Why most cyclists are slow

[@Kac3724]

Agree power is important for training. But the people on a 30k leisure ride as long as they had fun, good on them!!

[@Vam1500]

I’ve been road biking for 30 years and finally got a power meter. I love it. I stopped watching my heart rate so much and mostly just ride to power. It is a great training and pacing tool. On my last ride on the last hill I decided to pick a comfortable wattage for the climb and ended up having to wait for my buddies at the top. So useful to know how hard you are working relative to your ftp and what you can sustain for a given period of time.

[@ronykuba]

exactly, that is the point

[@choof_worm]

Buddies been telling me exactly that for months and finally copped a dual power meter last week can't wait to use it and actually start training. Unfortunately it currently won't shoe up with my Garmin 🤷🤷🤷

[@indonesiaamerica7050]

Heart rate is critical but for real time pacing and support of "perceived exertion" power metrics are better. That doesn't mean you ignore HR curves. For LSD and recovery HR is better for "zone" pacing. But that doesn't mean you should ignore power. IF PE is OK then look at cadence, breathing rate, HR and so forth. Understanding all of these factors is key to improving your own understanding of your own potential.

[@888jucu]

Heart rate is good for understanding when you are done especially picking up the cardio drift on longb steady endurance ride

[@lokilawson]

Cycling for me is about fun. Tracking and trying to improve my power output is fun. Do you need a power meter to get fast? No. You can do it on feel, and things like average speed and getting personal bests on Strava segments are an indicator of your power improvements, but they are indirect. Going feel is variable. Seeing your power on a computer and watching your 5 second, 30 second, 5 minute, 20 minute, 60 minute, and 90 minute power max improve over weeks and months allows you to relate directly how your training is affecting the various aspects of your racing skills. And that is a heck of a lot of fun!

[@ronykuba]

Well said

[@mister_ray]

Most people racing don’t care. Just out for a ride and social interaction with friends. No one giving them a paycheck to race their bike.

[@ronykuba]

I know. This is for people who care.

[@StealthElectronVIP]

Nobody is paying me money but I want to go as fast as possible, faster is more fun. So I want to ride fast.

[@yi-tzaistoyreview4576]

u nd power. dude.

[@TavisYeung]

Odd when anyone that is even remotely serious about benchmarking or considering actual physiological *data* don’t use power (watts/kg or FTP) as the only measurement that matters - especially when racing (pacing properly) or even during proper training. Relying on power at early stages of rides or races always results in finishing rides strong and blowing by those folks who went out based on perceived effort or trying to “maintain a particular speed”, but without basing it on appropriate power for their actual fitness ... funny when you see guys hammering out at probably 150% plus their actual FTP early on because they “feel fresh” only to explode spectacularly a couple hours later... can’t fake the numbers folks 😎

[@ronykuba]

that´s what I am talking about

[@alexjones3127]

Power is 100% the superior to train. But i think position, bike handling and skill is a big aspect of how fast you can go especially on more technical roads whether it's high speed curves or sub optimal road surfaces.

[@ronykuba]

True

[@peterlethbridge7859]

Just be thankful that people are out on their bikes, it really doesn't matter how fast they go or what bike they have.

[@yi-tzaistoyreview4576]

u nd power, dude. other wise what is the point? man.

[@cliffcox7643]

Some cyclist like to ride for pleasure, and to travel and see sights. So they don't need power in any way.

[@donalmahon]

Great video, glad you addressed this topic. A lot of amateur competitive cyclists dont train above threshold or even close to it. Too much emphasis is given to distance and speed

[@ronykuba]

Thanks for the comment, that's exactly right

[@cliffcox7643]

IM slow cause i have 2 knee replacements, a stenosed bike, and auto-immunine disease. I still want to go fast!

[@grzejnikMilosz]

Totally agree with power measurement. One thing to add though regarding TT... Your power ratio against speed produced shows how Aero you and your kit are. Many times you can compare the same power measurements (per kilo) with quite different results at the end. And this is up to your aero kit and aero skills. How much aero you can become from the power you produce.

[@ronykuba]

True

[@LarsRR]

3:27 - „boasting about I‘ve done 10 watts per kilo for two minutes“ ... that would really be something to boast about, because I don’t think anyone can do that (maybe the top 20 greatest sprinters in the world). According to the power to weight table by Training peaks, a 10 watts per kilo power for ONE minute is „exceptional“ or domestic pro level. Don’t think there is anyone who holds that for another minute... (I know it’s not important, just researched that for myself because I couldn’t imagine this is possible).

[@KushPizzaSleep]

the best way to get fast is to ride with faster people and not get dropped.... power is great and everything the only way you can truly test your limits is riding with stronger riders. My FTP is above 5.5 WPK and it mostly got there riding with local pros

[@rieckstudio]

More specifically: power / weight for a given time duration ✌️

[@ronykuba]

Yep.

[@indonesiaamerica7050]

Basically, power metrics give us a more refined look at perceived exertion. It doesn't replace any other metric. It helps us understand why changes in performance happen and why perceived exertion (especially comparing dissimilar conditions) alone can be misleading. Power is NOT the only thing that matters. If you assume that it does it means you're intuitively "normalizing" your exertion to focus on power. It doesn't mean you've discovered your best performance or best way to train. Also, if you find your "sweet spot" for power in the lab and then you can't do that on the road it's somewhat useless to have that lab test if you can't figure out what happened. Oxygen levels, temperature, your cadence choices, all of these things change how your power levels will stress you over time. Say you have a great result for the first 5 to 10 minutes of your power curve compared to "norms" (public data on other competitive athletes) and your power falls off. If you can't figure out why then the power data isn't doing you as much good as you thought. Worse, taking your FTP 20 data and gearing your intervals around that is defeating the entire purpose of measuring power in the first place. These disparities must be explained and then your intervals should be adapted based on what you find (pedal smoothness issues, shallow effective cadence window, bad pre-session diet, whatever...). Basically, "power is all that matters" is a belief system rooted in genetic determinism. It's not the path to find your best. It's the path to accepting the status quo as predetermined by mysterious factors that you'll never figure out. And that is why most cyclists are slow!

[@ronykuba]

Umm... no

[@hayabusa27]

Power meters are for dead serious cyclists who want to improve their power and speed. I bought a top of the line PM about a year ago, after about 4 months I stopped using it. I realize I became so obsess on improving my power that I no longer enjoyed cycling. Power meters also drained the battery life of my Garmin computer at an alarming rate. I became less inspired while comparing my results with the Pros. I sold the whole bike and bought a Pinarello F10 and now I am in a happier place enjoying the simpleness of riding a bicycle.

[@FrankNolf]

What you fail to realize is that 99,9% of people dont give a crap about your watt/kg

[@someguy9520]

what you fail to realize is that people that don't acknowledge your wattage or watt/kg for a period of time and simply look at speed and distance they probably aren't worth discussing with. Simply a waste of time IMO. if you take 99,9% of earths population, yes that's probably true. If you would take bike enthusiasts that train and want to improve their average poweroutput they will most possibly be interested in these numbers

[@ronykuba]

I am not here for the 99.9%

[@enotracoon9244]

Most viewers on this channel really do care about watts/kg

[@someguy9520]

That's a really good point. Question is why the hell does he/she even watch this video or how does this get recommended to such a person, considering the content isn't that focused on performance

[@FrankNolf]

Ronald Kuba I would expect that people watching this channel already know the basics of performance cycling. I for instance would be much more interested in your training schedules, your diet, ... my comment was meant in a constructive way

[@stevem2939]

Hi Ronald ........My FTP has recently increased from 255 to 267. I'm 56 yrs old. I pay no attention to power whilst doing my Intervals, but instead concentrate intently on my speed cadence and HR. Although I've increased my FTP I have no interest in it and instead rely on how my body feels. Old school I know , but it does seem to work !!!

[@Methodical2]

Power, cadence and HR are what’s visible on my computer. I don’t even know my speed when riding. However, I do know my power has been slowly increasing. Once my Stages PM was upgraded and no longer malfunctioning, I started focusing mainly on power. I don’t do KOMs as it’s not a necessary thing for me. But I have seen my rides/stats listed on some stats of certain routes and I was pleasantly surprised at my standing.

[@scottswahayone432]

He is absolutely correct especially about strava I would say ALL one-way KOM'S are WIND assisted nothing to do with power. I myself have a few KOM's and on one segment I'm 4th out of 4000 and I'm 61 years old but I pick my day and go for it it's just a bit of fun I'm not that good.

[@superstrada6847]

Gee whiz guys. Although it's true that watts rule (I train with one at all times) lets give these other blokes a break. Why do we care or feel the need to condemn if a rider enjoys competing for a local KOM or enjoys distance or brags about his/her avg. speed in a group ride? If everyone was a power-based -genius then we would have a much harder time racing against them. Pro riders don't always look at watts during a race (they do collect and usually train with power) in fact they often look at kilometers to the finish and course profile. So lets applaud all those folks who ride, for what ever reason, otherwise there would be more cars on the road hating cyclists! Ronnie you have a good channel, I like your approach to cycling. Btw have you read that the best way to get fast is to ride slow and long i.e., Zone 1 in a 3 zone model? The fastest pro's train long and slow for hours and hours. Ref: SPORTSCIENCE "Intervals, Thresholds and Long Slow Distance: the Role of Intensity and Duration in Endurance Training." Authors: Steven Seiler and Espen Tonnessen Keep up the good work Ronnie.

[@ronykuba]

Thanks for the comment! I will check it out

[@bitchoflivingblah]

Hey, thanks for bothering to put up the reference, a really nice paper.

[@lokilawson]

Sadly, most of us have not the time for those LSD rides. We have to pack our training into 5-6 hours in a week (if that) because we have spouses and kids. Gosh I wish I could do that, because I know how much of an impact it has made when I am able to crank out a 10-12 hour week. It's good for the soul, too.

[@AgingBoy]

Yes power meter is important. I always look at my normalised power after a ride. Currently only 150W for ride averaging 70km once a week. I weigh 65kg. Trying to increase increase intensity in my rides so that can improve on power

[@ronykuba]

Look at some training plans and metrics to be more effective

[@BruceChastain]

haven't watched the whole things yet, but yes I'd like to know why I'm so slow. I feel fast on the street but when I compete I realize I'm normally not even mid pack.

[@ronykuba]

Hint: train with power

[@kryghyzho7868]

Most people dont get to their full potential because they ride bikes without any idea instead of actually training.

[@ronykuba]

True

[@bukowskipoker9820]

You have a new follower from Colombia

[@ronykuba]

thanks for the support!

[@zaheerkader7426]

Excellent insight for competition riders. Power is the present and the future no doubt 🧐👍🏿

[@BFreedom]

It is because most people who ride, ride for the joy of riding and only a tiny segment ride for winning races or placing high in amateur MTB marathons. On top of it, most people who ride - especially in parts of the world where you and I come from - simply cannot afford 500-1000 EUR gadgets (i.e. powermeters) on top of their bikes.

[@smokey7930]

You and I and most others watching this are very much into cycling and want to be the best we can. We know exactly what you mean and we train with power. The average Joe doesn't care about being fit or being fast. All they want, is what the general public thinks is good. When they go to work on Monday and tell their colleges I did a Marathon yesterday (even if it's only 30km and it took them 3hours) or I rode 100km that is enough for them.

[@ronykuba]

True...

[@cliffcox7643]

You're taking it down to WATT MATTERS!

[@MarvinConnell]

That makes sense - & I myself have noticed that a lot of Mountain Bikers(I prefer MTBs), even professional ones, don't look as athletic as professional Road Cyclists do - & I think it's because they ride more leisurely than they're supposed to(besides using lifts to climb mountains, climbing hills whilst out of the saddle, using e-bikes etc)... However I don't see Power Meters as the only thing a rider needs - because back in the day(20 years ago)when all I had was a speedometer, I could improve on my fitness & strength, by improving my speed & or time on a ride, which would equate to me using more watts, not so?

[@davidhewitt3070]

Hallo, Szia! I have a power meter, and I find it great for helping me pace myself on climbs....I had a habit of "blowing up" before. However...I know this is not really the main purpose of a power meter. Could you explain the most efficient way to use a power meter in a training plan? Or maybe link to something you find useful? Thanks!

[@ronykuba]

You should familiarise yourself with the key metrics like FTP, TSS, NP, VI and then look at some structured training plans from Zwift or the like

[@frederikroark]

Would you recommend the training plans by CTS on Strava Summit? I have Summit already so I was just checking out their plan.

[@typhoid77]

How much faster would I go if I had a power metre? How much more power would I expect over time? I ride a Specialised Epic, which is around 9.8kg. I weigh 73kg at 5'9 and also compete in endurance running (80-100km events). Would be great to get get your thoughts?

[@ronykuba]

You can save minutes by just pacing properly.

[@smoore5540]

If it doesn’t matter how bling the bike is, I would consider a power meter bling and not affordable for everyone and are not fitted to all bikes as standard so how would I measure my progress? Or do I just give up as I don’t have a power meter and be slow?

[@ronykuba]

The only true and objective measure of progress is power.

[@TheCharnwoodCyclist]

I understand how useful a power meter can be, but don’t disregard all other metrics as useless. I chose to have a cycling physiology test and the data that came from that has helped me immensely this year by understanding what is happening to my blood lactate at certain heart rates, if I got a power meter I’m sure I could integrate that to give me another tool to work with, but right now it’s not necessary for me. Understanding my body and improving my nutrition has been much more important than buying a power meter!

[@ronykuba]

They are useless, just as much as your HR fairy tales.

[@TheCharnwoodCyclist]

Honestly with an attitude like that I think (and hope) your KZbin channel is doomed for good.

[@ronykuba]

@@TheCharnwoodCyclist I didn't intend it to be an insult, but have it your way.

[@aitaissamehdi8628]

Thanks for the advise , did u get a chance to try Garmin XC pedals ? Any recommendations !

[@tinman1955]

Power meter makes you go faster but speedometers does not? Makes sense to me.

[@ronykuba]

Sensing from the irony, it probably doesn't.

[@xiaohe38]

A powermeter is not necessarily necessary to work well. With a heart rate monitor when you see that at the same heart rate as before and for the same duration of effort on the same route you have traveled more distance than before you also know that you have progressed , no ?

[@ronykuba]

No, seriously...

[@jelleschouten0]

Can you make a video about training. What kind of training you do, how do you plan your week etc

[@ronykuba]

I will

[@goofdunk]

Two things, you don't think a cadence sensor is important? Also do you use 3s power on your wahoo? Thank You

[@ronykuba]

You can't measure power without measuring cadence. Yes.

[@Buck2901]

Love youe No B.S. approach, thanks for posting.

[@ronykuba]

Thanks for the support!

[@jordangraff2254]

I don't use a power meter or anything... I do however get asked where the race is... So I'm assuming I ride fast (also as evidenced by the speeding tickets I've gotten in the city 😂😂😂) I don't need a powermeter though... I use my internal one which always tells me to "Go Go Go!" I will add that I ride daily to wherever I'm going and as I live in Vancouver I get more up and down than I do flats... (And I ride a 24 pound aluminum gravel/cyclocross bike as my daily which keeps legs fresh on the carbon 😁)

[@zedatomic8342]

Ok - not sure I fully agree with you here. Lets be clear I am not a huge racer and no way do I have your power or talent but... I think focusing on power and watts per kilogram is not the complete picture. Riders who win the TDF are not always the riders who can generate or sustain the most power. Drafting and positioning is key. In a big race tactics are key. I am less interested in my power and more interested in my average speed. I have a target to complete a distance and my average speed tells me if I am going to do it or not. Conserving energy - not blowing up and having enough in the tank to sprint at the end of the race are what I think about. Suggest you look at Golden Cheetah for some really way out analysis of your ride data. You may change your priorities some what.

[@ronykuba]

Talking about training here

[@zedatomic8342]

Ronald Kuba No you are talking about training to win races and w/kg is important but not the only thing you should work on. When you give a man a hammer everything becomes a nail! When you buy a power meter everybody rushes off and focusses on w/kg. I did the same thing. After spending $1000 on a good PM its only natural - seriously check out Golden Cheetah - its free but very comprehensive analysis of your rides - more to this than just w/kg.

[@ronykuba]

@@zedatomic8342 ok, so why exactly should I think about my position to save power for a sprint on a training ride? And what is important then, if not decreasing your weight and increasing your power output for every duration?

[@zenay001]

Ronald Kuba open you mind

[@cannondaletaurine]

@@ronykuba There are many Pros who don't use powermeters. But their only job is to ride bikes. They can do it all day long. They are good, because the can spend hours and hours on the bike each day. Some could probably be better using powermeter in training. For people like me, having a full time job, I want to get as much out of every hour on the bike as possible. That's why I use a pwoermeter on all my bikes I have and for every training session.

[@zsolt1853]

Power meter is just a tool to measure your intensity. If you don't train properly or you have'nt got a coach it is just an expensive random number generator

[@ronykuba]

Yes and no, it can't do the work by itself

[@SimSimon87]

Bro, you are fortunate enough not only to have an entire garage of high-end bicycles with electronic shifting and a power meter equipped on almost every one of it. Probably even on your mom's bike, which is awesome btw.! So you talk about it like it was the standard for everyone. However, "most people" don't even have a garage! They have just got one or two road bikes with alloy rims and commonly no power meter. Mostly because you can get a new bike for the price of a decent power meter. You must be really into competitive racing and have a high-value bike or otherwise a 900,- EUR component doesn't make much sense in terms of cost-effectiveness. And since most riders don't have a power meter in the first place, they can't brag about their power output either, can they?

[@krbndlls]

You can get a turbotrainer with a power meter for ~250 EUR or a pretty good power meter for less then 500 EUR. And this is the best upgrade you can buy, nhot the new bike. I have seen a plenty of strong amateur cyclists with on an 10-20 years old middle-price alloy bike with heavy wheels. They still falt out wreck most guys with pockets full of money. Not by equipment, but with consistent and smart training and high commitment. The bike really starts to matter when you're approaching your current fitness and skill ceiling and the cyclists population you are competing against is more-less homogeneous.

[@ronykuba]

Well, I hope "most people" will get inspired and aspire to change that after seeing this

[@bitchoflivingblah]

IQ2 power meter will make it affordable to own one, currently €159 for a left-sided power meter on indigogo, only bigging it up now because they have published data which shows it is reasonably comparable to Powertap and Stages. You can move it also from bike to bike and to turbo as it is pedal-based. Worth waiting a month or so until people are sent the first production units before committing your hard-earned for one. The other affordable solution is Watteam.com whose powermeter is £269 (one-sided) but you have to attach it to your cranks, very easy to do, and dcrainmaker has reviewed it and shown it is also comparable to Stages and Powertap powermeters which are x2-3 more expensive. - on a personal note, if you can use gym equipment with powermeters then you can quickly get an idea of how close perceived effort matches up with actual power. This is a useful guideline if you are disciplined. The first race I entered I was blown away because my perception of effort was nowhere near the actual effort required to hold onto the bunch, in effect I was soft pedalling. I changed my training accordingly, without using a powermeter, because it was obvious that I needed to use bigger gears. I have now gone through that stage and need a powermeter to more accurately gauge my efforts to make the most of training. Ronnie is right that garages, bikes, tech aren't the limiting factor on the way up, it's us. If you ever get to the top then thats when the marginal gains come into effect. I'm 300w 90kg at the moment- so its clear I have to lose some weight, approximately 15kg, in line with my height to increase my W/Kg to nearer 4 - 5. though I am aiming for 350W and 70kg by the end of next year.

[@JustinDoesTriathlon]

The single fastest guy on my college team (on the flats, anyway) was a dude riding a late 80s/early 90s DT shifter panasonic. Good gear does a lot, but strength is strength.

[@ronykuba]

@@JustinDoesTriathlon cycling is about power, not strength.

[@luukvanrijn1462]

my bike is as much as a power meter so i really can,t affort a power meter .

[@michaelrussell682]

Ha Ronald I would like to know how you like your 1x system on your new venge and can you run it on the 11 speed set up. I now have a power meter 2x system and want to go 1x because I don’t ride a lot of hills or what I do have I’ve never dropped to the small gear.Thanks,Mike

[@ronykuba]

any 11spd set-up can be converted to 1x

[@mikicastan]

You will agree with me that good equipment(wheels,aero frame and those marginal gains,including aerosuits,helmets,....)can raise your avg speed at least 20%. I put recently those original c zero shalow climbing wheels on my cannondale for few rides and i can tell you that i’m slower,much slower without my zipp’s.

[@JS-tb9hu]

Don't think 20%

[@ronykuba]

That's right, but in the end it's still about power

[@neilmartinez143]

Thanks Rony. Makes sense. What is your avg power on a given ride using your road bike?

[@ronykuba]

Well, that's not really how it works

[@bikespadam2706]

Only power meter? what about heartret, And Cad and time?

[@marekmarkowski9571]

No worries mate.Hidden frame motors will solve issue soon;)

[@ronykuba]

They won't make anyone fitter

[@lilth501]

A bike is just a lump of carbon or alloy without a motor you are the motor it will only go as fast as you can.

[@enotracoon9244]

Is there decent power meter at around 250 eur on the market ?

[@jimwocha4949]

Ronnie,how do you actually "train with power"? Ie, if you have a power meter how do you use it?

[@ronykuba]

That's a subject for a whole video

[@jimwocha4949]

@@ronykuba I look forward to it. Should be a good one. An insight into how you use a pm would be most helpful. Good content, keep it coming.

[@stevezodiac491]

Find your ftp and keep pushing it.

[@yellowfit8071]

Really good advice, thanks you .

[@ronykuba]

cheers

[@ianiscaratti4924]

i get your point but with 7 bikes I only wan't to buy a powermeter that I can change from bike to bike. that's why I bought the garmin vector 3. after 1 month i had to send them in because of the new batterycases. than in a triathlon i pushed 315 watts for 40k. It was more than 1hour. the problem is that my ftp is 295 watts tested from a professional. and yes I calibrated it every time and updated it. what would you recommend?

[@raphaeltiziani7476]

Get more aero.

[@stevecrabb1]

Favero Assioma Duo or Uno.

[@someguy9520]

achieving higher wattage during a race makes sense, although that's quite a big diffrence considering you already completed the swim. did you test your FTP indoors? that is mostly lower than outdoors for most riders. Your bike? Wheels, tires etc?

[@basedgodstrugglin]

Bike Radar did a test of power meters and found the Garmins to over estimate power

[@mejartomlinson7065]

I always hear that Garmin overestimate power. Meanwhile, Stages pm underestimate power. Should we all go for powertap as most testers are using it as baseline pm anyway

[@epeterson2448]

Oh and you don’t need a POWER METER!!

[@robertsukovsky7268]

Are you going to Teatro okolo Malohontu this year ?

[@ronykuba]

No

[@geoffreymadderson4664]

Spot on!

[@stuartdryer1352]

Sorry Rony, I don't think it's possible to achieve an elite level in ANY sport training 5 hr/week. It is also true that in most sports people rarely train in the most optimum way. There is a psychological tendency in all sports for people to spend too much time on their strengths and not enough on their weaknesses. So ok, about power: Really it's about power output over time, but for how long? 5 s power? 20 s? 5 min power? 3 hr? Well, all of them have a role in road cycling. But they are physiologically different. Improvement of each requires different types of training sessions. So you need a power meter but you also need to know how to make best use of it in a wide variety of structured training sessions (with appropriate recovery) and if you don't you will fail. Road cycling is also really tactical. So you need to actually do lots of races to get good at racing.

[@ynslife]

Is a super stiff carbon shoe good for XC racing? can you recommend any brand?

[@mikicastan]

drifter I just bought specialized s works 6 xc...very light and stiff

[@ronykuba]

Yes. S-Works 6 XC or Giro Empire VR90.

[@bobbysilver272]

Please make your videos a bit livelier. You have a lot of good info to share, but it is hard to watch sometimes. No offence intended.

[@theodoro89]

Haha I'm never going to watch these videos the same.

[@snehasishroy39]

Thank you for your advice. Should I use dual sided power metre or single sided one?

[@ronykuba]

Dual sided or total power preferably

[@epeterson2448]

I don’t use the but if you’re going to get one you need dual or reading will be unbalanced

[@raphaeltiziani7476]

Of course only power matters. I did not know that there are still people there who dont understand this :D

[@ronykuba]

I think there will be people like this long after rim brakes are gone.

[@williamdowling5833]

As a Pro mountain biker, I have to disagree on this one. Whoever is fittest is still probably going to win, but, but XC races are becoming more and more of technical and tactical battles instead of just a showdown of who has the highest w/kg. Power is useful, but I have never thought in a race situation "damn I miss my power numbers". If you are able to even comprehend the numbers through the immense pain, you probably aren't suffering enough.

[@simonassouline45]

Your 100 percent Right! Majority of Cyclists are Slow! Genetics, DNA and RNA also plays a big part!

[@stuartdryer1352]

Yep and the genetics are out of our control.

[@shredfreak83]

Most don't have the discipline, plain & simple. The power meter is just another tool to use on the bike. There is so much more that happens off the bike that cyclists choose to ignore.

[@ronykuba]

I am aware, but it's THE tool, not a tool.

[@shredfreak83]

For TT & Triathlon it is, especially for pacing. For the other disciplines it's more of a novelty item, especially off road. For training it's severly overused. It keeps people way too much on the bike when they could be doing more efficient training off the bike. People need to consider the efficiency of high intensity intervals/sprint training vs leg workouts in the gym. The gym also has the added benifit to increase flexibility wich will severely improve TT'ing. The powermeter by itself is more of a deathtrap that people fall into. The most important metric would be how fast your heartrate drops when the power goes back to normal.

[@ronykuba]

@@shredfreak83 yeah sure...

[@livefreeandshred9818]

Very very good advice

[@levivv]

ronny how old are you? do you think you can reach a level to sign a pro contract?

[@kryghyzho7868]

He's certainly a lot faster than me & a lot faster than the majority of his followers, but you should realize that Slovakia national level is difficult to compare to the pro scene. I.e. in cyclocross worlds the first Slovakian rider placed somewhere in the 30-40 range; there's no Slovakian XCO rider in the top 200 UCI etc. Basically the only real big hitter I can think of is Sagan. I'd love to see Ronald compete in cross races in Belgium/Netherlands or XCM races in Germany/Switzerland/Austria etc. I honestly think he could be pretty good seeing how structured he is and how quickly he improved!

[@ronykuba]

I am 23, and have been cycling for 3 years. I am not really sure, maybe it's a bit too late, it's not my ultimate goal though.

[@ronykuba]

@@kryghyzho7868 that's right, not a very strong scene here. And CX is probably my weakest discipline, but I am working to improve on that.

[@dwaynedwayne7951]

Well maybe if power meters didn't cost so damn much more people would have them and could brag about it. I would love to know my power output, but it isn't worth the cost to me (a weekend warrior).

[@ronykuba]

Well, they don't

[@lovenottheworld5723]

Biomechanics. There's no getting around that. It's written in bone.

[@GerdLinden]

4:10 160 km in 4 hours and only 180 watts average? I can´t believe. I ride a fast bike and on a distance of 160 km with 500 m up I need 160 watts for 4 hours.

[@ronykuba]

That was sitting up in the bunch, with 1700m of climbing. If you can do 40km/h on your own for 4h, then your PM is waaaay off. I have pretty much the best equipment available, super aero position, and still need roughly 250W for 40km/h, and that's in ideal conditions.

[@GerdLinden]

Yes, you have the best equipment in deed. But the bikes I´ve seen in your videos are not very fast, sorry. I suppose that you have to ride them because of you want to participate in UCI-restricted races. My powermeter is an SRM V. I need apprx. 210 watts to maintain 60 kph on an almost absolut flat road with best surface (Tempreture apprx. 25 °C, very little wind, average of several rides in both directions.) And it´s still to much.

[@ronykuba]

we are talking about road cycling on actual bicycles here, not some velomobile/recumbent ridiculousness

[@GerdLinden]

Oh, sorry. I just read the title and heard you mentioning the road bike and the mountainbike as well, so I thougt the video was about cykling in generell. So I have to agree with you: Cyclist are slow because they are weak.

[@KSIXRIDER]

Power to Weight!!!!! 💥

[@CycoWarriorx]

Ron, why wouldn’t you need a heart meter?

[@ronykuba]

It's not vert useful by itself

[@CycoWarriorx]

Ronald Kuba so they should primarily be used in concert with a power meter?

[@ronykuba]

@@CycoWarriorx yes

[@imtiazchowdhury9903]

I find using HR in conjunction with power helps me track Cardiac Fitness at specified power. For instance, if you put down 200 watts avg @ 150 BMP avg. for a specified amount of time, as your fitness increases you can put down 200 watts @ 140 BMP for that same specified time. Granted your riding conditions are staying relatively constant (ie. Temperature, wind, etc).

[@imtiazchowdhury9903]

Ronald, I agree, using a power meter is the most effective metric to utilize in training. So many people aimlessly pushing the pedals.

[@GoodToCU88]

I used to race when I was younger but I was not winning any races with 5w/kg. Time to get a reality check! Financial stability, relationships, health and many other things create a well balanced life. Now I just bike an average 4 hours a week (except Rapha 500 week) and spend my other times managing my business, family, hiking, read books and go to vacation without worrying about my performance. I think some people get too addicted to cycling and it's affecting other parts of their life. It's like basketball. If you know you are not gifted to jump, don't try to become an NBA player. Go make some money and you could open a bike shop and sponsor a local bike team one day.

[@grim4954]

I can go fast on one bike and faster on my other bike i guess it can be a few things the bike or the rider

[@TheCyclesport]

Ummmmm bike handling and skills and techniques and positioning and knowledge of how races will play out and reading the athletes and having the ability to handle anything and everything you might face in a race is way more important then POWER ONLY. You could have the most power in the world, but if you can not ride your bike, then power will get you to nowhere. So much more to being fast then power. Can not be fast if you can not straight up ride a bike fast. To ride fast you have to have skills and knowledge and the mental and physical game altogether. Get all that correct and the power will be there! The most important thing is to have a complete game for speed if you want to be fast. So much more to being fast then power.

[@jaredfontaine2002]

3 sec power...

[@OFFSHOREDOUG]

Wonder what the TDF riders dine before power meters? What nonsense.

[@ronykuba]

They have for the last ~30 years, so I don't really get the point

[@VegeReggae]

Exactly Brah, most of people think that power is just another metric, and don't know how to look at it. I said that many times in videos on my channel. I have powermeters in all my bikes(except CX ;P). Power is the ultimate metric. Speed means nothing.

[@ronykuba]

Well said

[@andystone5487]

Getting a little bit "big for your boots" 👢 aren't you??? So what if they do the short one.... Take a long time to do so.... You clearly have no real job, can ride/train as much as you want and have THE BEST equipment.... I think you should apologise mate....

[@MrPunkassfuck]

Apologise for putting the effort in? Maybe you should stop apologising to yourself.

[@ronykuba]

@@MrPunkassfuck exactly.

[@stevecrabb1]

If you're a cyclist who wants to improve in performance, this advice is some of the best you will get, in my opinion. The fact it's not sugar coated or apologetic is neither here nor there. If you disagree with the points made then make some good arguments to the contrary, no need to get all grumpy and personal.

[@Thewolf_365]

Stop the whining thats that attitude of a loser. Insert what offends you most here & have nice day

[@ronykuba]

Have you ever been in a race where the categories are like this: unemployed, employed with 2+ kids, business owner, can ride only after 6PM, has a sick mother... I haven't. It's everyone's personal decision to choose how much effort do they put in. Last week I had to race against full time professional riders, can I start crying now?

[@ramyomar5880]

Heart rate works and is less expensive. unless U r an actual pro U can drop the power trip mate!

[@someguy9520]

yes, it works...less accurate, slower reading, susecptible to caffeine, needing a belt around your chest all the time, useless for sprint or 2-3 min efforts and a lot harder to compare with other cyclists IMO Use heartrate if you don't want to, but at sub 500€ it's not a overly huge investment compared to getting a carbon frame vs aluminium. I have a favero assioma uno power meter pedal on a 400€ roadbike. So what?

[@JS-tb9hu]

I found once I increase my training load substantially my heart rate has never responded the same or got as high due to fatigue. It became near impossible to pace with it

[@ramyomar5880]

@@JS-tb9hu interesting, I've come from a running background and have been using a heart rate monitor to keep myself honest on the bike because as Ronnie points out you can be cruising at high speed without actually working hard. Your point and Calvin's point about sprint efforts has me thinking so thanks very much for your comments.

[@ronykuba]

+Ramy Omar there are not as many variables in running, that's why HR is more reliable

[@alexhill9098]

Got a few UCI points in some backend country in Europe, congrats.

[@epeterson2448]

Alex hill 😂👍

[@ronhazlett5923]

No bike will ever be as good as the "engine"! Even the most expensive bikes on the planet are crap without a rider with good, well trained legs! Power Meters are good, but again, no technology will beat a good "engine"....

[@ronykuba]

A power meter is crucial to reach the full potential of the "engine"

[@allthingsTechrelated]

Hopefully someone is going to reply to a comment!!!!!!!!!!!!

[@ronykuba]

Which one?

[@cknacci]

Agreed with u

[@rwoodford9812]

I have to laugh after reading the comments left, after you put this topic up on your site, most of them are negative. Yes power matters work and will be helpful, and no Strava is just a fun App that all riders can use to whatever level they see fit. Your approach is clearly fanatical and self centered, which will get you to a pretty good place regarding your races etc. But thinking that you have it all figured out and can speak from the top of the Mountain, is a bit ridiculous. I raced for 38 years as a Cat 3/2 and won a fair amount of local races, but this does not give me the right to ever say, "Why most cyclists are slow". The best racers that I raced against never talked about their God given natural talents, they just trained, and raced and let their legs do the talking. No judgement, just encouragement to the lesser competitors. You may want to rethink your approach to your sermons. Good luck with your site, I am sure you have a lot of followers who can't wait to hear your advice. BTW, you are the King of gear and for a young guy you have a lot of toys and motivation, plus talent! I commend you for those two things.

[@ronykuba]

Thanks for the comment. It's just my rant really... most of the time people don't even know what are they chasing

[@rwoodford9812]

Your rant was totally correct, you have the talent and the personal drive and knowledge to win and place high in your races, good luck with your future events! Your skills as a bike technician are also very impressive. I understand that you are really trying to give you advise to your VC followers, which is a good thing. I really like your videos and your topics. As a mechanic, and a retired racer, I still have room to improve on all levels. Keep up the great work with your videos!

[@ronykuba]

thanks for the support!

[@fbonde]

ON F**** Point :-)

[@Eric-xj4qj]

Guy talks a lot - 3:34

[@csisticsakanyfeju1415]

You re slow too XD