Got an SRM and was shocked to find that my initial accelleration and again out of a turn around is around 850 watts, where my cruising speed is around 290-300. Seems that the high power is there for about 5 seconds, then trails off closer to 20 mph and up. It never felt that hard.

For you power/tt geeks, is that accellerating too hard? I suppose what we look for is the right balance between getting up to speed quickly but not over doing it and causing us to ride more slowly in the "cruise" phase of the race.

Thoughts? Thanks.

Doug

Probably more likely to get useful responses on the wattage forum.

Well you have the tool. Set-up a course with a reasonable amount of corners, and do some shortish TTs with full-on accelerations out of corners vs. a moderated acceleration.

IIRC, with no citation, a 10 second or so sprint to get to speed is "free" from a pacing perspective because it is short enough to rely on anaerobic work capacity and won't adversely impact your ability to put out power at threshold.

Or that could be wrong. I think I'm right tho.

As DB says, get thee to the wattage forum on cyclingforums. Much more informed discussion over there, but a little less science nerd than the google wattage list, which is often over my head.

FWIW. For almost all riders, a kilo started with full power acceleration is always faster than one started with the idea of "holding some back for the finish."

FWIW. For almost all riders, a kilo started with full power acceleration is always faster than one started with the idea of "holding some back for the finish."
Are you saying a rider will put out the same power at the start of a Kilo as for the start of a flying 200 sprint?

What shawndoggy said! - for such short duration it is no biggie. The 1-minute 500 W "I'm so excited to be here" -effort is far worse and is one of the things I've learned to control since getting a PM. As for pacing it is also acceptable (better) to go somewhat harder on shorter uphills and then a lower effort with focus on aerodynimc form on the downhill.

Are you saying a rider will put out the same power at the start of a Kilo as for the start of a flying 200 sprint?

No. When I rode the kilo, watt was something you thought about only when buying a light bulb. I've absolutely no idea how the numbers would stack up comparing accelerating from a standing start in a,say, 48x14 for a kilo ride with the "start of a flying 200 sprint."

In kilo practice back then, you'd try different ways of riding the different segments of the event. My point was that most riders, including myself, found out pretty quickly that riding at 100% until you sit down for the "settle" gave you a better time than starting your ride at 90% in the vain hopes of having something left for a slight final acceleration just before the line. My percentage figures reflect mental committment, not anything you could measure with a strain gauge. The term "full power" in my previous post is misleading.

Are you saying a rider will put out the same power at the start of a Kilo as for the start of a flying 200 sprint?
Can't be the case - 0 rpm at the start of a standing start kilo, about max rpm when you hit the 200 meter to go point in the flying 200. Perhaps referring to full torque at the start of the kilo?

Can't be the case - 0 rpm at the start of a standing start kilo,

If rpm is 0, power is 0. If power is 0, there can be no motion. If the bike doesn't move, the ride takes infinitely long. Is that what you're saying?

Why don't we agree that we're considering the time after the cranks have started moving, O.K.?

Got an SRM and was shocked to find that my initial accelleration and again out of a turn around is around 850 watts, where my cruising speed is around 290-300. Seems that the high power is there for about 5 seconds, then trails off closer to 20 mph and up. It never felt that hard.

For you power/tt geeks, is that accellerating too hard? I suppose what we look for is the right balance between getting up to speed quickly but not over doing it and causing us to ride more slowly in the "cruise" phase of the race.

Thoughts? Thanks.

Doug

If its short its prolly not hurting you that much but its also not really getting you anything. One thing I noticed is when I tempered my take off and turn around accerations I was able to more quickly get into my TT where as when i use to take off like I was doing a Kilo effort I would be all over the place power wise as I tryied to over correct in both directions while winded from the "starting sprint". On avg my starting acceration is never more than 500 watts.

If rpm is 0, power is 0. If power is 0, there can be no motion. If the bike doesn't move, the ride takes infinitely long. Is that what you're saying?

Why don't we agree that we're considering the time after the cranks have started moving, O.K.?
In the first few pedal strokes of a standing start kilo, the RPMs are still too low to approach max power.

Why don't we agree that we're considering the time after the cranks have started moving, O.K.?

Well yes, I meant giving 100% from the standing start to the time when you sit down.

Your accelerations at the starts and at turns should have the objective of getting you quickly to your cruising speed. So if you're planning to TT at 24mph (or whatever power threshold once at your'e TT speed) get to that speed quickly without uneccessarily spiking your speed beyond that. No reason to spike up to 28 mph at a start and then fall back to 24mph. Otherwise, I wouldn't worry about the brief power spikes if they don't feel like they are hurting you.