq if you neglect to reset the offset regularly during a ride (again, Powertap is the same - but it resets the offset automatically when you freewheel for any length of time).

For the record I like my Quarq, but I am on my 4th one in the span of 3 years. The first 3 were 975s and all acted the same as yours (even after re torquing the bolts) - the zero offset got to where it would drift all over the place. The crumby thing is two o them flaked out during IM races. The most recent one was replaced with a Rike. - their CS is a awesome!

Originally posted by ratherbeswimming Did a little reading/catching up. I've missed this little group

Welcome back Elaine.

Unfortunately, on my run this morning I came across a cat that seemed to have had an unfortunate run in with the same coyote that we think got ours (and I live in an urban area, very strange), laying out on what I believe is the owner's yard.  Seeing what I saw, I am now glad that we have not found our little guy.  I feel sorry for the owners having to come out their front door and seeing this first off.  Distressing. 

Marc/Rusty - thanks for the feedback.  I really do need to perform the 5x backward pedaling more often.

I have a bigger torque wrench that I bought for tightening down the quarq when swapping bikes but have yet to get a smaller one for the 4-8 nm range.  Something on my list though.

I know that Quarq recommends sending the crank in if you want to replace the chainrings but is this necessary?  I suppose maybe if you're going to a different size or brand chanrings, but if you are using the exact same model is it possible to just replace and tighten down to the specified torque?

Assuming I build a little more bike fitness over the next few years, I do think I'll eventually move to 52/36.  Probably around the time that the current rings start to wear to the point of replacement.