All time personal best achieved tonight

[LarryOz]

Good Benchmark Jim,
I ride a

Good Benchmark Jim,
I ride a Silvio 2.0. I recently rode a 40K in 59:30. I do not have any aero things on my bike at this time.
My course was a 5.9km mile loop that has 2 sharp turns, 5 set of RR tracks, and about 60 feet of elevation per loop. I live in the mountains of NC, so it is hard to find a good course to ride that doesn't have a challenging hill in it. Where do you live and ride?
I will be 55 in Nov, so it looks like we are about the same age.
Have you or do you go to any racing events? (my old event was a 12 hour race at the Mid-Atlantic 12/24. I did 237 miles.) I do like the 40K race though, one reason is that it is over in less than an hour. 12 hours is a long time!

I will soon be getting a Vendetta, and will be really curious how much if any my time will change. I am hoping some!
What do you think the difference will likely be between a stock S2.0 against stock V2.0
I do plan on getting some 88mm carbon wheels for racing and that will be my next benchmark.
Then who knows, maybe a solid disk.
I would love to have the money to get some kind of power meter and the brains to use it, so I could also map the power differences with each stage. Who knows.

I have read all your posts, and see how you have continued to improve over the last year. That is great!
Partly due to your aero improvements, but assuming also partly to you being in better physical shape.
What speed difference do you think you can attribute solely to your areo accompaniments?
I look forward to reading more.
Larry

 

[Jim Gerwing]

Hi Larry

Cruzbikes are doing pretty good in NC. I'm in Western Canada. Low rolling hills (and nothing that the UCI would categorize). I stick pretty close to a one hour hi tempo ride. I've done some informal club riding but I'm a bit of a maverick so I go when the mood strikes. I can't say much about differences between Cruzbikes. Jim Parker lent me a Quest which was good for learning the basic recumbent/front wheel drive mechanics. I like the looks of the S2 but the Vendetta still has a more laid out position and the faster one goes the more critical one's body positioning. The interesting lessons of this year for me have been that while aero accompaniments make a difference, many factors have to align for peak performance: mental state, physical capabilities, skill, road conditions, terrain, altitude, weather-wind, temp, pressure and of course, the bike-I feel fast on my diamond framed bike but there is no comparison with the times I achieved on my V+aero bits.
We are in a nice late summer weather pattern right now so I'll make another jaunt tomorrow.
40k in 59:30 on the S2 deserves a shout out. Huzzah!

 

[Jim Gerwing]

More data

30 k tonight in 39:20, avg spd - 45.7km/hr. Very warm late summer evening, wind calming down, esp on inbound leg. Stock V2 with storm door wheel covers.

 

[KiwiGuy]

Fascinating

Fascinating Jim

Given your 40km PB was an average of 46.9 km/hr (outstanding), this latest result is incredible given it was on the stock V2 with only the wheel covers. Granted it was three quarter distance. Maybe we could assume a 2 km/hr difference over 40kms? Maybe you're Superman in disguise?

Whatever, this tells me two things:

#1. You're a hellava athlete

#2. The V2 is mighty slick machine in stock condition with wheel covers

Thanks for the reporting on your efforts Jim.

Kind regards...

 

[LarryOz]

Cudos Jim! What a great time!

Cudos Jim! What a great time! Amazing speed! I'll bet you could have kept the same pace for another 10K, its not that far.
Do you keep track of you HR on these rides, or wattage? That would also be interesting data for sure to compare.
When I rode my PB 40K (59:30) on my stock S, my heart rate averaged 158.

When I get my V all set up the first thing I am going to do is ride a set 5+ mile loop course at a given HR on my stock S, and then on my stock V, at a set HR of about 130 or so. Hoping that will give a good indication of the difference between the 2 stock bikes.
Then I might crank it up to 150bpm on the same course on both bikes, and see if there is the same difference.
Then my plan is to get a set of 88mm carbon wheels, and ride same course at same HR with stock wheels, then with carbon wheels.
Kind of progress using that methodology (unless I get a real power meter!) as I add different aero attachments, or new equipment.
Should be interesting data. Will share it when I collect it.

 

[Jim Gerwing]

Another ride

30 k in 42:24, avg spd 42.5km/hr. Excuses: noticeable cross wind (see greenspeed's post). And I had to stop to put my chain back on; my route is east/west and evening rides right now put the sun right in front of me (that smarts).
i haven't been keeping track of my heart rate.
i think I can produce about 250 watts continuous power on a good day.

 

[Eric Winn]

Did you get a power

Did you get a power meter?

-Eric

 

[Jim Gerwing]

No

I'm basing the number on a ballpark avg from my trips to the public fitness centre that I go to when the weather is off. I vary the stationary recumbent that I workout on. They all tell a different power story but 250w is about it. I think 250 is, for me, a generous number.