How Did You Justify the Cost of a Power Meter?

[Ben Reeve]

I know I know.

I haven't actually hit the purchase button yet.

Absolutely I came into this thread looking for reasons to get one not the other way round you are spot on.

And you re absolutely right my current training is about long slow rides so very little use. However in the week I do 2 or 3 turbo training sessions, so the debate for me then becomes one of a smart trainer or power meter as I want those sessions to make a really impact.

In the summer however I do those turbo sessions out on the road up and down a small stretch between two roundabouts near my house so the power meter then makes sense.

Plus it helped yesterday that I got an end of year bonus, that will always tip the balance!

 

[Hacienda71]

Yes I did look at this and decided against them because the set up look alot more complex and he thought the pod part was vulnerable and may not last.

Definitely a good option for a turbo though I think if you are just going to leave them on there as they are not going to be outside where they can get damaged and less swapping between bikes.

I have been running one for the last 6 months in all conditions including racing and an off with no issues and no damage other than minor cosmetic marks where my foot has brushed the pod. Set up is pretty straightforward on a turbo or rollers.

 

[Ben Reeve]

I have been running one for the last 6 months in all conditions including racing and an off with no issues and no damage other than minor cosmetic marks where my foot has brushed the pod. Set up is pretty straightforward on a turbo or rollers.

Definitely worth considering then. I'll have another look at it. Haven't hit the order button just yet so another £200 saving would be fantastic.

 

[S-Express]

Here's a quick summary of the thread so far:

OP: "should I get a powermeter?"
reply1: "no, don't get one"
OP: "ok, I won't get one"
reply2: "yes, do get one"
OP: "ok, I'll get one"
reply3: "no, don't get one"
OP: "ok, I won't get one"

etc, etc...

 

[Ben Reeve]

Yep, pretty fickle. What can I say!

In between those points some interesting stuff though....

 

[Ben Reeve]

Reading back through the first couple of pages it was about a 50/50 split between people as to whether or not to get one. And some interesting views on training with one.

As I've said I came into this article leaning towards getting one but struggling to justify the cost of nearly £1k. Some of the advice has been about left sided only versions and bringing the cost down. I have had a heart rate monitor for a long time already and certainly found that on my interval workouts it is slow to respond so I end up doing them on 'perceived exertion' rather than any data.

 

[Globalti]

Late to this thread and I can't believe any amateur rider would ever countenance splashing a grand on a thing that tells them they haven't got stronger. I know when I'm going well and when I'm not, by the amount of effort I need to make to keep up with my buddies or whether they are panting along on my wheel and moaning about needing a cafe stop. A decent set of light, stiff wheels costing £1000 will benefit you far more than any power meter; not only will you go a bit faster, you will also enjoy the handling of the bike more.

 

[S-Express]

I have had a heart rate monitor for a long time already and certainly found that on my interval workouts it is slow to respond so I end up doing them on 'perceived exertion' rather than any data.

HR is useless for interval work - this is pretty widely understood. If a powermeter was a worthwhile investment for your usage, then I would be suggesting you find a way of getting round the cost barrier, because the benefits would outweight the cost. However, for your usage, I wouldn't be suggesting that.

 

[Justinslow]

I don't have a power meter and have just used speed at a given setting on my turbo. After a 20 minute sustained "flat out" session where you try to not to let your pace fall away at the end you have an "average speed" for your 20 minutes or max speed. Then work out all your sessions based on this, so if your av speed (max) was 25mph and a session demands 70% of max then you'd ride at 17.5mph and so on.
Obviously you have to re do the 20 minute speed test every few weeks as your performance improves and recalculate all the percentage speeds for your training plans.
This was a 3x 15 min session at 23.5mph (can't remember what the % of max sorry) so 3x 15 working on endurance.

And this was the HR which didn't mean a thing! Not worried about it.

 

[S-Express]

Obviously you have to re do the 20 minute speed test every few weeks as your performance improves and recalculate all the percentage speeds for your training plans.

You also calibrate the turbo before each session, by doing a roll-down test, presumably?

 

[Justinslow]

You also calibrate the turbo before each session, by doing a roll-down test, presumably?

No never did that, what does that involve?

This is the speed test

And the HR trace

It seems my max speed was 26.4mph so my 3x15 in the post above would have been @90%

 

[S-Express]

No never did that, what does that involve?

It's the best way of ensuring that your turbo is set up to provide the same level of roller resistance for every ride. If it isn't calibrated, then you have no real way of knowing whether your speed/effort ratios are consistent to the degree of accuracy that you might want.

Basically, jump on your turbo and spin it up to a fixed speed, say 20mph. Once you hit 20mph (for example), stop pedalling - and immediately start timing how long the rear wheel takes to come to a complete stop on the roller. This is your roll-down time and can be used before each session to make sure your turbo has the same setup for each session.

 

[Justinslow]

It's the best way of ensuring that your turbo is set up to provide the same level of roller resistance for every ride. If it isn't calibrated, then you have no real way of knowing whether your speed/effort ratios are consistent to the degree of accuracy that you might want.

Basically, jump on your turbo and spin it up to a fixed speed, say 20mph. Once you hit 20mph (for example), stop pedalling - and immediately start timing how long the rear wheel takes to come to a complete stop on the roller. This is your roll-down time and can be used before each session to make sure your turbo has the same setup for each session.

Ok not sure I can do much about mine though, it's the cheapo elite volaire with 5 step adjustment?
I should add I leave that well alone and just use it on setting 4 (one away from max tension)

 

[S-Express]

Ok not sure I can do much about mine though, it's the cheapo elite volaire with 5 step adjustment?

I don't mean the resistance conrtol - I mean the roller adjuster. You should be able to adjust the roller to control how hard it pushes into the tyre. That's what affects the roll-down time.

 

[Justinslow]

I don't mean the resistance conrtol - I mean the roller adjuster. You should be able to adjust the roller to control how hard it pushes into the tyre. That's what affects the roll-down time.

It's spring loaded?