I can see the necessity in learning to add sealant myself as opposed to bringing it into the shop.

I ordered:

Sealant
Plunger/tube
valve stem tool

Is it worth picking up some extra valve stems? Not sure how often those break?

AgLiving06 said:

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I can see the necessity in learning to add sealant myself as opposed to bringing it into the shop.

I ordered:

Sealant
Plunger/tube
valve stem tool

Is it worth picking up some extra valve stems? Not sure how often those break?

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It's fine to add sealant a few times. But at some point you'll want to clear out the dried bits and refresh the entire system.

Solid set of tire levers. Learn how to work a bead, it will save your fingers and time.

Valve stems are stupid cheap and I always have one around. ***** to clean out dried sealant in a valve if you're not home and trying to add air. Also, store with valves at noon to keep them from clogging. But rotate often if you're not riding a lot.

So I'm dipping my toes into the world of indoor racing during the off season. My FTP is around 300 for an hour, but I'm too damn fat at 190 lbs. I tried my first crit on Rouvy - 1100 feet of Climbing, same amount of descending, four laps and about 7 1/2 miles. Over the 20 minutes on the race, my average power was 295 and that was with four sub 100 W descents. Feel pretty good about that effort, but then I see some guy beats me with a 3.9 W per kilogram / 180w average. Definitely sandbagging his weight a little bit, but basically everybody was at least 50 W lower than me in the race, I'm just too fat. I think if I actually want to podium I need to be sub 180. in order to get there I'm afraid I have to give up all booze and sweets and at that point what's even the point?

Keep the booze. Pedal harder

But for real.

I'm not sure OP's height, but I'm 6'2", 38 and hover around 165-170 - FTP in the mid 3s depending on season. I'm not shy with Manhattans and def have a Dorito/Cheeto/sweets tooth.

Volume is physics. 15 hours of work a week and do what you want.

RangerRick9211 said:

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But for real.

I'm not sure OP's height, but I'm 6'2", 38 and hover around 165-170 - FTP in the mid 3s depending on season. I'm not shy with Manhattans and def have a Dorito/Cheeto/sweets tooth.

Volume is physics. 15 hours of work a week and do what you want.

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I've long struggled to get my FTP higher. I am only 6' and same weight profile as you. My FTP is only 220. I probably don't ride enough though as I split time running and swimming too.