Am I ready for a Powermeter

['Dale]

Geez, it's a lot of moola.

 

Waiting for prices to come down.

 

That Sram powermeter in the pedal thingy looks cool!

[stringbean]

Its interesting to read the comments on PM's and how you guys recon it changes your riding, I know they're good to have but didn't realise they played such a big role, I was always put off by the hefty price tag but it seems it could be worthwhile.

 

How do you incorporate it into your training programs? or more specifically, how are you using the data to make your riding better? Maybe you could list a few examples of your training programs for say a week period?

Forget looking at how many km you do a week and fall into the trap of more miles = getting stronger.

My average week i try and do 2x 20min intervals twice a week and one longish ride on the weekend.When using HR it is easy once you get your HR up to soft pedal and still keep it up.When using a PM if you stop pedaling or soft pedal it tells you straight away.There is not much harder than doing a 20min TT using a PM and FTP.With the PM you end up doing less or no junk miles and only do Quality miles.

[splat]

Forget looking at how many km you do a week and fall into the trap of more miles = getting stronger.

My average week i try and do 2x 20min intervals twice a week and one longish ride on the weekend.When using HR it is easy once you get your HR up to soft pedal and still keep it up.When using a PM if you stop pedaling or soft pedal it tells you straight away.There is not much harder than doing a 20min TT using a PM and FTP.With the PM you end up doing less or no junk miles and only do Quality miles.

 

in other words: 'Quality, not Quantity' ?

[Trubie]

Been using quarc since July this year.

Best investment - no doubt about it

using it with the help of a coach

improvement in short space of time has been enormous

started racing vets second half of this year and progress has been very rapid and rewarding

[BushmanBlignaut]

Have a look at CycleOps. Much cheaper than Quark. Been using it for 2 years years now and it's been awesome.

Starts at R8300 for a full system. Comes with CPU, but also has ANT+ technology so you can use it Garmin etc.

 

Contact me if interested, I rep for Bicycle Power Trading who bring them in.

[Oltremo]

Have a look at CycleOps. Much cheaper than Quark. Been using it for 2 years years now and it's been awesome.

Starts at R8300 for a full system. Comes with CPU, but also has ANT+ technology so you can use it Garmin etc.

 

Contact me if interested, I rep for Bicycle Power Trading who bring them in.

I have ordered with Bicycle Power, Pro+ in Mavic Open Rim, R9000. Will use with my Garmin 500

[BicyclePower]

Hi,

I have been cycling consistently for close on 2 years now. Over the last year I have used a well structured training plan, averaged 10-12 hr per week (excl every third rest week +-8hr). Over the 2 years I have progresed to PPA Group G, and aim for a sub 3 Argus 2012. Further ambitions are to qualify for league etc. I am in the 40-44 age group. All in all, moving along steadily in a structured (road sport cycling) manner.

 

Now I am pondering whether the time is right for me to acquire a power meter (training till now has been hr based - logged sessions on TP etc)

 

I know that training with a Power meter will yield results, as will training without a power meter. But can I expect substantially better results with one?

Would like to hear what persons training with power meters have to say?

Do any of you regret the cost incurred?

 

 

TSS (Training Stress Score) is a measure invented by Hunter Allen and Dr Andrew Coggan (of Training Peaks fame) and its intended to address the shortfalls of distance or time-based programmes that we all know have weaknesses. TSS accounts for ‘quality’ in your workout. But you have to have a decent PM to measure TSS and with devices like CycelOps’s Joule (that comes with its PM’s) TSS is available on the dashboard – so you get a ‘real time’ readout of how well your workout is going. Most good coaches (and Bicycle Power Trading, who import CycleOps products) will be able to help with TSS based programmes – it’s a fairly simple matter of converting from distance or time to TSS targets, based on different intensities for different types of workouts.

 

if you need more info please contact bicycke power on 011-023-2777

[BushmanBlignaut]

I have ordered with Bicycle Power, Pro+ in Mavic Open Rim, R9000. Will use with my Garmin 500

Good call! Hope you enjoy it

[Lucky Luke.]

Whilst I'm the first to admit I'm a little jealous of you guys with your power meters, in the interest of cynicism and mean-spirited humour I'd like to repost Bike Snob's appraisal of the growth in popularity of training with power:

 

While a power meter is certainly an important tool for a professional cyclist, the bulk of them are of course sold to amateurs who misinterpret their amateur status and poor results as signs that they need to spend a huge amount of money on a power meter when in fact their amateur status and poor results are actually the very reasons they don't

need a power meter. If you're an amateur, buying a power meter to train is like hiring an accountant to tell you how broke you are or like buying an iPhone just to check your

Cannondale stock

. Yet amateurs not only buy power meters, but they think $1,000 for a power meter is actually

cheap

. Clearly then, I will make a fortune when I introduce my own power meter at next year's Interbike, since it will be the cheapest and most accurate one ever. Yes, for $5 you'll get an LCD display which constantly flashes the message, "You suck."

If that's not enough data for you and you crave downloadable information, simply plug your own license number into the USA Cycling website and analyze away.

['Dale]

Umm...

Killer wheels look so much nicer than a powermeter!

Duh!

 

Better wheels 'make you go faster' with no extra effort.

If you buy a powermeter, you actually have to do some real training...

 

:lol: