PowerTap Wheel Build...

Yesterday I built up a my first wheel.  I choose to built a PowerTap Wheel after trying a PowerCal and Trainer Roads.  I just felt I needed more consistent data than the PowerCal provided, and more often than Trainer Roads alone. It is also true that I am a data geek, and needed the PowerTap to provide more accurate and consistent data. The Folks at Cycling Concepts provided me with the G3 PowerTap Hub. They had a Demo Wheel from last season that they sold me at a significant discount saving me around $400 off list (thanks Dave). 

Next was the choice of Rim.  I have had a custom wheel set built for me before with Mavic Open Pro, so that was my first choice, and my brother Nick choose a 340 Stans rim.  I looked at both, and then at the RR540 from DT Swiss.  I felt that the Open Pro was the same old same old, and Sondre said they would not have a black one in for 2 weeks, OUT!  The Stans was my next choice, but I was too soft according to Sondre for my Weight, always a factor.  Sondre recommended the RR540 from DT Swiss.  I check that out, but was on the heavy side.  DT had a new rim the RR440 Asymmetrical rim that intrigued me, as it most matched my Shimano Dura Ace.  Dave said they were not available until the end of March, so I found one at Wheelsmith.com and ordered it.  It came in on Monday last, and I built the wheel on Tuesday, a vacation day.

Sondre choose the DT Swiss Competition Spokes and the DT Pro Lock Nipple in Red Anodized Aluminum.  This color scheme matches my Dura Ace 7850 front Wheel which I have chosen to use with the PowerTap Wheel instead of building a new one. 

 

Now that I had all the parts I needed to start the build.  Before I actually built the wheel, I had to get the hub off of the old wheel.  I snipped it off in minutes.

Once I had the hub off the old wheel, Sondre choose the right spokes size  for both Drive and Non-Drive side, and laid them out separately on the workbench.  Starting with the drive side I put the Inward facing spoke in first making sure the the rim decals, valve hole and hub decals faced correctly offsetting by 3 holes to account for the 3 cross pattern for the 32 hole configuration (Chosen for strength and weight bearing ability).  After the inward facing drive side came the inward facing non-drive side spokes.  About half way done...

Up to now was the easy part, now it got a bit tricky.  The outward facing spokes on the non-drive side and drive side require a crossing of the other spokes.  It was over the first two crossed and under the last cross. The non-drive went like silk.  But the drive side ran into a glitch when the spokes shortened and I could reach with my fingertips, one of the nipples slipped into the rim. I took a bit of jiggling around but it finally came out.  Sondre then showed me how to use a nipple wretch to attach the rest of the nipples to the spokes.  Although I was done lacing I was hardly done with the build.

The next step involved using the nipple wrench to tighten each spoke down until the thread on each did not show anymore.  Being as careful as I could to get them evenly done.  I then tightened each on full turn, and then felt for tension.  The spokes that were obviously still very loose I tried to tighten to what I felt the others to be.  Then came the first truing.  Truing and rounding a wheel takes patience and touch.  Taking an 1/8 turn at a time one side or the other to push and pull the wheel into alignment.  I then turned another 1/2 turn on each, and rounded and trued again.   

It was now time to dish the wheel. (Dishing is when you check to see whether the wheel is centered or not using a dishing tool)

I was way off, and needed the wheel to go toward the drive side.  We also checked for spoke tension with of all things, a Spoke Tension Meter.  22  kilograms force was the Max Tension for the Drive Side for this wheel build, and I was at about 18, quite a ways to go.

Sondre was not in the shop, he went to a meeting about Mountain Bike Racing, so Mike told me how to move the wheel toward the drive side, but I would not believe him, so I went the wrong way, (Sorry Mike).  I am a bit stubborn and Mike has only Build 2 wheels to date, so I tried it the way I thought it should go...Not a good idea.  After dishing and figuring out I went the wrong way, I had to loosen the non-drive side and tighten the drive side twice.  I also had to Round and True the wheel twice more, before I had it dished, round and true. 

Video of the final spin.

 

 

Sondre had come back by then, checked my work, and pronounced it Adequate. Sondre changed the cogs from my R500 wheels to the new wheel, put a tube and trainer tire on, and I finished by connecting the PowerTap to my Garmin Edge 800.

I left the shop and headed over to Cycling Concepts in Glastonbury for our Tuesday Night Indoor Ride to test the wheel.  I rolled extremely well, but I had trouble with the Power Reading on the Garmin.  Dave Pilone thought it might be a conflict between the PowerTap and PowerCal, as both were connected the my Garmin.  I will wear a different HR Monitor tonight at Cycling Concepts in Rocky Hill to see if that will make a difference.  Hopefully it will, or I need to change the way in which it reads from the PowerTap Hub. 



Just want to again thank all the great folks at Cycling Concepts for their help and continued encouragement and enthusiasm for the sport of cycling.  Below you see Keith the owner in his Cycling Concepts kit.

 

 

Yearly Mile Goals ahead of schedule....

Above you see my goals graphically displayed as they are on Garmin Connect.  Their goal planner has improved ememcely over the past versions.  I love the use of graphs on anything, being a data geek, and the use of the graphs gives me a distinct idea of where I am and need to go.  The top graph illustrates my Feb. Goal, and it being Feb 11th, I need only 116 miles more to reach it.  Thanks to last weeks Indoor Two Ferry Ride, I am well on my way to my goal, and should surpass it with time and mile left over. 
I am way ahead of my mile compared to last year's indoor numbers, and should continue this trend. I hope my outdoor number match my indoor ones.  This will allow me much more flexibility throughout the riding season.  I just have to remember that miles are my goal not speed, and to take it a bit easier to prevent overuse injusry. 
Right now my legs feel great, and I hope this trend continues.

Goals Set on Garmin Connect

As I stated previously, my cycling goal for 2013 is to do 3000 miles.  So this morning I went on Garmin Connect and played with their Goal Setting Tool, and created an annual goal of 3000 miles.  This is fine for a long term goal, but wanted to break it down finer into smaller chunks of Monthly Goals.  Therefore, I decided to create midterm monthly goals of 250 miles.  That will be tougher to do in the Winter Training Months, but do-able.  Example, January totals as of today, 1-26 with 5 days left, I have 50 miles to go to reach my monthly goal of 250.As this week is the Tour of Sufferlandia, I should have no problems.
I am hoping that monthly goals will motivate me enough to ride longer with less intensity, but if I see my number drop, I may have to break it down to weekly goals. I hope not, but onward and upward as they say...
Today - HHNF or Hell Hath No Fury!  20 miles more..

First FTP Test Results of 2013...

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/261152158#.UPGkPeX2dWo.gmail




OK bit the bullet and tried Training Roads getting ready for the Sufferfest Tour at the end of the month. Great program, and you get one month with money back offer and can cancel at anytime. I thought that since we did not get to do the Threshold Test at CC that I would try to determine my FTP using Training Roads, and did their 20 minute FTP Test. By the way, it is exactly like the Spineval version without coach Troy cheering you on, so I just use iTunes. 20 minutes is a long time without distractions.

Well, if you have an ant+ stick,which Nick and I do because we have the FR60 Garmin Watches, you can connect your speed and cadence, HR, and ever Ant+ power meter. So I made the mistake of connecting my PowerCal and it did not register during the test so I got no Power Data, not even the Estimated Power that Training Roads uses....Darn IT!

Thank Goodness for Garmin and Connect because their power data automatically calculates your best 20 minute Power Output that then can become your FTP. So according to Garmin my FTP is 187, not great but a start. I am going to do it again with Training Roads Monday using their 8 minute FTH Test and disconnect my PowerCal, and see what their Estimated Power with the Kinetic Trainer Gives me.

T

End of the year report

Well another cycling year gone by, another one only a day away, so it is time for my end of the year report. 
Well total miles for the year was - 2,665.94 mi.  Not 3000 like I had planned but this was a tough summer for injury, as my knee and hip were acting up.  Last week I think I found the culprit to my delima, and this upcoming year should be a better one.  I am also going to temper my expectations a bit by riding smarter, and not riding a long, but riding more often. 
My borher does not count indoor miles, but any mile I do in the saddle counts for me, so although I look at them, I do not think they are any less valuable.  He hates riding indoors and does not do it as often, but I ride indoor on the trainer often and hard.  I will therefore count them here and always.
With my knee and hip pain curbed I have ridden all week each day, but instead of an hour, I have done 30 - 40 minutes and my legs are thanking me.  My plan for indoors is to ride each day with short 30-40 minute workouts, except for Wednesday when at CC where I will ride longer than an hour most nights.  To do this I think I will need to ride before work most days, so waking up and 1/2 hour earlier, and riding is a must.  Wish me luck.

Indoor Winter Training Plan

Here is my Winter Indoor Training plan:

Riding
Sunday:  Indoors at Home for between 30-60 minutes with Mat Workout*
Monday:  Rest
Tuesday: At Glastonbury or Newington 1 Hour + and Mat Workout at school.
Wednesday: At CC in Rocky Hill 1 hour +
Thursday: Home or Newington 30-60 minutes + Mat Workout
Friday: REST
Saturday: Home or Nick's indoors/Outdoors 1 Hour + and Mat Workout

Mat Workout:

Yoga:

Mountain to Bent over to extended Mountain > Repeat 3X
Extended Mountain to Hands On Mat to Right Leg Kick out to Plank to Down Dog back to Plank to Leg Through to Lunge to Bent Over Finish in Mountain > Repeat on Left > Repeat 2X
Stretching Upper Body: Bear Hug, Over head arm stretch, Chest Stretch
Surfer into Warior 1 into Warior 2 into Star Gazer > Repeat Left Side > Repeat 2X
Lower Body Stretch: Kneeling on Two Knees > Double Hip Flexor Stretch > 1 Knee Hip Flexor Rt & Lft

Core Workout:

Abs:
Ab Crunches 50 X
Double Leg Lifts 20 X
Ab Cross with Bicycle Kick 30 X
Double Arm Double Leg Ab Crunch 10 X
Bridge 15 X
Single Leg Extended Arm and Leg Toe Touch Curls 20 X
Double Arm and Double Leg Extended 10 X
Ab Cross with bicycle kick 20 X
Bridge 10 X
Back:
The Swim 20 X
Double Arm Double Leg Superman 10 X
Kneeling Opposite Arm and Leg Extensions 10 X
Repeat 2 X

Strength Bank Circuit:

Chest Press 15 X
Triceps Extension 10 X RT & LT
Biceps Curl 10 X RT & LT
Shoulder Press 10X RT & LT
Chest Pull Out 10 X
Swats 10 X
Repeat 2 X

There is my plan for now.  I plan to add more detail about indoor rides and and type of riding in the near future, as I add this to my calendar. Wish me luck. 
_________________


Did this today and yesterday, here is is what it looks like:
Road indoors after a Yoga - Ab - Strength Band workout to Sufferfests: A Very Dark Place:



The ride was short as I just wanted to get my HR up and break a sweat. I am trying to workout 4-5 days a week without the overuse injuries I suffered from last winter into this summer. Keeping my indoor workout under an hour should help quite a bit as long as I do my stretching, core and strength training with it.

2012-13 1st Indoor Training Ride...Ouch!

Today was my first indoor training ride of the 2012=13 season.  I have set up the R3 as my winter bike this year, as last year my Tomasso gave me hip problems near the end.  As I know the R3 and R5 are set-up correctly, I will simple use the R3 instead.  Every mile I get out of the R3 is a bonus, so no real loss if the frame gets damaged in the trainer. 

Another reason for riding indoors today was to sample the new sufferfest video; "There is no Try!"  Longer progressive intervals with short rest periods were the norm with both flat sections at 100 rpm and hill climbs at 75 rpm, left my legs hurting a might.  Although, this might have been due to the lack of riding over the last 2 weeks to a month. 

Last week I stopped smoking cigars totally, and between that and Thanksgiving I have put on quite a bit of weight.  I really need to eat less and ride more over the next 12 weeks before spring, as I am not sure I will make it over even a knoll. 

I think I need to set up a schedule for my training, as I did not do that since last indoor season and it showed in my performance, and lack of progress.

Here is my ride today: