TMB

Anyone here use Power Taps?

I am thinking of buying one for use over the winter, on the trainer and rollers.

Get a closer zeroing in on training zones and ramp up more seriously for next year.

What I am thinking, if I do this is just get one of the wired units - shouldn't make any difference if it's just used indoors.

I'm wondering if anyone uses powerTap and if so, any comments on wired vs wireless**********

Hermes

I purchased the PowerTap SL+ wireless and use the Garmin 705 and ANT protocol transmission and have been using it since August 2009. It failed in two days after I started using it and I had to send it back to Saris. They replaced the guts and it took 5 business days to send, fix and receive back. Saris customer service is excellent. The new one is working fine.

Garmin, Saris and Quarq (crank based power meter) are working together (sort of) to improve the wireless interface and the firmware in the Garmin keeps improving. I think they are getting close to a true commercial version but my Garmin worked fine with one call to Garmin.

I am happy with the PT SL+ wireless and would buy it again. I swap it between my road bike and TT bike and load the results into Training Peaks software.

I would highly recommend that you purchase the book Training and Racing with a Power Meter by Allen / Coggan. https://www.amazon.com/Training-Racin...5984776&sr=1-1 They discuss different power meters and their strengths and weakness of crank based systems versus hub and the way they read data. It will assist you immensely when you get your power meter and start using it.

I have a lot of experience on the trainer with a PM. Generally, the power readings need to be adjusted to equal that of the road. For example, I routinely hit 500 watts on the road but on the trainer, my knees would explode at that wattage. Now that is on rollers with a mag coupling with the front fork being held.

Riding on the rollers with both tires spinning, seems to more closely simulate road conditions and higher wattages are possible. My Cycleops fluid trainer at home holding the rear axel seems closer to the feel of the road but still harder.

Both my wife and I use power meters and we would not want to ride without it.

Hermes

I have several friends that use PT wired units with a PT yellow head. They work great as well but my comments on the trainer are the same. One of my Cat 1 buddies belongs to our cycling gym / coaching and uses a PT. His power is much lower on the rollers with the fork contained for the same level of effort as the road. He rode as hard as he could on the trainer and could get about 350 watts and he was not cadence limited. YMMV.

The trainer seems to provide different results for different riders. Another point is that my heart rate is lower by about 5 to 10 beats on the trainer versus the road.

Having said all that, riding on a trainer in the inclement weather to get a head start on the season is very desirable and learning how to use a power meter will greatly increase your cycling performance.

TMB

Thx Hermes,

I actually looked into my firm's fitness policies and have come to the conclusion that this may in fact be covered.

So, I think I will order the wireless, and get the shop to write it up as "home fitness equipment" or some such.

Which it actually is ...............

BikeWNC

I hate the trainer. I think I hardly used it last winter. It seems to me, having used power on the trainer, that my perceived effort is always greater on the trainer vs on the road for the same power. A couple years ago I did many long tempo workouts on the trainer but my best was always 20-30 watts below what I could do on the road. It was all I could do to average 230 watts for an hour inside while on the road I could do 250+ and it felt easier. I hate the trainer. Even with two fans blowing on me I get too hot, too sweaty, too mind numbingly bored. One year I spent the whole Superbowl on that damn trainer. I hate it.

Hermes

Here is a forum to join https://groups.google.com/group/wattage?hl=en

This is an excellent forum and Coggan, coauthor of Training and Racing with a Power Meter, posts and answers questions from time to time.

That is a great benefit to have your company pay for a PM. BTW, if you do not want GPS and the other niceties of the Garmin 705, the Saris PT yellow computer works great and it is wireless as well.

Hermes

I rode the rollers without the fork being held and the power was higher for the perceived level of effort than having the front or back wheel fixed. Yes, 230 to 250 watts on the trainer is a lot of power. Also, as you generate more power, there is more water loss and that water goes into the room as humidity and makes the situation worse.

Here is a link to the affiliated coach with our racing club about trainers. https://sportvelo.com/tips/stationary_trainers.htm

TMB

I have the Garmin 305 and works just fine so no real need to change that. I have looked at the 705 and felt no need whatsoever to change that. The nice thing about the Garmin, is that you can simply put it in your pocket and it still works and records everything.

The PT head unit would seem to do everything I could want it to.





BikeWNC - I agree about trainers. They are the devil's spawn in many ways. But they also are needed when it is COLD, or when we have had heavy snowfalls and the roads are covered in ice. or the snowplows haven't plowed a furrow wide nough to allow me to ride my bike on the roads. That is my greatest influencer or winter riding.

I do have 700C studded tires that I can use, and I prefer not to since they weigh about 9 pounds each.

So, when I could go outside, on studded tires, I usually stay in the basement on the rollers.

I have been doing this for many years, but with some of the events I am planning for next summer. I think I need to get a little more "focussed" on the winter program.

BikeWNC

I know, despite my hatred, I'll be on the trainer sometime this winter. I have a long ride coming up in May and while I certainly don't need high power for it I will need an excellent endurance base. So I'm sure I'll do some Z2-3 workouts on the blasted thing. The best trainer I have tried is the Kirk Kinetic Rock n Road. It allows for some side to side movement which is nice. I have a computrainer and a 1up that I use with my powertap. I've watched so many movies, jammed to lots of tunes, tried every kind of distraction imaginable but the trainer beats me every time. I just have to HTFU I guess.

Allegheny Jet

Riding Z2-3 for X time on a trainer is torture. I will do the Z3 "fat burning" rides early AM for weight loss but only for 1 hr since I have not eaten yet and don't want to pull protein from muscles. I watch the news on the projecter TV screen and the 5:00 AM news lady is sufficently hot to keep my attention. Try doing a workout with a WU, some cadence/technique drills, some specific HR Zone intervals with recovery, and finish with a WD. Giving yourself actual training programs will take the boredom away and provide a benefit that will carry over into spring. I do the same with the roller workouts. It also helps to have some cycling race or event playing on the TV even if you don't concentrate on it.

I get my Z2 and low Z3 work "catch as catch can" by riding outside when the weather allows a safe ride, as that work is more about aerobic saddle time and not quality.

BikeWNC

That's probably a better plan. I can find plenty of days to ride endurance/tempo outside during the winter.