Making sure this process is repeatable with each bike tested is essential to our objectives.
Let”™s recap what we”™ve done so far in our video blog series:
1. We have introduced the whys and wherefores of this Indoor Cycling Power research project
2. We”™ve shown exactly how the Garmin Vector pedals get mounted to the Keiser m3 indoor cycle bike
3. We”™ve demonstrated from start to finish, the precise protocol used in conducting repeatable tests on each bike
4. Last week we stepped through the process for getting the data from both the Garmin bike computer and the Keiser m3 console (manually recorded) put into the a consolidated spread sheet.
Accuracy & Reliability Are Two Different Things
This week we move into the steps required to begin validating the reliability of our equipment and/or our process. This is as crucial a consideration as the pure accuracy of the data. If we can”™t confirm that our process of measuring power is consistent on any one given bike from one day to the next, how can we expect to handicap the bike for accuracy with a number or even series of numbers for different wattage levels since an unrepeatable test would mean this handicap would not be valid from one day to the next.
Indoor Cycling Power Accuracy & Validation Research from Cycling Fusion on Vimeo.
Consider the frustration of weighing yourself each day on a scale that can not show you 50 lbs from a 50lb weight from day to day. On some days you”™ll be depressed while others you”™ll be “woo hooing” all the while your weight has stayed the same. It”™s an absolute critical component of our findings; to know what we are doing is repeatable and reliable. If it isn”™t, we need to consider if the process is changing and causing the inconsistencies, or if the equipment is doing so. While I have tried to be more than methodical about every aspect of this process from pedal calibration to bike test execution, I will not rule out tester error or inconsistency for the moment. Let”™s just first see how our numbers turn out before we decide which factor to consider (test process, or equipment variability).
Coach Gino Explains Why Validation & Reliability Are Important
The 2 video segments that make up this post are both quite short. The first one describes in detail how to unmounts the Vector Power pedals in order to use them on a second bike. It is important that we don”™t just leave the pedals on and do multiple tests on the same bike. This would not tell us if that bike will be reliable one day to the next. We must first test other bikes, and then come back to bikes we”™ve tested.
The second video segment is showing one complete test again (like our 2nd video), only this time on one of the bikes already tested from a previous session.
Indoor Cycling Power Accuracy & Validation Research from Cycling Fusion on Vimeo.
- Me & My Big Mouth - April 18, 2024
- Indoor Cycling Power Research #7: Good News, Bad News - August 16, 2023
- Blog Post #10 Baseline& Performance Testing - June 29, 2023