Power measurement on turbo: too inaccurate to be helpful?
Comments
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FatTed wrote:What about the Lemond Revolution, no tyre required
http://www.wiggle.co.uk/lemond-fitness- ... -cassette/
you could buy the power meter later if you required it
couple it with your Garmin for Heart rate and cadence.
The reviews are pretty poor for this turbo... which seem to imply the noise is pretty unbearable. I'm also surprised that they don't utilise the fan for cooling the rider.Simon0 -
You'd need some sort of 90 degree transmission thing for that to work. That would make it more complicated, possibly more prone to failure and possibly even noisier than it already (alledgedly) is!springtide9 wrote:FatTed wrote:What about the Lemond Revolution, no tyre required
http://www.wiggle.co.uk/lemond-fitness- ... -cassette/
you could buy the power meter later if you required it
couple it with your Garmin for Heart rate and cadence.
The reviews are pretty poor for this turbo... which seem to imply the noise is pretty unbearable. I'm also surprised that they don't utilise the fan for cooling the rider.CAPTAIN BUCKFAST'S CYCLING TIPS - GUARANTEED TO WORK! 1 OUT OF 10 RACING CYCLISTS AGREE!0 -
My tacx flow power readings are not even remotely close to my srm.
All it's good for is pretending that you produce more power than you actually do!0 -
Can't have a high revolution/high inertia fan based turbo and no noise. And this is the best combination from a ride-ability and consistency of resistance POV.springtide9 wrote:FatTed wrote:What about the Lemond Revolution, no tyre required
http://www.wiggle.co.uk/lemond-fitness- ... -cassette/
you could buy the power meter later if you required it
couple it with your Garmin for Heart rate and cadence.
The reviews are pretty poor for this turbo... which seem to imply the noise is pretty unbearable. I'm also surprised that they don't utilise the fan for cooling the rider.
Apart from noise, what is wrong with it?
If I didn't have a computrainer, I think this is the trainer I'd go for.0 -
Alex_Simmons/RST wrote:
Can't have a high revolution/high inertia fan based turbo and no noise. And this is the best combination from a ride-ability and consistency of resistance POV.springtide9 wrote:FatTed wrote:What about the Lemond Revolution, no tyre required
http://www.wiggle.co.uk/lemond-fitness- ... -cassette/
you could buy the power meter later if you required it
couple it with your Garmin for Heart rate and cadence.
The reviews are pretty poor for this turbo... which seem to imply the noise is pretty unbearable. I'm also surprised that they don't utilise the fan for cooling the rider.
Apart from noise, what is wrong with it?
If I didn't have a computrainer, I think this is the trainer I'd go for.
Apart from the noise, I think it looks excellent
But it does say it's very very noisy.. but for some this isn't an issue (for me, using it the house, it would really restrict when it could be used)
It does need a large tube to utilise all of that air it's blowing, for cooling the rider... aka like the Concept 2 rower cooling adapter... maybe I should go on Dragon's Den :-)Simon0 -
It is very noisy, But rides very well. I suspect speed/power are consistent
I use earbuds for music and wear ear defenders as well
No problem!0 -
topcattim wrote:Hmm, this is turning up lots more questions than I had anticipated
I can't/don't want to use rollers because in my warm up/down and in any longer middle-effort sessions, I tend to work at the same time as ride (sad, yes, but efficient, time-wise!). I don't fancy reading or watching videos on rollers, but thanks for the suggestion bahzob.
The general trend here seems to be that power can't be measured that accurately on a cheap turbo, but also that speed isn't a very good measure either. And heart rate isn't too good either, because of drift.
So what is the best way of measuring effort and maintaining effort through intervals - surely not RPE, as this is going to vary by temperature etc.
I kind of figured that power measurements on a turbo, while not accurate, were at least the least worst of all the other options?
?? I think you should get your priorities sorted out. If you are serious about training then the answer is what I suggested (Good quality rollers dont have the same issues as turbos, speed on them is a reliable and adequate measure, I've got the WKO files to prove it.) Or get yourself a cheap powertap and continue to use your existing turbo.
If on the other hand you want to work while you train then not sure you really need anything new as you can't be working out hard enough to warrant it.Martin S. Newbury RC0 -
You may have a point, bahzob, but sadly it doesn't reflect my reality. I've found that I'm perfectly able to work (adademically) during my warm up - I'm certainly not having to work hard physically during that period or during the warm down. For that reason I am going to prefer a turbo I think. But the challenge to work hard on the turbo - during the hard bits - is gratefully accepted!bahzob wrote:topcattim wrote:Hmm, this is turning up lots more questions than I had anticipated
I can't/don't want to use rollers because in my warm up/down and in any longer middle-effort sessions, I tend to work at the same time as ride (sad, yes, but efficient, time-wise!). I don't fancy reading or watching videos on rollers, but thanks for the suggestion bahzob.
The general trend here seems to be that power can't be measured that accurately on a cheap turbo, but also that speed isn't a very good measure either. And heart rate isn't too good either, because of drift.
So what is the best way of measuring effort and maintaining effort through intervals - surely not RPE, as this is going to vary by temperature etc.
I kind of figured that power measurements on a turbo, while not accurate, were at least the least worst of all the other options?
?? I think you should get your priorities sorted out. If you are serious about training then the answer is what I suggested (Good quality rollers dont have the same issues as turbos, speed on them is a reliable and adequate measure, I've got the WKO files to prove it.) Or get yourself a cheap powertap and continue to use your existing turbo.
If on the other hand you want to work while you train then not sure you really need anything new as you can't be working out hard enough to warrant it.0 -
dawebbo wrote:My tacx flow power readings are not even remotely close to my srm.
All it's good for is pretending that you produce more power than you actually do!
How close are they or not as the case may be? Reason I ask is I have a Tacx Fortius and train with power and HR, I have also done two VO2 max tests at a localish Uni in Essex (http://www.humanperformanceunit.co.uk/) and my outputs are pretty close, not as close to a SRM but within 3-4% which is good enough for me and I bought it NIB on ebay for under £500.00
Edit. I do warm up on it for 10-15mins then callibrate the brake each time i use it to get consistancy0 -
Jimboliana wrote:dawebbo wrote:My tacx flow power readings are not even remotely close to my srm.
All it's good for is pretending that you produce more power than you actually do!
How close are they or not as the case may be? Reason I ask is I have a Tacx Fortius and train with power and HR, I have also done two VO2 max tests at a localish Uni in Essex (http://www.humanperformanceunit.co.uk/) and my outputs are pretty close, not as close to a SRM but within 3-4% which is good enough for me and I bought it NIB on ebay for under £500.00
Edit. I do warm up on it for 10-15mins then callibrate the brake each time i use it to get consistancy
How can you calibrate it if you are not using a power meter to compare it with?CAPTAIN BUCKFAST'S CYCLING TIPS - GUARANTEED TO WORK! 1 OUT OF 10 RACING CYCLISTS AGREE!0 -
Your correct, I don't use a power meter, I just use a function on the Fortius programe that say's 'callibrate brake'. The brake is an electric motor.
How the hell it works i don't know you press the 'callibrate' button on the computer as it tells you start peddling to get the electric motor running and you almost instantly stop peddling but the motor carries on for around 20 seconds.
The motor then stops and you get a + or - figure, a plus means the brake is braking too much and a minus not enough but I callibrate and reset it back to '0' every time I ride on it to give me consistancy, weather that consistancy is +/- 3-4% right or wrong consistancy is anyone's guess!
The only thing I am going on is my HR at a given power over 20mins is consistant with the same on my Fortius if that makes sence0
