power meter

Felix-da-house-mouse

hi, i know i've touched on this subject before but i'm really considering buying one and was looking for a bit more info on them. how do they work and are they really worth the £150 or so? i presume you remove one of the the cranks and put it inplace or am i completey wrong? i'm looking to get quite seriously into my cycling and my fitness programme really starts this week after a winter filled with injurys and a broken arm which is still healing. But to start it off i've quit drinking alcohol, eating cakes, bikkies,crisps and sweets apart from a very occasional treat. But i am after some guidance on buying a power meter, how to install them, how they work etc etc etc

thanks in advance

Felix-da-house-mouse

i presume they cost £150 ish is this correct or are they almost £1000?

azzerb

£150 is way under.

Polar do one for £400ish? I think, though it's not actually very accurate. I think it goes of chain tension and speed or something, so isn't very accurate.

Is it £800 for an Ergomo (? name? Planet X sell them), and SRM (? name ?) are even more expensive. Oh and Powertap not sure on the price of those, but they're located in the hub of the rear wheel, with ergomo in the BB, and SRM the cranks. I think.

huggy

Powertaps are £1000 for basic bits, though you're looking at more £1300 for a complete set

doyler78

azzerb wrote:

£150 is way under.

Polar do one for £400ish? I think, though it's not actually very accurate. I think it goes of chain tension and speed or something, so isn't very accurate.

Depends whether you have the CS600 already or not. If you have then you can get the power kit for around £200. The new version that goes with CS600 is much more accurate as it is now within 5% as opposed to 10% previously. If you do want/need more accuracy then you will be looking at £600 upwards.

The main problem that there seems to be now with this new unit is that Polar's usual build quality seems to be absent in that a large number of complaints about faulty equipment. The setup isn't the easiest either and the accuracy is very much dependent on a proper installation.

Still it does provide a lower cost alternative for those that don't have financial resources to be able to commit to purchasing the better known and more accurate options.

You can however hire these top end power meters from cycleops (I think of the top of my head) which could be useful if you have a specific event you are training for.

Alex_Simmons/RST

See here:
http://www.trainwithpower.net/

especially the resources page and click on the FAQ link for plenty of info. It's a few years old but it is still relevant. There's a couple of new models of power meter but the principles are the same.

In terms of pricing, in order of increasing price they generally go:

Polar
Power Tap Pro
Powertap SL
Powertap SL 2.4 (wireless)
ergomo
SRM amateur
SRM pro
SRM science and track

The Powertap pricing depends a bit on what wheel you decide to build the hub into and of course there are always deals on at various places. There's always pre-loved as well that come up for sale on some forums and e-bay.

IMO the Powertap Pro is the best value. The Powertap SL2.4 is the easiest to set up and use.

There are plenty of suppliers around the world (and of course RST supplies PT, SRM & ergomo).

I personally own Powertaps (Pro & 2 x SL) and SRMs (Pro & Track) and coach riders using all of the systems listed.

Another new meter is coming onto the market - the CinQo, which will be compatible with the Garmin 705 or the yet to be released Qranium CPU. Pricing is likely to be near SRM levels.

howiejmidlands

The C+ team were lucky enough to use the Power Tap on our power tests recently, and it was already built into the rear wheel. Just a case of dropping the wheel into the bike, and getting the readout on the bars to find the meter and away you go. It was extemely re-active to any slight increase or decrease in pedal pressure. I was really impressed with it, but out of my league for my training requirments.

the_jackalcp

look into the ibike for something cheaper than the traditional power meters. Just google it and you will find their website.

Never used one and they may not be 100% accurate however the results are repeatable and still relevant to you

Campy King

Did you manage to get a Power Meter? I would be interested to know how the £150 one performs??

Felix-da-house-mouse

no i've not bought one as yet as i'm still reading up on them. itm would be good if garmin or likes could combine it in future systems maybe they do i dont know.

Felix-da-house-mouse

what about this? http://www.ibike.co.uk/store.php/Road/3 ... 526/1/3009
so if i buy one of these what else do i need to buy parts changes etc?

xover_runner

Second hand Powermeters are sold regularly on ebay. All the normal ebay rules of caution and scepticism need to apply of course. I got a Powertap SL with a set of DT Swiss training wheels for £600 in Feb. Soon after that a similar one sold at £450. There are bargains around. A HED Stinger tub with a powertap hub sold for £850 last week(no computer though)

Mine has been absolutly fine and I love it. Training hard twice a week on the turbo and defintley getting results (I think). You need to ge the WKO+ software to do it justice ($99)

Felix-da-house-mouse

does this http://www.ibike.co.uk/store.php/Road/3 ... 526/1/3009 measure power out put or is it just a swanky cyclo computer?

iga

Felix-da-house-mouse wrote:

does this http://www.ibike.co.uk/store.php/Road/3 ... 526/1/3009 measure power out put or is it just a swanky cyclo computer?

It can, but you need the power output sensor, so £350 rather than £180, see: http://www.wiggle.co.uk/ProductDetail.a ... id=Frogoog