- Hello and welcome to ask GCN anything.
It's that video where each week
we answer your questions about cycling.
And if you wanna ask some for next week,
just stick them in the comment section below this one,
or, submit them on social media using the hashtag
torqueback, or a new one, which is askgcntraining,
but we'll come back to that in just one moment.
Because without further ado,
we should probably answer some questions.
First up we've got this one, from Pegasus.
And they've asked, if somebody with a functional threshold
power of 400 watts, so that's the maximum
power they can sustain for an hour,
puts out 300 watts,
does it feel the same as me
putting out 300 watts,
when I've got an ftp of 310 watts,
or do they feel the same level of discomfort
they can just hold it for longer?
Complicated question, very simple answer.
If you've got an FTP of 400 watts,
then 300 watts feels comparatively easy.
Whereas I imagine for you,
it's close to a threshold therefore it's hard.
The reason is, is because
the FTP is effectively a measure of your effort,
so when you can do something for just one hour,
it means that at a lower power
you can obviously do it for much much longer,
which means it doesn't hurt quite so much.
So unfortunately, if you go riding with a pro cyclist,
then yes, you at threshold is gonna be quite easy for them.
But you can console yourself,
with the fact that an FTP of 310 watts
is pretty darn good.
So congratulations for that.
Good work.
Right, moving swiftly on.
Muzza007, which is faster?
Turning a bigger gear at a lower wattage,
or spinning a lower gear at a higher wattage?
Well firstly, to answer your question
is actually quite simple.
Because you're saying wattage there,
your wattage is always a measure of power output, okay?
So higher wattage means higher power,
and therefore you will always go faster
when you're putting out more power.
But I suspect from your question
that what you mean is actually
about force, so,
the way you calculate power on a bike
is by force times velocity.
Talking about velocity if you're cranked.
So if you pedal slower, then you're
putting out less velocity,
so you have to put out more force,
in order to produce the same power, okay?
So in that case, actually,
it's down to the individual
as to whether it's better to pedal slower
with a higher force, or pedal faster
with a lower force.
Which is probably a very complicated answer,
so I'm gonna hand over now to
a video we produced with Professor Louis Pasfield,
where we went in deep on this subject,
and you can get through to it,
just by clicking on the screen.
- The other thing is that FTP
as you said is a reference point of one hour's performance.
Now if you're interested in preparing for
an effort or an event, that's less than that,
or significantly longer than that,
then your physiology can shift quite dramatically
in those different regions, of your performance.
- Okay we are onto our training segment.
Now this is where we're in partnership
with our mates over at Zwift,
if we choose your question to answer,
then you get three months free Zwift subscription,
which is super cool, isn't it?
In order to submit a question,
you actually use the hashtag askgcntraining,
so a little bit different to torqueback,
but there we go.
Not complicated, is it?
Now, the lucky person this week
is Helicase21, and they have asked
a really good question actually.
So, they said they keep getting dropped
on the local fast group ride
when people put in surges.
So they've asked for some sessions they can do
to work on their three to five minute power
and then their ability to recover
from those kind of efforts.
But you see when I read that question,
I thought back to my racing days,
where I knew I was really fit,
but actually, I struggled sometimes
to convert that fitness
onto really fast races on the flat.
And so I looked at that and I went,
you know what I would do?
I'd try and do specific work
to actually help with the surging.
So I found that I was able to
put out much more power on a climb
that I was on the flat.
So, if I was you, I would also work
at doing exactly that.
So trying to produce a higher power
on the flat, and actually the training for that
is to do precisely that.
And you don't need to be on the flat,
you can do it on your turbo trainer as well,
you can make the most of your
three months free Zwift actually,
and do some, maybe some racing
on the flatter circuits, that would definitely help.
Just so that you get used to putting it out
really high power, but whilst
your bike's moving really really quickly.
But then, we also put this question to
the head coach over at Zwift,
and they made two very very good points actually.
Firstly, in that your ability to surge on the bike,
will be helped by actually having
higher overall fitness,
for the principle reason that in the
parts of the ride between surges,
it's gonna feel a lot easier,
and therefore you're not gonna be
using as much of your body's pressure stores
of glycogen, which is what you rely on
when you surge.
So, not only will you be able to
follow the surges at the beginning of the ride,
you'll also be able to follow them later on.
So definitely work on boosting your FTP.
But, when you're training,
that's kind of what you do all the time
anyway, I would hope.
Then they also had the suggestion
for helping to boost that three to five minute power,
so your maximal aerobic power,
and they suggested a really good one,
which is a Zwift work out,
called Lactate Shuttling.
And the idea is, that you
get some lactate in your legs,
so that your legs are feeling pretty stingy,
and then you keep doing sustained intervals
and so you get your body used to
actually working hard, when you've
already got lactate in the legs,
and then also helping your body to
get rid of that lactate as well
more quickly in between.
So you basically be able to
boost your power, and then
get used to those repeated efforts.
So hopefully, a combination of all three,
will get you not only responding to those surges,
but also making them yourself.
You could be the boss of the group ride.
Next question is from Matheus Barbosa.
Now he says he doesn't have a power meter, yet,
and he doesn't like training with heart rate,
so he uses speed to pace himself,
but what are the disadvantages of this?
Well firstly, speed is a really really good way
of pacing yourself, and also
measuring your improvements in training.
But it does have disadvantages, you're right.
Firstly that it can be influenced by things
other than your own performance.
So most obviously, it would be the wind,
your speed on a day when you've got head wind
as opposed to a tail wind will be vastly different.
Even if your effort is the same.
But then even things like surface of the road,
so you'll go slower on bumpy roads,
compared to smooth roads.
So that would be the disadvantage,
but you can always work around that.
Either by taking notes of the conditions,
head wind versus tail wind,
or actually doing your fitness tests,
if that's what you're into,
on climbs, basically.
Still open to influence from wind,
but much less so.
So anyway, there you go.
Do it on climbs.
Right next up we've got Rasmus Wiman,
he is about to build himself
a much lighter bike.
Much lighter in fact, he reckons
it's gonna be half the weight
of his current steel bike,
mudguards and rack and so forth.
His question is about gearing.
So, should he stay with the same gearing,
or with the lower weight,
means he doesn't need such low gears anymore?
Or is the gear range just about
how much power you can put out anywhere?
Gear ratios.
Big topic, very geeky, absolutely love it.
But, in essence, you could well find actually
your life supply will mean that
you don't need as lower gears.
So you should probably have
maybe a smaller cassette on the back,
or larger chain links at front.
That's a definite thing.
But of course it does just depend
on how much power you're putting out.
So it's completely individual,
and it is, as you say, also
about where you live as well.
So if you have big mountains
that you ride up, you're gonna need lower gears,
than if you live somewhere that's completely flat.
So, given that it's such a big topic,
I'm gonna suggest that you watch
this video that's going up behind me as well,
which is where we go into gear ratios
in a little bit more depth,
and about how you should choose
the appropriate ones for where you live.
- We take a 50 tooth chainring
and combine with 11 tooth on the back,
we're gonna be traveling forward 9.6 meters
for one complete revolution of the pedals,
on a normal side road wheel.
We go to the other extreme,
take a 34 tooth, small front chainring,
combine that with a 25 tooth on the back,
we're going to travel 2.9 meters
for the same size wheel.
So that's less than a third of the amount.
- Okay, quick fire questions now.
Or at least I'm gonna try and be quick.
Although generally it takes ages doesn't it?
But here we go.
First up, Jo Blackburn,
it's common for us to describe
how new bikes/equipment are reported
to give a specific number of watts saved,
but I wondered if you could explain this,
what it's in comparison to?
That's a really good point actually.
Manufacturers will often say,
this saves four watts,
but you always need to know what they're comparing it to.
So actually it varies
depending on the manufacturers.
So it might be they're comparing it
to their old bike, it might be
that they're comparing it to a previous bike.
So, you always need to ask that question as well.
And, it's a complicated topic,
which is why aerodynamics can seem
to be quite frustrating, cause it's often
hard to know exactly how much
of an effect something will have.
But you should always ask the question.
Right, SinouSalice,
I'm 22 and I recently quit professional skiing,
because of the training I was doing
my legs are quite big and bulky,
i.e. muscly.
Is it a handicap in long rides
with many climbs, and if yes,
should I cut calories and protein
to reduce muscle mass, or
will I get there just by riding and time?
Well firstly, yeah technically
you having really big muscles,
is gonna be a big disadvantage on long climbs,
but you should also think about it
in terms of the advantages that it offers as well.
Because cyclists look vastly different from one another.
You've got super skinny people like Chris Frume,
and then you've got super muscly dudes like
Dylan Groenewegen or Andre Griepel,
and they could all win really big bike races.
So, firstly think about what your strengths are,
before you then start to think about
trying to make your body do something
that maybe it's not naturally
as good at, as someone who looks like Chris Frume.
I also would always be really cautious
about trying to cut down on calories
in order to lose muscle mass.
Particularly because you're 22,
and actually you should probably
just enjoy being super powerful,
rather than trying to lose loads and loads of weight.
So I would definitely steer clear of that.
I would do your second point,
which is just keep riding,
and then your body will naturally
change to become more specific
to your new sport.
And, yeah I'm really jealous
that you've got bit muscly legs.
Bet you can sprint a heck of a lot faster than me.
Right, next up we've got Darren Horrocks,
since disc brakes came in, we are always hearing
that X are doing this model in a disc brake version,
like it isn't normal to have disc brakes.
So at what point will discs become normal
and then we'll say actually
this bike comes with a rim brake option?
It's a good question, that.
I reckon,
probably in the next couple of years.
Yep, there we go.
The reason I'm saying that is cause
this latest batch of aerodynamic bikes
that have just come out this year,
by that I mean, Specialized Venge,
Trek Madone, Ridley something,
Canondale system six,
all of those bikes principally
have been designed around disc brakes.
A couple of them do have rim brake versions as well.
So I think that the tide is turning.
So yeah, a couple of years.
Right, Eric Norgaard,
why is the UCI bike weight limit
not dependent on the weight of the rider?
It seems that the rule favors bigger riders
with better muscle weight to total weight ratio.
Well you're right there.
Emma has often voiced her frustration
with the UCI minimum weight limit,
given that it would be super easy
for her to get a bike under that limit,
there'd be zero safety concerns,
cause she was racing at well below 50 kilos,
and yeah, 6.8 kilos, compared to a 50 kilo rider,
is vastly different to an 80 kilo rider,
riding a 6.8 kilo bike.
I think probably the reason there is
that absolute limit, is simply
to make it easier for the UCI
to actually test, because the idea of
weighing rider and bike,
before a stage start,
and then performing some simple mathematics
to work out whether or not they're allowed
to ride that given bike,
is probably just a logistical minefield.
So, it's a broad brush answer,
which is not terribly good, basically.
But, anyway, it is what it is.
And, yeah, probably not the worst rule
that the UCI have got.
Right then, what about this one from
veloriderkm?
When a rider in the peloton has to switch bikes,
do they take the computer off the bike
that has got the mechanical
and then stick it on the new one?
And yes, they do.
When you are in a race,
and you realize that you have a puncture
or you need a spare bike,
there are little things that the rider needs to do
in order to make sure that
they get the quickest change possible,
and they're able to continue doing the race.
So if it's a rear wheel puncture for example,
you need to stick it in the 11,
so the mechanic can change the wheel for you
nice and fast, and if you are getting a spare bike,
then it's a good idea to have the peace of mind
to take your computer off,
stick it on a new one, and also water bottle as well.
Need to remember to take your bottle with you.
Next question, this one gets me a little bit
excited actually, because it's cyclocross,
and even though it's still July,
for some of us, cyclocross season
is not far round the corner.
So Dean Hilbers, here's the answer to your question.
What tire is the best tire for cyclocross?
Is it a tubular tire, so the ones where
the inner tube is sewn into the tire,
and the whole thing is glued onto a special rim.
Is it a clincher?
So a normal one.
Or is a tubeless tire?
Now then.
If you are racing, everyone
at the top end of the sport
are still racing on tubular tires.
But they're a bit of a pain, and they're really expensive,
and so, I personally wouldn't.
I definitely would steer clear of clinches,
because there's no point,
for cyclocross I think tubeless
is the absolute way forward.
Cause what it means is that
you can run lower pressures,
without the risk of pinch flats.
Now remember you can still pinch flat a tubular,
because there is still a tube inside,
and you can get loads of grip,
because you can run those lower pressures,
without the risk of puncturing, and
if you ride your bike, your cross bike,
off road outside of racing,
then that kind of robustness
from your tires just,
it's just so good.
So yeah, I would definitely go for tubeless.
A lot of people struggle with the idea of tubeless,
but it's pretty simple,
as long as you know the basics.
Which conveniently, we made a video about.
Now I mentioned sealant a little bit earlier on,
I always run sealant inside my tubeless tires.
That way I get that puncture protection
from sharp objects, as well as pinch flats.
But you have to remember,
that sealant has a life span.
It will dry out inside the tire.
So from time to time,
maybe every three or four months,
you need to re top up those sealant levels.
Now, having just said that tubeless
is super easy, you just need to know what you're doing.
There is a question here from someone
that's been using tubeless for a while,
and it's quite an interesting one,
so CreRay said that
he loves his tubeless setup.
In one instance though, he said
on his carbon wheels, he finds that the
tubeless sealant feels like it glues
the tire onto the rim, and he says
it doesn't happen with his alloy wheels.
Now, I had a little look around,
and I've never heard of an instance where
sealant for tubeless tires actually
glues to the carbon rim.
But what I have experienced in the past,
is certain carbon clinches
that are tubeless ready,
the actual hook on the rim
that basically makes sure the tire
doesn't pop off, can be quite sort of sharp,
and it can really really
sort of hold on to the tire quite tightly.
And then when you add in to the mix the sealant,
you've got an amazingly secure tire,
but it will be a bit of a pain to get off.
So I don't think it's glued on,
I think it's possibly just because
the rim is that little bit sharper.
So, maybe have a look at that.
Use your thumbs, get the tire off,
and then you might find that actually
that is the reason why it's so firmly stuck.
Either that in fact, or actually the
overall diameter of the inside of the rim
might be just a little bit bigger
on your carbon wheels, than your alloy wheels,
which again means that you get
a super secure fit, but it's just
a bit harder to get off.
So, anyway, have a look.
Right, now completely changing the subject,
over onto nutrition.
Calling From Mars, has asked,
what type of food they should be eating
to stay in shape.
Now, he says he knows some of it
based on what he's willing to do,
but what greens or proteins do you recommend,
would artificial protein be better
than milk or meat, and by artificial
he mean things like protein powder or protein bars.
So, I think it's fair to say that
real food always beats supplements,
but if you're training super hard,
then supplements can be a good addition
to your normal food.
But I thought I would defer,
in this instance, to a man, not Matt Stevens,
the one that's just been on screen,
Sir Chris Hoy, who is someone that
obviously, having been a super top athlete
for a long long time, knows all about these basics,
and so he's given his top five nutrition tips.
- Protein is the biggest shift
I think in nutrition, in sport, in the last 10 years.
All endurance athletes now,
serious ones will be looking to
supplement their protein to have
some form of protein as part of their recovery.
And that doesn't mean to say
they're suddenly gonna grow huge muscles,
what it will ensure is that
you can maintain lean muscle mass,
and also help that repair process.
- That is the end of ask GCN anything this week.
If you'd like a question answered next week,
then pop it in the comment section below this one,
or submit it on social media
with the hashtag torqueback.
And then of course, if you want it
to be training specific, and be in with a shot
at getting it answered by
one of the top coaches at Zwift,
and indeed, get three months free Zwift subscription,
the hashtag is askGCNtraining.
So a little bit different,
but there we go.
Same questions answered.
Right then, please make sure this video
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