poynedexter
Well-Known Member
for anyone who would fancy a power meter feature on a turbo for training, i bought one of these and highly recommend it.
after a period of feeling like i was training riding racing but not making any progress, finally this turbo has allowed me to see progreess
it cost me £180 from decatlon and has changed my approach to training in the last 3 months. i use it along with a heart rate monitor. it allows me to define my FTP, set my training zones, and the bit i like, it gives me numbers to confirm if i'm tired, rested, making progress or not.
i've no idea if the power numbers are accurate or not, but they seem repeatable and consistant. i know 3 other people with the same turbo and ive tried theirs too. the numbers from theirs are very similar to mine.
i took some advice locally, checked out british cycling's power zone calculator and got to work. i've been doing long road miles at no great intensity, lots of sweet spot turbo work with various interval sessions.
i do the same turbo warmup every time, ramping up the watts and monitoring my heart rate. this has been a great way to track progress. after about 6 weeks of fairly static watts, ive seen a 20- 30 watts increase at 135 bpm and an increase of 12 watts in FTP after about 12 weeks. i'm due another FTP test soon and feel its moved again perhaps by a further 5-10 watts. i have no idea if these numbers are typical or not, but they are a measure of change. until i bought this non smart turbo, i had no gauge apart from feel.
i can feel the difference on the road for sure and my race performance is never better, but the biggest thing is having some data to back it up. knowing that training is actually working. i've had a couple of days when my power is down at particular markers, and i've just stepped off and rested till the next day. having tired legs and just pounding away doesnt happen any more. i use my HRM and PM as my gauge.
it might not be a £500+ PM but imho its a fantastic tool and for anyone wanting to measure progress its been money well spent.
after a period of feeling like i was training riding racing but not making any progress, finally this turbo has allowed me to see progreess
it cost me £180 from decatlon and has changed my approach to training in the last 3 months. i use it along with a heart rate monitor. it allows me to define my FTP, set my training zones, and the bit i like, it gives me numbers to confirm if i'm tired, rested, making progress or not.
i've no idea if the power numbers are accurate or not, but they seem repeatable and consistant. i know 3 other people with the same turbo and ive tried theirs too. the numbers from theirs are very similar to mine.
i took some advice locally, checked out british cycling's power zone calculator and got to work. i've been doing long road miles at no great intensity, lots of sweet spot turbo work with various interval sessions.
i do the same turbo warmup every time, ramping up the watts and monitoring my heart rate. this has been a great way to track progress. after about 6 weeks of fairly static watts, ive seen a 20- 30 watts increase at 135 bpm and an increase of 12 watts in FTP after about 12 weeks. i'm due another FTP test soon and feel its moved again perhaps by a further 5-10 watts. i have no idea if these numbers are typical or not, but they are a measure of change. until i bought this non smart turbo, i had no gauge apart from feel.
i can feel the difference on the road for sure and my race performance is never better, but the biggest thing is having some data to back it up. knowing that training is actually working. i've had a couple of days when my power is down at particular markers, and i've just stepped off and rested till the next day. having tired legs and just pounding away doesnt happen any more. i use my HRM and PM as my gauge.
it might not be a £500+ PM but imho its a fantastic tool and for anyone wanting to measure progress its been money well spent.
