First ride with a Power Meter wheel
Today we had a testing session with a few guys from the club. A couple of the team own Power Tap wheels, so the plan was to have everyone cover a time trial with a wheel installed and then look at the pretty graphs.
Course: 16km (8 out, 8 back) of moderately undulating road, slight cross/headwind (easy in parts, noticeably tough in others).
Set up: ride solo, PowerOps head unit in jersey pocket (ie riding 'blind')
Results: Not as good as a couple of the riders I think I could keep up with, but lots learned.
Ave power 205 watts. Ave speed 30.5km/h. Max power 545watts. Max speed 40km/h. Power to weight...not great as I'm 94kg (207lb)!
Lessons?
- Coasting/backing off power downhill is easy to do, even while picking up pace - but the reduced power output hurts your average!
- Riding 'blind' (ie with no computer) really makes a difference. My Garmin 305 just died, so I had no speed, cadence or HR to monitor. I'm sure that with that I would go faster/harder/more consistent - but if I had the PowerOps unit it would probably be even easier.
- New toys (even if borrowed) are fun!