When should one invest in a power meter?
#1
~! LIVESTRONG !~
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: Southern NH
Posts: 609
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times
in
0 Posts
When should one invest in a power meter?
Hey all,
I plan on racing soon for the first time (maybe this year maybe next year). Anyways when should one invest in a power meter? Do I need one now or should I wait until I get into it?
I plan on racing soon for the first time (maybe this year maybe next year). Anyways when should one invest in a power meter? Do I need one now or should I wait until I get into it?
#2
Quarq shill
Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: Ohio
Posts: 3,962
Bikes: 08 Felt F4, 05 Fuji Team SL, 08 Planet X Stealth, 10 Kona Jake the Snake, 03 Giant OCR flat bar.
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 1 Time
in
1 Post
Either way would work. If you've got an extra 500-1000 laying around, get one. If not, then get Allen/Coggan's book, read it in your off time, train your ass off and be ready to rip it up next year.
Either way, get the book and learn as much as you can. It is an effective tool, but it won't just magically make you faster. You (or a coach) need to understand what info is coming out of it and how to apply it to your training.
Either way, get the book and learn as much as you can. It is an effective tool, but it won't just magically make you faster. You (or a coach) need to understand what info is coming out of it and how to apply it to your training.
#3
Burning Matches.
Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: San Jose, CA
Posts: 9,714
Mentioned: 9 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 4077 Post(s)
Liked 1,002 Times
in
676 Posts
If you buy used, and decide you don't like it, you can sell it for about what you bought it for. I say the sooner the better.
__________________
ElJamoquio didn't hate the world, per se; he was just constantly disappointed by humanity.
#4
Senior Member
If you like data, like uploading stuff to your computer, and you can afford it, then you can buy one.
I use a standard HRM when not using my power meter. It's more simple for base type miles but for measuring fitness levels the power meter is more useful.
cdr
I use a standard HRM when not using my power meter. It's more simple for base type miles but for measuring fitness levels the power meter is more useful.
cdr
#5
~! LIVESTRONG !~
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: Southern NH
Posts: 609
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times
in
0 Posts
thanks for the replies all, guess I will look into getting one. Just hope I can find one cheap enough!
#6
Senior Member
Join Date: May 2007
Location: Santa Cruz Mountains
Posts: 6,169
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 2 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 1 Time
in
1 Post
Read the book first. If it makes sense and you don't get half way through and throw it across the room in disgust, shouting "to hell with this crap, I'm going for a ride!", then go buy the power meter and software.
#8
Senior Member
Join Date: Nov 2003
Location: Kanata, Ontario, Canada
Posts: 80
Bikes: Stevens SLC Road, Seven Ti SS MTB, Titus Ti FS-XC MTB, Empella Bonfire CX
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times
in
0 Posts
Highly recommended! "Training and Racing with a Power Meter" is an excellent book. I bought it about a month before I actually got my Power Tap. Read it cover-to-cover several times before and after getting my PT. Then, I bought a copy of TrainingPeaks WKO+ software and started to manually insert my trainer ride data from my cyclocomputer (I still didn't have my PT). Then, I finally got a PT and what a difference! My trainer rides have become very focused and specific. And, with limited time, this is very important!
#9
~! LIVESTRONG !~
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: Southern NH
Posts: 609
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times
in
0 Posts
Thanks for the replies all. My local Library has the book available so I will give it a read through. Will probably end up purchasing it!
Anyone know where I can get a wheelset with a PT?
Anyone know where I can get a wheelset with a PT?
#10
Carpe Diem
Join Date: Sep 2006
Location: MABRA
Posts: 13,149
Bikes: 2007 CAAD9; 2014 CAADX; PedalForce CG1
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 2 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 1 Time
in
1 Post
__________________
"When you are chewing the bars at the business end of a 90 mile road race you really dont care what gear you have hanging from your bike so long as it works."
ΛΧΑ ΔΞ179 - 15% off your first Hammer Nutrition order!
"When you are chewing the bars at the business end of a 90 mile road race you really dont care what gear you have hanging from your bike so long as it works."
ΛΧΑ ΔΞ179 - 15% off your first Hammer Nutrition order!
#11
Texas Fight!
Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: Austin, TX
Posts: 2,023
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times
in
0 Posts
I didn't read the above, but you should invest ASAP, but only after you've invested in a coach.
#13
Senior Member
Join Date: Sep 2007
Location: Upstate, SC
Posts: 269
Bikes: Trek Verve 1 Hybrid
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 1 Time
in
1 Post
I just have too much to learn and too far to go. I don't need another variable, such as the power meter, at this stage of my training. Bear in mind that I am a 50 yr old beginner.....Your mileage may vary.
#14
Senior Member
Join Date: Jul 2005
Location: Blacksburg, VA
Posts: 4,850
Bikes: Yeti ASRc, Focus Raven 29er, Flyxii FR316
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 17 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times
in
0 Posts
Sure, you might not get every last possible watt out of your body, but I don't think that's particularly important to a rider in their first season of racing.
Not only that, and this certainly isn't the case with everyone, but I've seen plenty of people that seem to think that having a coach is a substitute for hard work. Quite simply, they don't push themselves nearly as hard as they could, and justify it by saying that they have to adhere to a plan. When, in fact, that plan was skewed from the start because they didn't know just how hard they were truely capable of going.
I believe in coaching, and will probably get a coach in the next year or two, but probably through my team. But I think that the proliferation of "coaching" has deluded people into not appreciating the value of hard work. Any track and field fans will make the parallel to the lack of depth in high school racing in the 90s, due to "coaching" and science telling people that an interval rich program was the way to speed. Kids running intervals 3x a week in addition to racing, that sort of thing. Resulted in the worst decade in American HS distance running in history.
#15
Senior Member
Join Date: Dec 2006
Posts: 6,840
Mentioned: 7 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 31 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times
in
0 Posts
IMO, as a user of both a coach and a powermeter, the best investment a racer can make for their training is in coaching. A coach helps you realize what hard work actually is, and a good coach will help you learn how to ride and race your bike properly.
Best thing I've done since I started riding a bike was to start working with a coach, and I think for a new racer, it's a much, much better use of your $ than a device for measuring your workouts. If I only had $500 to $1k to spend on training expenses this year, I'd use it for coaching before buying a watt meter 100 times out of 100.
Best thing I've done since I started riding a bike was to start working with a coach, and I think for a new racer, it's a much, much better use of your $ than a device for measuring your workouts. If I only had $500 to $1k to spend on training expenses this year, I'd use it for coaching before buying a watt meter 100 times out of 100.
#16
Senior Member
Join Date: Jan 2008
Posts: 173
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times
in
0 Posts
Read the book 1st!!
It's the cheapest of the 3 (power meter, coach, book) and you'll 10x the return on your "investment" in a PM or coach.
It's the cheapest of the 3 (power meter, coach, book) and you'll 10x the return on your "investment" in a PM or coach.
#18
Senior Member
Join Date: Jul 2005
Location: Portland, OR
Posts: 2,910
Mentioned: 2 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 140 Post(s)
Liked 327 Times
in
161 Posts
My opinion is a little different from most here, but I'd say the time to invest in a power meter is about your 3rd season of racing. Bike racing is just a hobby, and is therefore just about having fun for most of us. (Side note: If you go out and win 3 of your first 5 races, and go on to do the same in the 4's and 3's, then you might be Pro material and you can disregard my opinion.) The thing that makes bike racing the most fun is getting better. In your first 2 years of racing you will see huge improvements no matter how you train. When you start to plateau is when you should get a coach and/or power meter. It will help you keep improving, and therefore keep you from getting bored and moving on to something else.
Feel free to read the Power book and any other training books right away. I've read most all of them (and I don't have a power meter, yet).
Feel free to read the Power book and any other training books right away. I've read most all of them (and I don't have a power meter, yet).
#19
mountain troll
Join Date: Sep 2004
Location: santa cruz mountains
Posts: 1,127
Bikes: the hummer brand mountain bike
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times
in
0 Posts
get a power meter directly before your first cat 5 race... at a time when you still think you have what it takes to be the next lance... that way you'll only have a few rides on the hub, and it'll go for a good price on ebay when you sell it, after realizing getting beat by the lowliest ranks of lycra clad jocks just isn't for you...