Not Getting It

[dgf]

After learning of new FW/SW/startup procedures I decided to start anew with a new profile/new calibration as I was just starting an 8 week training cycle. I charged up the unit, reset the data, opened profile 3, did a wind calc, then did the Cal Ride which went well, seemed to work fine. From there I loaded the bike up and went to where I did the ride labeled Field Test Data - seemed to work OK and I felt like I got decent data from two 8" intervals (at 10" and 24" in the ride data) to set up the training parameters for my workouts. I did notice when I downloaded then analyzed the data the preset profile had me at 150lbs and much shorter than my 6'4" height - I did the corrections in the software and updated the profile, cuz, well, it seemed to make sense...???

2 days later went on my first training - file Week 1, Workout 1 - essentially just jumped on and took off since that was my understanding of how it ought to work. Unit seemed to be working fine during the warmup until about 1/2 thru 1st 8 minute interval then suddenly my watts just went to 0 on the display and stayed there. I wiggled the wind sensor making sure it hadn't popped out or something, cadence and speed seemed to be working. Anyway it just wasn't showing and wouldn't show any power. I finished the interval, did 4" rest and decided just to do the next two intervals by HR and perceived exertion. I took off then all of a sudden I was cruising along at 4-500 watts which I knew wasn't correct. Long story short, the thing wasn't working and I essentially just used the unit as a nice HR monitor, cadence sensor and speedometer to do my workout. Pretty irritated. When I downloaded the data to check it out, it does seem like there is some power data during the periods where the display showed 0...?? Also noted that the Profile showed me again being 150lbs and back to a much shorter person - I corrected those numbers again, sent them again to the Newton profile.

2 days later, prior to my workout I re-did a Cal Ride as part of my warmup to see if the thing would work right. Went on my ride, it worked beautiful - absolutely was a great tool. Yesss! File Week 1 Workout 2.

2 days later I did a Sprint Tri. This time I again just turned the thing on, did a Wind Cal, racked my bike then took off on it after the swim. It showed 0 watts for over half the ride (I forgot my HR strap so no HR data but that shouldn't affect power data...??). After the halfway all of a sudden a few numbers popped up now and then. Long story short it was a nice speedometer. I did download the data when I got home, again the Profile shows me at 150lbs and like 5'7" or something despite twice believing I had sent my actual physical data to the Newton Profile. File South Davis Spring Tri

I don't really mind the thing not working at races, I kind of just go by feel, but for training, I'm relying on the unit as a working, valuable tool. I don't care if it's accurate as long as I get consistent, reproducible numbers to work with. So basically I've figured out I have to do a Cal Ride before every ride so far to get it to work and no matter what I do, I can't get the thing to believe I'm really 6'4", 216lbs. ???

I'll attach all the files.

[dgf]

Wouldn't let me attach 4 files in one message - here's the fourth.

[racerfern]

Without the original cal ride it's tough to say where things went wrong. However...

When you make corrections to the profile AFA your weight be careful to not just adjust the total weight. The weight change will be added or subtracted from your bike, not from you. Hence your bike shows as 88lbs. If you're coming from the fast start setup this is going to play havoc with the CdA because it thinks that you're still 150lb. I think this has something to do with it.

The problem with Week 1 Workout 1 is the tilt is WAY off. I don't know why but it's WAAAYYY off. This is what caused the problem though I don't know why. The reason later on that the watts went so high is that the unit was trying to auto correct the earlier error. This problem is also evident in the South Davis Sprint Tri. Open the file and highlight from the beginninot to just before two miles. Now look at the stats on the left. I shows a slope average of 5.05% yet it is clearly downhill. Now highlight the section from 2.5 to 4.0 miles which is just slightly uphill. It shows an average slope of -4.00%. You can also see this by clicking Analyze Route, then clicking the Show Tilt Plot option in the lower left.

By using the "analyze route" feature Isaac does its best to salvage the ride. It's not pretty but at least it brings your avg watts up and corrects the massive tilt errors.

I've taken the liberty of creating a profile based on the data you provided and the profiles I was able to extract. This profile will get you up and going, however I do suggest you do a real cal ride and confirm my suggested profile. Also be sure to set your FTP by doing a fitness test as that will be useful during your training.

[dgf]

Thanks for the ideas. I just went and did another Cal Ride before a light workout last night - seems like unit worked ok again. In theory I should be able to jump back on tomorrow, turn the unit on and go...no?? So far that is where my trouble seems to come from or the unit doesn't seem to give me good numbers without doing a cal ride. We'll see.

[dgf]

Jumped on today to go do my workout, turned unit on, did a wind cal and took off - from my drive to the stop sign, about 100yds., in an easy spin, I was churning out 400W. Not working obviously. Had to do a cal ride again then did my workout but the numbers just don't match up remotely to those from previous workouts - I was trying to do 3 x 8" intervals between 274-295W based on numbers from my previous field tests. To even get to 200W sustained effort my HR was absolutely max'd and perceived effort max'd. Thing just doesn't work - a nice toy to play with but not a useful training tool. Switching to something more useful. Will sell my unit for $300. PM me.

[racerfern]

I understand your frustration and I won't try to sway you, but I really do wish you would post all the data from this last go round so I can understand what is wrong.