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Should I get a power meter?

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  • April 19, 2014 at 9:49 pm #21206
    rnarito

    I’m new to road cycling (10 months and going strong!) I’ve read quite a bit about how power meters can really help you improve, but here’s the deal. I’ll be 54 this year and have no intention of competing (the occasional sportive notwithstanding), how much will this help me? I’m somewhat financially stable, so the cost is not that big an issue for me. Can someone out there give a good enough reason to take the plunge? Many thanks!:)

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  • April 27, 2014 at 9:30 am #787345
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    crikey

    10 months?
    Hilarious, as are
    10 months?
    Hilarious, as are the justifications above; cycling really is the new golf.

    Buy a bike with mudguards, buy a decent waterproof, set a target of miles per week or per month and ride your bike.

    April 27, 2014 at 9:04 am #787343
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    KirinChris

    drfabulous0 wrote:Power

    drfabulous0 wrote:
    Power meters, I hate em, some love em. Either way it’s a lot of money to drop so why not borrow one or have a go on a WattBike before deciding if it’s for you?

    I don’t think that’s really the best way to decide. If you just borrow one or have a couple of goes on a bike with power then all you’re doing is seeing some extra numbers a few times. It’s looking at a power meter as an expensive toy, not how you might use it to improve performance, or what it would take to do that.

    I’m not saying that the poster should get a power meter. As has been said several times, it depends on his objectives and I would emphasise that the user needs to put something into it if it is to be anything more than a computer add-on.

    But my point is you have to do a bit of work to understand the data and use the power meter effectively and I don’t think you would appreciate that by just skimming the surface.

    April 27, 2014 at 8:04 am #787341
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    Colin Peyresourde

    No doubt that PMs are useful.
    No doubt that PMs are useful. The issue with HRMs is that your heart may get stronger or weaker, and so your HR zones may change. PM basically give you the actual output so that it takes some of the guess work out of your training.

    What you seem to suggest from your post is that you’re new to cycling and that you’re not currently cycling competitively, so I would say that a PM is unnecessary for you. If you want to train and compete at a later date get one then. Forget what people say about spoiling your ride. You normally only check data after a ride.

    If you haven’t got a turbo trainer already many of these come with computers that work out your power (Tacx Flow and Tacx Bushido). These are not nesscessarily accurate, and are based on a simple formula, but as a poster above has mentioned calculating a rough power output is fairly simple. You could see how you go with that.

    If I was in your position and had money to burn, perhaps get yourself a better wheelset or cycle a classic European route and see if it drives you on to more cycling.

    I would also recommend a Garmin 810 or something as a way of increasing your enjoyment….to be later used with a PM if you get one. It opens up the roads as once you plot a route you can cycle confidently down roads you may only ever ride once, instead of constantly checking your route details.

    April 26, 2014 at 7:42 pm #787339
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    drfabulous0

    Power meters, I hate em, some
    Power meters, I hate em, some love em. Either way it’s a lot of money to drop so why not borrow one or have a go on a WattBike before deciding if it’s for you?

    April 25, 2014 at 9:21 pm #787337
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    ch

    Besides “money” there is also
    Besides “money” there is also installation, calibration, other maintenance, breakdown, and miscellaneous worry. That doesn’t mean it is not worth it.

    FYI, going steadily uphill (>5%?) if you know your VAM and your rider+bike weight, you can easily calculate your watts (wind factor and road surface effects become less significant going uphill). So if you have a garmin showing slope=7% and speed=14 kph, your VAM is then 7 x 14 x 10 = 980 meters per hour.

    This web site will help you figure your watts per (grade*speed):

    http://www.gribble.org/cycling/power_v_speed.html

    April 25, 2014 at 8:19 pm #787335
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    Angelfishsolo

    Yes of course you should get
    Yes of course you should get one. It’s new after all. For the same reason you should have Di2 Shifters and an 11 speed set up.

    That was sarcasm BTW. If you are only going to ride an occasional Sportive it would be like buying a Hummer to get the weekly shopping.

    April 23, 2014 at 3:18 pm #787333
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    Jimmy Ray Will

    All summed up nicely I think.
    All summed up nicely I think.

    My only comment is that whilst HR is not as accurate, or immediate as power, it is still a very valid training tool, and not something that should simply be dismissed.

    A power meter does open up the opportunities for a whole host of training sessions that are difficult to replicate with a HRM or RPE.

    Ideally you’ll use both… one is a measurement of the efforts you are making, the other is measuring your response to those efforts…

    Personally I’d love a power meter… can’t afford one though.

    April 23, 2014 at 9:16 am #787331
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    surly_by_name

    Tell you what, if you pay me
    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.

    April 22, 2014 at 4:58 pm #787329
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    Grizzerly

    No!
    No!

    April 22, 2014 at 12:23 pm #787327
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    Simon E

    “Don’t buy upgrades, ride up
    “Don’t buy upgrades, ride up grades”

    said a bloke who knows.

    April 22, 2014 at 11:32 am #787325
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    Yorkshie Whippet

    Ride for another year or so.
    Ride for another year or so. Then ask yourself do I need a powermeter?

    If you still want one, then go for it. If not, sit back and enjoy the ride.

    April 22, 2014 at 11:26 am #787323
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    mooleur

    I’ve got one and can’t
    I’ve got one and can’t recommend it enough.

    Despite common misconceptions, the powertap hubs are *extremely* good value for money, you can pick up a g3 second hand for about 300 nowdays. Mine has proven more stable, and accurate, than the other half’s Rotor & Quark metres.

    I’ve a bit of a gammy heart, with a max rate of around 228, so training from HR wasn’t doing my any favours, I wasn’t getting any fitter.

    If you want to step things up, then there is no reason why you shouldn’t buy one other than the cost, but then that is *your* decision to make, no one elses.

    There are always arguments for and against, one of the girls here (current junior british champion) apparently doesn’t even use a HRM – that’s how she trains and she’s done well out of it. If it were me, I’d still be pootling around at 13mph with a gut hanging out of my bibs.

    PMs are cool as they give you that scientific base, if you’re into that then it’s extremely handy. They’re good if you’re training a lot (if, like me you’re doing more than 12 hours a week) then you can spot very early warning signs that you need to alter what you’re doing, I can usually spot overtraining before I feel it, same with colds and flus.

    One warning I will give is that if you use one, try not to look at it too much. I’ve found myself purposefully dropping back in races because I’ve looked down and realised I’ve been sat at over my threshold. I don’t look at this screen now unless I’m on the turbo doing specifics. Same with hillclimbs and timetrials – your legs are still in charge, the numbers are only there to help.

    April 22, 2014 at 11:16 am #787321
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    bashthebox

    This is a fun argument, isn’t
    This is a fun argument, isn’t it?

    I’d love a power meter, but it’s a lot of cash to drop. If I had the disposable income, right now, I’d probably go for it. Why not? Riding bikes for me is as much about seeing how fast I can go as it is enjoying the view. Fast fast pretty things fast. Riding bikes is ace. Graphs are ace. Going fast is ace. Sunlight and birdsong and all the good stuff is ace.
    I don’t think you miss out on much when climbing if you’re looking at your power output. Most of the time I’m concentrating hard on my breathing, gearing and maintaining cadence on the climbs, not the scenery.

    April 22, 2014 at 8:46 am #787319
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    bailey19

    If you enjoy specific
    If you enjoy specific training then yes, get one. I got some Vectors recently and not only do I rather sadly like looking at the data, It is a massive difference to training on HR. Instead of waiting for your HR to catch up you can hit the numbers straight away and get more from each session. Go for it.

    April 21, 2014 at 9:44 pm #787317
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    BBB

    Surely spending £600 on a
    Surely spending £600 on a powermeter (e.g. Stages) isn’t as extravagant as £200-300 on a glorified cycle computer with a GPS function…

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