Training peaks and coach

[Seamab]

A lot of folks say they can't afford a PM but possibly don't know that they can be hired. Plenty of folks will shell out monthly fees for umpteen other things that are not strictly necessary ...

My powertap experience was good. It worked flawlessly until the batteries died. It got me used to cycling with power (took me a while) and was an overall benefit to my cycling. At that time there were very few alternatives to a PT apart from SRM (very expensive). Ergomo had gone bust and there were the first inklings of a pedal based system in the offing. I chose to rent because i didn't have the cash to buy at the time and didn't know if i would benefit from the experience. Even though there's no chance of me becoming an elite cyclist my everyday riding improved greatly in the period, so for me it was not a waste of money. At the end of it i wanted one!

Even if it's just to calibrate your turbo it's worth it. How many threads do you see on turbos where folks are trying to get power proxies? They'll shell out several hundred pounds for a turbo then whinge that it's not accurate or whatever.

All the various systems have limitations and being fixed to a wheel is the PT's.

If i was looking now i'd be interested in whatever one is easiest to swap between bikes that didn't cost an arm and a leg and is proven to be reliable and doesn't have to be sent off somewhere every so often for updates/maintenance. I doubt any fit the bill exactly or ever will. So you makes your choice...

 

[amaferanga]

The trouble with renting is that assuming you want one from Cyclepowermeters, you may have to wait months before one becomes available. I tried to rent before buying, but gave up after several weeks of waiting and bought one. I sent an email to Cyclepowermeters asking them to cancel my request to rent a PowerTap, but I then got an email from them at least 2 months later saying they had one available for me! So if you want a power meter soon then buying is probably the way to go.

I wouldn't waste my time renting a power meter to 'calibrate' a turbo unless you 'calibrate' it over a range of ambient temperatures and 'calibrate' it separately for each specific turbo session you do. It's way more hassle than it's worth and there will still be too much uncertainty for it to be of any use whatsoever.

 

[Pedrosanchezo]

Anyone looking at the Garmin vector system? Looks ideal but the date keeps getting set back. PITA.

http://sites.garmin.com/vector/#power

 

[amaferanga]

Anyone looking at the Garmin vector system? Looks ideal but the date keeps getting set back. PITA.

http://sites.garmin.com/vector/#power

What makes you say it looks ideal? If it's the alleged flexibility of a pedal-based system then I bet I can transfer cranks between bikes quicker than it takes to swap over 2 pedals. You'd be mad to buy it as soon as it's released anyway so it's probably going to be 1-2 years before the Vector becomes a viable option. That's if it's ever released.

 

[Rob3rt]

Anyone looking at the Garmin vector system? Looks ideal but the date keeps getting set back. PITA.

http://sites.garmin.com/vector/#power

V has tested these I believe.

 

[Arsen Gere]

My 2p. I don't use a power meter and I don't think I will. I'd like to try one but I don't percieve the need. Here is why I think this.
Power is a great measure for monitoring progress and it gives you the ability to compare two different people on different setups, bikes, tyres, position, conditions etc.

For training purposes on a turbo I am only interested on relative improvements. Me, how I am doing. I have no interest in comparing anyone else to me ( no matter how far behind the pro's I am ). I am only interested in improving me.
I can get this from a rear wheel speedo and a turbo that is setup exactly the same each time to give consistency.

For racing I use feel, perceived exertion based on the experience built on the turbo.

 

[Arsen Gere]

Folks may be intersted in some lovely bling and descriptions that identify what was used at Kona this year for the bike tt section.

http://www.slowtwitch.com/Products/Tri_Bike_by_brand/Kona_top_15_men_on_bikes_3223.html

 

[Pedrosanchezo]

What makes you say it looks ideal? If it's the alleged flexibility of a pedal-based system then I bet I can transfer cranks between bikes quicker than it takes to swap over 2 pedals. You'd be mad to buy it as soon as it's released anyway so it's probably going to be 1-2 years before the Vector becomes a viable option. That's if it's ever released.

You can swap the cranks quicker than the pedals?? I'll take your word for it. I certainly cannot. Surely pedals are more transferable between differing bikes.
I agree that there may be a lot of problems with it when it's released, though i was hoping that this (ironing out bugs) was the reason behind the large scale delay. I would wait a few month at least anyway before making a decision.

 

[Pedrosanchezo]

Folks may be intersted in some lovely bling and descriptions that identify what was used at Kona this year for the bike tt section.

http://www.slowtwitch.com/Products/Tri_Bike_by_brand/Kona_top_15_men_on_bikes_3223.html

I would defo have the Boarman Air. The 9.8 costs a fortune though. Something like the 9.4 would be just the ticket but even still thats knocking on the door of £4000. Planet x have some good spec'd TT bikes too though.
Clearly a thread deviation.

 

[Pedrosanchezo]

V has tested these I believe.

How did the good man get his mucky paws on these??

 

[amaferanga]

You can swap the cranks quicker than the pedals?? I'll take your word for it. I certainly cannot. Surely pedals are more transferable between differing bikes.
I agree that there may be a lot of problems with it when it's released, though i was hoping that this (ironing out bugs) was the reason behind the large scale delay. I would wait a few month at least anyway before making a decision.

I guess it depends on the chainset, but swapping a gxp chainset involves undoing a single self-extracting bolt on the non-drive side. Then all you have to do is slide the chainset out from the BB, transfer to the other bike and do the bolt up again. It is literally a 2 minute job. With 2 pedals to swap over I can't see it being quicker.

 

[Arsen Gere]

I would defo have the Boarman Air. The 9.8 costs a fortune though. Something like the 9.4 would be just the ticket but even still thats knocking on the door of £4000. Planet x have some good spec'd TT bikes too though.
Clearly a thread deviation.

True but they also spec the power meters that are used by each athlete, bringing it back to topic
Notice some don't use them at all. Kind of my pref, right or wrong.

 

[Rob3rt]

How did the good man get his mucky paws on these??

Not sure, I didn't ask any questions

 

[Pedrosanchezo]

True but they also spec the power meters that are used by each athlete, bringing it back to topic
Notice some don't use them at all. Kind of my pref, right or wrong.

Each to their own dude and to hell with anyone who will tell you otherwise. Not like we are sponsored and signed to a pro team.
If you have the ££ and want to use a power meter then by all means do so. I am very tempted but could also do with putting the ££ to a TT specific bike. Or about 10 other bike related things. Need to try that planting the tenner out the back again and see if i can grow some more......