Hi folks,
I've decided it's time to move to a PowerTap. I've been using a Garmin Edge 305 and it fits me well but I'm finding I need better data than HR and velocity.
I've been looking at the specs on the Saris website and it's a little confusing which one I need. For some background, I train on my commute of 30mi/day a few days a week, a longer ride or two on the weekend, and I do some work on rollers. I commute on a heavier cross bike, and on the trainer I use my race bike which has a shorter wheelbase. I want to be able to move the PT between the two bikes easily without having to wire a ton of crap up. With the 305, I just keep cadence units on both bikes and I move the computer between bikes. In the archives I found some useful info
this post but don't have answers to everything.
...so, my questions for you wise guys out there:
1. If I go with SL 2.4, can I just move the wheel and head unit between bikes without needing a fin unit on both bikes? If I go with SL, is all I need an extra fin unit?
2. How the hell does the thing measure distance? Does it use a rotating magnet with the fin unit, or is it all done inside the hub?
3. Is the cadence pretty accurate even when you're applying constant power throughout the stroke?
4. When racing, do you use the PT wheel or just for B/C races when you want data? If you don't use the PT wheel, what do you do about measuring distance/cadence? Do you have another cheapo computer for that?
5. Does not having a coded HR strap get annoying? If you're at a race, does it record someone else's HR sometimes?
6. Does it suck not having other info like elevation gain, or once you have power nothing else matters?
Thanks in advance!
-Chris