Team ZWATT has launched a year-long study where participants will do a monthly 20-minute FTP test. The company will use that data to study and develop new software algorithms for new useful training metrics and better power meters. In return for the hard work, participants will get their crank-based power meter at a highly discounted price.
Useful training metrics
The data coming out of a power meter is standardized by BLE and ANT interest groups, which is good and the way it should be. That is why all power meters come out with the same basic data. Some cycling computers add more smartness. With the new study Rolf Østergaard, the founder of Team ZWATT, wants to add even more useful data that can help athletes train smarter, “we have a number of different ideas for things we will be looking for in the data we collect. This includes some of the more advanced things like peak torque angle and development of that. The pedal smoothness number and how that can be more useful in training”, said Rolf Østergaard.
New algorithms
The study was inspired by a talk that Rolf had with an exercise physiologist who was helping out a top-level cycling coach some years back. He wants to dive into scientific findings of the human physiology field to see if they can make it into something useful for everybody with a power meter.
“I’ve been working with improving the algorithms in the power meter industry for years. But that work is a continuous process. The algorithms we want to develop for this study is more aimed at helping out serious athletes than actually developing our own power meters. We want to provide riders with more useful training insights”, added Østergaard.
Community based development
Team ZWATT has been using data made available to them by a highly involved community of cyclists for a couple of years now to develop the power meter industry. The training data and ideas of the users have been instrumental and the participants for this study are signing up as we speak, “we have already received a lot of ideas and suggestions for things to study and that is really exciting. We launched the sign-up yesterday and people are rolling in. The study is capped at 100 participants and we are confident that we will reach that number within just a couple of days”, said Østergaard.
More information at teamzwatt.com.
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