Should I get a power meter?

Streamliner wrote:
For me

Streamliner wrote:

For me I’ve felt it’s been worthwhile, and I’m surprised the above list doesn’t get more of a mention in power meter discussions.

Because all the naysayers are people who can’t/won’t stump up the cash, and think any technological advancement is ‘unpure’.

I’ve been riding bikes for 2
I’ve been riding bikes for 2 decades either mountain bikes or road bikes. Earlier this year I took the plunge and bought a powertap pair of wheels, my first power meter. I have never raced other than a handful of TTs, and maybe I will try a race if I feel I won’t get crushed by the regular racers.

So my motivation was curiosity, and to get more focused on my training. At the end of the day it’s your money so you can spend it on what you want!

I have found it very useful so let me answer those here saying they have no point and you should just go ride more, or time yourself up hills, or look at your HR etc.

The main benefit I’ve found is in real time, during the ride. You can see in front of your eyes your power vary as you pedal. Sound obvious?

Since having a power meter I’ve learned:

Tiny changes in your riding position make big differences to your power. You can get big increases from improving your bike setup.
What you subjectively perceive as pushing hard at any point bears little relation to your actual output. To a degree this is also true of HR if you are for example too cold, or fatigued, or pedalling inefficiently.
Seated vs standing power outputs may be nothing like what you expect.
Whether you are getting better power from lower or higher cadence.
Which part of the pedal stroke to focus on to generate the most power.

I didn’t expect any of this beforehand, I thought I would just be able to do more effective training! But the above has transformed my performance just through position and pedalling technique improvements.

For me I’ve felt it’s been worthwhile, and I’m surprised the above list doesn’t get more of a mention in power meter discussions.

BBB wrote:I’m somewhat

BBB wrote:

I’m somewhat financially stable, so the cost is not that big an issue for me

This is really the only important bit. If you can afford it, buy it. Every real man needs a new gadget occasionally. It’s what separates us from the beasts.

chokofingrz wrote:Old-school

chokofingrz wrote:

Old-school power measurement: ride the same hill once or twice a week, go hard, and time your ascent. You could even keep a log of the times if you need charts to look at.

Sure, you could use a £500 electronic gizmo or a mathematical formula, but time-to-the-top over a set course is really as good a metric as any for the amateur cyclist to track (and improve) their performance.

It really isn’t. This assumes conditions each time you hit that hill are exactly the same. A power meter removes this ambiguity. The idea that an amateur cyclist can’t benefit from a power meter is a myth that some in the road cycling world need to get over.

On a different note, the one thing I really admire about the triathlon community is there is none of this old road racing world dogmatic thinking to be found. An aversion to new technology is a peculiarity of the road racing scene, the tri guys seem far more receptive to innovation. I guess they are not bogged down in the “Merckx only needed [insert remark about number of gears/weight of bike/etc here]” as road riders are.

I should have put /sarcasm in
I should have put /sarcasm in front of my post.

Nick T wrote:crikey

Nick T wrote:

crikey wrote:

Buy a bike with mudguards, buy a decent waterproof.

If that doesn’t answer your question, OP, then I don’t know what will.

Something helpful ?

surly_by_name wrote:Tell you

surly_by_name wrote:

Tell you what, if you pay me £1k I will send you an email after every ride that tells you that you aren’t powerful enough.

Like having an accountant to tell you how poor you are