How do I level the playing field to make eMTB equal effort to 25lb MTB?

[galaga187]

I would do some reading up on cycle training and look into heart rate zone training and get a Garmin Edge 500. That way you can monitor and track your effort. It doesn't matter what bike you ride, just the amount of effort you're putting into riding - which a heart rate monitor is a cheap way of monitoring that.

You could also look into getting your V02 max tested if you really want to dive deeper into more accurately tracking your training.

Heart rate is ok and accessible but ideally you want to use power and FTP (functional threshold power) I’m going to do some testing of how accurate the power meter is in the LEVO 2019.

 

[ottoshape]

Eco has too much assist to compensate for the extra weight.

and... ECO is a known power level. With freemax, I can set power levels for all settings, so I'll play with ECO and just keep going down until I get a "normal" ride in...

 

[Gary]

What's the point?

 

[Gary]

Heart rate is ok and accessible but ideally you want to use power and FTP (functional threshold power) I’m going to do some testing of how accurate the power meter is in the LEVO 2019.

to be perfectly honest neither is accurate at all
it's an mtb
ergo.. not all about pedalling at specifice HR or power

Percieved effort is all you really need.
Oh... and common sense. not so common now we have gadgets to do everything for us I know

 

[ottoshape]

What's the point?

Better/higher conditioning...

 

[Gary]

Seriously?

 

[Gary]

Are you following a specific training plan?
Where from?
A coach?
A book?
Online advice?
Made up by yourself?

 

[HikerDave]

Heart rate is ok and accessible but ideally you want to use power and FTP (functional threshold power) I’m going to do some testing of how accurate the power meter is in the LEVO 2019.

The Garmin Edge 530 or 830 will probably pair with your Levo to get power; I know both do with my Haibike SDURO. (Disclosure: I work for Garmin)

I don’t think that power has to be absolutely accurate to be useful for training; just repeatable. What I’ve learned from watching power is that around 130 watts is a perceived effort of “easy”; on a really tough technical climb I’ll peak at around 400 watts; pushing hard on the road coming home from a mountain bike ride I’ve hit 600 watts.

The 530 will show me a V02 max estimate if I push it after a ride that includes enough sustained effort (usually that means some road riding); the reading I get is always 46 or 47 which puts me in the category of an average fitness 25 year old; i.e. not fit enough to really enjoy mountain biking without assist.

I suspect that avid mountain bikers are a self-selected population of individuals with high aerobic capability; I get caught all the time around here riding on eco mode.

I’ve trained with heart rate but never with power but I see how it could be useful; especially to check for improvement.

The best use I’ve found for heart rate while riding in the past is to use it to remind me to keep the effort level down at the beginning of a long ride to save myself for later; I used to do a lot of all day rides and managed to avoid the dreaded bonk on most of them.

 

[Gary]

600W is huge to sustain for any decent length of time
but really pretty easy for pretty much any experienced cyclist just to reach (eg. sprinting).

 

[HikerDave]

600W is huge to sustain for any decent length of time
but really pretty easy for pretty much any experienced cyclist just to reach (eg. sprinting).

I didn’t sustain that for anything that could be described as a length of time. I know a guy who looks to be mid to late 60’s who trains with power and says that he peaks at 800 watts for a few seconds when trained; he bought an eBike a few months ago and now rides that instead of his high-dollar road bikes.

My “training” these days consists of pushing hard for a few minutes on climbs or road section without stops and side streets just to make sure; the power meter testing was mainly out of curiosity and giving good service to Garmin while I was testing our product.

 

[Gary]

Dude I can still blat out 1200w in a sprint and I haven't been fit (or cared) for years. I'll be 49 in a few days (not sure how this is even relevant)
Plenty far fitter skinny little roadie guys probably struggle to break 1000

This is all meaningless on it's own.

FWIW world class sprinters can output double what I can

 

[galaga187]

Repea

The Garmin Edge 530 or 830 will probably pair with your Levo to get power; I know both do with my Haibike SDURO. (Disclosure: I work for Garmin)

I don’t think that power has to be absolutely accurate to be useful for training; just repeatable. What I’ve learned from watching power is that around 130 watts is a perceived effort of “easy”; on a really tough technical climb I’ll peak at around 400 watts; pushing hard on the road coming home from a mountain bike ride I’ve hit 600 watts.

The 530 will show me a V02 max estimate if I push it after a ride that includes enough sustained effort (usually that means some road riding); the reading I get is always 46 or 47 which puts me in the category of an average fitness 25 year old; i.e. not fit enough to really enjoy mountain biking without assist.

I suspect that avid mountain bikers are a self-selected population of individuals with high aerobic capability; I get caught all the time around here riding on eco mode.

I’ve trained with heart rate but never with power but I see how it could be useful; especially to check for improvement.

The best use I’ve found for heart rate while riding in the past is to use it to remind me to keep the effort level down at the beginning of a long ride to save myself for later; I used to do a lot of all day rides and managed to avoid the dreaded bonk on most of them.

Repeatable is important for sure. HR can be affected by many factors and is quite laggy in some people. I use Garmin vector 2s pedals on the road bike.