http://wattbike.com/ Blog posts http://wattbike.com/uk/blog/post/altitude_centre_training_world_cup_teams/ http://wattbike.com/uk/blog/post/1684/ Ben was recently down at the England Training camp with the guys from Altidude Centre during the build to Eygpt game and as part of the preperation for the World Cup in South Africa this summer. Although we do not want to give to much away the youtube clip gives you an idea of what the players had to go through and we can say they all did very well. The Wattbikes are about 45 seconds in. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P9RFNOFyuT8 http://www.altitudecentre.com/   http://wattbike.com/uk/blog/post/news_from_debbie_flood_-_from_training_camp_to_trials/ http://wattbike.com/uk/blog/post/1678/ Below is an update from two time Olympic Silver Medal Rower Debbie Flood who is attempting to break back into Team GB for London 2012. She has been training on the Wattbike to test the premise that cycling helps rowers. From training camp to trials. Camp (in survival mode) was my first marker. It was not an easy time, but I never thought that it would be. Olympians achieve their success through hard work and training and I have a bit to catch up on.  Racing closely followed the camp and I approached the unknown with an open and positive mind set. Racing, much to my surprise, turned out better than I expected coming 6th at trials (with 2 out injured) and gave me a good starting point - the good news is that from the video footage and current fitness level, i have lots to improve on!  For the last few weeks after a combination of individual and crew boat trials, the Wattbike has become my 'friend and recoverer' rather than my tester.  After racing in the boat I find it hard to stay in the same position and prefer to warm down on the bike. With a short time between races, clearing the lactate and restoring pH in the muscle is key in being able to repeat subsequent races and active recovery has been found to be the best way to do this however much I may want to just lie on the floor and not move for an hour! My recovery strategy worked well and I was able to hold my form (as it is) between races. This has given me confidence going forward knowing that I can still perform to a certain standard even though I have much to improve on. Having woken up my competative senses again with some racing, I now look forward once again to training and making those technical and fitness improvements to take into the next trials - watch this space. http://wattbike.com/uk/blog/post/wattbike_at_the_southern_sportives_march_training_day/ http://wattbike.com/uk/blog/post/1674/ Wattbike have been confirmed to attend the Southern Sportive's March Training Day on the 28th March. We will be offering product testing, training advice and our resident Sport Scientist and Coach Eddie Fletcher will be delivering a training talk on how to get the most out of your training using power and pedalling effectively. Check out http://www.southernsportive.com/ for more information http://wattbike.com/uk/blog/post/wattbike_stories_online/ http://wattbike.com/uk/blog/post/1673/ Over the last few weeks we have been inundated with good news stories, which I have listed below. If you have any Wattbike news that you would like us to post on the site email news@wattbike.com   Marek the Orienteer - Blog entry - Attended a wattbike session in Estonia. Robbie McEwen - Twitter - rainy recovery day. easy session on my Wattbike.probably best training tool ever. Power+indv. L+R pedalstroke analysis http://bit.ly/dAR8rA Robbie McEwen - Twitter - try this link insteadhttp://wattbike.com John Lee - Pinkbike blog - Review of training on the Wattbike Norwich race results - EDP24 - review of the Norwich Wattbike racing Tanni Grey-Thompson to attend Wattbike Awards - Sourcenews - The 11 time Paralympic Fold Medallist Dame Tanni Grey-Thompson will attend a presentation for the winners of the Wattbike Compatition in Darlington  Wattbike Racing at Welwyn - Forum post  Norfolk Wattbike Series and free Wattbike session - from RoadCyclingUK forum http://wattbike.com/uk/blog/post/update_from_nick_dunn/ http://wattbike.com/uk/blog/post/1657/ Nick popped into the office to see me this week, and download some of his data from his monitor. He arrived at about 10am having already done three sessions - the man certainly gets some training in early! Here is his latest update: "It's cold, wet and more snow is on the way (not again!) - time for a long steady Wattbike session - its so much nicer indoors and soooooo warm! It was going to be a rest week this week but forgot about it (not very professional) so am going to have to take it next week - can't risk getting injured.  Had a great week though, two tough Watt Bike session - one interval and one 20 minute test at about 350 Watts.  Not been out on the road bike as I am too scared of the ice - seen to many crashes recently.  Loads of swimming though and some running (never like to do too much!), plus yoga and body balance - so the hours are adding up nicely - season starts soon(ish). http://wattbike.com/uk/blog/post/nottingham_clarion_wattbike_nights/ http://wattbike.com/uk/blog/post/1634/ Nottingham Clarion Cycling Club are offering a Wattbike night every Thursday from 6:30pm to 9:30 pm at the Sports Hall, Holme Pierrepont. If you are in Nottingham, check it out.  http://wattbike.com/uk/blog/post/robbie_mcewen_is_using_the_wattbike/ http://wattbike.com/uk/blog/post/1618/ We already new that Robbie McEwen was using the Wattbike, but we did not know how much he loves it. We do now! http://wattbike.com/uk/blog/post/tcr_show/ http://wattbike.com/uk/blog/post/1544/ Ben, Andy and Gary spent the weekend at the TCR Show (I was only there for Sunday) - running the Wattbike 200m challenge. Some good results and nice to put faces to names. Learning process for us though, we should have been doing a pedalling technique session and comparing individual's power delivery with some of Britain's top cyclists.  http://wattbike.com/uk/blog/post/wattbike_user_to_ride_the_absa_cape_epic/ http://wattbike.com/uk/blog/post/1023/   Early in 2010 I had an email from Malcolm Thornton, a keen Wattbike user, who had requested the Wattbike logo to put onto his cycling jersey for the ABSA Cape Epic. Further email conversation with Malcolm revealed an interesting story. Here it is in his words:   I rather foolishly allowed my wife to enter me in the ABSA Cape Epic, an 8 day, stage mountainbike ride in south africa in March 2010. I am a keen amateur cyclist, but the longest off road race I have ever done is the Brecon Beast 100km. I did a lot of outdoor training throughout the summer of 2009. My biggest concern was maintaining that over the English winter. I bought a Wattbike in October 2009. I had my anaerobic threshold tested at bath university and then devised my own interval training programmes around this. I alternate training sessions with 1 minute, 3 minute or 21 minute intervals. I am managing about 8-10 hours a week on the bike. Far more than I would have, had I had to leave the house each time to go cycling (young children, icy roads etc). Since october I have increased my 5 minute average power output from 280 to 420W and my one hour average power output from 240 to 312W. I am delighted with my improvement using a targeted training approach. I have also finally worked out that the reason I hate climbing hills is that at 95kg, my power to weight ratio needs a little more on the power side of the equation. I have 7 weeks training to go, and intend to spend most of that on the wattbike. Malcolm Thornton http://wattbike.com/uk/blog/post/revolution_27_-_wattbike_team_time_trial/ http://wattbike.com/uk/blog/post/1016/ The Wattbikes played their part in the Revolution 27. On the night of Revolution 27 the guys at the Manchester Velodrome used their Wattbikes to run a 250m team time trial, each rider chose to represent 1 of the 8 teams and then the combined times for the best adult, boy and girl were put together for that team. It was a hard fought event with Dynamo just coming out top with an overall time of 48.37seconds followed by Forza with 48.70sec and in third Rollers with 49.11secs. The points were then added to the overall points total for the night's event, please see the link below for a full report. http://www.cyclingrevolution.com/content/en/news_details_gb.aspx?guid=AB7F0E25-0849-4568-86B6-B8D4A16C5F63 The Wattbikes will be back in action on the last of the Revolution series for this season on the 28th February. http://wattbike.com/uk/blog/post/wattbike_mentions_on_the_web/ http://wattbike.com/uk/blog/post/1005/ There are a few good articles and mentions of Wattbike around the web, I have listed some of the interesting ones here: Norwich Wattbike League – photos and results at http://www.lotuscycleracing.org/ Altered Images doing some interesting things with the Wattbikes - http://www.alteredimages.tv/revolutions/ Lichfield Wattbike League Report on the British Cycling Website Riders out in force for the Wattbike Challenge at the DHL sprint day - on Retford Today Website Phil's Road Biking Blog - Spinning Classes at the Manchester Velodrome   http://wattbike.com/uk/blog/post/tri-coach_sessions/ http://wattbike.com/uk/blog/post/986/ Yesterday, we ran our first Triathlon coach session at our HQ in Nottingham. It was a very successful training session and attendees did a series of easy-to-run tests and that showed their pure power and power endurance. They also got the chance to record their cycling technique and then analyse it with their coaches. They took away the images of their cycling and tips on how to improve it so that they can translate what they learnt during the day into their Wattbike cycling and outdoor cycling. Take a look at Darren's shape below, which shows a consistently strong application power between the left and right. Tips to improve for Darren: to cycle as through you are trying to scrape mud off the balls of your shoe. This means greater flexibility of the ankle and there will be less of a drop-off in power before the other leg drive begins.   We are running more training sessions aimed at Triathlon coaches and athletes this month and next., they are free but places are limited. There are also swim sessions available with White Dolphin technology Interested? If so, please call me, Steve, on 0115 945 5454 or email info@wattbike.com. http://wattbike.com/uk/blog/post/friday_night_wattbike_league_is_back/ http://wattbike.com/uk/blog/post/958/ Friday Night Wattbike League - Lichfield Friday 5th January saw the return of the Friday night Wattbike league at Friary Grange Leisure Centre. The Wattbike league is based on the type of racing commonly seen at indoor velodromes and provides 5 different events for each competitor to participate in. Riders are split into 3 groups of 10 riders. The first race of the evening was the 500m time trial, Chris Stilgoe blasted to the fore with a 33.25 second ride ahead of Beth Clayton’s time of 34.39; David Beattie made his first appearance at a wattbike event and came third with a 34.85 ride. In group 2 Neil McDonald’s time of 30.83 ensured him of the win ahead of Steve Clarke in 31.02. Tony Wrighton’s 31.32 earned him third place. With both groups having such close finishing times between the top 3 riders all eyes turned to Group 3 to provide similar racing. Clearly, Ian Beard had not read the script so far and powered away to win in 26.31 seconds. David Hirons 27.63 gained second place but was still 2 seconds clear of Steve Clayton who finished third in 29.95. Race organisers in a cruel streak according to the riders then imposed the distance races as the next event. Normally left to the end of the evening, this promised to turn proceedings upside down. The sprinters could find themselves too fatigued to gain valuable league points, although the riders who preferred the longer distances could suffer even more in the later sprint based events. Group 1 also had to contend with an extra kilometre, being made to ride 3 instead of the normal 2. Beth Clayton showed her form by winning in 4.20.62 with Chris Stilgoe second and Alison Holmes coming through to third. In group 2 meanwhile Rob Cox continued his good form in the distance races to secure first place in 4.08.86, Tim Challinor was second and chris parlour took third. Group 3 race over the 4000m distance, Matt Gee’s ride of 4.56.86 secured him first place and a new event distance record. Steve Clayton finished in 5.06.17 with Graham Birch taking third. A short respite in the evening’s races allowed riders time to recuperate whilst the teams were decided for the next event: The Team Sprint. Each rider completes in turn 250m their cumulative time deciding the placings. Organisers try to team riders together with the aim of creating an evenly matched race. Debbie Capewell and David Beattie took the honours in Group 1, giving Debbie her second team Sprint win in 2 weeks. In Group 2 Tony Wrighton and Pat Staite won whilst in Group 3 Ian Beard and Phil Kelly took the honours The Devil race, with pre-determined distances used to eliminate the last rider to reach it, guarantees fast and furious racing in which tactics are all important. Alison Holmes did enough to ensure she wasn’t eliminated in any of the sprints and finished ahead of Beth Clayton in second and David Beattie in 3rd. Tim Challinor proved the stronger rider in Group 2 ahead of Chris parlour and Rob Cox. Matt Gee, Steve Clayton and Graham Birch finished in that order for Group 3. The 500m Handicap event, the last of the evening, sees riders set of at intervals dependant on their times in the 500m time trial event. If the handicapping is done well it should see all riders crossing the line together. It does however rely on the riders not holding back in the first event, as if they would consider doing so! Anne Robinson held on in Group 1 to win ahead of  Alison Holmes and Debbie Capewell. Pat Staite took the first place in Group 2 but was hotly pursued by Tim Challinor and Rob Cox. In Group 3 meanwhile Ian beard proved to be the 500m specialist taking the final event  despite being set off las with a 5 second deficit. Ian Simms took second and matt gee 3rd By the end of the evening Alison Holmes and Beth Clayton tied for first place overall in Group 1, Chris parlour and Tim Challinor also tied for the top place in Group 2. Group 3 was more decisive as Ian beard took the overall ahead of Matt Gee and Steve Clayton. If you would like to participate in this event which is open to anyone to do so please contact Nigel Capewell on 07768 560932 or Phil Kelly at the leisure centre on 01543 308842. Full results and details are available on www.lichfielddc.gov.uk/wattbikes http://wattbike.com/uk/blog/post/cycling_tips_have_a_ramp_test_on_the_wattbike/ http://wattbike.com/uk/blog/post/925/ Australian website Cycling Tips have a video and article with comments about doing a Ramp test on the Wattbike. There is some interesting information there. We will soon be launching our Training centre which will include information on testing and training, it will include all the formulae mentioned as well as information about how to do the tests safely.  http://www.cyclingtipsblog.com/2010/01/how-to-do-a-map-ramp-test/ Note: we do not recommend a ramp test unless you are already at a high level of fitness and should discuss this with a physiologist and your Doctor prior to undertaking any maximal intensity test.     http://wattbike.com/uk/blog/post/altered_images_wattbike_classes/ http://wattbike.com/uk/blog/post/918/ Altered images have posted three videos on Youtube about their AIRbiking - Altered Images Revolutions biking. It is a very good use of the Wattbikes in a gym environment.   http://wattbike.com/uk/blog/post/nick_dunn_-_winter_training/ http://wattbike.com/uk/blog/post/917/ Now all this snow is finally starting to melt I have dusted off the road bike - went out today but still abit dodgy (will give it a few more days I think, not worth slipping on the ice.) The Wattbike has been amazing over the last few weeks - I dont know how I would have been able to train with all this snow and it has been fun with all my mates coming round with there turbo's.  They are all wanting to have a go on the Wattbike though and the ones that have, have loved it - so much more info than just sitting on your turbo (no numbers to crunch or pedalling actions to keep you occupied!) The extra few weeks worth of training I have done but could have easily missed might be very valuable indeed come race season! http://wattbike.com/uk/blog/post/for_anyone_who_speaks_estonian/ http://wattbike.com/uk/blog/post/914/ There are a couple of videos of the Estonian Wattbike race league. If anyone knows what they are talking about please could you let me know. http://sport.delfi.ee/news/varia/jalgrattasport/video-ain-alar-juhanson-naitas-voimu.d?id=28039219 http://sport.err.ee/index.php?0&popup=video&id=9191 http://wattbike.com/uk/blog/post/debbie_flood_-_can_cycling_help_me_row_better/ http://wattbike.com/uk/blog/post/913/ On the front cover of Rowing and Regatta magazine is the caption - Row Better - Can cycling help?  I am going to test that theory (and am hoping that it will!) Let me introduce myself. My name is Debbie Flood and I have been a member of the British Rowing Team for the last 12 years (wow time flys!) for which most of I was a full time Lottery funded athlete. After returning from the Beijing Olympics in 2008 I decided that I deserved and needed a well earnt break as well as wanting to start my career pathway for 'life after rowing' if that indeed exists. I am the sort of person who will never stop doing 'something' exercise related, so kept myself occupied in my year out attempting a few triathlons and duathlons as well as doing some domestic rowing for my club Leander. I now continue to work in my day job as a Prison Officer full time but am fitting in rowing alongside this with the intention of hopefully getting back into the senior team and competing in this years World Championships in November.  This is a task that I am finding more difficult than I first thought - having the positive mindset of a racing athlete and thinking that I am always fit and ready to race anything, I find that I possibly havent been this unfit Ever. Structure and managing the spare time I do have are going to be key in my return to fitness. Rowing is an endurance sport hinging on the fact that an exceptionally high skill level is needed inorder to transfer that fitness and power into speed over the water. Sport specific training is essential BUT coming from a varied sporting background myself - running, shot putt, karate, judo and rowing - I am a firm believer in all round fitness and strength. The bike has more and more formed a part of our training in rowing as a squad. After our break following the end of our racing season we particularly use cycling on training camp to regain fitness and kick off our winter training. On my year out last year, the Rowing Team also started to use Wattbikes, and a few appeared at Caversham Lake - our squad training ground.  I had heard whisperings that the Wattbikes were really good and better than any alternative we had used before, so when I had the opportunity after the Indoor Erg Champs this year to use a Wattbike I jumped at the chance.  Cycling to work was forming the main part of my training and use of spare time, but with the nights already dark and the icy mornings drawing in, being out on the road was becoming less favourable. With the Wattbike charged and me ready and raring to go, it will form a new set of targets for me. Being less fit than I am used to, the ergo is frustrating as I can see that my times are not what I want them to be at the moment. But the Wattbike is an unknown to me and II look forward to seeing what I can do and charting my progress with my increasing fitness. Having taken a year out of international Rowing, the general consensus is that it takes a year to get back to that level of fitness, and even then you will be on catch up. I hope to be an exception to that rule. Bring it on! http://wattbike.com/uk/blog/post/debbie_flood_joins_the_team/ http://wattbike.com/uk/blog/post/912/ A warm welcome to Debbie Flood who has started on the come back trail in an attempt to row at the London 2012 Olympics. She is one of Britain's greatest female rowers, with two Olympic Silver Medals, two senior World Championship Gold Medals and two Under 23 World Championship Gold Medals in her trophy cabinet. After Beijing she has taken some time out of training and is just trying to get back to full fitness ahead of the World Championships in New Zealand in November. We will be following her training through her updates of this blog as she tries to return to being amongst the World's best.  http://wattbike.com/uk/blog/post/review_of_the_group_cycling_on_the_wattbike/ http://wattbike.com/uk/blog/post/911/ There is an interesting review of the group cycling classes that have been started at the Manchester Velodrome using the Wattbike on Phil's Road Biking Blog   http://wattbike.com/uk/blog/post/watt_is_this_weather_all_about/ http://wattbike.com/uk/blog/post/906/ Another cold and snowy day - did my proper watt bike session yesterday so  had planned an easy outdoor one today then it started snowing again! - so it was watt bike and a movie! - never watch 'Saw' while cycling- scary! http://wattbike.com/uk/blog/post/the_wattbike_gets_everywhere/ http://wattbike.com/uk/blog/post/893/ My Google Alert for Wattbike spotted this today. http://www.krakow-poland.com/Pictures/tag/wattbike/page/1 Apparently there is a Wattbike race night going on in Krakow. The Wattbike Race Night is becoming like Fight Club! http://wattbike.com/uk/blog/post/team_sky_launch_bradleys_wattbike/ http://wattbike.com/uk/blog/post/842/   I'm not sure which was bigger news, Team Sky's official launch or news that Bradley Wiggins has been getting in extra training during the recent cold snap by bashing away on his Wattbike.... both revealed in central London today. The great and the good of British cycling were at Millbank Tower this lunchtime serenely overlooking the Houses of Parliament, the Eye and all the sights of London on a glorious blue sky day in Central London. They were there to witness the eagerly anticipated unveiling of Team Sky, the brainchild of David Brailsford and his British Cycling team and SKY TV. Kicking off with an early morning city centre bike ride that included all but 3 of the Team Sky roster, 300 lucky cyclists joined the team as they met up and cyled through the streets of London together for the very first time. With the team jetting off to training in Valencia tomorrow and then onto the Tour Down Under, there was just enough time for Dermot Murnaghan to introduce the masteminds behind the team, David Brailsford, Shane Sutton etc... and then the team itself headlined by Bradley Wiggins. In a packed out studio this was possibly the busiest media event that British cycling has seen barring their victorious return from Beijing. And, no one was left in any doubt as to their intent. They purposely didn't say they would win anything but it was abundantly clear that the team that have been assembled are there for just one thing - to win the Tour de France. A number of the riders were quizzed as to why they had joined Team Sky and they all were attracted by the scope of the new project, the professionalism of the team management and the chance to ride in what they believe is 'the best team in the world'. To a man they see Team Sky as the start of an amazing journey that will at some stage (sooner rather than later was the lasting impression) culminate in world domination. All very good! The really good news though came from none other than team principal, David Brailsford himself, who confirmed (what we knew from twitter) that in spite of the freezing conditions Bradley's training was continuing unhindered as he has been hammering away on his Wattbike over the Christmas break as he starts to gear up for the forthcoming season.... Now that is good news! http://wattbike.com/uk/blog/post/wiggins_using_the_wattbike/ http://wattbike.com/uk/blog/post/805/ The first that we heard of the Wiggins family having a Wattbike was when Cath Wiggins tweeted that she was using the Wattbike  Then the very next day...... So both Cath and Brad are using the Wattbike. Will get in touch and see what sessions they are doing. http://wattbike.com/uk/blog/post/pushing_the_watts/ http://wattbike.com/uk/blog/post/795/ After a week off with a bad lung! not needed – I was back on the Wattbike last night pushing some big Wattage on ABGL 6, loved the feeling (afterwards!). Off out ont he raod bike today as heard its going to be icy over the next week so must get some outdoors stuff done before its all indoor warm stuff. http://wattbike.com/uk/blog/post/a_velodrome_in_derby_-_that_would_be_nice/ http://wattbike.com/uk/blog/post/763/ Road.cc have reported that Derbyshire City Council have put forward plans to improve their sporting provision with a Velodrome and Olympic size swimming pool. Our friend Ian Drake (CEO of British Cycling) had this to say to the Derby Telegraph -   "If you look at the popularity of all forms of cycling, one of the biggest barriers is the facilities for people to take part in the sport.   "To have a velodrome in Derby is fantastic – the location is perfect and it complements the others in Manchester, Glasgow and London brilliantly. "It's a huge boost for the city and will no doubt help foster future sporting champions." Bring it on, close enough for us to cycle to, and hopefully they will have a Wattbike training area like Manchester do. http://wattbike.com/uk/blog/post/nick_dunn_in_the_press/ http://wattbike.com/uk/blog/post/757/ Wattbike athlete and blogger Nick Dunn appeared in the Nottinghamshire Evening Post last month and it slipped past me, fortunately I now have a copy so here it is. http://wattbike.com/uk/blog/post/wiggins_joins_team_sky/ http://wattbike.com/uk/blog/post/590/ The news we have all been waiting for..... Bradley Wiggins has announced that he has joined Team Sky. It means that the top British GC contender has joined what we expect to be the top British team. More on the BBC... http://wattbike.com/uk/blog/post/_the_boat_race_only_on_wattbikes/ http://wattbike.com/uk/blog/post/354/ Since this morning Oxford and Cambridge have both had Wattbikes. We are waiting to hear of the first epic performance by one of their athletes, but as soon as we do we hear what the light blues are doing we will be winding up the dark blues for a bit of rivalry. Nothing like a bit of rivalry to make training a bit harder. ----- http://wattbike.com/uk/blog/post/christmas_training/ http://wattbike.com/uk/blog/post/355/ Spoke with Eddie (watt bike expert) yesterday about training zones and after my rest week this week I'm ready to hammer it over the xmas period. Got to have an excuse for all the mince pies I will be eating!! Did a vo2 max test at Nottingham Trent Uni this week and discovered they now have a few Watt bikes there aswell – so had a chat with a few guys about them and set them some targets so we can have a race in the new year! Should be fun. http://wattbike.com/uk/blog/post/awards_and_first_wattbike_sessions/ http://wattbike.com/uk/blog/post/356/ Getting back into the routine of training now, after going to the awards for British Triathlon on Saturday night (won age grouper of the year, yipee!) and sitting with a world class table of athletes I am motivated to go. Eddie (Wattbike coach) and I had a phone conversation yesterday and he has provided me with my stats and training zones from the tests I did with him a few weeks ago. Did the first session he set me yesterday and it felt easy – just like he told me it should. I nearly repeated the session again afterwards but I don't think thats the idea! Got session number 2 tomorrow then the weekend off (well apart from a group ride saturday morning) – hope the gale force winds ease off abit. http://wattbike.com/uk/blog/post/we_have_a_new_blogger_welcome_nick_dunn/ http://wattbike.com/uk/blog/post/357/ He beat me to it, and posted his first entry before I had a chance to introduce him, but here goes. Nick is the reigning World Age Group Triathlete and is just getting back into training in the lovely British Weather. Here is how he describes how he got into Triathlon and his plans for the future. My first experience of triathlon was in 2001 where I came 2nd in a novice sprint event. On a borrowed bike and with borrowed kit I loved it and was hooked. A month later and in training for my second race I was knocked off my bike and crushed two vertebrae. No more racing for me – triathlete no more! Four years and a few hospital visits later I finally got back into training and started racing again. That was 2005 and yet again I caught the triathlon bug. Every season since has got better and better for me. In 2007 I did my first ½ ironman, 2008 I qualified to represent Great Britain in World championships in Canada and then this season (2009) I won gold for my age category at the World championships in Australia and came third overall. So 2010….. I'm still planning it after 2 months off, but it's now November and time to get back into training. Main goals will be try some elite races as well as doing the age group European and World championships. Swimming and biking both need some work – so it's going to be early mornings in the pool and late nights on the Watt Bike – I hate these dark nights! Bring on the new season and some warmer weather." We are looking forward to following his training on the Wattbike over the winter and then his racing schedule through the summer. http://wattbike.com/uk/blog/post/ready_for_action_finally/ http://wattbike.com/uk/blog/post/358/ After a few months of little training its time to get going again. met with Eddie (WattBike coach) least week and about to start my first session set by him on the bike – with the rain today im glad im inside. ----- http://wattbike.com/uk/blog/post/congratulations_dave/ http://wattbike.com/uk/blog/post/359/ We have just noticed that our friend Dave Reedle has picked up a silver medal at the Para-Cycling World Cup in Manchester. A PDF of results is available on the British Cycling website ----- http://wattbike.com/uk/blog/post/sorry_jamie_but_your_200m_title_has_gone/ http://wattbike.com/uk/blog/post/360/ We were very impressed when Jamie Staff broke Chris Hoy's record for 200m on the Wattbike, and thought that it would last a while. Apparently we were wrong. Last week in Holland some of the Dutch rowers took on a few pro cyclists. Over 2oom Jan-Willem Gabriels, Silver medallist in the Dutch 8 in Athens and 8th in the coxless four in Beijing produced an incredible 8.84 seconds.   Jan-Willem Gabriels 200m score ----- http://wattbike.com/uk/blog/post/pics_of_the_september_brereton_wheelers_wattbike_night/ http://wattbike.com/uk/blog/post/361/ Some good pics of the Brereton Wheelers Wattbike Night at Lichfield Friary in September can be found at Martin Sutton Photography ----- http://wattbike.com/uk/blog/post/london_skyride_video/ http://wattbike.com/uk/blog/post/362/ This just caught my eye when looking through past emails…… Name check for Wattbike as well! ----- http://wattbike.com/uk/blog/post/para-cycling_track_world_championships/ http://wattbike.com/uk/blog/post/363/ Ben, Gary and I were at the World Cup this weekend doing 200m races, we saw some pretty impressive times and peak power scores. No power score quite matched David Readle from the GB Blind and Visioned tandem who showed us a picture of his peak power on his phone – a staggering 2180W! We were very impressed and we wish David and his stoker Simon Jackson all the best in the BVi tandem for this weekend's Para-Cycling Track World Championships in Manchester! ----- http://wattbike.com/uk/blog/post/cycle_show_time_trial_results/ http://wattbike.com/uk/blog/post/364/ Hello to everyone who raced on the Wattbikes at the cycle show. It has been an extremely busy few days since then however I am now back in the office and able to post the results of the Cycle Show. There were some exceedingly quick times and close races across all 4 days of the show. There will be full results posted on the site soon from our records, however take a peek at the final leader table below. Everyone who entered goes into a prize draw to win a trip to Lanzarote with Sports Tour International. Keep an eye on your mailbox for details on this. The prize for winning you may ask??????? Glory… just good old fashioned glory! Male Catergory Name Time Over 60 Peter Williams 00:32.18 50 – 59 Michael Fier 00:28.55 40 – 49 David Andrews 00:27.70 30 – 39 Jason Prior 00:27.21 Open Phil Williams 00:27.56 Under 18 Joe Moore 00:30.12 Under 16 Adam Finch 00:31.00 Under 14 Noah Smith 00:32.50 Under 12 Tom Lye 00:34.41 Under 10 Tomas Barnett 00:45.6 Female Catergory Name Time Over 60 Zanna Heighton 00:45.94 40 – 49 Ruth Hamilton 00:37.68 30 – 39 Nicky Hjerpe 00:35.84 Open Tanya Gibbs 00:34.80 Under 14 Ella Dobson 00:42.72 Under 12 Mabel Dalrymple 00:46.22 Under 10 Michaela Lysakova-Ivanova 00:42.08 ----- http://wattbike.com/uk/blog/post/england_football_team_prepare_on_wattbikes_for_south_africa/ http://wattbike.com/uk/blog/post/365/ Yesterday, Ben joined the England Football team for some of their training for the upcoming World Cup in South Africa. Ben meet the team at the Altitude Centre, a group of sports scientist who have trained many top sporting teams, most recently the Great British Lions Team before their tour of South Africa. Ben provided Wattbikes for the fitness testing during the sessions at the request of the Altitude Centre scientists as they needed reliable and consistent results on cadence, power and performance . The team underwent various tests designed to measure physiological and mental performance in similar high-altitude conditions as the team will find in South Africa next year. Protocols such as ramp tests and co-ordination tests were undertaken under varying altitude conditions simulated through masks feeding different oxygen levels during exercise. Players from teams already using Wattbike equipment, such as Manchester United, updated Ben on how they train and are tested on the Wattbikes in their clubs as well as their peak power performances. We would tell you how powerful the players are, but we wouldn't like to give the opposition any help…. ----- http://wattbike.com/uk/blog/post/sorry_sir_chris_but_jamie_has_taken_your_record/ http://wattbike.com/uk/blog/post/366/ I was not in London for the Skyride, but my phone was buzzing all day – apparently the 9.30 seconds for a 200m that Sir Chis Hoy produced at the Glasgow round of the Skyride was not unbeatable. Infact Jason Kenny got close with a 9.31s, but Jamie Staff introduced a whole new level of power, with a max power in the 200m sprint of 2080Watts and a time of 8.96 seconds! WOW ----- http://wattbike.com/uk/blog/post/health_fears_over_inaccurate_exercise_monitors_in_the_guardian_today/ http://wattbike.com/uk/blog/post/367/ There is an interesting article in the Guardian today about the dangers of inaccurate exercise monitors. It sums up very succinctly our views on the importance of accurate monitoring of output on exercise equipment. Check out http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2009/sep/20/exercise-monitors-health-danger ----- http://wattbike.com/uk/blog/post/see_the_wattbike_at_liw_and_the_cycle_show/ http://wattbike.com/uk/blog/post/368/ Over the next couple of months we are going to many shows around the countrty. The two largest ones being Leisure Industry Week (LIW) at the NEC Birmingham from 22-24 September, and the Cycle Show at Earls Court, London on the 9-11 October. We are going to have a large presence at both events, and at the Cycle Show there will be a 500m Sprint Challenge in association with Sports Tours International and Wattbike. There will be over a dozen Wattbikes for attendees to race and improve their technique on. Prizes will be on offer to competitors, and the race is a free-addition to the entry price to the show. To register your interest in the Cycle Show go to this link. It comes thoroughly recommended!! In addition to this at the NEC for Leisure Industry Week we will be on the Wattbike stand and the British Cycling stand, so there will be plenty of opportunity to see us there. However, if you cannot make either of these events, please call us on 0115 945 5454 and we will point you to the nearest place or event to experience the power of the Wattbike. ----- http://wattbike.com/uk/blog/post/mayor_of_london_skyride/ http://wattbike.com/uk/blog/post/369/ Ben, Simon and Gary were down at the Mayor of London Skyride this weekend, the last of the 5 large Skyrides across the summer. The 15km route started on the Mall and took in Trafalgar Square, Victoria Embankment, St Paul's Cathedral, the City and the Tower of London. The sun shone and cyclists arrived in their droves from all over the capital and beyond. There were lots of celebrities and sportsmen who joined cycling-enthusiast Mayor Boris Johnson. One of the athletes to race on the Wattbikes was Olympic champion Jamie Staff and we got him to race over the same flying 200m distance Chris Hoy did in Glasgow. Jamie showed why he was a world-class sprinter by hitting over 2000W in the 200m race which he completed in an astounding 8.96s, beating the previous best seen by Chris Hoy of 9.30s. Lots od other families and individuals challenged the time and over 600 people competed across all ages. The big question is though…..is 8.96s going to remain the 200m record for long? ----- http://wattbike.com/uk/blog/post/tour_of_britain/ http://wattbike.com/uk/blog/post/370/ Stage start at the Britannia Stadium This week has been a very busy week! We have been at 2 of the stages of the Tour of Britain, the Mayor of London's Skyride, and the ISAF Sailing World Cup Series. Stoke-on-Trent On Tuesday we joined the Tour of Britain riders and organisers for the start of the Stoke-on-Trent stage at the Britannia Stadium. The crowds grew for the start of the race, and Ben and I were there to show the crowds their cycling style and get them measured on our Peak Power board. We had lots of participants at the Britannia Stadium from local cycling clubs to hordes of school children enjoying one of their first tastes of competitive cycling. Once under way, we moved into the Stoke City Centre to carry on the activities in the events area shared with bicycle-powered Scalextric cars, Extreme mountain-bikers and a collection of the weirdest and wackiest bikes we've ever seen. The crowds kept on coming and there was lots of good scores including a 1338W from Lyme CC's Ian Crooks and a very impressive 1179W from 14 year old school boy Brad Simpson. London – Final stage On Saturday, we were on the track side about 200m away from the finish lane for the final stage of the Tour, a great spot to watch the tour riders sprint past at the indecent speeds of over 30 miles per hour. When not enthralled by the peleton screaming past we had around 300 cyclists doing races and testing their peak power. The sunny day brought out the competitive nature and lots of people came back for several goes and the top power of the day was in the 40+ category of 1653W. ----- http://wattbike.com/uk/blog/post/rya_take_delivery_of_their_wattbikes/ http://wattbike.com/uk/blog/post/371/ For the last two days Wattbike have been with the RYA at the Sail for Gold Regatta offering sailors some insight into the Wattbike. Pete Cunningham (head physiologist of the RYA) has had a Wattbike at his base at Chichester university for a number of months and has been very impressed with them, and feels that they will benefit the testing and training of the athletes. This is especially good as some of the sailors, especially World RSX (Windsurfer) Champion Nick Dempsey does a lot of cycling for training and it would be beneficial to be able to train indoors, and also monitor his fitness on the bike. http://wattbike.com/uk/blog/post/wattbike_in_the_antipodes/ http://wattbike.com/uk/blog/post/372/ After a trip through Australia earlier in the year and some serious work by our Australian and New Zealand distributors have caused a real buz around the Wattbike. In New Zealand alone, we have a world rowing champion (who beat the British pair into a silver medal I might add) who says: "The Wattbike was a key tool in my 2009 World Championship campaign. Although I am predominantly a rower I have done a lot of cycling and found the Wattbike provides the closest experience to actually being out on the road. Setup is fully customisable and the whole machine is as simple or complex as your required need. The vast amount of interactive feedback provided by the display meant that I was able to easily monitor my training level and progress. The Wattbike was my chosen method of cross-training for when I needed a break from rowing on the water. I would recommend the Wattbike to anyone from beginner to elite cyclist and challenge you to have a crack at my World Best half hour distance." As if the rowers were not enough, there has been interest from all the big boys… like the North Island Academy of Sport and a little know rugby team the All Blacks! As if that was not enough, Eddie is over in Brisbane for the ITU World Triathlon Championships with the guys from Wattbike Australia. We have already had a few tweets from people who are going to check out the Wattbikes, so if you are there don't be shy, introduce yourself to Eddie and the guys. http://wattbike.com/uk/blog/post/wattbike_in_the_press/ http://wattbike.com/uk/blog/post/373/ We have had a good few mentions in the press and online recently, so I thought I might share some here. The online coverage can be found at: http://www.tri247.com/article_5843_Wattbike+Time+Trial+debuts+at+Cycle+Show.html?region_id=&category= http://ibikeride.com/wattbike-time-trial-debuts-at-cycle-show.html http://www.lanzaroteinformation.com/content/wattbike-cycle-challenge http://www.bikebiz.com/news/31087/Wattbike-set-to-make-Cycle-Show-debut Unfortunately there is an error in the original Press Release, as the eagle eyed amongst you will have noticed Victoria Pendleton is not the Olympic Champion in the 500m – that award actually went to Anna Meares (Aus) who won the event the last time it was held in the Olympics in 2004. Appologies to Anna for upgrading Vicky P from 6th to 1st. There has also been some coverage over the summer in Triathlon magazines, and Cycling mags, but I do not have electronic versions, but here is some coverage from Health and Fitness Magazine  ----- http://wattbike.com/uk/blog/post/eurobike/ http://wattbike.com/uk/blog/post/374/ Last week I had one of those days, I wrote this on my iphone, but never thought to post it, so here it is… Today is one of those days that makes this job really fun, actually getting paid to look around the largest bike show in Europe. The show is in Friedrichafen, on the banks of the Bodensee, in Germany. We arrived in Zurich last night to a wall of summer air – 27 degrees is so much nicer than the 14 we left in England. This morning we caught the morning shuttle to the event, passing through vinyards and small villages on the lakeside, bathed in late summer sunshine, the only slight thorn in an otherwise perfect morning was the stop with customs who made you feel like someone was about to lose something dear to them – like their life! In fact it was mostly just large amounts of money for anyone taking a bike across the border. The show was very impressive, with a selection of really nice bikes on offer, and the usual display of crazy stuff, some cool, others just plain ridiculous. I took a few photos whilst I was there, thought I would share them here: Hmm the Livestrong Bike The New Trek Madone The best looking bike there! I seem to have come back without two pictures that I should have taken, the Merida Oh 9 – 0.9 kilo hard tail mountain bike frame, and their new timetrial bike – both of which were sweet! ----- http://wattbike.com/uk/blog/post/skyride_leicester/ http://wattbike.com/uk/blog/post/375/ We have had a lot of requests recently for the results from the Wattbike races at the Skyrides, we have not forgotten about updating them, but are just waiting for British Cycling to supply us with all the data that they collected. In the mean time, here is a picture from the Leicester Skyride. ----- http://wattbike.com/uk/blog/post/good_luck_to_asda_pedal_powers_andy_bond/ http://wattbike.com/uk/blog/post/376/ As you read Andy Bond is on his way from Land's End to John O'Groats, a voyage which has been supported by Wattbike. The ASDA president and CEO has set up a route that takes him to 21 ASDA stores along the journey that is over 1000 miles in distance. Each of the stores is joining Andy in raising money by getting staff and customers to use Wattbikes in store and raise money for the ASDA pedal power cause and get more people out on their bikes. So keep an eye out for the Wattbikes as the ASDA stores, and see if you can beat Andy and top GB athletes. Good luck Andy! We are sure that all the Wattbike training he has been doing over the past few months will put him in good shape for a quick trip! ----- http://wattbike.com/uk/blog/post/skyride_glasgow_youtube_clip/ http://wattbike.com/uk/blog/post/377/ See Chris Hoy racing on the Wattbikes about 60 seconds in! ----- http://wattbike.com/uk/blog/post/sir_chris_hoy_and_ross_edgar_do_battle_on_the_wattbikes_at_skyride_glasgow/ http://wattbike.com/uk/blog/post/378/   Chris Hoy and Ross Edgar showing true Scottish grit during racing Sir Chris Hoy and Ross Edgar were the Scottish Olympic medal heroes encouraging the people of Glasgow to pick up their bikes and join them around the city streets on British Cycling's Skyride Glasgow this Sunday 23 August. With lots of activities on offer the Wattbikes took centre stage in the busy Skyride Active area in the middle of the scenic Glasgow Green. Hundreds of people came and raced the flying 200m race on the Wattbikes to give Sir Chris and Ross a record to beat. Despite some very gallant attempts in the over-40 and under-40 categories few got close to the two Olympians. Halfway through their packed day, the crowds amassed ten deep around the Wattbike arena as the two Scottish cyclists jumped onto the Wattbikes in their shorts and jeans with celebrity TV-presenter Gethin Jones. After just a few minutes warm up and practice, the three men challenged each other to competing over the 200m flying lap course. With a fantastic display of power and efficiency, Chris Hoy took just 9.30 seconds to cross the finishing line in first place posting a new World Wattbike record in the process! Not only was it the quickest 200m yet seen on a Wattbike, but it was at a cycling efficiency of nearly 80%, which is extremely impressive for such a short sprint! Ross Edgar and Gethin Jones were not far behind either, but it definitely looked like the 3-times Olympic-medal winner could take that time down a touch with his next performance.   Ross Edgar and Gethin Jenkins race in behind a distinctly unsatisfied Chris Hoy The crowds duly kept the Wattbike team very busy throughout the whole day and they were a massive hit with families, and cyclists of all ages and abilities. Take a look at the Skyride Glasgow photo album as well as the Skyride website for all details. A big well done to everyone who took part, and made such an effort. We look forward to seeing you at Skyride Leicester and Skyride London!   A group of young cyclists follow in the Olympians pedal turns ----- http://wattbike.com/uk/blog/post/wattbike_visits_loughborough_university/ http://wattbike.com/uk/blog/post/379/ Well, that in it self is not really news. Half of us did our Sport Science degrees at Loughborough, and still know many of the people there, but this was a slightly different visit. We were demonstrating the power of the Wattbike to assist in training, rehabilitation, monitoring and of course, throwing in a few races here and there. The set up at Powerbase – Loughborough Universities conditioning suite is very good, possibly one of the best in the country, but where it does fall down is in the facilities for cardio training, with no bikes offering any quality training, some treadmills, a couple of versaclimbers and a bank of rowing machines. The rowing machines were the only pieces of kit that actually worked and were being used. The benefits of the Wattbike were immediately appreciated, and the ability to demonstrate the polar view showing the force application from both legs caught the imagination of the guys there straight away, and a couple of peak power tests appealed to their competitive nature. Once we demonstrated the software and the ability to race they could immediately imagine how they could use the bikes in parallel with the rest of their facilities to get the most out of the athletes. We left the Wattbike in situ over night as the following day Michelle Dillon and a couple of her athletes were coming to be introduced to the bike. They were very keen and interested in monitoring their cycle training to a higher degree, so the Wattbikes made perfect sense to them. We are looking forward to working with them in the future. ----- http://wattbike.com/uk/blog/post/congratulations_to_alastair_brownlee/ http://wattbike.com/uk/blog/post/380/ Today Alastair Brownlee produced a really solid performance at the London round of the Dextro Energy World Championship Triathlon Series to win in emphatic style. It was a key round for Brownlee as it now puts him at the top of the leaderboard for the series, but more importantly it stamps his authority on the course that will form the backbone of the course for the Triathlon at the London 2012 Olympics. It was very interesting to see in the BBC coverage that Alastair and his younger brother Jonathan train at home in Yorkshire through all weather, which will certainly help him should the weather turn foul in London. Congratulations again Alastair. ----- http://wattbike.com/uk/blog/post/wakefield_triathlon_club_promo_day/ http://wattbike.com/uk/blog/post/381/ Written by Robin Clough, Wakefield Triathlon Club secretary Wakefield Tri Club members getting the public started On a sunny Saturday in July, Wakefield Triathlon Club was invited to exhibit at a 2012 Olympics connected event organised by Wakefield Council. The theme of the day was to encourage shoppers in the busy Wakefield Cathedral precinct to eat healthily and take up exercise as well as picking up life-saving tips from St John's Ambulance. Other exhibitors included the Wakefield Wildcats who occupied the stall next to ours. The WTC stall was manned by volunteers from the club who mingled with shoppers and handed out leaflets about the club. The centrepiece of the WTC exhibit was two Wattbike exercise bikes. The bikes are high-tech and endorsed by British Cycling (see www.wattbike.com for more details). Passers by were challenged to complete 300 metres on the bike in as quick a time as possible. Best times were displayed on a Top-Gear-like leader board and there were categories for Men, Ladies and Children. Everyone that had a go got a swim cap, and those that broke a record were awarded a WTC T-shirt. Determined WTC triathletes competed with the public in the quest to get the fastest time of the day. Given the relatively short distance the endurance fitness of the triathletes didn't really come in to play. In the end honours were even with a member of the public getting the men's fastest time but Vic Burrows-Bilton managed to achieve the best ladies time of the day. Vic happened to be looking after a stall for Pugneys further down the precinct. All in all the day was a great success and certainly helped raise the profile of the club. Many thanks to those that volunteered to help man the stall, mainly: Phil, Alison, Tony, Bill, Robin and Greg. Extra thanks to Greg who spent all day on the stall as well as helping to ferry the bike too and from Nottingham.   Wakefield Tri Club members practise at the start of the day ----- http://wattbike.com/uk/blog/post/wattbike_at_the_manchester_skyride/ http://wattbike.com/uk/blog/post/382/ Last Sunday saw 5 of the Wattbike Team at the Manchester Skyride. We were working with the British Cycling membership team ably led by Terry Greenwood, the membership manager for British Cycling. The Wattbike tent was really the activity zone providing people the opportunity to try to be the best in their age group, with winners of each age group getting a signed British Cycling jersey. The day started slowly, but once the ride got going we were inundated all day, with people queueing up out through the barriers that had been errected. The best times of the day came late on when one 50 year old rider produced a 9.99s for his 200m, the only two people to beat him were Jason Kenny and Ed Clancy – who are pretty impressive. Jason Kenny produced a 9.59s with a peak power of 1581W whilst Ed Clancy who led up to the last few metres in their race produced a 10.89s and 1340W peak power. Both of them comfortably beat Syride celebrity Gethin Jones who managed a 13.18s 200m. Gethin, however, was the favourite with the female members of the Wattbike team, especially when he came back onto the stand to commentate on a race between a few of the British Cycling staff. Throughout the day the British Cycling stand also featured interviews with athletes, staff and coaches from British Cycling and turned up some very interviews, most notably Shane Sutton and Dave Brailsford. Vicky Pendleton was also interviewed, although the commentators seemed more interested in the fact that she had been on the cover of FHM than the fact that she has been the golden girl of British Cycling for years, although that interview did produce one of those moments when you do not know quite where to look when the interviewer introduced VickyP…..FHM cover girl but not as hot as Megan Fox! Not sure he could believe he had just said that, but Vicky took it in her stride. The other quote of the day was from Jason Kenny. When asked what his favourite bike was, he responded "My facourite bike is a Wattbike". Sounds like someone is looking for a freebee. ----- http://wattbike.com/uk/blog/post/wattbike_at_skyride_manchester/ http://wattbike.com/uk/blog/post/383/ Sunday will see the launch of the Skyride series with Skyride Manchester. The Skyrides see Sky and British Cycling teaming up to provide an opportunity to ride around the centre of Manchester, Glasgow, Leicester and London without the traffic or pollution. Along the route will be a series of different events, with a chance to ride through the velodrome, a family section, the go loud tunnel and Albert Square which will have British Cycling and Wattbike set up to offer a chance to find out more about Cycling in the UK and an activity zone – the Wattbikes. The road is closed for the whole route and is open from 10am to 4pm. The Activity Zone is also open for the same time, so come and have a go on the Wattbikes where we will have a 200m challenge going on, but be gentle on us, we will be there from 6am for set up so maybe drop by with a coffee – mine will be a cappuccino if possible. ----- http://wattbike.com/uk/blog/post/a_pause_for_thought/ http://wattbike.com/uk/blog/post/384/ I caught the "Pause for Thought" feature on Radio 2's Wake up to Wogan, and although it started with one of those Wogan links where they are having a conversation about something completely staged – in this case how fit Wogan is looking – then seemlessly drop into the visiting speakers thought, it hit a nerve with me today. The speaker today was Sarah Joseph, editor of emel, the Muslim lifestyle magazine. The bulk of her thoughts surrounded the fact that with 3 kids, a full time job, speaking engagements and some volunteer work she had become unfit, and her solution was to get a pedometer and some decent shoes to walk in and put it right by walking over 10,000 steps per day. It had made a huge difference to her life, she was feeling fitter, had more energy and enjoyed the challenge of going from 3,000 steps per day up to 10,000 and beyond. It was the motivational value of her targets, and specifically the need to have some data so that she knew if she had acheived her target or not, that was most interesting to me. As we get older I have found more and more of my friends getting unfit and becoming overweight. Much like Sarah Joseph we all have busy lives, but those that are able to fit some exercise into their lives have more energy, and stay slimmer! The key motivator seems to be a target, whether that is running a half marathon or riding 1000km it is reaching towards those targets that is key, and setting some data points along the way so that the target it not 6 months away. That is what we like to do with the Wattbike, set a target work towards it, one pedal revolution at a time, and it is the data feedback that keeps it interesting, can I average a few more Watts each session, can I go further with the same average power (improve efficiency), am I lighter, stronger, fitter, healthier. In the end though it always comes down to one thing, does all this effort make me happier, and if done right the answer is most certainly yes. ----- http://wattbike.com/uk/blog/post/wattbike_talent_id_athlete_wins_at_paralympic_world_cup/ http://wattbike.com/uk/blog/post/385/ Ben went up to Manchester Velodrome last Friday for the DHL Sprint School where the young athletes were practicing the Team Sprint and Kierin on the track. They also had a session on the Wattbikes where up and coming BC riders Helen Scott & Chris Lyte gave the guys some tips for the 2 events especially on their starts, griping the bars, their position on the bikes and using their body weight to maximum effect. Using their new skills they them had team sprint competition. http://www.sprintschool.com/content/home.asp Whilst we were there Dave Reedle one the BC psychologists popped down, Dave, a former shot putter and now GB track cyclist, first realised his potential as a cyclist at last year's World Cycling Championships on a Wattbike. Whilst having a go a the Wattbike peak power test he managed just short of 2000watts. He has since taken up the sport and last May was selected as a tandem rider and won Silver in both the Kilo TT and Tandem Sprint at the Paralympic World Cup. Fantastic work by Dave! ----- http://wattbike.com/uk/blog/post/wattbike_a_letape_du_tour_mondovelo_sous_le_soleil_du_ventoux/ http://wattbike.com/uk/blog/post/386/ Setting up the Wattbike tent at the Mont Ventoux étape Wattbike at L'Etape du Tour Mondovélo under the sunshine of Mont Ventoux Wattbike France launched the Wattbike at L'Etape du Tour Mondovélo to the thousands of the competitors who came to attempt one of the most famous and tricky mountain stages of the Tour de France, Mont Ventoux. It was a very busy few days where 8500 cyclosportifs fought against the infamous mountain roads, accompagnied by another 20,000 visitors. The sun shone, and the temperatures were high especially when the windy mountain lost its gust for the Sunday. The Wattbike tent was extremely busy across all the days as it was the only booth around where everybody could come and try the product. Everyone who had a go were fascinated by their power profile on the polar graph, and lots of group were very keen to compete against each other on the Wattbike challenges. Customer sensations were described as the best ever felt on a stationnary bike, far better then on the usual or top turbo trainers. The information provided by the monitor was very interesting to the customers, with the star is the Polar Graph ! Sunday was very much an international day as 3 out of 4 demos were done to non-French residents. Many came from the UK and Spain, but some came from South Africa (most living in London), Canada & Quebec, South America (Argentina, Mexico). Look out for our booths at forthcoming events, such as the Cycle Show in Earls Court, and the Skyride events across the UK this summer! ----- http://wattbike.com/uk/blog/post/triathletes_world_august_09_features_the_wattbike/ http://wattbike.com/uk/blog/post/387/ Triathlon World August 2009 Have just seen the coverage of the Wattbike in the August edition of Triathletes World. The bike gets a good write up and there is a nice image. They do a section at the end of the piece where they outline if the item is essential, and if there is an alternative. Was obviously disappointed to see that they thought it was not essential, but then they have not seen the effects that understanding pedalling efficiency can have on your cycling! They do however understand the value of the data from the Wattbike and explain that there is really no alternative to the Wattbike if you want to accurately measure your power output and cycling efficiency! ----- http://wattbike.com/uk/blog/post/shows_meetings_jenson_button_and_the_bbcs_guestimation/ http://wattbike.com/uk/blog/post/388/ It has been another busy week with the Wattbike being displayed at shows, events and meetings all over the country, but without a doubt the most exciting visit was to Brawn GP to test Jenson Button. I will write a full blog post on that session, but for now will just say that he is just like he appears on TV, very down to earth and personable. We also did a bit of testing with his two engineers who were also great guys and very interested in the polar view, especially when they were slightly better than Jenson! The Wattbike has also been used in filming for the new BBC Show Guestimation, a game sho, which will go out around the National Lottery on Saturday nights. The Wattbike was connected by the show's technicians to a wall of lights with each one representing a number of Watts. The aim of the game is for two families to guestimate how much power the Olympic BMX rider Liam Phillips can produce. Obviously telling you would be to ruin the surprise, so you will have to look out for the Wattbike Guestimation Challenge to find out more. Liam has also been selected to represent Great Britain at the UCI World BMX Championships in Australia ----- http://wattbike.com/uk/blog/post/henley_royal_regatta/ http://wattbike.com/uk/blog/post/389/ After the Lincolnshire show, where else would you expect to find the boys from Wattbike, but of course darling, at Henley Royal Regatta. The rowing community have been very fast to pick up on the benefits of the Wattbike as they are familiar with monitoring their training data from the rowing machine. With this in mind we were ready to explain to them the benefits of cycling, of the Wattbike and of course excite them with the polar view. Well, we did not really need to! Almost as soon as we set up a group of rowers came up to the stand to have a go, with one of them explaining all the features of the Wattbike to his friends. Apparently rowers also read the cycling press, check the website. A great five days were had at Henley although I have to say that Wendesday, Thursday and Friday were too hot to expect anyone to do any of the ranking distances, but we did have a good peak power from one of the dutch rowers, 1688Watts. Our premise that you cannot predict who will be most powerful without testing was definately proven when he went to get the "most powerful" person from his crew to see what he could get. He struggled to get over 1300W with a final score of 1306W. I am sorry to say that ruined his credibility and his weekend – you cannot hide on a Wattbike! We also had some good feedback from some of the rowers who have been using the Wattbike to supplement their training or because they have back or arm injuries and cannot row. All of them reported that they were performing better in their fitness tests after using the Wattbike – they put this down to the fact that they are removing the imbalances between their legs that the a-symetical rowing action causes. ----- http://wattbike.com/uk/blog/post/wattbike_sky_and_british_cycling/ http://wattbike.com/uk/blog/post/390/ We seem to have chosen the hottest days of the year to go to London in the last couple of weeks, although it was well worth while as it was to meet with British Cycling and Sky and discuss their involvement with cycling and where Wattbike fits into "the landscape". Our meeting with Sky was related to the up and coming Skyrides and took place at their offices. I was officially quite excited to see what it would be like, but it was just another office building, with a few small changes – it is massive (not unexpected), the Simpsons can be found lounging on their sofa in the waiting area of reception – which I have to admit I did not notice straight away even though I was sat opposite them, and there are a few huge SKY HD ads painted onto the walls – you might come round a corner and be face to face with Spiderman! The meeting was very interesting and I know have more of an understanding of the Skyrides which should really engage people in cycling in the 5 cities (Manchester, London, Leicester, Glasgow and Hounslow). We were looking at providing a Wattbike experience stand at each of the events to provide people with the opportunity to have a go on a Wattbike and pit themselves against the best in the country. The meeting with British Cycling was in less exciting circumstances, but was equally worthwile with us planning how we can help them to develop indoor cycling, to enable them to maintain the growth in people cycling all the way through the winter. ----- http://wattbike.com/uk/blog/post/wattbike_at_the_lincolnshire_show/ http://wattbike.com/uk/blog/post/391/ Yes I know, not our normal gig, but last weekend there were Wattbikes at the Lincolnshire show. Amidst the livestock, diggers and horsey folk the Wattbikes provided a different sort of riding. Two of our bikes were used on the British Cycling stand and provided an opportunity to have a go and test yourself against the best in the country, and infact the best at the Lincolnshire show. As normal the stand was innundated with people wanting to have a go, and a number of kids came back time and time again to see if they could beat there personal bests – at least it kept them out of the sun anyway. One of the more famous competitors was the Gladiator Enigma who had a go on the bike. Enigma tries the Wattbike Some of the stalwarts having their 15th go ----- http://wattbike.com/uk/blog/post/bamboo_and_eco_bikes/ http://wattbike.com/uk/blog/post/392/ I was mountain biking last weekend with one of my neighbours who is something of a collector. He is a paddler (races in kayaks) and was explaining that he had at least six kayaks, and then we got onto bikes…. Six was only the start! He has a bike specifically to ride to the kayak club, but more interesting than that was that he also has a bamboo bike. Yes, made out of that stuff that Pandas like. I have to admit that I thought he was joking when he told me but sure enough he does have a bamboo bike, then the day after I find out that they exist I was sent a link to "What's stopping the bamboo bike from shooting into the mainstream?". So they are in fact a mainstream (well almost) product. What was really interesting was finding out that bamboo grows so quickly when farmed that you can cut enough to make a bike on a daily basis and it will just carry on growing, so it is a very eco-friendly material (if we ignore all the carbon fibre that is used to join the bamboo together). It was also interesting to see how much bikes flex, especially when you are out of the saddle and sprinting, forcing the bike from side to side underneath you. This is a problem that you would not think we would have with the Wattbike, except we do. Well, it is not a problem, more of an explanation about why you can change the saddle but not the handlebars. The answer is simple. On a Wattbike the saddle behaves just like the saddle on a regular bike, but the handle bars are different. One a regular bike when you put pressure on one side of the handlebars the bike leans to one side, and you either balance it or fall off. On a Wattbike when you lean on one side it stays there! Which means that when you are sprinting and putting all your effort through one side then the other you are exerting huge forces on the handlebars, as a result they have to be a bit stronger than the handlebars on your bike – infact a lot stronger. We are developing drop and tri-bars for the Wattbike, and have seen the prototypes which are looking good, and are due out soon. Next time you are on your bike, take a look at the frame and handlebars when you are riding, (but do it somewhere you will not run into a tree/car/person/wall). ----- http://wattbike.com/uk/blog/post/bikeradar_wattbike_challenge_number_2/ http://wattbike.com/uk/blog/post/393/ I missed this when it first came out, but have just read about Bikeradar's second round of their Wattbike Challenge. I had been mildly surprised when I saw the photos from the first challenge – jeans/t-shirts, they obviously did not realise that the Wattbike is not just another exercise bike! That had changed by the second challenge – with a bit more knowledge about the Wattbikes, the ability to compare data between the Wattbikes and most importantly the ability to race meant that there was a lot more lycra and the first pair of SPDs. Some pretty impressive times posted as well, with Matthew Cole (of Bikeradar) who posted 1:05.29 for the kilo with a peak power of 711W and an average power output of 598W. Altough the peak power seems quite low the fastest way to ride is of course to even pace the 1000m. Even more impressive than his time though is his power per kilo which came out at 6.72 Watts per kilo. I am looking forward to round 3, I wonder if anyone will have done any training for it? Matthew Cole (BikeRadar) 00:01:05.29 711 598 6.72 ----- http://wattbike.com/uk/blog/post/sky_launch_skyride_with_a_wattbike_race/ http://wattbike.com/uk/blog/post/394/ Ben was at the launch of Skyride yesterday running a number of small races on the Wattbikes, including a race between Gethin Jones and Victoria Pendleton. Sky are the main sponsors of British Cycling and have embarked on the Skyride project to engage over 1million more people in cycling, starting with their own staff and encouraging more people to cycle more often. They have announced an activity packed summer with rides in Manchester, Glasgow, Leicester and London – see the press release: Sky Gets Britain Back on the Bike Vicky Pendleton vs Gethin Jones Getting 1million more people to ride is certainly an ambitious target, but if there was ever a time to do it now must be that time. Obesity is reaching all time highs, we are in the build up to London 2012 and British Cycling are THE golden sport at the moment with an unprecidented winning record in Beijing. I hope that as the summer draws to a close we can keep people engaged in cycling as the winter draws in. ----- http://wattbike.com/uk/blog/post/tour_series_stoke_on_trent/ http://wattbike.com/uk/blog/post/395/ I was at the Stoke-on-Trent leg of the Tour Series this week. It is the 7th leg of the 10 leg national tour which races around the closed-circuit, inner-city streets of Britain. BMX World Champion Shanaze Reade, from nearby Crewe, launched the event at the Civic Centre and the cycling festivities carried on through the rest of the day. We tried to get Shanaze onto the Wattbikes to give a target for the City to chase, but with an arm in a sling following her shoulder injury and subsequent operation she was on doctors' orders to not take part… A shame indeed! She did give plenty of inspiration though and the spent a lot of the day encouraging Stoke's citizens to get active in cycling. The city is the first Cycling City in the country, and the day saw lots of fun activities to watch and partake in with Wattbike racing in the City Centre, live Extreme mountain biking demos and, of course, the tour race in the evening. Over the day hundreds of people made time to go and see the event in the city centre. We were in the midst of it, in the sunshine, and there were lots of challengers. About 200 people raced on the Wattbikes across the day to get involved with the event. We did some short flying 100m sprints and the cycling club members from Lyme RC and Newcastle RC pushed each other to a great time of 4.91 seconds over the 100 metres. The Tour Series continues and can be seen on ITV4 and live in the next 3 towns. ----- http://wattbike.com/uk/blog/post/alastair_campbell_even_works_on_his_wattbike/ http://wattbike.com/uk/blog/post/396/ Alistair Campbell has written an article for the Saturday Times – whilst on his Wattbike. Although his cadence appears to be a bit lower than we would have expected you can probably put that down to the distraction of typing on a blackberry whilst cycling – I know I could not do both very well. Alastair makes good use of his Wattbike focussing on both physical and technique trainint to ensure that when he gets out on the road he is able to get the most out of his cycling. Using the polar view he is able to determine how well he is cycling whilst monitoring his power output (or speed) at all times. Alastair also explains his shock at seeing cyclists not wearing helmets – I have to admit that I could go on a rant here, I share the same desire to see everyone who cycles do so safely and for me that includes wearing a helmet. One thing that particularly annoys me is parents with their kids in a child seat – child wearing a helmet, parent no helmet – surely that is not a way to teach young people about safety! Rant over – I might add that I do not wear my helmet on the Wattbike…. ----- http://wattbike.com/uk/blog/post/an_event_at_adidas_and_eddie_makes_an_impact/ http://wattbike.com/uk/blog/post/397/ We have posted a news article that explains the event that Eddie and Ben assisted with at Adidas last week. The race was a combination of a Wattbike challenge and a challenge on the Concept2 indoor rower. The whole event was designed to prepare teams for the Microsoft Challenge. Both Ben and Eddie reported having a great day and being impressed by the arena and the performances, there is a full story in the news section. Eddie has also been helping a few cyclists to monitor their training, a review of his time with blogger Graham Bence can be found on the Cyclotherapy Blog. My favourite line is definately "Eddie, our Wattbike representative, showed us with enthusiasm and clarity what the Wattbike static cycle trainer could do – it might have been quicker to say what it can't do as the Wattbike pretty much tells you everything you want to know, or not want to know, about your cycling capabilities." ----- http://wattbike.com/uk/blog/post/victoria_pendleton_challenges_all_on_the_wattbike_on_the_allianz_stand/ http://wattbike.com/uk/blog/post/398/   Insurance Group Allianz welcomed Victoria Pendleton to the BIBA 2009 Conference and Exhibition (British Insurance Brokers Association) held in the Manchester Central Convention Complex. Over the course of the day Victoria challenged deleguates, passers-by and members of Allianz to race over 100m on the Wattbike. From 10am the challenges kept on coming, and even though everyone was suited and booted Victoria's challenge drew very large crowds and had over 70 had a go. The crowds watched the sprint race on the big screen through the Wattbike race system and Victoria encouraged the participants and gave them advice as they went.   Victoria Pendleton Supporting a Competitor at the Allianz Stand Victoria Pendleton Showing off her Olympic Gold Medal Activity on the Allianz Stand       ----- http://wattbike.com/uk/blog/post/graeme_obree_and_brian_lopes_try_the_wattbike/ http://wattbike.com/uk/blog/post/399/ The Wattbikes were very popular all weekend at BikeRadar Live with hundreds of people getting peak power and 200m scores. The most famous of the riders were Graeme Obree and Brian Lopes. Both legends in their own area of the sport, Graeme a two time pursuit world champion and former holder of the world one hour record was not really suited to the type of racing that we were doing – infact he posted 885Watts for the Peak Power and 12.09s for the two hundred metres, which would have left him a ways off the leaders – make it an hour though and he would be dangerous! Brian in comparison was much more suited to the peak power and 200m. As a four times World Champion, in 4x, 8x and Dual he understands getting a quick start and certainly has some impressive leg speed. In his warm up he produced a peak cadence of 188r/m and a peak power of 1630W on setting 1. Once we moved the resitance to level 6 and had the 200m race he was even more impressive. He recorded a peak power of 1689W and a time of 9.51s for the 200m very impressiev stuff and the fastest 200m of the day – the second fastest coming in the same race with a 9.53s. A good weekend all round with much interest in the Wattbikes. The DHL trailer will now be moving around the country visiting DHL centres – we will keep you posted. ----- http://wattbike.com/uk/blog/post/steve_peat_races_on_the_wattbike/ http://wattbike.com/uk/blog/post/400/ Steve Peat today raced on the Wattbike on the Wattbike DHL stand at BikeRadar Live. By the time he raced it was late on in the day and he had already raced in the downhill, but still produced a 9.78z 200m and a peak power score of 1708Watts. Impressive stuff and he is a nice guy, very friendly and willing to sign autographs. When on the Wattbike he immediately understood the value of the Polar View for training and monitoring efficiency. We will try and get him back onto the Wattbikes tomorrow. The stand was busy all day and we were able to catch up with a few of our friends from other exhibitors including Animal, SIS and Perfect Motion. Ed Waterston from Scott (see A Conference in Adelaide, a Wind Tunnel and James Cracknell) was also there, we hope to catch up with them tomorrow if there is any free time! We thing that about 500 people tried the Wattbikes and the feedback has been great. Thanks to Eddie for his hard work today. ----- http://wattbike.com/uk/blog/post/wattbike_at_djanogly_city_academy_nottingham/ http://wattbike.com/uk/blog/post/401/ Last night I was at Forest Fields Improvement Association, Nottingham, where they held an interactive exhibit at the Youth Consultation Event at Djanogly City Academy with the Wattbikes.   Djanogly City Academy Event   The Forest Fields Improvement Association aims to improve community spirit and community cohesion by organising local events. The association hired 2 Wattbikes to run a challenge for their youngsters and adults to get them interested in the project. The group mainly made up of teenagers and young adults from the local area raced across 200 metres on the Wattbikes, trying to be the fastest. With many participants over the evening, quick times were repeatedly recorded getting as low as 10.78 seconds. The winner motivated by the competition and the vouchers for the local Victoria shopping centre, was a 14-year old who stayed very cool throughout the racing. Well done to him! ----- http://wattbike.com/uk/blog/post/bernard_hinault_tries_the_wattbike/ http://wattbike.com/uk/blog/post/402/   Bernard Hinault tries the Wattbike Never wishing to miss an opportunity to meet with the great and the good of cycling, our colleagues at Wattbike France were at the pre-race fair at the Paris-Roubaix (a video review of the 2009 race can be seen on Le Tour website). As everywhere else the Wattbikes go it was a busy day with lots of interest and lots of people trying the bike and learning about the polar view. That we are pretty used to by now, meeting one of only five riders to have won Le Tour five times though, that is really exciting. Bernard Hinault came and had a go on the Wattbike and had a visit with the guys, who were suitably impressed. As well as being a five time Tour de France winner Bernard Hinault is also one of only five cyclists who won all three Grand Tours and the only one to have one each one more than once. In short he is one of the greatest cyclists of all time, and a nice guy. ----- http://wattbike.com/uk/blog/post/the_treadmill_desk_vs_the_wattbike_desk/ http://wattbike.com/uk/blog/post/403/ OK, I have not made one, but I think it would be better! I noticed this image of the treadmill desk, at health giant Humana's office on Peter Kim's blog. It got me thinking….. I often take the opportunity to read or watch a DVD when on the Wattbike, but what about being able to do some work on a long session, of course it would be possible, you move about less when riding than running, the only problem for me would be the sweat ingress into my laptop! Although I could probably get a waterproof keyboard and mouse. Right that is it. I am off to make one! http://wattbike.com/uk/blog/post/french_cycling_federation_use_wattbikes/ http://wattbike.com/uk/blog/post/404/ Eddie is back! 12 days of international travel, hotels, airports and (since his Blackberry had not arrived before he left) no emails for me to deal with. With his return came a string of emails including an interesting conversation with Florian Rouseau of the French Cycling Federation who are using the Wattbikes. The story starts with Eddie "popping over" to France to demonstrate the Wattbikes to Florian Rouseau, who incidentally can create the perfect circle of pedal efficiency – I suppose that is not that surprising when you understand he has three Olympic gold medals, and a silver! Florian was immediately taken by the ability for his athletes to be able to train and test on the Wattbike, especially the ability for young riders to learn about pedal efficiency. Two months into their use of the Wattbikes and the the findings are very positive. The track team use the Wattbikes 1 – 3 times per week, mostly for longer sprint work of up to 75 seconds. The monitors are all set to show the polar view whilst the riders are doing their training and testing which is proving to be very helpful, especially for the young riders who are focussing on establishing consistent efficient pedal technique. The key for Florian has been to put his athletes onto the Wattbikes for their testing and efficiency education then put them back onto the track to immediately embed the technique on the track. This has facilitated the breaking down of bad habits that he has not been able to impact on in other ways. Eddie will be continuing to help Florian to maximise the benefit from his Wattbikes and encourage him to make the most of the polar view during longer sessions which are more productive in creating a change in the pedal efficiency than short sessions. Will keep you posted…… ----- http://wattbike.com/uk/blog/post/james_cracknell_guest_post_on_cycling_technique/ http://wattbike.com/uk/blog/post/405/ Cycling and running are both things we learn to do as kids and as such I'm sure most of us feel fairly confident that we can do them well enough. If asked most people's limiting factor to speed in those activities the answer would be fitness, finding the time to train and equipment. The technical aspect of cycling gets overlooked because when people start taking it more seriously they can already ride and the emphasis is on training hard and spending as much money on carbon as you can afford. Both of those make you go faster but if you were switching to a new sport you'd learn how to master it before splashing out on the best kit. It's obviously easier for me to talk about rowing but taking the time to learn the technique and get the right force curve makes a far bigger difference than the boat one rows in. Yet despite having that knowledge from one sport I'd failed to apply this to cycling. I've been very lucky in that the physiological benefits from years of rowing training meant I can move a bike ok but it wasn't until I got a Wattbike to help with preparation for this year's Etape that I realised quite how inefficient I was. The first thing I did was look at the rankings for 60 minutes and set about trying to do that for an hour, apart from various pieces of me being splattered all round the room after I blew up with 15 minutes to go there were some other key learnings. Apparently a good force pattern from the pedals isn't the perfect figure of eight I was effortless producing, according to Eddie Fletcher the Wattbike magician I was losing 0.75m per pedal revolution with my signature profile. I might as well have been cycling through mud. I was only pushing on the way down not squeezing the pedal all the way round and at 85rpm I was about 15rpm shy of the efficient cadence. I dropped the resistance, increased the cadence and focused on getting a more efficient force profile from the pedals. In the next hour I went 700m further and didn't explode over the gym since then I've done some longer more technical sessions and am preparing myself for another crack at my 60min pb – my legs can't wait. ----- http://wattbike.com/uk/blog/post/20_seconds_is_pretty_good_alastair/ http://wattbike.com/uk/blog/post/406/ Yesterday evening before heading out to the Sports Industry Awards, Alastiar Campbell tweeted that he had finally managed to ride circles on his Wattbike. Having spoken to him before about it, I know that it was becoming a bit of an obsession, but for those that do not know about the polar view on the Wattbike monitor it does not make much sense. Unlike other exercise bikes the Wattbike offers a view that shows you how efficiently you are pedalling, with 100% efficiency being power delivered consistently throughout the pedal cycle. What that means in real terms is that there is always force being applied to the road so that you keep moving forward all the time.   ----- http://wattbike.com/uk/blog/post/wattbike_at_rodborough_school/ http://wattbike.com/uk/blog/post/407/ We've been following up how our customers are doing with their Wattbikes and have heard many great uses of the bikes. Here is one from Ann Harding, Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator at Rodborough School in Surrey. This is some good feedback, but we also want your recommendations for improvement so if you have any feedback from your time with the Wattbikes, please let us know: Hi! I originally got it to use as part of an alternative to the P.E curriculum for three disabled youngster in the school. We asked the physiotherapist for each child to give us advice on what they could and couldn't do so each one has an individual programme. This has all gone according to plan but we have extended the use of the Skills Gym to work with some of the students who present more challenging behaviour. They have been given a programme of exercise to do every day – including the bike – and we have found that they are less disruptive in class and have such a fantastic sense of achievement when they achieve the targets they have been set. In fact we are finding now that they are setting more challenging targets for themselves and look forward to their time in the gym. I took a bit of a gamble with this idea but the bike has been so successful that I am really glad I did. The support and advice has been gratefully received and I would recommend the bike to anyone. Many thanks. Ann Harding (Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator)   ----- http://wattbike.com/uk/blog/post/in_the_back_of_an_artic/ http://wattbike.com/uk/blog/post/408/     After a day in London yesterday discussing the future of the Wattbike website with our friends at Metia it would seem obvious that I should spend this morning in Stoke-on-Trent at Don-Bur in the back of a DHL Artic. It was certainly an educational morning, but the important question is "Why?". Wattbike have teamed up with DHL to provide a travelling Wattbike activity area – it just happens that for DHL that can be delivered on the back of an Artic. The basic premise is that the trailer will have up to ten Wattbikes, three screens, a registration table and if all goes to plan, hundreds of people around the country trying out the Wattbikes. The Wattbikes will be positioned facing outwards, on one side of the trailer with the three screens behind the bikes. When the trailer arrives at its desired location, the curtain on one side will be rolled back, the power plugged in, and the Wattbikes will be ready for action. If the weather is good the roof also peels back to allow some indoor cycling in the sun. The trailer is being fitted out by Don-Bur, who are the countries leading specialist in the design and manufacture of commercial vehicle trailers and bodywork, and as well as fitting some clever safety features they will be fitting the racks for the screens and the Wattbikes. As the global leaders in international express and logistics, DHL will be moving the trailer around their sites to introduce the Wattbikes to their staff and raise money for Unicef, but for one weekend only the trailer will be available to the general public at Bikeradar Live. We will be running races, raising money for Unicef and generally putting all-comers through their paces on the Wattbikes, so come to Donnington Park on the 30-31st May, have a great weekend out and find out about the Wattbikes at the same time.         ----- http://wattbike.com/uk/blog/post/a_conference_in_adelaide_a_wind_tunnel_and_james_cracknell/ http://wattbike.com/uk/blog/post/409/ Well, it has certainly been a busy few days. Eddie and his team are on a round the world trip at the moment. This week they had been invited to present at the 'Identifying and Developing Australia's Next Generation of Cyclists' Conference in Adelaide. This inaugural conference, organsied by the National Talent Identification and Development Program from Cycling Australia attracted delegates from throughout the country from the state's cycling, triathlon, sports academy and sport institute organisations, with the speakers including Simon Jones the former head men's track coach for the British team. There have been a few interesting Tweets and a blog post from Come Cycling with Me. Currently topping the 4k individual pursuit Wattbike Ranking is Rhys Gillett a young cyclist from Ballarat within one of the talent programs and overseen by Tammie Ebert, the Senior Coordinator for Cycling Talent ID in Australia. Awareness of Rhys' utilisation of the Wattbike in his training encouraged Tammie to invite us to present. Intrigued by the product and the integration of it within British Cycling at all levels, Eddie's presentation was enthuisiastically received. From our part we were hugely impressed at the healthy cross-pollination of ideas between both cycling and triathlon and the desire amongst all delgates to continue to innovate in order to stay ahead of the curve and the rest of the world. It looks as though the Wattbike will soon become an integral part of Australia's Talent ID programme as well as an important mechanism to engage young people and drive membership within Cycling Australia. Numerous orders placed and many new friends made Eddie's (or Fast Eddie as he has come to be known) trip enjoyable and well worth while. Next stop is US Cycling in Colorado Springs on Monday. Back in the UK I was back at the Brawn GPs wind tunnel on Tuesday seeing the magic happen. I spoke at length with a couple of engineers and finally understand what a rear diffuser actually is, which while completely unrelated to cycling is interesting when they talk about it so much during the coverage of the Grand Prix. Simon Smart and his team from Drag2Zero where testing a number of athletes in the windtunnel. I was there to help them with some physiological data relating to how the new position impacts on their ability to produce the power required to ride fast. I met with Ed Waterston, Marketing Manager of Scott in the UK and tested him, if he agrees I will post some data and pictures here shortly. Finally, to and a rather bitty post, I spoke with James Cracknell yesterday evening. He has enjoyed using the Wattbike, and some of that competitive flare that made him so good at rowing is back, especially when he realised that one of the Danish rowers, Soren Madsen is only 700 metres behind him. James will be a guest blogger over the next few months, so look out for his posts. ----- http://wattbike.com/uk/blog/post/wattbike_compared_to_the_srm_crank/ http://wattbike.com/uk/blog/post/410/ One question we are regularly asked is how accurate is the Wattbike and how does it compare to the SRM crank. The answer is that both testing tools are accurate to within +/- 2%, although they use different measurement systems. We have created a video to demonstrate the comparability of the data and posted it on our Youtube channel at www.youtube.com/wattbike, so if you already have data from using an SRM crank, you can compare with the data that you are getting on your Wattbike, but remember to ensure that your SRM crank is correctly calibrated. ----- http://wattbike.com/uk/blog/post/wattbike_expert_software_v._2.50.22/ http://wattbike.com/uk/blog/post/411/ We have been working hard over the last few months adding your comments and requests to the list of changes and updating the Wattbike Expert Software. As with every software update there are some changes that will make the installation and upgrading of the software quicker and hassle free, as well as some little tweaks to how things work that most, if not all, users will not have noticed – there was a slight jump on a race screen that has been removed, although even when it was pointed out to me I could not spot it! The main changes that have been released with version 2.50.22 are the ability to implement analysis by time period instead of per pedal cycle, and the ability to lock the bikes in order for races. The ability to analyse the data in the software by time period means that you can select data periods of 1, 2 or 5 seconds and view the data produced in those intervals, rather than per pedal revolution. This reduces the amount of data that is viewed and will enable more of an overview of performance and efficiency to be identified. This can be changed in Setup dialogue box in the Wattbike Expert Software: Analysis Settings for the Wattbike Expert Software The other major change to this release is the ability to lock the order of the Wattbikes in a race situation, so that it is not necessary to re-order the bikes once you have set them up for a day of racing. This will certainly save some time when we come to running days of racing in schools, or at events like BikeRadar Live. To lock the order of the bikes, simply set up the race then click the lock button!   Lock the bike order in a Wattbike Race ----- http://wattbike.com/uk/blog/post/guest_post_from_alastair_campbell_do_muscles_have_memories/ http://wattbike.com/uk/blog/post/412/ Originally posted on AlastairCampbell.org Do Muscles have Memories? With a long journey home ahead of us, a quick blog to pose the above question. It has come to me many times as I have cycled around the Highlands. Some of you may remember that a few weeks ago I took delivery of a wattbike, a tweet on which prompted a rash of 'what's a wattbike?' responses. I explained that it is a static bike used by British Cycling for training and the spotting of talent. The wattbike's great advantage over the kind of bike you get in a gym is that it feels like a real bike, you can use proper cycling shoes and it has a stack of computer technology on there which enables you to race against yourself (previous rides) or others, or over well-known routes. But the computer wizardry I use most is a screen which tells you what percentage effort each side of the body is putting into each pedal stroke. The goal is 50 50. As you pedal, a shape forms on the screen and the goal is 50 50 with a perfect circle. I've managed to get 50 50 often enough but never the perfect circle. But in working to make it happen I have been conscious of moving the power in my legs from muscle to muscle. Sometimes only the front of the thigh is working. Sometimes the back. Sometimes the calf. The closest I ever get to the perfect circle is when all are operating together, which may be more tiring but is more efficient. When I first got the wattbike, there was a danger it was becoming my latest addiction. The weather at home was not so good, I could read a book, pedal away and keep an eye on the perfect circle. So when we got up to Argyll, I was glad to get out on the real bike a bit more. And even more pleased to note I was riding a bit faster, and a bit further, than this time last year. Not by much, but enough to realise my muscles had learned to operate in a different way as I cycled along. So in answer to my question, yes, muscles do have their own memory system. Like I said, short and sweet, and not a hint of politics in sight. Normal service will be resumed on return. ----- http://wattbike.com/uk/blog/post/wattbike_at_bikeradar_live/ http://wattbike.com/uk/blog/post/413/ We spent the morning hammering out the details of the Wattbike area at Bikeradar live, and we are getting a bit excited. The event will have a load of exciting races, including a flying lap of the race track that will soon be used for the F1 Grand Prix, a downhill mountain bike race, a sportif and of course the Wattbike event. The Wattbike area will be supported by DHL who have become fans of the Wattbike through their DHL Sprint days where they use the Wattbikes as part of their testing and coaching of young athletes. Keep checking up on the progress of Bikeradar Live through any of Future Publishing's titles ----- http://wattbike.com/uk/blog/post/training_and_testing_on_the_wattbike/ http://wattbike.com/uk/blog/post/414/ Over the last few weeks Eddie has been working hard on a range of tests that can be done on the Wattbike, most of them are currently being used in one form or another by British Cycling with their athletes and their talent ID programme. The tests will be delivered through the website when they are ready and also be available in a training and testing manual. Work is underway……watch this space. The ten tests that will form the core physiological tests are: 1. Peak Power Test 2. 200 m Test 3. Wattbike 30 Second Sprint Test 4. The Kilo (1000 m) Test 5. 3 Minute Test 6. Sub Maximal Progress Test (based on 3 minute Test result) 7. Wattbike Sub Maximal Fitness Test (Astrand) 8. 20 Minute Critical Power TesT 9. Wattbike Ramp Test 10. Wattbike Step Test We will also include a Cycling Efficiency Test to help monitoring of cycling efficiency. ----- http://wattbike.com/uk/blog/post/wattbike_at_brawn_gp/ http://wattbike.com/uk/blog/post/415/ Today Eddie and I took the trip to Northampton to visit with Brawn GP and Veloscience/drag2zero to demonstrate what the Wattbike has to offer for people doing testing in the windtunnel. The key areas of interest for Simon Smart of Drag 2 Zero and for Rachel Swift of the Brawn GP gym was how the body position of cyclists in the wind tunnel effects their power-output and so what is the best body position for reducing drag and maximising the bodies ability to produce power. We will be going back in a couple of weeks to work with Simon and Rachel when they are testing a Tour de France team in the wind tunnel. Watch this space. ----- http://wattbike.com/uk/blog/post/wattbike_on_something_for_the_weekend/ http://wattbike.com/uk/blog/post/416/ Dave Gorman and 'Something for the Weekend' host Tim Lovejoy raced on Wattbikes in the BBC studio to highlight Dave Gorman's cycling stand up tour of the UK. The Wattbikes were used for a 200m race, which, Dave Gorman won (although Ella Williamson reported that Tim Lovejoy had won). The report can be seen until Sunday 5th April on the BBC iPlayer and takes place 1 hr, 13 mins into the show. Once interesting thing to note from the results is that although Tim produced the higher average power he did not actually have a higher average speed than Dave. The reason for this is the faster you travel the higher the amount of power required is to increase your speed, so Tim's riding at a higher power output for a short period of time would not have produced a fast enough speed to pull away from the more consistent Dave Gorman. The same would be true on the road or track, the most efficient way to get from A to B is maintaining the highest continuous speed/power output, not sprint then rest, sprint then rest. ----- http://wattbike.com/uk/blog/post/wattbike_at_the_races_nottinghamshire_county_sports_partnership/ http://wattbike.com/uk/blog/post/417/ Today I was at showing off the Wattbikes to the 'Sport in Nottinghamshire' delegates at Colwick racecourse, Nottingham. We made a presentation to the audience of how British Cycling approached us to produce an indoor bike which was authentic, accurate and capable of unrivalled technical feedback.   Sam Hynd on the Wattbike   David Florence on the Wattbike Also, Beijing Olympic heroes Sam Hynd and David Florence were at the event to inspire the PCT, Local authority and sport representatives and show the achievements of the county in the last 12 months. Both of the athletes, who are training for the London games, led the way on the Wattbikes. Sam Hynd who won a Gold medal at the Beijing Paralympics set a strong 742 Watts marker. David Florence was next up, and the slalom canoeist, who won the silver medal at the Beijing Olympics, recorded a tough-to-beat 1189 Watts in the Peak Power tests.     Under such inspiration attendees queued up to complete a quick peak power test or 200m race as well as to look at their cycling technique on the Polar power display. Lots of delegates raced on the Wattbikes and special note must go to Karen from Nottingham Trent University who did not want to be beaten and after several attempts recorded a very good 946W during her power test. There were again lots of positive feedback from the attendees about the authentic feel of the bikes and how the monitor and the accurate data could be a great benefit for the sporting and healthy-living schemes in the Nottinghamshire county and its schools. ----- http://wattbike.com/uk/blog/post/100s_have_chance_to_shine_at_the_university_of_manchester_everyday_cycling_/ http://wattbike.com/uk/blog/post/418/ On a blustery spring day, over 100 people came to the University Building to see what their peak power is and show their interest in cycling. Each person was asked to cycle on the Wattbike to generate power in watts. They were challenged to see how bright they could make a light bulb shine and record how many Watts their cycling produced. Passers by, Sports Club Captains, University staff and students, were dragged off the main concourse to have a go on the bikes. The participants had their results put onto the leader board in the University Building foyer, and all the results are put onto the Wattbike ranking website. Any man who achieved over 1200W (same power as a kettle) and any woman who achieved over 650W (same as a microwave) were given a prize. Nobody was immune from it, not even the passing group of school children or the 2 Police officers who came in and certainly shone on and off the bikes in their high-visibility wear. By the end of the day well over 100 people had shown their interest and generated Watts for the University. 5 universities around Britain are using the Wattbike in the project for Everyday Cycling, the non-competitive arm of British Cycling. Currently, Manchester has over 500 participants and registrations to the project. http://wattbike.com/uk/blog/post/wattbike_and_manchester_united/ http://wattbike.com/uk/blog/post/419/ Rob Swires, Head Physiologist of Manchester United FC, has had a Wattbike for a couple of weeks now and he has provided some good feedback for us, both about the bike, and about how they would use it at Man Utd. To start with we ought to mention that Rob is a cyclist so he understands the benefits of cycling and uses group cycling with the athletes for warm up and cool down sessions, but what he really wants to be able to do is to monitor rehabilitation after injury or illness. That is where the Wattbike fits in. He likes the fact that the Wattbike Performance Monitor displays the breakdown of force from left leg and right leg and that using the polar curve you can establish the power output from the glutes and hamstrings. On top of that the Wattbike does not have a fixed crank so players recovering from injury can use the bike knowing that if they have any pain they can stop immediately, and not risk doing any damage while the bike slows down. He did also have some suggestions. He would like to be able to do a 12 interval session, at the moment only 6 intervals are possible. We agree and have passed this on to our programmers, and will have this in the next version. He would also like to have an audible countdown to start intervals, again it is on the list already, we just have to add it in to the monitor, although this is would need a new monitor so that it could actually make a noise, but we are working on it. ----- http://wattbike.com/uk/blog/post/wattbike_in_the_50_best_cycling_gear/ http://wattbike.com/uk/blog/post/420/ The Wattbike features in the Independent's Indy Best – Top 50 Best Cycling Gear The description of the bike that they give is: "Most exercise bikes fail completely to replicate the sensation of cycling. Several modern models do a better job, but the shiny new Wattbike is arguably the king of the gym. The only trainer sanctioned by British Cycling, it uses an air flywheel and a magnetic resistiance brake to simulate hills or flats, while a computer monitors every conceivable paramater to give a breakdown of your cycling that can be as detailed as you like." It's all true of course, but the really interesting thing for most cyclists is the polar view displaying cycling efficiency, which can be viewed through the monitor or on the software and means that the wattbike is not just and exercise bike, but is really an education tool for cyclists to improve their efficiency whilst training and enable them to get more out of themselves. This becomes really interesting if you think about the difference in performance that a 1% increase in efficiency will mean over a 5 hour ride. Either, you would be able to go faster for the same effort, or in the case of a group ride, go the same speed for less effort, leaving more in the tank for a sprint finish. ----- http://wattbike.com/uk/blog/post/nottingham_12hr_wattrace/ http://wattbike.com/uk/blog/post/421/ Thanks to Nigel Mayglothling who has posted an update on the Nottingham 12hr WattRace it looks like they had a good event, I will try and get some images from him on Monday and add them to the Gallery. ----- http://wattbike.com/uk/blog/post/wattbike_board_meeting_and_phone_call/ http://wattbike.com/uk/blog/post/422/ We are right in the middle of a two day Wattbike board meeting, some of the discussions have of course been pretty dull contract related stuff that I was able to duck out of, but was back for the exciting stuff! We have been looking at the next generation of monitor and what it is capable of. The key issue is not so much what it is capable of, but making sure that everything is as clear as possible. Some of the capabilities of the monitor are very exciting, although, best to keep them under wraps for now! You will just have to wait and see! Whilst we were looking at the new monitor I was called out to talk to a customer who had 4 very specific questions, but ones that we are asked regularly and I thought that I would start a frequently asked questions section, or at least start with putting them here, and add them to the site as well. His questions were: Q1. Can I change the length of the cranks? A. The Wattbike comes factory fitted with 170mm long, thermatically treated hardened steel. They are not interchangeable with other lengths by the end user because, due to the turning moment of the pedal around the bottom bracket, as a result by changing the length of the crank you change the calculation for the power delivered, which rather defeats the purpose. Different lengths of crank will be available eventually, but will have to be factory fitted. Caller's response: OK great, I use 170mm anyway! Q2: Can I fit my own handlebars? A: Not at the moment, but next week yes! Just before the conversation we had been looking at the new fitting that allows any handlebars to be fitted to the Wattbike. As I explained in the phone call users need to be aware that the stresses that are put through handlebars on a road or mountain bike are much less than on a stationary bikes, because on a bicycle when you lean more on one side than the other the whole bike moves, that does not happen on a stationary bike. As a result this could lead to breakage of cheap handlebars. We will be releasing a set of drop handlebars and tri bars, that are up to the task shortly. Q3: Does the Wattbike measure the power exerted by each leg? A: Yes, the polar plot demonstrates the power output from each leg, and with the addition of the efficiency rating in the software this makes the Wattbike unlike any other stationary bike. Becoming more efficient is key to improving performance in cycling, as not only does it give extra power it also means that you will fatigue more slowly as the additional energy used to exert the same power when cycling inefficiently will drain your stores much more quickly. The views for the monitor and software are displayed below (that is possible for people reading to see, not for the person I spoke to on the phone).   New Polar View on the Performance Computer Efficiency and Average Efficiency Q4: Can I come and try the Wattbike? A: Of course, in fact, we are really excited about the Wattbike and like nothing better than showing people how it works, how you can get more out of your training by using a Wattbike, how you can race, improve your fitness, improve your efficiency or even just train in the dry instead of out on the dark dangerous winter roads in the UK. Actually we think that if you are a cyclist or just want to get fit then there is a massive value to having a Wattbike. To arrange your product demo please contact us by phoning 0115 9455454 or emailing us at info@wattbike.com Q5: ……. Hang on a second, you said 4 questions! Q5: Can I just buy one – I could even pick it up! A: Brilliatn, we have some in the warehouse, and look forward to meeting you when you come to pick yours up, email info@wattbike.com to make sure one of the keenos will be around to tell you all about the bike and maybe even put you through your paces on a Powertest, or similar so that you can get going in the Online Rankings ! ----- http://wattbike.com/uk/blog/post/rugby_stars_charity_fund-raising_with_wattbike/ http://wattbike.com/uk/blog/post/423/ Wattbike were in attendance at the Northampton Saints RFC game against Newcastle Falcons on Saturday 28 February. Wattbike had been invited to the day by the charity Autism Concern who wanted to raise money and promote their Twin Towns Challenge charity cycle ride. The organisers had everything planned, they set up 2 Wattbikes in a public location and challenged the thousands of fans, coaches and players to get their peak power. It wasn't all frivelous fun though as the money raised goes to the Autism Concern charity. On the day £1300 was raised by the team and well done to the large number of people who had a go and raised a great deal of money for charity. Northampton Saints are now interested in getting some Wattbike on a permanent basis for rehab and training. See the news section for a full report. http://wattbike.com/uk/blog/post/wattbike_and_the_armed_services/ http://wattbike.com/uk/blog/post/424/ Well, we could tell have told you earlier how we are working with the armed services, but then we would have had to kill you, and that is always a bad thing! Since the Wattbikes were launched, and in fact since we had some pre-production models we have been working with select groups within the Army, Navy and RAF to help them to deliver physical activity to a range of target groups within each area of the Armed Services. With the Navy we have placed two Wattbikes on a Nuclear Submarine – the bikes were going to make up the whole gym for all the sailors on the sub, so it was important that they exercise very efficiently and accurately record their fitness levels over time to ensure that they are still able to perform to their full ability even after weeks underwater. With the RAF and Army we have been working on recruit fitness, ongoing fitness and rehabilitation. Over the last 20 years new recruit fitness levels have dropped significantly, resulting in increased times for the introductory training courses as so much time is lost through illness and injury. Once the recruits have been trained it is important that they are able to keep fit and that they are ready for deployment at short notice. The Wattbike fits into this as a way for them to do group cycling sessions and ensure that everyone is working at the right intensities. We have also been to Hereford – yes to the SAS. They are using the Wattbikes for pre-deployment training and testing, and are big fans of the peak power test. None of the services like to share their scores though so don't expect to see them appearing on the ranking, although we will keep pushing, at least for some pics! ----- http://wattbike.com/uk/blog/post/universities_project_update/ http://wattbike.com/uk/blog/post/425/ The number of participants in the Wattbike Universities project has just exceeded 750, the target is 1000 by the end of March, and with a considerable number of daily events happening in the next few weeks I am confident that the magic 1000 is well within our grasp. All the Universities have up coming events, and there should be people from Wattbike at each of them, so watch this space for updates. -----