Zipp 808 or Power Metre

Tom Butcher

Would you use the data from the power meter to inform your training - if not then get the wheels - sounds obvious but plenty of people have power meters and then carry on training exactly as they did before they bought them.

CoachFergie

The power meter hasn't changed the way we training. Specific training is specific training. A sprinter will sprint, pursuiter will pursuit and a time trialler will still do time trials. The power meter allows you to fine tune this process.

So when I can't pursuit on the fast Invercargill velodrome I can adjust the gearing or use an erg to try and recreate the effort and the power meter will confirm this.

Also with a power aware coach you can look at doing tests of aerodynamics (Chung method) and monitoring training loads with the Performance Manager in WKO+ software.

But for the OP if you want to go fast now for the same effort then unless you have a tri spoke and disc combination the 808s are the choice.

Pseudonym

I'm glad you're not my coach....

CoachFergie

I'm glad your not my rider.

rolf_f

Surely it is simple -

Fancy wheels can make you a faster rider but don't make you a better rider.
A Power tap can make you a better rider but not necessarily faster rider than if you had the Zipps.

Depends if you want to spend your way to a faster time or train yourself to a faster time!

Best solution would probably be cheaper carbon tubs from China (and a set of Zipp stickers if it makes you feel any better) and a second hand Powertap

CoachFergie wrote:

But for the OP if you want to go fast now for the same effort then unless you have a tri spoke and disc combination the 808s are the choice.

Presumably you mean 'faster' rather than 'fast' - otherwise I think you might be putting too much faith in the ability of the wheel to ride the bike rather than the rider! Exactly what sort of improvement in speed would you expect to gain from a 2k wheel investment?

Neil Buckley

Buy whatever makes you happy, a power metre will help you put focus into your training and make you faster, 808s will make you faster in the shorter time in the right conditions, bike wise your wheels are your biggest upgrade, and if getting on your blinging wheels makes you want to get out and train harder, then so be it!!! Whatever flicks your switch!! Certainly does not make you less of a cyclist, that's utter rubbish. After all its your cash. Long term - Power meter, short term - Zipps...

Pseudonym

CoachFergie wrote:

I'm glad your not my rider.

I'm sure that's true.....I'd only ignore your advice anyway.....not that that seems to bother you much..

CoachFergie

Rolf F wrote:

Presumably you mean 'faster' rather than 'fast' - otherwise I think you might be putting too much faith in the ability of the wheel to ride the bike rather than the rider! Exactly what sort of improvement in speed would you expect to gain from a 2k wheel investment?

True that, some people think a power meter is going to do the work for them as well.

I had a rider who used a set of Boras on his TT bike and he wanted to by a Ghibli disc wheel. Had to be a $6000 Ghilibli not a $3000 Zipp or a $2000 Hed. I told him it would make less than a 2sec difference in a 16km TT at best. He still brought the wheel.

ric/rstsport

crom7 wrote:

Thinking about getting some Zipp 808's or a Power metre - which will make me faster??

Zipp 808's = better ride and aesthetics = more training = me getting faster

Power metre = more focussed training = me getting faster

any suggestions??

Why not rent a power meter and get some coaching? That would possibly be the best option for making you faster

Ric

martincashman

Go with the wheels: If you get the power meter you will have to explain to everyone that you are a really fast cyclist but if you have the wheels they'll know that you are fast.

furrag

People spend so much money on equipment to make them faster or weight weenies saving a few grams when there's usually far more gains to be made from training.

The powermeter is a tool in which by you get live data, can analyse how many supra-threshold efforts at different durations before you can't take anymore, can produce intervals to exhaustion accurately, train by TSS as opposed to TRIMP for performance management, and is far more accurate than heart rate monitor based training. As a wheel it won't make you faster, but it'll take out the guesswork of training making your training time more efficient and in return, you'll get faster. You'll need Coggan and Allen's 'Racing and training with a power meter' book to make sense of it all though and get the most of it.

Zipps will make you faster for the same effort.

I have deep wheels and a powertap. If I were to chose, I'd choose power without a doubt. Since July I've put 250 hours through my powertap. My deep wheels I've used for a time-trial and a race, so about 5 hours.

ariege_cyclist

I'd also choose the power meter above the Zipps, as has already been said even if you self coach you can structure the training more effectively with a power meter (if you read a good bit about how to do that) so should gain better form from the same amount of training without a power meter.

Also the power meter would allow you to pace a TT better than riding without one, this could amount to a good few extra seconds on even a short TT.

For best of both worlds buy a disc cover for the Powertap (if that's the power meter you are considering) and fit that for TTs.