Power meter musings / observations.
Discussion
I’ve recently decided to use pedal based power meters on one of my bikes. Previously, I’ve only really ever gone off of HRM readings, and how the ride has ‘felt’. I have to say I’ve found them to be an absolute revelation, and I’m finding it difficult to not justify them on a bike I use for general riding as well. I was doing a ( planned ) 160 ( ish ) mile ride last Saturday, and I found that having an actual, real time power reading, was really beneficial. I was able to plan my eating so that I didn’t start to bonk, at points on the route, where I had on previous rides of the same route, much more accurately. It’s also quite handy for working out whether a ‘hero pass’ from the obligatory FPKW in RP is a true effort, or whether they are likely to blow out a few seconds up the road / at the next slight climb ( I’m getting very good at this particular game ) 
. All in all, I’m really starting to wonder how it took me so long to get them.
. All in all, I’m really starting to wonder how it took me so long to get them.I'm really tempted to get a power meter, they're just that little bit too expensive for me to justify though! If I could get one for <£250 I'd jump on it, but they all seem nearer £400 which is a big chunk of money for me. My road bike has a BB30 bottom bracket which makes life a bit more complicated for crank based power meters. I also need something that has Bluetooth as I run Trainerroad on an iPhone, and ANt+ is a nightmare on them.
lufbramatt said:
I'm really tempted to get a power meter, they're just that little bit too expensive for me to justify though! If I could get one for <£250 I'd jump on it, but they all seem nearer £400 which is a big chunk of money for me. My road bike has a BB30 bottom bracket which makes life a bit more complicated for crank based power meters. I also need something that has Bluetooth as I run Trainerroad on an iPhone, and ANt+ is a nightmare on them.
You can convert the BB to pretty much any type you want.More in the way of extra expense- don't often see BB30 power meters reduced, and if I got one of the 105 single sided 4iiii or stages ones that crop up cheap now and again it would involve buying a new 105 chainset, and BB / converter which negates the cost saving.
Cheapest Quark I can see is £500 which is way above my budget.
Cheapest Quark I can see is £500 which is way above my budget.
Edited by lufbramatt on Wednesday 5th June 14:14
lufbramatt said:
More in the way of extra expense- don't often see BB30 power meters reduced, and if I got one of the 105 single sided 4iiii or stages ones that crop up cheap now and again it would involve buying a new 105 chainset, and BB / converter which negates the cost saving.
Cheapest Quark I can see is £500 which is way above my budget.
With a BB30->GXP adaptor from the likes of Praxis et al, you can run a Quarq GXP power meter should you see one discounted.Cheapest Quark I can see is £500 which is way above my budget.
Edited by lufbramatt on Wednesday 5th June 14:14
mooseracer said:
I feel like I "should get" a power meter but then wonder what would I actually gain from it?
Do you guys do structured training where I can imagine it is really useful, or what I'd probably end up doing and just having it for the geek numbers?
This is how I feel about it. I'm really curious about the numbers but I don't really train for anything and I'd probably ignore it most of the time - more for after the fact analysis and maybe the odd bit of pacing.Do you guys do structured training where I can imagine it is really useful, or what I'd probably end up doing and just having it for the geek numbers?
I'm on a 4iii Precision Power meter and mainly use it to pace myself. Sometimes I feel like I'm going really slowly up a hill when I'm actually pushing too hard.
You learn to understand how hard you can push on certain climbs and when to push harder on the flats.
You can then see you're performance around similar routes and monitor gain.
You learn to understand how hard you can push on certain climbs and when to push harder on the flats.
You can then see you're performance around similar routes and monitor gain.
As a not too serious rider I've had one now for a couple of years and it does make a massive difference.
The 1st thing that became obvious was that I pedalled 70% with my right leg so spent a lot of time getting balanced, now I often finish a ride with a 50/50 split!
Then it's made pacing so much easier, forget speed, forget Heart rate, forget cadence once you know where your happy place is when you need to go there you know exactly where it is whether it be on a long ride, a steep ride or a short quick ride.
If you are training with a programme it does make things a little easier as it's pure data based and power isn't effected by other things such as hydration, hunger, illness, sleep etc etc.
The 1st thing that became obvious was that I pedalled 70% with my right leg so spent a lot of time getting balanced, now I often finish a ride with a 50/50 split!
Then it's made pacing so much easier, forget speed, forget Heart rate, forget cadence once you know where your happy place is when you need to go there you know exactly where it is whether it be on a long ride, a steep ride or a short quick ride.
If you are training with a programme it does make things a little easier as it's pure data based and power isn't effected by other things such as hydration, hunger, illness, sleep etc etc.
PMs are great. Really good for training but game changing for pacing triathlons. Joel Friel half jokes that using a PM in Ironman is "cheating"
I went with a Powertap G3 hub. Which is great but ties you in to a wheel set. Which is why I eventually ended up with 3 powertaps on 3 wheelsets
I went with a Powertap G3 hub. Which is great but ties you in to a wheel set. Which is why I eventually ended up with 3 powertaps on 3 wheelsets
A year ago I signed up for the IQ2 project on Kickstarter. It's perhaps worse than 50/50 whether they'll ever deliver. They recently gave up on the original concept of a pedal adapter PM in favour of one built into a Look/Keo pedal spindle, with choice of MTB or road. If it comes off it'll be incredible value at EUR 250 for double-sided PM but with hindsight I should have paid the going rate for an established model.
I do need double-sided due to dodgy knees - knee replacement #2 was just a fortnight ago so it'll be a few weeks before the rehab is over and I can get back on the road
I do need double-sided due to dodgy knees - knee replacement #2 was just a fortnight ago so it'll be a few weeks before the rehab is over and I can get back on the road
I’ve got a PT wheel on the commuter and a 4iiii on the TT bike, the 4iiii is only one side but you can use the app to tailor any leg imbalance and also match it up to the output on any other PM you use.
I use it to help my TT pacing as I know what I can sustain for ~24 minutes without popping.
I use it to help my TT pacing as I know what I can sustain for ~24 minutes without popping.
I find they’ve helped massively with uniformity of effort. I never have set my stall out on average speeds, as they can vary massively due to many factors, but power is power, so I’ve got reliable figures on which to base any training / riding performance. They take the guess work out of it, and make the sort of riding I tend to do a much more pleasant experience.
The biggest initial benefit I found when I got mine, was on Turbo Trainer sessions (This, admittedly before they started coming with power built in) It allowed you to do a 1hr session at precisely the correct power so you always got the most out of the sessions - no time was wasted.
I was training for the Marmotte and it made such a difference as I had a coach and there was no hiding if you'd done enough or not that week.
I too hate riding without power now, as I can combine with with my Styrd foot-pod (Power for running essentially) and in TrainingPeaks you start to get very useful metrics on how much each session / sport contributes toward your fitness and fatigue.
I was training for the Marmotte and it made such a difference as I had a coach and there was no hiding if you'd done enough or not that week.
I too hate riding without power now, as I can combine with with my Styrd foot-pod (Power for running essentially) and in TrainingPeaks you start to get very useful metrics on how much each session / sport contributes toward your fitness and fatigue.
WestyCarl said:
I'm in both camps, a lot of my winter is on the turbo with power (Trainerroad), however I like the freedom of riding "by feel" outside.
Agreed, every fortnight I do a "blind ride", no data at all whilst I'm riding, the only screen open is the route if it's a new one to me, all data recorded and reviewed but just push the pedals as much/little as I feel.Gassing Station | Pedal Powered | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff