POWER

[Nosaj]

I do see your points but I must admit that swapping out cranks etc is a little off putting (for me) I don't have a suitable torque wrench and with my level of mechanical expertise it would probably take me about 2 hours!

 

[jdtate101]

I have a P2M on Rotor cranks and rings. I don't rate powertaps as the one I have built into a Mavic wheel keeps going out of true. It's now used exclusively with a turbo tyre on it, as I use it for turbo session on my cross bike. When it's clamped in the frame no amount of force will cause it to warp.

 

[400bhp]

STOP

I don't have a power meter and such a thread might make me buy one

 

[Mr Haematocrit]

Im a big fan of the Quarq, best all round power meter IMHO and the support for the product is exceptional.

 

[400bhp]

does the quarq work with a garmin 705? It has ant + so i assume it does.

 

[Sittingduck]

I was considering renting a Powertap but it's on the back-burner for the moment.

 

[Rob3rt]

does the quarq work with a garmin 705? It has ant + so i assume it does.

Should do.

 

[VamP]

Everybody who's thinking about buying a powermeter but isn't sure - do it! It's by far the best investment I have made in my cycling.

SRM, Quarq, Powertap or P2M - pick your choice to suit your budget, but second hand Powertap is a really affordable route into training with power.

 

[Mr Haematocrit]

I would not advise on SRM, although its an amazing powermeter and is very reliable at this time it has to be returned to SRM to have a new battery fitted as it is not user replaceable or chargeable. (the owner picks up the cost and risk of shipping) The Quarq power meter battery can be accessed by the user which makes it more viable imho.

 

[VamP]

I wold say that in the context of the changes one needs to make in order to effectively train with power, the (very) occasional inconvenience of sending your meter off for battery replacement is fairly low on the list of concerns.

Segueing somewhat, what do people use for analysis? Golden Cheetah here

 

[400bhp]

Everybody who's thinking about buying a powermeter but isn't sure - do it! It's by far the best investment I have made in my cycling.

SRM, Quarq, Powertap or P2M - pick your choice to suit your budget, but second hand Powertap is a really affordable route into training with power.

My mate has a powertap, but seems to have a lot of problems with the wheel going out of true. Is this a common issue and is there anything that can be done to mitigate it? He runs it on Mavic Aksiums IIRC.

 

[Rob3rt]

The battery on an SRM lasts ages, should only need doing maybe once a year? The guys at Cyclepowermeters can change the battery and they have a fast turnaround. Could be done during one of your weeks off. If I could have afforded an SRM with the SRM head unit, I would have bought that. But I couldn't so I bought the next best thing, latest gen Quarq (SRAM Red, it is the same spec as the new unit ELSA but a different aesthetic, and probably some weight difference).

Quarq have quirks

As for software, I use a combination of WKO+ and Golden Cheetah. Golden Cheetah is a bit clunky, for the life of me I can not find how to add trend lines (best fit) to data plots. I prefer the useability of WKO+ but don't like the aesthetic of the plots. I sent some power files to a club mate to analyse for me (he is a sports scientist, coach and top level tester) to see if he could find me some free/easy speed and he seemed to analyse them in depth very quickly, I think using sporttracks with some plugins, so might give that a go as well.

 

[Rob3rt]

My mate has a powertap, but seems to have a lot of problems with the wheel going out of true. Is this a common issue and is there anything that can be done to mitigate it? He runs it on Mavic Aksiums IIRC.

I had not heard of this issue, the main issue with them is the torque tube giving up after some time and costing nearly as much as a new unit to replace. I know 3 people with power taps, will ask them about the wheel truing issue.

 

[Andrew_P]

I have been toying with the idea but with me not intending to compete it would be an indulgence that would end up in the same realm of statistics as the cadence. I keep coming back to fact the cost would a good depoist on an expensive bike.

 

[VamP]

My mate has a powertap, but seems to have a lot of problems with the wheel going out of true. Is this a common issue and is there anything that can be done to mitigate it? He runs it on Mavic Aksiums IIRC.

I have only ridden just over a thousand miles on mine, but it's as true as it was out of the box. I guess like any hub, he could get it rebuilt?

The reason I was suggesting a second hand PT is just because there's a lot of them out there for sale, particularly the wired kind, as everybody just had to upgrade, when the ANT+ versions came out.

Ultimately your choice between wheel or crank based systems will come down to where you are with bikes and wheelsets, and what fits into your intended usage. Given my wide-ranging proclivities, I went around and around in a 'paralysis by analysis' and in the end just pulled the trigger on a PT system, which I am very happy with. So based on that I would say any powermeter is better than no power meter As long as it's one of the established systems I guess.

I wouldn't encourage anyone to be a guineapig for Stages or Vector just yet.