Powermeter - Is it time?
Dizeee
Posts: 337
The answer I guess has to be a yes.
I have been cycling since 2012 now, and do anywhere between 5 to 8 thousand miles a year. I have never used power or even a HRM but I am getting bored with putting in 8 hour weeks on the bike and seemingly not getting any further than I currently am. In addition I am not training for anything specific, kids and shiftwork rule out any spare time I have. I have done RideLondon and some longer sportives so I am just enjoying commuting and weekend club riding as and when I do it. I also do the odd 10 mile TT.
There must be more to riding than measuring onself against Strava segments and power guestimates that show up on there. I don't take Strava stats that seriously anymore as over time I have learned that effect winds and group rides have on most of the data on there.
I have a Garmin 810 and am unsure as to how easy / straightforward it would be to get some power data up on my screen. I am guessing I would need a HRM and a device that would sit on my wheel and speak to the Garmin - is that all I need? Budget is an issue at the moment.
All advice appreciated.
I have been cycling since 2012 now, and do anywhere between 5 to 8 thousand miles a year. I have never used power or even a HRM but I am getting bored with putting in 8 hour weeks on the bike and seemingly not getting any further than I currently am. In addition I am not training for anything specific, kids and shiftwork rule out any spare time I have. I have done RideLondon and some longer sportives so I am just enjoying commuting and weekend club riding as and when I do it. I also do the odd 10 mile TT.
There must be more to riding than measuring onself against Strava segments and power guestimates that show up on there. I don't take Strava stats that seriously anymore as over time I have learned that effect winds and group rides have on most of the data on there.
I have a Garmin 810 and am unsure as to how easy / straightforward it would be to get some power data up on my screen. I am guessing I would need a HRM and a device that would sit on my wheel and speak to the Garmin - is that all I need? Budget is an issue at the moment.
All advice appreciated.
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Posts
Lot's of people use a HR to gauge effort (yes, there is a lag at times but it does generally work) and I will often use HR to keep my efforts down on a long ride, so that I go faster overall but this is not essential.
Why not take a step back, define what exactly it is you want to achieve and then see if a power meter is the answer. Hard to overlook physiology though, an average rider fully trained and riding at their peak power will still be average, just at the top end of that scale. That should cheer you up and motivate you :-)
Edit: Oh, I ride with some very good riders (right up to Elite level) and the vast majority of them never use a PM.
So if you were training for a certain event - then yeah go fo it.
I like the idea of setting myself interval / segment goals of "x" power for "y" amount of time, rest and repeat. It is the obvious choice of getting results to my mind rather than just spinning to work all week and going out on a club run now and again.
If you have a turbo trainer you could always sign up for TrainerRoad to get a taste of structured power training before shelling out the cash. All you need is a supported trainer and an ANT+/bluetooth speed sensor to get an approximation of your power, which works well if you only compare it to itself
IME a powermeter is great if you really have a specific target and/or area of fitness you want to work on and improve. For example if you want to improve your 20 minute power for climbing or hone your 3-5 minutes efforts for races etc. as it will pinpoint your improvements far more accurately than other training metrics. If you are not doing or intending to do intervals and just use it to look at average and NP after ever ride and try and loosely track improvements (which I suspect a lot of people do, and I have been guilty of) then there are far cheaper ways to measure fitness gains. Having said that I am sure there are lots of people who just like to look at the numbers and have an extra bit of kit on the bike which is completely their choice.
The riding that the OP is doing will make him good at the riding he is doing, so job done. If he wants to achieve something else then he needs to think about that and then work towards it.
If you want to see what sort of power meters are available head on over to the DC Rainmaker site and read his in depth reviews of the various options.
Fixed TT 2015-2016
Kinda defeats the object of training with power...
- Are you a numbers person?
- Can you stick to structured training?
Before you buy a powermeter, buy this book and read it cover to cover.
Then read it again.
https://www.velopress.com/books/training-and-racing-with-a-power-meter/
If you still want one after that then go for it!
If budget is an issue like you say, I'd err on not getting a powermeter! Don't get me wrong they are great and I love training to power and also just having the numbers there on (and after) a regular ride, but they're not for everyone. They are great for time trial training or learning how to pace. I'm a data geek at heart so for me it was a good buy. Worth it? Probably not, but I enjoy having it.
I've stopped looking at speed on my Garmin 520 but now use power 10second average as a gauge to how I'm cycling.
The way I answer the OPs question is... if you cycle all the time and it's your favourite sport or hobby, then go for it, you'll get your money's worth in the long run.
Theres a lot worse things to spend your money on, I work with guys who p!ss £100 up the wall every weekend on beer and have zero to show for it. At least spending money on cycling keeps you fit and a power meter will last a few years. I've spent £1000s on cycling but when I look at it per mile it's working out cheap.
In my own case, I get most use out of my powermeter on long rides, where I can pace myself 130 to 160 watts. I can keep going all day without fatiguing myself.
On my short rides I find the powermeter isnt as useful , its telling me what I already know... I'm too small for big power on the flats and on the climbs I'm working hard as the power jumps up by another 100 to 150 watts.
I can imagine I'd get more use out if it, if I did structured interval training.
Set yourself some goals then set yourself some new attainable goals. See if you can get them without shelling out £500 on something no one in this thread actually thinks you need.
De Sisti wrote:
This is one of the silliest threads I've come across.
Recognition at last Matthew, well done!, a justified honour
This isn't true. You've suggested one of the worst power meters for accuracy and reliability.
If you have somehting to train for and understand how to use a PM then it's an unbelievably good training tool, you do have to put the work in though.
Interesting viewpoint considering Stages is probably the most notoriously unreliable and inaccurate power meter out there. :roll:
De Sisti wrote:
This is one of the silliest threads I've come across.
Recognition at last Matthew, well done!, a justified honour
:roll:
I've used Favero BePro's for a year with no issues, 10-18 hours a week. I got them at the pre-Brexit price of £350 (single sided), I'm considering that a bargain right now.
That's the trouble with plonkers on the internet
My current regime which I am copying from my strongest year is just regular rides but varying them each time... so going from flat to hilly to a combination of both and always changing it up. That combined with some intervals and hard efforts along the way normally on climbs. I hardly ever ascend a climb without being at least 80 percent effort often I will max out.
It may not be structured as per a die hard racer bit I'm not just pootling along the same route to work each day.
A powermeter doesn't need to be accurate. It just needs to be consistent.
Find your FTP by doing a max effort 20 minute ride and then use your FTP as a benchmark on all your other rides. It doesnt matter if the figure is accurate, as long as you are using percentages of this figure for training zones. For example, cycling in the endurance zone on a long day.
Then why bother with a powermeter if you are using PE/ Heartrate