MattRyuu
Maximum Pace
- Apr 23, 2019
- 415
- 480
@Ratchet21 try out some of the easier FTP builders on Zwift if you can. I can confirm they really improve your cycling.
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Yes! have been trying out different FTP builders course in Zwift and enjoying it so far!@Ratchet21 try out some of the easier FTP builders on Zwift if you can. I can confirm they really improve your cycling.
Yes! have been trying out different FTP builders course in Zwift and enjoying it so far!
And @MattRyuu, if you are using it too, do you think Strava subscription is worth it? or having Zwift's own analysis is enough?
That's what I thought too and I don't really want to spend extra money on the subscription since most of the info are already on Zwift.@Ratchet21 , awesome! Are you working on one now?
I use just the free version of Strava...all my rides load up to that and it has the basic analysis I need.Honestly Zwift is just communicating what I already have from my Zwift subscription to Strava, so I feel paying for it would be redundant.
I start to feel guilty and wrong because I just jumped to the last week of the FTP builder and select what I think look fun... I did finished the ride even though it pushed my legs and stamina to the limit but I think the training might have been totally ineffective haha. I think I need to do an FTP test and start over proerply again because at my first ride I think I didn't set my FTP correctly as I was reading the instruction and the functions of Zwift!Nice @Ratchet21 , I'm on week 5 of the 6 week FTP builder. Really noticing the shorter rest durations between intervals and the foundation ones that have more than 6 intervals. But it is paying off...what used to feel tough for long periods at 150W now feels that way at 200W
Consistency is the most important thing. So if you ride 4 times a week, keep at it. As you say, gradually increase the intensity. That way you will definitely see improvements.I start to feel guilty and wrong because I just jumped to the last week of the FTP builder and select what I think look fun... I did finished the ride even though it pushed my legs and stamina to the limit but I think the training might have been totally ineffective haha. I think I need to do an FTP test and start over proerply again because at my first ride I think I didn't set my FTP correctly as I was reading the instruction and the functions of Zwift!
@andywood wow, that is really intense. I'm trying to ride at least 4x a week now and hopefully can increase the intensity as I go with it.
Currently one of my favorite biking related YouTube channels so thought I'd pass it along. Good for a laugh.
Yeah. He's not to be taken seriously at all, as I imagine he'd be first to admit (and as he frequently contradicts his own advice). Mostly tongue-in-cheek silliness. And, yeah, agreed he could use an editor. But when he talked about Strava and 'nobody cares,' or on another video about there being no gravel in the UK so you don't need a gravel bike, I was pretty amused. Just some silliness injected into a season of seriousness. YMMV.He does go on, doesn't he? He reminded me of Hambini: if only some editor would cut Hambini's videos to one third their length, I'd watch them. Anyway, here's what he says you probably want but are a waste of money: garmins (of any brand), Strava, gels, CO2 canisters, Di2, disc brakes, tubeless tyres. As it happens I occasionally consume gels (during one long ride in five or so?) but neither have nor want any of the others. So I'd expect to be nodding in agreement with him. But ... let's say that his videos are an acquired taste, one that, perhaps unfortunately, I haven't acquired. (I found myself rooting for what he doesn't like, and heard him out while typing in a different window.)
My own favourite among cycling-without-wasting-your-money video series is "Bike Fit Tuesdays", from which I learned that (as a ferinstance) "saddle problems" probably aren't caused by one's saddle and that bringing the saddle down a little could be worth a try. I tried that; it worked. I'm now happily riding on a saddle that I think cost 3000 or 4000 yen when new and that I bought from Buychari for I think 1000 yen. No saddle sores since I brought it down (cross fingers).
Actually, I was surprised he didn't add clipless pedals to the list (which I love but technically don't "need")! I agree with him that all of the above are something I don't need, but as a value proposition the judgement can never quite be black and white. There are things I don't need but that are worth it to me.Anyway, here's what he says you probably want but are a waste of money: garmins (of any brand), Strava, gels, CO2 canisters, Di2, disc brakes, tubeless tyres.
I did smile the first time he said that -- but then he kept repeating it. Slowly.But when he talked about Strava and 'nobody cares,' . . . .
Di2 is great if you have the money. If you don't, it's totally unnecessary. It's a luxury. It saves having to regularly swap shifter cables and housing or having to adjust your derailleur. A derailleur that never goes out of adjustment and perfectly shifts every single time is beautiful. If that makes you enjoy your rides more and you can afford it, what's not to like about it?
The 11 speed Ultegra (and perhaps also its 105 sibling) definitely go through shifter cables on a regular basis. If I don't change mine yearly I will end up with delayed shifts and eventually non-working gears and worst case, front shifts only. It may be related to when they changed from cables coming out of the side of the brifter to running under the bar tape. I know Tiagra made this change later than Ultegra and 105 (Tiagra 4700 vs. 105 5800?).Is there perhaps something that humble (and of course non-Di2) Tiagra does better than its more expensive alternatives? I don't remember when I last adjusted mine (and the adjustment was as demanding as rotating a knurled thingummy a few turns). The cables are changed once every three years or so. (I ask Mr LBS man about once a year; he says "If you'd like me to change them, I'll be happy to change them; but I don't think they need changing.") Di2 swiftly conked out on a friend's bike (ruining the remainder of his ride, I presume), and he had to buy a replacement Di2 computer or whatever it's called, considerably adding to the price he'd expected to pay.
Hambini's style is grating. I don't mind his opinions, but I'd enjoy his videos much more if they weren't narrated by "Hambini, aged 5" and rather "Hambini, adult".He does go on, doesn't he? He reminded me of Hambini: if only some editor would cut Hambini's videos to one third their length, I'd watch them.
That sounds more like something to rile up some in the audience to increase listenership.Anyway, here's what he says you probably want but are a waste of money: garmins (of any brand), Strava, gels, CO2 canisters, Di2, disc brakes, tubeless tyres.
I think people who spend months touring remote areas of the world are a tiny, tiny sliver of the market. But even then IMHO some prejudices are not necessarily borne out by reality. I saw a video of a German couple who did either 30,000 km or 50,000 km on their bikes. They had hydraulic rim brakes. According to them, their hydraulic rim brakes were flawless. What wasn't flawless were their rims: they were clearly cracked in places, and one rim had to be replaced after a few thousand kms.Mind you, if I was touring in Central Asia or South America, I would definitely be using mechanical shifting. My steel frames (NFE and Bike Friday) were not designed for it and wouldn't be a good fit.
I'd never heard of him. Thank you for the tip: I've just now watched two of his videos and clicked on "subscribe".I find the videos by Peak Torque more to my liking.
I would not worry about the hydraulic rim brakes spontaneously failing. I am sure in normal riding they work just fine for tens of thousands of km (as long as you have the right pads to change).They had hydraulic rim brakes. According to them, their hydraulic rim brakes were flawless. What wasn't flawless were their rims: they were clearly cracked in places, and one rim had to be replaced after a few thousand kms.