How Did You Justify the Cost of a Power Meter?

[Ben Reeve]

Hi Guys,

Got a massive ride planned for May that's going to take a really large volume of training and want to use power to support me with this especially for the interval sessions I have planned.

I have settled on the power tap P1 pedals as it means I can transfer them between multiple bikes so I can train with power on the turbo as well as on the road.

I had it all ready to go in my shopping basket yesterday, but just couldn't bring myself to hit 'buy' on a £900 purchase!

So my questions are:

• If you have a power meter, how did you justify the cost of it?
• Has it been worthwhile?
• Have you seen the training benefits from it

It's not going to bankrupt me, I can afford it but it's just the principle of paying this much money when I could get a replacement bike for the cost.

Thanks,

Ben

 

[martint235]

I would have thought a power meter is about really upping your average speed in a similar way to the way a pro does (ensuring you spend your time just outside the red zone) but from reading your other thread, your ride is about stamina and distance rather than attempting to go flat out.

Still it.s your money and I also look at power meters (for my riding nothing more than a gimmicky toy) and although I'd like to play with one, I'd never be able to justify it

 

[T.M.H.N.E.T]

Didn't justify it, my money is mine to spend, I earn it afterall

Yes

Yes

I also have a tacx neo which is as close to accurate as a trainer can be at this point, I didn't justify that either

 

[amasidlover]

To be honest, I technically haven't yet... But, I have now been racing in triathlon for 5 years and I think this will be the year I go for it.

My first few seasons of training have been done with perceived exertion and heart rate monitoring and I've made pretty good progress - short intervals (under 3 minutes for me) have had to be done purely on exertion levels as my HR takes up to a couple of minutes to catch up (particularly on the first 2 or 3 intervals). Plus I've definitely been guilty of overdoing it on my commute and 'ignoring' sprints from the lights which don't show up on the HR too much - but I strongly suspect these are having a negative effect on the hard workouts done in the same day.

This winter I've been using a smart turbo for training (which does report power) and have already noticed my performance improving significantly - although some of this may well be down to the extra miles (probably only another 10%).

I'm very definitely a budget triathlete, my TT bike came in at about £550 from second hand parts, but I'm now convinced that if/when I can justify another major purchase a power meter will have much more performance improvement than new wheels or a new bike.

I'm also hoping that something like Best Bike Split will allow me to optimise my race performances.

However... You say you're doing a "massive ride"; I'm not convinced that you'll actually get much more benefit out a power meter than you would out of HR training (assuming you've not already been doing significant HR training) - short intervals that really need the accuracy a power meter could give would generally be aimed at improving your anaerobic threshold; handy for sprints at the end of a race, starting a break away or catching up with the peloton after a mechanical, but not so much for a sportive/audax/distance tour. I'd say that using that money to fund some unpaid leave and getting some extra days in the saddle (with HR zone training) would be your best use for £900 - assuming the massive ride isn't an actual draft-legal race.

 

[Ben Reeve]

Interesting thoughts.

Maybe it would be better invested in getting a decent turbo trainer. The rides outdoors are going to be all about long riding and building stamina where power is probably not that useful.

The turbo sessions are the tougher ones where I need more accuracy.

 

[S-Express]

Got a massive ride planned for May that's going to take a really large volume of training and want to use power to support me with this especially for the interval sessions I have planned.

If this is the ride you were discussing in a previous thread, then a powermeter is not going to benefit you, IMO. All you need is a high volume of steady, high mileage, which needs to be repeated on consecutive days. You are firmly in the low-level aerobic zone for all of these rides, and a powermeter is not going to be of any use. As for intervals, I'm not sure how they are going to be helping you either, tbh.

Unless you are determined to buy a powermeter for some other less pertinent existential reason, then I would save your money.

 

[Ben Reeve]

Unless you are determined to buy a powermeter for some other less pertinent existential reason, then I would save your money.

Haha!

I had been given alot of advice that suggested long slow rides wasn't going to be enough (example below) so was planning to really target some sessions int he week to really try and up my fitness

"Yes if you add the intensity during the week indoors then you can ride longer outdoors at the weekend. A solid workout on the turbo trainer is worth 1.5-1.75 the amount of time outside. Of course just spinning inside is worthless. I couldn't see anywhere a mention of your week day training but my thoughts would be Monday off. Tuesday intervals/drills Wednesday sweet spot Thursday intervals Friday off or easy ride Saturday longer or harder intervals Sunday steady state. Weekday + Sat rides max at 90 mins inside. Sunday go for as long as you want but add some terrain training if you can. If your event has climbing add some climbing etc. Ignore commuting that's just bonus miles. You have 139 days till your event. I am not sure how deep your base is but your Strava numbers look like you are riding 50 miles a week. That's going to triple maybe even quadruple with some structured training. But seriously juts going out all day at the weekend won't prepare you. Anyway just my 2c. Happy to talk offline too."

 

[S-Express]

I had been given alot of advice that suggested long slow rides wasn't going to be enough (example below) so was planning to really target some sessions int he week to really try and up my fitness

Long slow rides are great preparation for riding long and slow, which looks like your plan as far as I can tell. If you have limited time in weekday evenings, then rides of higher intensity are probably the only viable alternative and will help to improve your threshold. But you don't need a powermeter for that either. None of this actually needs a powermeter. The thing you really have to nail is the big rides on consecutive days thing.

 

[Ben Reeve]

Long slow rides are great preparation for riding long and slow, which looks like your plan as far as I can tell. If you have limited time in weekday evenings, then rides of higher intensity are probably the only viable alternative and will help to improve your threshold. But you don't need a powermeter for that either. None of this actually needs a powermeter. The thing you really have to nail is the big rides on consecutive days thing.

Heart rate monitor it is then!

 

[amasidlover]

I had been given alot of advice that suggested long slow rides wasn't going to be enough (example below) so was planning to really target some sessions int he week to really try and up my fitness

Regardless of whether lots of long slow miles would be enough; I'd still suggest that more time in the saddle in targetted HR zones (with lots of zone 2 and 3 / sweet spot) would be far more useful than really hard intervals at a duration / intensity where a power meter might help.

That said if you've bought the turbo, the HR monitor and got the training in then a power meter to help make sure that you don't go too hard on any climbs you encounter and may make the difference between a really comfortable experience and one where you struggle some days (although if you're riding with companions you may end up pushing too hard at some points anyway) - It would, in my opinion, be a very marginal gain though...

 

[HarryTheDog]

I bought a Powermeter 3 months ago, a Limits, I thought it was ok but experience has shown it was garbage, I would have been better guessing my power and just used heart rate to train. I now have a Powertap C1 chainring on the road bike and a Stages on the 29er. I wanted to be faster in racing ( CX and XC). I tried to work out my own training programme and bought a book on power training. Turned out I was far to lazy or stupid to make head or tail of it so pay for the services of a proper coach who writes my weekly plan and studies my power/heart rate data etc.
Early days so have seen no difference in performance yet. What it has shown is where my weaknesses and strengths are.( I am a bloody good sprinter, short hill climber and sod all else at the moment) My training is now easier than when I tried myself, a lot less of me smashing the hell out of my rides and a much more measured approach,more rest, constant heart rate power levels on long rides . My coach uses a mixed approach my longer road rides use heart rate more than power readings at the moment and turbo sessions use power, he has also managed to use my commutes as part of training. I also have race simulation training off-road ( skills sessions) in there as well. For me, I need the coach and maybe not the power meter so much .
Speaking to a few people who have started using a coach ( all racers of some sort) they all say their volume of training has reduced rather than increased,but performance has increased.
Cycling is my only hobby, I hardly drink, not interested in cars etc so I am happy to spend money on it, my road and CX bike are secondhand both cost less than 500 quid each, my 29er was bought new ( 2,000 quid) I feel that the professional coach and power meter will make me faster than dropping 3,000+ on some lighter and more exotic bike.

 

[Ajax Bay]

Heart rate monitor it is then!

Plus one.
Your heart rate is a reasonable readout of the effort you are making, and someone else can come along to confirm (or otherwise) that HR and power readings on a ride (where you don't overdo it and bonk) have a pretty good correlation.
You'll also learn what sort of HR you can comfortably maintain (over several hours) and that will inform your training rides and also your L>L as well. If I push over 150, I know that I'm not going to be able to maintain that pace for more than a couple of hours, so I can use that as a guide for moderating (yet maintaining) effort on the hills, especially for the first 100km. I've found this useful on very long rides (eg 611km in 36 hours).

 

[Lonestar]

i only justified myself buying an expensive phone due to it being the only Christmas present I got last year otherwise I would not spend that sort of money on an item like that...or a Power Meter.

(Perhaps I will do that for my birthday)

 

[alicat]

Have you considered Wattbike sessions? If available near you, they will help you target your training at considerably less expense than a Powermeter imho.

 

[Racing roadkill]

Simple really, I'm not a pro, I don't need one, I didn't buy one. Much cheapness