84 - Dan Bigham

What this episode covers

Endurance Innovation is now on Patreon [https://www.patreon.com/enduranceinnovation]! Have a peek at our page and show us some love. * 4:15 Dan's interest in the sea level hour record * 8:00 sea level vs altitude hour attempts * At altitude, reduce aero drag by ~20% to 25% (at world record hour speeds) while only losing 10% of aerobic capacity * The higher the speed the greater the benefit of altitude. That is, the faster the event, the higher up you want to go * 12:15 at Dan's speed, 1W saved in his setup = 50m of extra distance in the hour attempt * 12:30 the physiological demands of Dan's hour record * A Watts / CdA of 2250, which works out to ~370W @ a CdA of 0.164! * Living on your TT bike * Train at a race-relevant internal inertia (cadence) * The potential role of central nervous system (CNS) fatigue * Learning to maintain that optimized position for the duration of the event * 24:15 the sitting up vs aero tradeoff when climbing * ~15W benefit to sit up vs aero position, which for Dan makes enough of a difference at ~27kph * The value of a stretch during a position change is not to be undervalued * 28:30 the value of efficient cornering  * 30:15 the role of CNS fatigue in performance in an hour record attempt * Not well understood at present * Dan's group is studying this effect by taking measurement of nerve impulses to the driving muscles over time and looking at changes * 36:45 the effect of non-round chainrings * 40:00 Dan's non-aerodynamic optimizations * The more aerodynamically optimized you become, the more reason there is to look at equipment * A new, secret crank set * Drivetrain lubricants, chain, cog and chainring design  * 51:30 Dan's aero optimization * Skin suits * Front ends / cockpits * Aero sensors * 74:30 some psychological demands of an hour record bid Check out Dan's retail venture WattShop [https://www.shopforwatts.co.uk/] as well as his Instagram page [https://www.instagram.com/danbiggles/] for products and updates on his upcoming hour attempt.