THE SHORT ANSWER
Dan Bigham, former hour record holder, head of engineering at red bull-bora-hansgrohe, has appeared on the Roadman Cycling Podcast. Here's where Bigham lands on FTP and threshold power. The positions below are drawn from those conversations, quoted directly.
WHO IS DAN BIGHAM?
Dan Bigham is the British engineer-rider who held the UCI Hour Record at 55.548km in 2022 and now leads engineering at Red Bull–Bora–Hansgrohe. He is one of a small group of people who can talk credibly about both sides of the marginal-gains conversation: the wind-tunnel physics, and what it actually feels like to hold an aero position at threshold for an hour. His work on time-trial position, equipment selection, and pacing strategy has shaped how the modern peloton approaches every TT stage.
BIGHAM ON FTP
Bigham’s key positions on FTP and threshold power.
- Most amateurs leave 20-40W on the table at the same FTP by riding a position that compromises them aerodynamically.
IN BIGHAM’S OWN WORDS
Verbatim from Dan Bigham’s appearances on the podcast.
“a 10 mm change in Q factor so literally 5 millim per side could be about a one one and a half% drag reduction which is like not an insignificant amount of Watts we're talking like two three four Watts depending on your speed and the cus crank can depends on what you're going from and to but you can get like 10 15 20 millimeters depending on your bottom bracket spec of of Q factor reduction and then that means you get not2 not3 not4 which could be up to like well individual Pursuit speeds you're talking 10 watts or so”
“I hate watt claims uh I even I just dislike those kind of claims in general because a lot of these Solutions are individual so the result I would get if I changed a helmet or skin suit or a wheel CR set would be different to yours hopefully on the majority of it should be similar but it might not be and how do you therefore advertise an improvement because you as an engineer you you do the best you can to develop a faster component but it might not work for everybody”
“the tire because it doesn't just do rolling resistance or just do Arrow or just do grip or just do damping does all of the above and the directions you go in for one optimization is not the same as another and then like I say you add in the wheel you add in the frame you add in the rider you ride the course the conditions is it wet is it dry is it hilly is it cobbly all that kind of stuff it's huge optimization problem”
HEAR IT ON THE PODCAST
Episodes where Dan Bigham covers FTP and threshold power and related ground.
FREQUENTLY ASKED
What does Dan Bigham say about FTP and threshold power?
Dan Bigham, former hour record holder, head of engineering at red bull-bora-hansgrohe, has appeared on the Roadman Cycling Podcast. Here's where Bigham lands on FTP and threshold power. The positions below are drawn from those conversations, quoted directly.
What is Bigham's main point on ftp?
Most amateurs leave 20-40W on the table at the same FTP by riding a position that compromises them aerodynamically.
Which Roadman Cycling Podcast episodes cover Dan Bigham on ftp?
Bigham discusses FTP and threshold power in this episode: "He Accidentally Mastered Aerodynamics | Dan Bigham".