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Comments - This Cacophony of Pulsing Data

April 30, 2010

Could never justify the cost of a power meter. And, for years, I was working way too much on a computer so the last thing I wanted to do is download training data. I do keep training diaries as word files or forms I fill out by hand -- that's plenty for me. Regarding commuter bikes, etc -- you might find Bicycle Quarterly interesting http://www.vintagebicyclepress.com/vbqindex.html
- Terry, Fredericksburg

April 30, 2010

Last November I removed all electronics from my bike. I was tired of constantly uploading and analyzing data. This worked really well except in group rides where I thought at least a speedometer would be useful. So, I purchased a simple Strada wireless unit. After 3 weeks, I already feel enslaved to my bike computer again - constantly looking at average speeds, max speeds and asking myself meaningless questions like "Was this ride faster than last ride?" and "If I just step it up a little for this last hour will I get my average speed up to 19 mph?" There is a lot to be said for cleaning off the handlebars and just enjoying the ride.
- David, Raleigh, NC

April 30, 2010

The Merckx is beautiful but here's a link to the beautiful 1997 Giant Sedona. http://www.bikepedia.com/QuickBike/BikeSpecs.aspx?ItemID=68154&Type=bike I resemble that "are to that old bike you downgraded and turned into a commuter" comment. Mine is a 1987 Fuji Sagres turned into a townie bike with some Nitto bars swept back bars, but I'm guessing most of your 1997 Giant Sedona's ended up on college commute patrol.
- Dwight, Sminneapolis

April 30, 2010

Awesome dude. Whatever you do (insanity hits at sudden and unexpected speed), don't sell it !!! Ever !!! I've always loved Eddy's approach to training: 1. Ride mind numbingly hard in one direction until you blow. 2. Take the train back.
- AM, World

April 29, 2010

I did the same thing with my SRM. I found that a trainer with power is more useful. I adhere to the Oscar Friere philosophy of not using all this stuff so you do not turn into one of those crazy riders.
- Steve, New York

April 28, 2010

Your little quip about the EM bike gave me a looking glass into your heart; your wife is a real value to you. That put a smile on my face. Http://wvcycling.net
- Andrew Dasilva, Buckhannon, Wv

April 28, 2010

My friend has the best training program ever. He hammers till he gets dizzy then "backs off a little".
- Steven, Milton, Ontario

April 27, 2010

It is called the "Merckx training plan" ride hard when you feel good, take it easy when you don't" who are we to argue? Cheers
- Paul Wilson, Irwin, Pa

April 27, 2010

Yup, the bike computer data flows like so much ash from an Icelandic volcano, clouding the mind and obscuring the landscape with downward head bobs. One thing I will point out is that with the Garmins you can have it both ways because you can set up the screen any way you want, but still record the data. So if you just want to only see speed and time of day, for instance, no worries. Just have the unit display those fields only. It still records everything else and you can download it all later. I sometimes do this when I just feel like riding, or to check how my perceived efforts match up. And before, when I used a Powertap, I’d get it recording and then put it in my pocket for the same reason.
- DA, NYC

April 27, 2010

I wonder what investment bank Julie's husband works for.
- TTT, Boulder, CO

April 27, 2010

Well yeah, it was Specialized which dumped Quick-step. I doubt Eddy Merckx paid a bundle for it. It happened fast. For those of you who read french: "L'affaire Contador a joué un rôle dans ce divorce surprise, selon Lefevere. "Specialized avait en effet fait savoir la semaine dernière qu'il était disposé à consentir un effort pour engager le double lauréat du Tour de France". Mais l'Espagnol resterait finalement chez Astana, qui envisagerait une association avec Specialized. "C'est un des éléments qui a provoqué la mésentente", selon Lefevere, "mais il y en a d'autres. On n'était plus sur la même longueur d'ondes..."" http://www.lalibre.be/sports/cyclisme/article/544124/eddy-merckx-cycles-fournisseur-de-quickstep.html
- Oliver , Carrboro

April 26, 2010

I'm glad that your lovely wife got that Merckx oh so many years ago - it allowed you to sell me her old GT Force. While not my favorite bike of all time, that GT was my first road bike and it ultimately changed the course of my life. Props to you my friend.
- Cru Doggy Dogg, Jonesboro, AR

April 26, 2010

I love the numbers. Some rides I follow them the entire time and others I don't look until after I'm done. I wish I had electronic ride data for my entire riding carer. I do enjoy looking through the old 3-ring training journals, but it is so much better examining the exact GPS course file of the past rides. The most important number I have from today- and I didn't ride- is 19. Dude, that is stone-cold-bad ass! I spent a lot of time in my shop days slinging together $300-$500 bikes, and I am certain that even in my best day I never came near that number. You must have been putting out serious watts to pull off that build session. Very nice and crazy as well!
- Jason, MI

April 26, 2010

Here is a link to a scan of the 1990 EM catalog page with the 10th Anniversary frame offering. What a gosh darn beautiful bike: http://www.cadre.org/Merckx/catalog/Eddy%20Merckx%201990/CCF25022008_00002.jpg It would have been great to see that frame + paint scheme reinterpreted for this, the 30th Anniversary of the brand. I find the current link of Eddy-rello's (or whatever they are) to be as bland, and soulless as the new logo...and lament "what could have been."
- JoeP, Pittsburgh, PA

April 26, 2010

Am I missing something? In the sentence "the all-new, post-Eddy Eddy Merckx. It was bad enough that the paint and decals on the team bikes camouflaged the Merckx name more than what was probably advisable for a brand's rebirth," the embedded link points at a site with the url www.site.com. Is there some hidden meaning there? [That was an HTML hiccup. Now fixed. Thanks for the heads up.]
- David, Boston, MA

April 26, 2010

Anyone remember the Merckx 10th Anniversary frame? It was either SLX or TSX, and simply stunning. I didn't own one - a friend did (and I think he still has it) - but I'm sure I have a picture or two that I'll scan and post. What was the deal with Eddy selling-out? Why did it happen? Regardless, Specialized flicked Quick Step in favor of Astana and Contador. P.L. was probably caught off guard there and I bet Merckx bikes got the team for a song. Thoughts?
- JoeP, Pittsburgh, PA

April 26, 2010

That beautiful, classic Merckx Strada just further underscores the hideousness of Quickstep's re-badged Pinarellos. Some will say that it is just a retrogrouchie preference for steel over CFRP but that's not it entirely. There are some truly beautiful CFRP frames out there. The red/black/white copycat Merckx-arellos just aren't among them. They lack the character, style, and other intangibles that made Eddy Merckx bicycles so revered during their heyday. Data overkill? Clearly a case of "to each his own". Gimme a simple, unobtrusive computer with speed, distance, and elapsed time and I'm all set. I don't even want an idiotic "pace arrow".
- PawleeWalnutz, NYc

April 26, 2010

For now, I will keep my power meter and GPS. I have spent the last four years on a bike after a near twenty-year hiatus - almost all of which involved almost no exercise (I am 42 and did a few triathlons in college and exactly one marathon afterwards). I am still in the "have to improve and get better" category when it comes to the bike. Yet I found all of the info and tools around improving confusing - so I ignored them for the first three years and went on feel. I enjoyed cycling - I am hooked - but I was not getting significantly better with a lot of disciplined training and really suffered with groups and on long rides - and being "time-starved", I could only do so much per week. However last year, I hired a coach and bought a power meter. The improvements I have made in 13 months (note - the volume of training is not different but the intensity is) is remarkable. As a result, I was: easily able to hang with the group I wanted to at the Pan-Mass Challenge last summer - and was not the year before - (the PMC is a 192 mile charity-ride over two days); did my first race this Spring (Tour of Battenkill) and did as well as I could have hoped; shaved 4 minutes off my favorite hill climb this past weekend since last Spring with about 40 seconds left to my ultimate goal; handled Flagstaff and Sunshine last summer in Boulder; and will ride 780 kms and 19,000 m of climbing - over six days - this September in the French Alps. Using a power meter and a coach has enabled me to do these things and to do them at a level that satisfies my own inner level of competitiveness and ego (we all have them). In short - it has been a huge jump-start which now allows me to ride just about anything with just about anyone - I still suffer but suffer with a smile. The training has been rigorous but never once a hindrance. So although there may come a day when I too discard the data, for now - while getting better - I would not trade it for the world. And after 13 months with the power meter, I am not forever looking down but the occasional glance is for its merit as a pacing tool and a "do not over do it" gage. Oh and being in the northeast, the GPS on my computer is a must - whatever the naysayers say. Try doing a century on your own in July with a paper cue sheet - not so easy.
- Bruce, Acton, MA

April 26, 2010

Data overload? Never! http://douchebagsonbikes.blogspot.com/2008/07/lets-get-party-started.html
- Todd, Los Angeles

April 26, 2010

i too ride carpe diem but then after so many moons, you might ask, what the fuck did i do with all that time? Numbers help tell a story later.
- mrg, sf

April 26, 2010

Nice article on data overload and the joy of leaving it behind. Ironically, the "New Product" feature on the page is the new CycleOps Powertap head unit and two places down the list is the Garmin Edge 500. Are you trying to talk me out of buying them?
- Joe, Lawrenceville, GA

April 26, 2010

Geoff, my exact thoughts/recollections.
- AH, Indy

April 26, 2010

Your wife's Eddy Merckx is awesome. A company called New Old Stock has TTT 26.0 classic bend bars if you were so inclined..
- Jim, Troy,NY

April 26, 2010

Good to hear someone else is ditching a bit of data gear. Data fatigue is real, and it does do something to kill the thrill of just...riding a bike. At some point last year I stripped the electronics off all my bikes. Rarely do I miss them. The benefits of having done so are strangely tangible.
- Matthew, CO

April 26, 2010

Brendan, I am pretty sure that Specialized dropped Quickstep outright when they picked up Contador and Astana. I recall reading that Lefevre was quite shocked and angered when they did so. I would imagine that Merckx (not owned by Eddy anymore) could have got the deal on the, relatively, cheap. I was surprised that Ridley didn't try to get them, though they seem to have decided that, being already dominant in the Belgian market, they didn't need to raise their profile any there and their cash was better spent in Italy and Russia.
- Geoff, Bermuda