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Cycle Sport

New Cycle Sport has Floyd Landis's special all black bike with a wireless PowerTap mounted on it. But no close up of the wireless mounting system. If you notice something on the chain stay that is the receiver unit used in the TdF for timing and scoring.

Wired

Wired Magazine does a story about the powertap...

"This year, we found out. Floyd Landis, a former teammate of Lance Armstrong's who now rides for the Swiss Phonak team, embarked on an experiment. "

Power of youth...

From a farily reliable source, Tiaa-Cref is suppose to be running 2006 Powertap systems for the upcoming season. I was told that they will be using the wireless system to replace their SRM powermeters.

Health Net to use PT in 2006 preperation

From cyclingnews.com:

Healthnet to use Powertaps for training during the current off season. Pictures of the new Cannondales the team will using with the Powertaps on them are here.

Click here for the full story.

I wonder if the team will use the system during races. I asked Scott Moniger during the Mt. Hood Classic about it, and he said that he uses the system in training but NOT racing. Not sure if product sponsorships, weight, or another issue are the main factors for this decision.

Recently Erik Saunders was published saying that the real value of a power measuring device is racing, not training, since you can take those racing values and apply to your training. You be the judge buy one and see what helps your racing...

Power Surge!

Received some new SL's this week.

The product is much better asthetically and from a quality stand point then the Pro. The sealed bearings and hubs built in servicability are the two most notably features.

Having a 28H wheel built up by Dave Thomas which should weigh close to Mavic Ksyriums when finished. Will also build a Zipp 404 wheel with an SL for high priority races.

Estiamated wheel set weight: 1565 grams (for comparison Mavic SSC SL wheels are 1600 grams).

Floyd and the P-funk band...

Floyd Landis Training Camp Info is here...

Random articles...

Bicycling Magazine did a nice piece on training with power for the layman. Which is somewhat insulting since if you are considering a powertap, you probably already know how to train and have been or are racing. But here is the article.

Excerpt taken without permission:

Power To The People
This training tool, once reserved for pro riders, can help you get into the fittest and fastest shape of your life.
By Selene Yeager


There are many among us who remember when heart rate monitors first broke on the scene about 20 years ago. Suddenly, the exercise world was defined by multicolored training zones based on the all-powerful beating pulse. We smugly fastened our black chest straps, confident that we held all the knowledge we'd need to judge the intensity of a workout right on our wrist. Now, like astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus, whose theory replacing Earth with the sun as the center of the solar system rocked 16th- and 17th-century science, exercise physiologists have nudged heart rate aside, relegating it to a bit player in a larger scheme of training that is ruled by one central force: power. Okay, so it's not quite as Earth-shattering as the end of the geocentric worldview. But power meters--devices that attach to your bike to measure pedal force multiplied by cadence, or how much power you're producing--are changing the entire cycling training paradigm. And using one just may make you faster than you've ever been in your life.

More Power to You

Power meters have all the features of a typical topflight handlebar-mounted computer: speed, distance, time, cadence and heart rate, all with maxes and averages, and even energy expended (so you can calculate calories burned). But the key additional measurement is power, in watts, measured by sensors located at your crank, hub, bottom bracket or chain (depending on the brand you buy).