Newsletter Issue No. 908

April 02, 2020

PDF version for Premium Members is here.

Cycling Training Zones for RPE, HR and Power May Differ on the Trainer

By Coach John Hughes

The key to training effectively is riding at different intensities depending on the purpose of the workout. Your intensity shouldn’t be the same if you are training for endurance or for power or for speed or doing an active recovery ride. This applies whether you’re riding outdoors or on the trainer. To train at different intensities you need a way to gauge intensity and a method to define the different levels of intensity, i.e., a set of training zones. Read more.

Home Bicycle Workshop Tweak & Easy Toolboard Making

By Jim Langley

Seeing as how I wrote the RBR e-book Your Home Bicycle Workshop, available in our bookstore – you can probably understand that my shop is where I’ve been spending lots of time lately. There are always bicycle projects needing attending to. And during these, ideas come to mind on ways to make a shop work even better. Read more.

Quick Tip: What to Do if Your Tire Goes Off the Edge of the Pavement

Get back on the pavement after dropping your wheels off the edge.

You may not want to put yourself in this risky predicament for the sake of practice. But if you remember this tip, you can do the right thing when the time comes. Read more.

Quick Tip: Sena Helmets

By Sheri Rosenbaum

Keeping your distance has become our new normal for the time being. This includes cycling, where solo rides are encouraged. Mitch and I have been testing Sena’s R1-EVO helmets with built in speakers and microphone. It allows us to ride apart, up to half-mile away from each other, but still communicate. Read more.

Top Road E-bikes for 2020

Editor’s note. This might be the worst timing possible to include a roundup article about super expensive road ebikes. But it was already in the pipeline, so I figured I’d publish it anyway. We are also well aware that ebikes are hated for a portion of our readership, but we’ve written before about why they make sense for some cyclists. They are part of road riding now, like it or not, and we will sometimes write about them. Read more.

Why High Carbohydrate?

By Arnie Baker, M.D.

Healthy diets are 60% carbohydrate, 25% to 30% fat, and 10% to 15% protein.
Carbohydrate is the preferred fuel source for high-intensity exercise.
Aerobic endurance athletes who exercise more than 10 hours per week benefit from a diet slightly higher in carbohydrate—typically up to 65% carbohydrate, 20% fat, and 15% protein.
Even higher percentage carbohydrate diets may sometimes be best for aerobic endurance athletes.
Aerobic endurance athletes may need 7 to 10 grams of carbohydrate per kilogram (3 to 4.5 grams per pound) of body weight per day to replace or top up glycogen stores. Read more.

BiKASE Beetle X Bike Phone and Storage Bag Review

By Sheri Rosenbaum

Back in February as I wandered the exhibit floor at CABDA Midwest, I came across the BiKASE booth. I wasn’t familiar with the company and spent some time chatting with the owner, Chad Buchanan. He took me through his line of products and sent me home with a few samples to test. One product was the Beetle X phone and storage bag. I thought this would be a good product to review because I see people with their expensive smartphones mounted on their bars. With the Beetle X bag, the phone is still within reach but protected from both the elements and a crash. Read more.

Intensity Training

Intensity Training: Using Perceived Exertion, a Heart Rate Monitor or Power Meter to Maximize Training Effectiveness, by Coach John Hughes, explains in more detail your physiology, which type(s) of intensity training is right for you and how to do intensity training including whether RPE, heart rate or power is best for you.

Learn more.

Question of the Week

Ebikes – love ’em or hate ’em?

Cycling Training Zones for RPE, HR and Power May Differ on the Trainer

Home Bicycle Workshop Tweak & Easy Toolboard Making