Power Meters: Do I need/want one?

[jadakabj]

Just had a message from Cyclist telling me - and all the other subscribers - that Stage have drastically reduced the price of their power meters and I should seriously consider getting one!

Should I? I think I want one but......

I spin 2 or 3 times a week at the gym and the bikes have power display, which I find fascinating. Strava gives me a power reading which must be a guesstimate from heart rate and something else???? The Strava figures are always much lower than the gym bike but that may be because the road rides (25/30 miles) are generally "active recovery" at higher cadence and keeping heart rate (a bit) lower.

I've been told I ride too much (is that possible?) and should rest more! Gym sessions and on/off - road 4 or 5 times a week. Plus badminton, HIIT and Boxercise......

Some of my friends cycle blind, just enjoying it. And some enjoy knowing al about what is happening and analysing their rides afterwards. I'm in the latter camp but wonder how much practical use I can make of the additional information?

Thanks, John

[whoof]

Some of my friends cycle blind, just enjoying it. And some enjoy knowing al about what is happening and analysing their rides afterwards. I'm in the latter camp but wonder how much practical use I can make of the additional information?

Thanks, John

It depends on what you are trying to achieve. If you want to do some structured training the data can be useful. However you need to know how to interpret it and have a training plan to follow.
I record the time and distance I ride but make no use of the information as I'm not trying to train for anything.

[ANTONISH]

The question is: why do you ride a bike?
I can understand what you are doing if you have a racing goal - although your training may not be ideal for that purpose.
Other than that presumably you are chasing some fitness goal which you haven't specified.
If you need to achieve a particular goal only you can decide if a power meter is going to help you in that endeavour.

I rarely use the fitness bikes on offer at the gym - I find them tedious to use and my puny power output is not really a matter of interest.

Like some of your friends I only ride a bike to enjoy it .

[NATURAL ANKLING]

Hi,
Plan to ban in TDF?
https://www.cyclingweekly.com/news/raci ... ace-399224
"The claim is that riders now ride to a number showing on their computer display and that kills spontaneity, prevents aggressive racing and makes the race boring."

[Marcus Aurelius]

Power meters have become indispensable to me. I use them mostly to see with actual real time numbers, whether I’m working in an efficient way, especially on a longer ride. I’ve not suffered a bonk since I’ve been using power meters on my rides, because I’ve got actual power at cadence figures to work with. I know at which power and cadence I have to be to be using my carb reserves most efficiently, and with live real time data, this is easier to gauge. If I do have to put in a bigger effort, I know pretty accurately when I need to wind the effort off, without having to wait to do it by ‘feel’ when it’s too late ( more often than not) to avoid any issues. There’s another bonus as well. If someone appears near me, on one of my rides, and tries the passive aggressive “morning” or whatever, then tries to be a hero, by going past, at an unsustainable effort level. I can see where I’m at, and therefore, where they are at ( pretty much ) and In getting very good at working out when they are going to ‘blow up’. Idiots like that used to really irritate me,( usually because they’d go past just as I’d sat up to adjust position, or something, and / or eased off to reduce the TETD by a vehicle trying to pass, putting both of us at increased risk ) but now I ride with live figures from the power meters, I can usually judge whether it’s a clown pass, which is never going to stick ( which is both irritating and risky ) or it’s someone who’s actually going to pass, and get on with it, so I know they are unlikely to blow up soon after the pass, which is perfectly okay. So it makes my ride less risky as well.

[ANTONISH]

Power meters have become indispensable to me. I use them mostly to see with actual real time numbers, whether I’m working in an efficient way, especially on a longer ride. I’ve not suffered a bonk since I’ve been using power meters on my rides, because I’ve got actual power at cadence figures to work with. I know at which power and cadence I have to be to be using my carb reserves most efficiently, and with live real time data, this is easier to gauge. If I do have to put in a bigger effort, I know pretty accurately when I need to wind the effort off, without having to wait to do it by ‘feel’ when it’s too late ( more often than not) to avoid any issues. There’s another bonus as well. If someone appears near me, on one of my rides, and tries the passive aggressive “morning” or whatever, then tries to be a hero, by going past, at an unsustainable effort level. I can see where I’m at, and therefore, where they are at ( pretty much ) and In getting very good at working out when they are going to ‘blow up’. Idiots like that used to really irritate me,( usually because they’d go past just as I’d sat up to adjust position, or something, and / or eased off to reduce the TETD by a vehicle trying to pass, putting both of us at increased risk ) but now I ride with live figures from the power meters, I can usually judge whether it’s a clown pass, which is never going to stick ( which is both irritating and risky ) or it’s someone who’s actually going to pass, and get on with it, so I know they are unlikely to blow up soon after the pass, which is perfectly okay. So it makes my ride less risky as well.

Why is someone who overtakes you an idiot? maybe they are just faster than you.

[NATURAL ANKLING]

Hi,
Well you're lucky you don't live near me.
I'll probably overtake you and then go round the block and do it again

[mattheus]

There’s another bonus as well. If someone appears near me, on one of my rides, and tries the passive aggressive “morning” or whatever, then tries to be a hero, by going past, at an unsustainable effort level. I can see where I’m at, and therefore, where they are at ( pretty much ) and In getting very good at working out when they are going to ‘blow up’. Idiots like that used to really irritate me,( usually because they’d go past just as I’d sat up to adjust position, or something, and / or eased off to reduce the TETD by a vehicle trying to pass, putting both of us at increased risk ) but now I ride with live figures from the power meters, I can usually judge whether it’s a clown pass, which is never going to stick ( which is both irritating and risky ) or it’s someone who’s actually going to pass, and get on with it, so I know they are unlikely to blow up soon after the pass, which is perfectly okay. So it makes my ride less risky as well.

So there's the essential answer - if you want to be like this, you need a power-meter.

[NATURAL ANKLING]

Hi,
Don't get me wrong, its useful to use power output as a gauge to how I'm doing and how fit I am.
on a stationary trainer that is.
If it's stationary you don't need a watt meter you just need a Speedo and distance travelled over time.
On the road I suppose a power meter might be useful but then you Gotta find the road where you can use it.
I use a heart rate monitor mostly, but even then you need to accept a plus and minus 3 to 5% say of deviation, because heart rate is not always that reliable depending on how you feel or how you're recovering.
But this you can depress yourself quite badly when you struggle to get within 20% of your normal on a particular day.
All clean fun.

[foxyrider]

You don't need one, millions of cyclists the world over, even elite athletes have managed without one quite nicely thank you.

That's not to say that the information is useless, i'd be intrigued to see what my 'numbers' are like but i can ride quite happily without knowing. And whilst many riders do 'ride to the pm', they are probably not riding as well as they can, afraid to go over the numbers or worried if they aren't making them.

So buy one if you want but you can live without it, honest!

[dim]

I was anti powermeter until I got one (I bought a bike that had it already fitted)

took a while to understand how it all works ... all my long rides are recorded on Microsoft access with data such as wind speed/direction, elevation, heart rate, cadence etc etc

basically, a powermeter is used as a pacing tool ... I used to ride an audax, or a long ride, and ride as fast as I could, and at the end or halfway, I was knackered ...

now I know what I'm capabale of, and pace myself, I start off slower but still complete the route in the same time, and at the end of the ride I still feel like I could go twice as far ....

trust me .... if you can afford one and like looking at numbers and stats, you need one

[Brucey]

Need? -probably not, not unless you are doing some kind of structured training.

Want? -only you can answer that one.

cheers

[NATURAL ANKLING]

Hi,
I think the top coaches say.....power meter..............HRM.............power meter................HRM ...........Ad infinitum....

[pjclinch]

I guess it goes in a similar pot to a heart rate monitor. If you are trying to optimise speed and/or efficiency then used appropriately it can help with that.

I've yet to get to the point of putting a speedo/mileometer on any of my bikes so in my case it would be a bit of a waste, but I know people on the racing side who find them genuinely useful.

Pete.

[A1anP]

I spin 2 or 3 times a week at the gym and the bikes have power display, which I find fascinating. Strava gives me a power reading which must be a guesstimate from heart rate and something else???? The Strava figures are always much lower than the gym bike but that may be because the road rides (25/30 miles) are generally "active recovery" at higher cadence and keeping heart rate (a bit) lower.

I also do a lot of indoor cycling in the winter. Power is the key metric to keep an eye on, so when I go back outdoors, it seems like I'm missing something. Forget mph, what about the watts?! You're right that Strava gives you an estimate afterwards, and if you are happy with just looking at power after the event, that could be good enough. It turns out that the Strava estimate is pretty accurate, but the accuracy crucially depends on you inputting the correct weight for your bike and yourself, in full cycling kit and carrying all the stuff you would put on your bike.

The Strava estimate is (I believe) based on weight, speed and the elevation profile of your ride. It is pretty good overall, but can be way off for individual segments. Long climbs give the best estimates, but obviously, wind and road conditions can't be taken into account. If you look over your Strava data in that level of detail, and worry about getting accurate data, you definitely should think about investing in a power meter.

As you point out, it appears that the Stages 105 left crank based power meter is now the best value, just ahead of 4iiii. If you don't already have a suitable crankset on your bike, then it will cost more. (Nobody does a square taper version unfortunately ) You will also obviously need a Garmin or Wahoo, etc to record and display your power. Hopefully, as more people take the plunge, prices will come down further and it will be seen as more mainsteam to use a power meter. Similar to a heart rate monitor for example.

There will always be people who aren't interested, which is absolutely fine. But if you want one and can afford one, then just buy one and have fun

Cheers,
Alan