Introducing PowerCal a new kind of Power Meter

[BicyclePower]

Tried mine out over the weekend and I can say I'm very happy! I'm still recovering after a bit of an illness and don't know how that may have influenced this weekend's values - but hey, at least I'm starting to see values.

 

What I can see from my non-expert point of view. It does not slavishly follow HR trends. So there is some other mojo in there and it's not "purely HR based". Unlike was reported on one site I saw, mine does zero out whilst coasting. Not sure how immediate - I was on the mtb, with no cadence sensor to evaluate afterward.

 

One thing I want to ask - I have my 705 set to smart recording and have read that per second recording is advised for PowerTaps themselves. Is this the case here as well? (I simply turned off per second to decrease upload size of files.)

 

So, there may be some inaccuracy if you compare it to PT, but I don't have a PT to compare it to. Which makes me pretty much the customer this was made for. I now have power values to look at - and already saw some interesting things - and use as guidance. As long as the magic inside remains the same, at least I know when I am evaluating myself against myself, I have a constant reference point - which I did not have before.

 

Very interested to see what pops out once I get my lazy butt on a road bike for a change, where the riding will be vastly different.

 

 

Thanks for the positive feedback we welcome all feedback....

 

 

 

Although we don’t know Garmin that well I could suggest leaving the Garmin on smart data as changing this to a 1 sec recording rate may also change the refresh rate on the Garmin meaning Power Values will not be as consistent and smooth due to the 1 sec refresh rate, that’s why we suggested when using the PC have the highest possible refresh rate you can get , 30sec is the highest for the CycleOps computers.

[LOOK695]

What is the price for the Joule GPS

[BicyclePower]

What is the price for the Joule GPS

 

we hoping they will retail for a fair amount under R3000.00 incl HR however depends on the exchange rate once they ready.

[LOOK695]

we hoping they will retail for a fair amount under R3000.00 incl HR however depends on the exchange rate once they ready.

Thanks. That would be a normal HR not the PowerCal? When are you expecting your stock?

[SeaBee]

Although we don’t know Garmin that well I could suggest leaving the Garmin on smart data as changing this to a 1 sec recording rate may also change the refresh rate on the Garmin meaning Power Values will not be as consistent and smooth due to the 1 sec refresh rate, that’s why we suggested when using the PC have the highest possible refresh rate you can get , 30sec is the highest for the CycleOps computers.

 

Smart recording is not as "frequent" and as per second recording - and definitely not as consistent and smooth. So if consistency is the key - then per second will be better.

AFAIK smart recording only records significant change (and I don't know what their definition of "significant change" is...) and produces a much smaller and more manageable file (esp ito uploading)

 

I will read around a bit and shout if I find something.

[Bike Mob]

I should get my PowerCal by Wednesday and the reason why I bought one was because I would like to get some sort of stress scores when I use my MTB. I have a road PowerTap and most of my training is done on my road bike. I opted for a road PT because of the price and also because I can do more controled power training on the road and on my indoor trainer.

 

I think the PowerCal will be great for MTBiking (off road) because of the very stochastic nature of mountain biking.

 

What I remain curious about is whether the FTP that is entered into the head unit affects the PowerCal's output. If I changed my FTP in my Garmin head unit to 500W (no where near my actual FTP) then will it influence the reading produced by the PowerCal. Apparently it should not affect the reading but I still cannot see how it is possible to calculate power based on HR alone :-D

 

Adjusting your FTP in your powersoftware is a great way to "calibrate" the powercal's TSS values. Unfortunately its not practical to do that way if you run a powercal as well as a strain gauge PM. Otherwise my PM value will be way too high.

 

I just have to double the Powercals TSS, sometimes triple it.

[BicyclePower]

Thanks. That would be a normal HR not the PowerCal? When are you expecting your stock?

 

joule GPS we are still awaiting to be launched, expected September but unsure as to when.

 

you are correct thats a normal HR with PC retail is expected around 3500+/-

[fandacious]

A quick question,

 

how does this device differ from the sporttracks gps2power plugin that calculates power?

 

http://www.zonefivesoftware.com/sporttracks/plugins/?p=gps2powertrack

[Tankman]

Another question:

 

If I were to connect this HR strap to a Garmin Edge 500, what power data will be available on screen during a ride?

 

All the power data functions that is available on the Edge 500 or just some of them or will most calculations and averages only be visible in 3rd party software after the workout is downloaded?

[dracs]

Another question:

 

If I were to connect this HR strap to a Garmin Edge 500, what power data will be available on screen during a ride?

 

All the power data functions that is available on the Edge 500 or just some of them or will most calculations and averages only be visible in 3rd party software after the workout is downloaded?

+1 on that query,

And, re software - does one need any particular software to usefully use / analyse power data? Does any software come with the Powercal?

[BicyclePower]

A quick question,

 

how does this device differ from the sporttracks gps2power plugin that calculates power?

 

http://www.zonefives...=gps2powertrack

 

 

I don’t know of this software, i assume you can only get this "power" reading once you download your HR file into this software???

 

If this is the case the PowerCal provides an instant real time power output so they not quiet in the same league

[BicyclePower]

Another question:

 

If I were to connect this HR strap to a Garmin Edge 500, what power data will be available on screen during a ride?

 

All the power data functions that is available on the Edge 500 or just some of them or will most calculations and averages only be visible in 3rd party software after the workout is downloaded?

 

no the PowerCal is just like any other Power Meter i.e. Power Tap it will provide an instant power based off HR then your typical other metrics ave, max, TSS, IF etc etc so you will be able to view your current, ave, and max while on the ride and not have to wait till you are home and download the data

[BicyclePower]

+1 on that query,

And, re software - does one need any particular software to usefully use / analyse power data? Does any software come with the Powercal?

 

no software come with the PowerCal, software depends on what computer you are using, Garin use Training Centre, CycleOps use Power Agent and Bryton use (i dont know)

 

most of these computers can then be used with WKO+ a US $200+/- option but well worth it.

 

once you have downloaded the ride you can then export it and once in .csv format it can be opened in more other software packages so it really depends on what cycling computer you are using.

[cadenceblur]

This approach seems very interesting , however i have a polar and can therefore not sync with the power cal.

What is the cheapest ant+ device out there that i could get that would enable me to use the power cal?

currently have a polar rs800, with the GPS, so already have all the other info i require .

[BicyclePower]

This approach seems very interesting , however i have a polar and can therefore not sync with the power cal.

What is the cheapest ant+ device out there that i could get that would enable me to use the power cal?

currently have a polar rs800, with the GPS, so already have all the other info i require .

 

i think our CycleOps Joule 1.0 is the cheapest ANT+ Power Compatible computer on the market, R1645.00 for the computer excl HR then R1495.00 for the PowerCal incl speed (you will need a speed sensor as the Joule 1.0 is not GPS)

 

so a total of R3 140.00

 

this will then give you eveything you need, software would be the Power Agent software that comes free with all CycleOps computers as well as a download cable.

 

it will provide you metricas such as TSS, IF, NP and plenty more that will help you understand the full benifits of Power.

[cadenceblur]

Okay, to enable this, I will have to wear two HR straps, I assume there won't be any interference issues?