That's the Garmin that is having the issue...Check the Garmin forums site, you may need an upgrade to the firmware...

anyone know what firmware Quarq is currently recommended be used for the Garmin 500. last year they were suggesting 2.4 or whatever older version was 2 to 3 updates behind. i wonder if this has changed yet.

on a side note, i just recently have noticed the zero'ing process taking longer then normal (the previous 12 months at least). later.

I'll check with them

I believe I have the latest firmware

I've only had the Quarq for 2 weeks or so and this is the first time it has happened

Has anyone had their Garmin pause every once in a while while using a powertap? The powertap is on my MTB and once in a while, the power will drop to zero and my Garmin will pause for 5 seconds. I think it's the powertap doing this because I never had this happen without the powertap.

Haven't had that happen but from time to time mine quits adding elevation on my rides when using the PT. It doesn't do that with my Quarq.

Mine did that when the batteries in the Powertap were getting low.

I have a powertap (the yellow kind) and have thought by pressing both buttons to CLR, that I was zeroing the torque. Of course this is not correct. So I am skeptical about my previous rides. I know for certain that every time I am coasting and not pedaling, the power reads 0.

I also know that the powertap will never read a negative number, so there is a chance that my power might not be as strong as it may seem if that were the case.

But is it possible that even though it reads 0 every time I stop pedaling (and not a positive number) that it might read more power than I actually put out? If so, how much variation might result?

The power will never read negative, but the torque may, and when it's zeroed, it's likely to read negative when coasting. Well, it only shows < 0, by displaying "-0" -- rather than showing something like -12.

I have seen negative static torque underestimate and overestimate my power when pedaling. When it reads positive, I believe I've always been putting out more power than displayed.

Any clue why my garmin 500 isn't syncing with my powertap all of a sudden?

PT batteries are low.

I just replaced them yesterday.

and it synced perfectly right after i replaced them yesterday.

I'm running it at this very moment under Crossover version 10.
As a matter of fact, once you install Crossover on the mac, it will do all the WKO installation work if you go to this page right here.

thanks for letting me know about this grumpy - very, very helpful.

maybe that was a bit premature... it freezes when I try to import a new file (after importing them through Training Peaks Device Agent), or when I try to open a file from the calendar view.

none-the-less, it seems like it is well on the way to working.
Given the weather, I'm headed out to go ride my bike.

Anyone have any tips on pacing correctly? I just started riding with my PT and seeing the power jumping all over the place. I have it set to 5 second smoothing. Is it just something to get used to? The terrain is flat to slightly rolling that I ride on. I also make sure I zero the unit before each ride.

Do some of you just use the average power?

The power will jump around a bit, that's normal. If you want to work on pacing, then display your 5-second (or 3) average next to your 'lap power'. That way you can see where you are right now and where you are over the course of the entire lap. If you're doing intervals, you should be able to hit your target power as a lap average within 1% fairly easily.

There is two fields I do to make sure my pacing can be controlled:

1) 3 second average - Smooths that up and down of the power a bit, but does not skew the time so much that it is delayed. This field will show you the current power you are putting out (even if slightly delayed its close enough).

2) 30 second average - You pace yourself on the 3 second average, however, having the 30 second average field up allows you to see how well that pacing is doing consistantly. Sometimes you might be doing 250w on the flats and on the hills and think you are pacing yourself at 250w, but forget about the downhills or coasting and the 30s average will show in the 220s. Usually you can adjust your 3 second average to start controlling the 30s average, and when you control the 30s average, you are controlling your pace on the long run.

Also, you can't just stare at your power all the time, or you will go crazy. Try to only look down every once in a while, your pacing will be smoother in the long run.

Ha. This is exactly what I was doing.

yeah - you'll go crazy.
I have my screens set to show 3" & 30" avgs, cadence & lap time... it is plenty for me.
The more you ride with a power meter, the less it will seem like a big deal. If it is really bothering you, I'd recommend setting your bike up so that you can't see your power while riding.
If you have a garmin or some sort of GPS track that can be sync'd with your wattage history, go for a few rides without seeing the numbers, then afterwards look at the data to see how it was.
Riding regular routes in a regular speed/pace, and then looking at what "normal" looks like for you from a wattage perspective may be quite helpful.

of note - riding with regular wattage feedback can help you be more consistent in power output.
The good side of wattage based riding is the same as the bad side... "it doesn't lie"

Yeah, it's best to go by feel and use your powermeter as a guide or reference.


I came here to post something interesting from yesterday. I climbed Mt Diablo yesterday and reviewed my power data from several months ago. I weigh about the same as I did back then and had the same climb time to the halfway point (29 minutes, but I was tired at the start so I'm significantly stronger overall), but my power was 10% lower. Same time, less power. Don't know if this was a mix of standing less or if there was less wind overall, but I don't think my powermeter is off by 25 watts or else I'd be setting all sorts of crazy power records (I suppose this is possible but I doubt it).

I've been off the bike since Wednesday rested all weekend going to do my 5 minute and FTP test tonight and see where I stand

don't be surprised if your legs feel blocked up because of all the time off.

Agreed. I would do a tempo ride today and take the test tomorrow.

It looks like Diablo's profile has reasonable pitch variability. If you were riding it harder on the steep parts, you could recover on the shallower parts and still end up with a lower power average at the same elapsed time.

How do the normalized powers compare between the two rides?

Ok all, just got a powertap Sunday, no way I can read all these pages in time to purchase the book I need. I just started racing in the spring and am now a CAT 4. So is "Training with Power" by Allen & Coggan still the "GO TO" book or should I purchase something else? I am on some rest time and group rides for the next month ant then will get after it while training with power so I want to start planning.

A buddy and I trained with Carmichael's "Ultimate Ride" with HR last winter and got great results. we want to take it up a notch.