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Power Meter

Old 04-23-14, 06:07 PM
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Originally Posted by achoo
Everyone I know who has used an iBike always said they sucked and has always gotten a real powermeter eventually.
Kinda like getting aluminium bike and upgrading to carbon
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Old 04-23-14, 06:09 PM
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Originally Posted by TexMac
Thanks for your input but I was not looking to be a "real cyclist" just a cyclist with a power meter
You and I both! I run a Quarq RIken with a power tap G3 and take the average of both readings for better accuracy. That way I know with extreme accuracy how accurate my power meters are.
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Old 04-23-14, 06:18 PM
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Originally Posted by lsberrios1
You and I both! I run a Quarq RIken with a power tap G3 and take the average of both readings for better accuracy. That way I know with extreme accuracy how accurate my power meters are.
Thanks for the info.
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Old 04-23-14, 06:35 PM
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Originally Posted by lsberrios1
You and I both! I run a Quarq RIken with a power tap G3 and take the average of both readings for better accuracy. That way I know with extreme accuracy how accurate my power meters are.
Or you could begin with static calibration checks and extend them to dynamic checks.
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Old 04-23-14, 06:42 PM
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Originally Posted by TexMac
Kinda like getting aluminium bike and upgrading to carbon
Not at all. An AL bike still works damn well as a bike...
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Old 04-23-14, 07:57 PM
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Originally Posted by achoo
Not at all. An AL bike still works damn well as a bike...
so why do "we" all upgrade?
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Old 04-23-14, 09:07 PM
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Originally Posted by lsberrios1
I'll just say this quick thingy. Without a power meter you are not a real cyclist. And I don't mean Stages, Pioneer, whatever... I mean SRM, Quarq and maybeeeee... power tap. In that order specifically. Good luck!
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Old 04-23-14, 09:28 PM
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Originally Posted by jsutkeepspining
powertap > stages.

yeah stages isn't terrible, but why waste that much money on something that only does half the job?
Just another thought on this.

If your left leg was doing 100w and your right leg 95 (i.e. 5% difference) your reported power would be 200w but actual would be 195w or 2.5% off. In other words, to say it only does half the job is a gross understatement of its usefulness. If there is a need to have really precise data, and no PM is perfect, then Stages may not be the best option, but if you only need good working/training data the left only is really not much of an issue. Of course, Stages does say the discrepancy is somewhat higher when doing things like a sprint but how often is that important.
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Old 04-23-14, 10:51 PM
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Originally Posted by bikerjp
Just another thought on this.

If your left leg was doing 100w and your right leg 95 (i.e. 5% difference) your reported power would be 200w but actual would be 195w or 2.5% off. In other words, to say it only does half the job is a gross understatement of its usefulness. If there is a need to have really precise data, and no PM is perfect, then Stages may not be the best option, but if you only need good working/training data the left only is really not much of an issue. Of course, Stages does say the discrepancy is somewhat higher when doing things like a sprint but how often is that important.
Hmmm. Forgive me for pointing this out but just today you started another thread where you said you just got your first power meter, have only done a couple of rides with it, and asked some pretty basic questions. Um, you're a pretty quick learner if you're already so experienced that you know how often anything related to a power meter is important.
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Old 04-23-14, 11:07 PM
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Originally Posted by bikerjp
Just another thought on this.

If your left leg was doing 100w and your right leg 95 (i.e. 5% difference) your reported power would be 200w but actual would be 195w or 2.5% off. In other words, to say it only does half the job is a gross understatement of its usefulness. If there is a need to have really precise data, and no PM is perfect, then Stages may not be the best option, but if you only need good working/training data the left only is really not much of an issue. Of course, Stages does say the discrepancy is somewhat higher when doing things like a sprint but how often is that important.
Sprinting is only important if you are looking to win bike races.
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Old 04-23-14, 11:09 PM
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Originally Posted by TexMac
Kinda like getting aluminium bike and upgrading to carbon
Wow... OK, all those CAT 2/CAt 1 racers who use AL must be morons... Considering they can cycle better than anyone I see on the road around here riding carbon.
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Old 04-23-14, 11:16 PM
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Originally Posted by jsutkeepspining
powertap > stages.

yeah stages isn't terrible, but why waste that much money on something that only does half the job?
If left/right balance is that important then powertap doesn't measure that either. If you don't care about left/right, stages is basically as good as anything else.
I have yet to see any data that indicates that a left/right imbalance is actually an issue.
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Old 04-23-14, 11:30 PM
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Originally Posted by TexMac
Anyone with experience using iBike Newton cycling power meter? Good/bad? is it worth it. It's the cheapest out there but not sure.
The BEST person to ask about the iBike is the guy who owns Boyd wheels, Coach Boyd Johnson. He's done comparisons with the iBike against other PMs. Hopefully he chimes in here.

I personally use a Power2Max Type S (unnecessary upgrade from the regular one unless you're a WWeenie).
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Old 04-23-14, 11:37 PM
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Originally Posted by gsa103
If left/right balance is that important then powertap doesn't measure that either. If you don't care about left/right, stages is basically as good as anything else.
I have yet to see any data that indicates that a left/right imbalance is actually an issue.
You can look up the research on pubmed. What they've found is that the for a given rider the balance between left and right is not necessarily consistent, i.e. one day it might be 45/55 and on another it could be 55/45. Or it could change in the middle of a ride. Knowing the left/right balance isn't important if you know the sum which is what most powermeters, including the PowerTap, will give you.
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Old 04-24-14, 06:14 AM
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Originally Posted by jsutkeepspining
My srm was only a bit more for the stages, and it was basically brand new..
apples and oranges. can't compare a "new" stages or quarq to a "used" SRM.
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Old 04-24-14, 06:44 AM
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Originally Posted by zymphad
Wow... OK, all those CAT 2/CAt 1 racers who use AL must be morons... Considering they can cycle better than anyone I see on the road around here riding carbon.
Have to agree if I can outclimb a dude on a carbon lightspeed all night on mtb with slicks loaded down with 12kg of toyring crap all night during the Fleche. I really think an aluminium bike is fine. A carbon bike is different... not nessecarily better.
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Old 04-24-14, 06:45 AM
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rangerdad: one is less likely to break.
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Old 04-24-14, 06:48 AM
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Originally Posted by gsa103
If left/right balance is that important then powertap doesn't measure that either. If you don't care about left/right, stages is basically as good as anything else.
I have yet to see any data that indicates that a left/right imbalance is actually an issue.
But powertap actually measures your total power, not just your right or left leg. I don't like the idea of variable leg imbalances messing with my data, especially if i'm actually paying money for the powermeter. Also, i don't think knowing your leg balance actually matters in real training. There just isn't much of a use for that type of data barring injuries.
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Old 04-24-14, 06:56 AM
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Originally Posted by jsutkeepspining
But powertap actually measures your total power, not just your right or left leg. I don't like the idea of variable leg imbalances messing with my data, especially if i'm actually paying money for the powermeter. Also, i don't think knowing your leg balance actually matters in real training. There just isn't much of a use for that type of data barring injuries.
Well I guess you're just going to have to refuse to join Sky then.
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Old 04-24-14, 07:12 AM
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Originally Posted by gregf83
Sprinting is only important if you are looking to win bike races.
Exactly. I don't race nor do a lot of other riders. And everyone is missing the point. It may not be an absolutely accurate number, but as long as it's consistent, which their studies show it is to the same extent as others, it can be used to train.
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Old 04-24-14, 07:13 AM
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Originally Posted by achoo
Well I guess you're just going to have to refuse to join Sky then.
If someone forks over a ton of cash i'll ride what ever they want, when i control what i use i'll use the best option. Simple as that
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Old 04-24-14, 07:33 AM
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Originally Posted by krobinson103
Have to agree if I can outclimb a dude on a carbon lightspeed all night on mtb with slicks loaded down with 12kg of toyring crap all night during the Fleche. I really think an aluminium bike is fine. A carbon bike is different... not nessecarily better.
I would like to see a pro or TDF rider given a choice of Alu & Carbon which bike he/she would use for all stages. Maybe this is our next topic
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Old 04-24-14, 07:33 AM
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Originally Posted by lsberrios1
You and I both! I run a Quarq RIken with a power tap G3 and take the average of both readings for better accuracy. That way I know with extreme accuracy how accurate my power meters are.
So you have 2 powermeters on one bike? Is that possible? Or am I missing something?
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Old 04-24-14, 07:35 AM
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Originally Posted by KantoBoy
The BEST person to ask about the iBike is the guy who owns Boyd wheels, Coach Boyd Johnson. He's done comparisons with the iBike against other PMs. Hopefully he chimes in here.

I personally use a Power2Max Type S (unnecessary upgrade from the regular one unless you're a WWeenie).
Coach boyd is a classy guy and love his wheels. I'll shoot him a pm.
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Old 04-24-14, 07:40 AM
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Originally Posted by bikerjp
Exactly. I don't race nor do a lot of other riders. And everyone is missing the point. It may not be an absolutely accurate number, but as long as it's consistent, which their studies show it is to the same extent as others, it can be used to train.
I think you missed the point I made earlier. Studies have found L/R balance is not consistent. Over the short term (i.e. the duration of an interval) it probably is consistent so it would be useful for maintain a steady effort during an interval. You just might have a little more trouble measuring changes in performance.

Whatever you end up using it's not going to limit your training, you still have to do the work regardless of what numbers are on the screen
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