dave99ag said:

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Wattage based riding is a great metric for training. HR is nice, but you can experience HR drift during an interval, but watts don't lie. You're either doing the prescribed wattage or you're not.

I'm not a huge fan of their leaderboards only using kJ because that's not a real indicator of fitness. A big guy can push huge watts and a lot of kJ, but their watts / kilogram may not be as high as someone that's lighter. I always turn it off when riding.

The key is to retest your FTP every 4-6 weeks to make sure you're working in the right zone. There are similar tests for HR, but once you go watts, you never go back.

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I agree. I am one of those big guys right now (working on being smaller), and I can push more watts than my wife, but she is actually faster than me on the road for any ride with hills at this point in time due to my weight. I would love a little more customization on their leaderboards and post-ride displays. It will show you time spent in each HR zone, but it doesn't do the same for power zones. I would love to see a leaderboard that could sort by other measurables besides just raw output...(watts/kg would be great, but people would probably just start fudging their weights to get to the top).

Yeah, not sure why they don't have power zones in the summary. I have mine synced to Strava so I can see time in zones there.

Even Wilpers says to swipe away the leaderboard for that reason. It's just not a great indicator.

Yeah, I use Strava to look at mine too. Seems like it would be a simple step to show them on the Peloton screen too though.

Agreed. No idea why they can't add them to the summary.

Same for me with the weight. Power to weight ratio is still pretty depressing for me but getting better every test.

MPaceline app is pretty helpful with zones if you guys haven't checked it out.

I took Olivia's on-demand 30 min Power Zone endurance class last night. Was my first class with her and I think it was her first Power Zone class. She did fine, but I have to admit, I was not looking for a hard workout because I have been dealing with a really tight and painful lower back since late last week. Working mostly Zone 2 and Zone 3 was what I needed, so I wasn't looking for heavy motivation to go hard. She is certainly easier on the eyes than Matt, but she isn't as good yet at explaining the why and how of power training, but that is to be expected for her first time. I don't think she will be my go-to instructor for power training, but she is good and should make a reasonable alternative to Matt or Christine, particularly when I don't want to go quite as hard.

I rode that same ride this morning to sub for my extra credit in the power zone challenge. Agree, she's not bad being it's her first ride but definitely has a ways to go to get to Matt level. My wife said she was pretty aggressive (not Robin aggressive but somewhat that direction) so I was excited for something new. I'll probably ride her PZ class in a month or so when she's had more experience.

Anyone else getting more and more concerned Matt is leaving? I looked at the schedule for the next two weeks and he has 5 total classes (bike and tread)...Liv and Christine are okay but not my style. Dennis is decent but a little too spin classish for me.

Matt said he's off to Italy for the week, so we good.

Heard that this morning. He seems to enjoy it too much to leave

It's a damn good platform to promote coaching and other ventures. I do wish they'd have more pros come on.

I suspect the new instructors coming on to the power zone team is more about matching the popularity of those rides and giving more options for folks that may be getting burnt out on Matt and/or Dennis.

Alright guys, having kids, running and tennis have kept me off the Peloton for the past year or so. I'd like to start riding with yall and get back in the habit of riding. Feel free to add me, my name on there is DOUGinTEXAS.

Move those clothes off of it and get to work!

Any particular shoes / monitor / headphones y'all like

scosche rhythm+ For HR monitor

Shoes just depends on the person. Probably best to go into a store and try a handful on. I have specialized and my wife has Shimano.

I really like my Aftershockz headphones. I can hear the class, but still keep an ear on the chaos of the two little Beers

Not a Peleton guy, but for those of you talking about W/kg, I offer you what may simultaneously be the most depressing yet most motivating chart you will ever see.

It's in this article.

The columns you'll see are 5s / 1min / 5min / FT. The FT column is FTP / kg. That's what your're looking for.

This chart was my motivation to go from untrained / novice through Cat 5 / Cat 4 / and ultimately into Cat 3 territory.

Enjoy.

I am not sure if it is depressing...just makes it really clear how much higher the pros really are. During the Christian Vandevelde pro ride the other day, he said he was doing his 3 min VO2Max intervals at 380 watts, while I was around 210. While I wasn't going quite as hard as I could have, and I am sure he is nowhere near the form he had when he was actively racing, but still, that is a huge # between the two of us...

How much do the pros weigh? I would guess 140-150. Are they like boxers and wrestlers trying to keep their weight down or more like swimmers that eat whatever they want trying not to lose power?

tysker said:

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How much do the pros weigh? I would guess 140-150. Are they like boxers and wrestlers trying to keep their weight down or more like swimmers that eat whatever they want trying not to lose power?

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Depends on their role. Most of the really elite climbers are going to be in the 130-145 range. The all around guys who can climb and also time trial well are probably in the 140-150. Sprinters, leadout guys, and flatland pace making guys are probably in the 150-165 range. There are probably a few time trial specialist types like Tony Martin who could push close to 180 at times, but I doubt anybody else in the peloton is over about 165-170.

That chart has been around for years and is a fun indicator of where you might rank depending on the effort. I don't think I ever got much higher than a Cat 3 on there, but was a lifelong Cat 4 racer anyway.

I've been around quite a few pros due to my time with KirkLee (carbon bike builder) and they are tiny dudes! I always enjoy comparing my wattage to Aggie pro cyclist Chad Haga since we've always been about the same size - 6'3" and ~170lbs. He's a time trial specialist and super domestique. He's considered a "big rider" compared to most of the peloton. I'd imagine his FTP is well north of 400w at this point in his career. Way back when he was riding at A&M, I think it was in the low 300s. We'd be riding next to each other, he's barely working at 260w and I'm above my FTP just holding on. Riding next to pros will humble you because they're freaks at what they do.

dave99ag said:

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That chart has been around for years and is a fun indicator of where you might rank depending on the effort. I don't think I ever got much higher than a Cat 3 on there, but was a lifelong Cat 4 racer anyway.

I've been around quite a few pros due to my time with KirkLee (carbon bike builder) and they are tiny dudes! I always enjoy comparing my wattage to Aggie pro cyclist Chad Haga since we've always been about the same size - 6'3" and ~170lbs. He's a time trial specialist and super domestique. He's considered a "big rider" compared to most of the peloton. I'd imagine his FTP is well north of 400w at this point in his career. Way back when he was riding at A&M, I think it was in the low 300s. We'd be riding next to each other, he's barely working at 260w and I'm above my FTP just holding on. Riding next to pros will humble you because they're freaks at what they do.

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Yes, but you once beat lance Armstrong!

Um, and Eddy Merckx!

Testing out echelon and peloton classes for two weeks. I have a year of echelon for free ( previous owner turns out never even tried the classes or used the serial number, because...effort?).
The echelon connect is no peloton, but it beats the spin bikes at my gyms class.
Are all spin class instructors cheesy? Maybe that's not the right word, but there is definitely a type of personality.

Mostly there are two kinds of instructors...1) aerobics instructor/cheerleader types who decided to learn to teach spinning to increase the number of types of classes they can teach; and 2) instructors who are triathletes/road/track cyclists that lead their classes using clear metrics and goal driven intervals.

Got back on it after about a month off after either breaking or jamming my big toe so bad on a concrete step I could not walk on it or put pressure for over a month. Did a hip hop last night with Tunde and the Lizzo ride this morning. Feels good to get back to it! Find me! braunolsen

I find this to be the case with pretty much any group-training class

txags92 said:

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Mostly there are two kinds of instructors...1) aerobics instructor/cheerleader types who decided to learn to teach spinning to increase the number of types of classes they can teach; and 2) instructors who are triathletes/road/track cyclists that lead their classes using clear metrics and goal driven intervals.

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I just don't get the cheerleader types. I don't want to think about who I want to be, I don't want to affirm to myself that I CAN and I WILL, I'm just trying to ride a bike for a hot minute, geez.

I was so happy that they had a metal ride a few weeks ago but the playlist wasn't true metal.

I want a freaking gross ugly climb ride from 70-90% resistance led by an overweight dude with a beard who swears at you while Walk by Pantera plays.

I'm with you. I occasionally yell shut up to the instructor like they can hear me.
My biggest gripe about the whole peloton program is that the instructors can't stop talking

I do like that you can select a mix where you hear the music more than the instructor but man it's rough sometimes, especially around late December "THE YOU OF NEXT DECADE WILL THANK YOU FOR WHAT YOU'RE DOING NOW"

All of this.

I totally get it, I'm a fringe case for sure. Rah rah pays the bills.