Is Larry going to the DARK side ????

[LarryOz]

So many people have asked so many questions about how bents and Cruzbikes is general compare to the best uprights, I wanted to do some specialized testing around that. So, no I am not defecting to the dark side - I guess I am just board late in the summer - but I just have to know the numbers. Why? Well, because it bugs me not too.
I just visited the Trek factory in Waterloo, WI and picked up a Cervelo P5 6 frame. Long story no doubt!
My newest testing plan:
Get something closest to the fastest upright TT bike on the planet? - A Cervelo P5 6 should do nicely. Tune it and fit it to myself like I did the Arrowhead and Vendetta.
Swap out all components during each test: wheels, tires, BB, cranks, derailures, power meters, clothing, etc
Do power/speed testing on the track at incremental average power output & speeds
Do coast down testing.
Do hill climbing tests: various grades at incremental average power output & speeds (with and without extra ballast in P5 to equal weight of heaviest bent)
Visit the A2 wind-tunnel if I have any $ left. (donations welcome)
Maybe I will be ready for retirement when this is all done.
Hopefully my body can survive ridding the P5 long enough to get the data

 

[Don1]

have a look at the aerpod... it gives instant cda figure to your garmin... wind speed and direction too... would take a lot of fuzz out of the data and be instantaneous.

 

[bazzawill]

Now we just need GCN to follow Larry in their super bike vs series
Super bike vs cruzbike I'd like to see that. Good work Larry. Keep that data coming

 

[ed72]

May I guess....roughly.... you won't be doing a sub 20 minute 10 mile TT on the Trek but you will climb and accelerate much faster. Some riders do get below 0.200 on a TT bike but.....takes a lot of work....

V20 P5

CdA 0.160 0.215

FTP 270 W 310 W

CP5 340 W 385 W

CP20 290 W 330 W


I know my numbers vs a Cervelo S3, will be following with interest

 

[bladderhead]

The problem is that 'bent riders have different muscles from Trek riders. When Larry first gets on the Trek he will be effectively less fit than he is on the Vendetta. He will have to do a lot of Trekking before he starts getting valid data.

 

[ed72]

His (larry) upright pedaling muscles must be clearly detrained but it is unlikely that any prior Type IIb conversion to Type I of IIa would have been reversed nor would be have to invest a lot of time developing muscle activation patterns. Two 4 week training blocks and then the comparison between the Trek TT bike and V20 will be interesting. Frankly, I expect his 5 second, 20 second, and up to five minute power on the Trek to be immediately higher than on the V20 although too low of a position on the Trek could dampen it.

 

[LarryOz]

The problem is that 'bent riders have different muscles from Trek riders. When Larry first gets on the Trek he will be effectively less fit than he is on the Vendetta. He will have to do a lot of Trekking before he starts getting valid data.

I just hope I can keep the darn thing up-right!

 

[Kenneth]

I just hope I can keep the darn thing up-right!

I got back on a df bike this week after almost a year. I traveled to San Francisco and couldn't bring the s40, so I rented a bike for the week. The first 5 to 10 seconds felt pretty weird but after a minute it was like I never left.

 

[jond]

I got back on a df bike this week after almost a year. I traveled to San Francisco and couldn't bring the s40, so I rented a bike for the week. The first 5 to 10 seconds felt pretty weird but after a minute it was like I never left.

Let’s ask the bum how he felt. Lol.

 

[jond]

Larry unless you are extremely flexible and can tolerate butt pain to the gonads don’t mind numb peckerwoodnuts a sore neck back and don’t mind no view at a slower speeds then what you already know will still be the case.

When I first purchased a vendetta I thought what have I done. Till I knew what I had really done

But you’ve purchased n+1 knowing exactly what you will be in for . More of the same old performance. The only change is you’re smarter now and the colour of the same old boring wannabe df dumb bunny frame. What are you doing lol.

To think you could have purchased an s40 and got into gravel dirt terrain.

Oh well.

Ps I’m just joshin you cause I’m jealous of your American purchase power.

Looking forward to seeing your scientific comparison of smart v dopey.

 

[john b]

Is this process being journaled/documented any where? Want to see how it's progressed to-date. Very interesting!

 

[john b]

Did this come to a halt?

 

[Osiris]

The problem is that 'bent riders have different muscles from Trek riders. When Larry first gets on the Trek he will be effectively less fit than he is on the Vendetta. He will have to do a lot of Trekking before he starts getting valid data.

It will definitely take some getting used to. A couple of weeks ago I got back on my Trek Speed Concept 9, which I haven't ridden in four years, just to see how it compares to any of my bents. It was horrible. I couldn't produce the power I used to, and it was so painful to ride that I couldn't even maintain the correct posture to complete a 2 mile test, so I couldn't obtain any reliable data. Fortunately this trail is very flat and straight, making it a favorite with TT racers, so I can compare my speed/power data against theirs on the same segments. Here are some recent comparisons between me on the M1 Lowracer (shown in my avatar) and and a TT racer whose speed/power numbers are very close to mine on a TT bike:

Four mile segment:
TT bike: 26.3 mph @ 302 watts
Me: 27.6 mph @ 203 watts

Twelve mile segment:
TT bike: 25.4 mph @ 277 watts
Me: 26.8 mph @ 192 watts

One mile segment:
TT bike: 26.3 mph @ 286 watts
Me: 29.5 mph @ 237 watts