Powertap vs SRM
Comments
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Steve, a wheel clover is probably as aero as a proper disc wheel (depends on bike and type of disc of course). Iirc one of the testing gurus on the American sites changed from a flat zipp disc to a covered wheel because the cover tested faster. The covers are very durable but I've found the little plastic screws are sh... but that's easily fixed. (Interestingly at the end of this years 12, I had lost every screw and I think the only thing holding the cover on was the centrifugal forces and the rear block)
The warranty is one year and quite handily the base for returns is just over the dyke in Bristol so there's absolutely no hassle there as they provide top notch service.0 -
chrisw12 wrote:Steve, a wheel clover is probably as aero as a proper disc wheel (depends on bike and type of disc of course). Iirc one of the testing gurus on the American sites changed from a flat zipp disc to a covered wheel because the cover tested faster. The covers are very durable but I've found the little plastic screws are sh... but that's easily fixed. (Interestingly at the end of this years 12, I had lost every screw and I think the only thing holding the cover on was the centrifugal forces and the rear block)
The warranty is one year and quite handily the base for returns is just over the dyke in Bristol so there's absolutely no hassle there as they provide top notch service.
Am going to rent a wheel + PT, buy a Garmin 500 and a wheel cover and then I guess start thinking about establishing zones. What is the easiest DIY method?
I want to use the PT to help pace TT events, so I am guessing the all important FTP threshold is going to be critical here.0 -
I just use black electrical tape to tape the edge of the wheel cover to the rim. Works a treat. I've ridden it in 60km/h cross winds no problems.chrisw12 wrote:The covers are very durable but I've found the little plastic screws are sh... but that's easily fixed. (Interestingly at the end of this years 12, I had lost every screw and I think the only thing holding the cover on was the centrifugal forces and the rear block)
You can get them without the little screw holes and just tape them on that way. Mine has the screw holes though as that's how it came (was an extra to a wheel I bought).0 -
Slightly OT, but what about the indoor VR trainers such as the Tacx ones? Is the power measurement sufficiently consistent to be valid or not? I ask because the waiting list for renting a PT is long, and I am not going to buy one for sure.0
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If you'd said Computrainer, I would say yes.SteveR_100Milers wrote:Slightly OT, but what about the indoor VR trainers such as the Tacx ones? Is the power measurement sufficiently consistent to be valid or not? I ask because the waiting list for renting a PT is long, and I am not going to buy one for sure.
I can't vouch for Tacx although it seems pretty rare to see a report of a consistent and accurate unit. I'm lead to believe that they are looking into a new device to take the ANT+ power signal from a power meter and use that to control the unit though, which might make things a little better.0 -
SteveR_100Milers wrote:Slightly OT, but what about the indoor VR trainers such as the Tacx ones? Is the power measurement sufficiently consistent to be valid or not? I ask because the waiting list for renting a PT is long, and I am not going to buy one for sure.
Been using Tacx I-Magic and a Powertap wheel, so I can compare. Couldn't get these to read more or less the same until finally had to convert all personal made "straight flat" workouts on the Tacx to a consistent slope of 2.1%- only then Tacx shows something close to Powertap both on power as well as speed, although the readings are consistent only in the range up to 220 watts. Any higher than that (especially important for correct and accurate intervals when training with power) - and Tacx goes wrong again.
Therefore, I'd say, without a powermeter, the VR trainer power values (displayed in software) are useless unless you somehow could establish a base point and consistently recheck it later... and even if you did it - usable only for endurance / tempo workouts (then again, by the time you should start some heavy intervals, the weather should be good enough to ride outside already).50% in legs, 50% in bike
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I haven't done any tests as yet to compare my Tacx Flow and my PT, but last night the flow followed pretty much what the PT was doing. It wasn't that accurate but it did seem consistent.
Before I got the PT I did all my interval training on the flow, and it had been pretty consistent in terms of RPE and HR, compared to speed and power. It isn't as good as the PT that is for sure, but it is not a bad starting point IMO.
I always used the same tyre, the roller pressure was the same each time, and the tyre pressure was the same each time. I also did the calibration each time after a 15 min warm up.0 -
I guess, "consistency" is indeed the key word here.
The units usually are consistent (unless plagued by some of the infamous Tacx bugs
), but you need to know the "base point". If it is established, for indoor training they should be ok - as a starting point, just as you said. 50% in legs, 50% in bike0 -
This has gone way off topic, so i'll just throw this one in...
Quarq or SRM?
I know it's been spoken about a bit, but is the SRM worth the extra £600ish?0 -
Am seriosly tempted by a cosmic carbone with the SL2.4+ PT hub. At under £1100 its cheaper than a disc, and I use the same non PT hubbed version already on my TT bike both for racing and on the turbo. I can also easily use it on my road bike for outdoor training and racing. The only questions is whether the 2.4 SL+ hub is OK - I ave read that the pro+ is probably the one to get quote "for mid level riders"....0
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Oh s**t what have I just done!!!!!!
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Yo won't regret it, they are a great bit of kit, and with that set up you'll have lots of numbers from training and racing to browse over for hours!0
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a_n_t wrote:
Hope it wasn't premature...0 -
Nah, haven't regretted buying mine for a second.0
