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Difficulty to stay within a power zone for outdoor training

Maximilian
over 1 year ago

I installed my new XC200 pedals on my gravel bike today and went for an FTP Test.
I was doing the test on a flat and smooth street, but the data in the 3s-Power Gauge, which I used to estimate the effort, jumped around so wildly, I could not stay within a power zone.
My cadence and speed was not changing all that much, though.

I attached my activity for cross-checking: connect.garmin.com/.../10930247479

Is it normally easy to stay within a zone on a ride outside on a flat street?
I never used power before, but I have the feeling my data is jumping around too wildly. Some peaks also go nearly to 600 Watts.

Looking forward to some insight!

I would also love to have a look at someone else's Garmin activity with power data, to compare the smoothness of the readings.

  • +1 over 1 year ago

    for me it looks like "normal" , i mean a normal pedaling style of a cyclist who never ride with powermeter outside. yes, you can stay in a zone outside , if you concentrate strongly, even you can stay to close to your target power value (lets say +-20watt, and these 20watts just the peak differences, in general it is much closer. on a turbo, it is +-2-3watts in ERG mode, that is the lowest deviation what you can reach), just You have to learn to feel in your legs to pedal with the same watts (on rolling terrain too, with changing cadence). i suggest to set the following datafields if possible on your Fenix6: 3sec Power, 10sec Power, 30sec Power., if you train with power, these datafields are important to learn to pedal smoother and smoother, at 1st your 30sec avg will be closer to your target power value, then if you are already smother, your 10sec avg is almost the same as your target, and if You reached the "master" level, your 3sec avg will be close or the same as your target value. do not chase the numbers, it has a small delay between your actual output and its displaying (you can learn it too, that it has 1-2sec delay and "implement" into your pedaling), just try to learn to feel in your legs what is the absolute steady power output (what later the numbers will prove) 

    so practice, practice and practice Slight smile