I'm sorry, but you're completely incorrect... In the past, I've paid little attention to my power meter. This year, I've given it some minimal attention. I haven't really done any structured training (ex: intervals), but just paid attention to which power zones I'm riding in and generally tried to push each workout to be a little bit more difficult than the last. Notice the difference in results?



Strava seems to think that I'm about twice as fit this year as in the four previous years and I definitely feel that out on the road. In the past, a 45-mile ride with 3000 feet of climbing would have been a killer. This year, that's an easy training ride and it's the 90-mile days at 15mph average with 6000-7000 feet of elevation gain that are the tough ones.

To the OP: You can find more information than you want about power meters at DC Rainmaker's review page. You might look specifically at his 2013 Power Meter Buyer's Guide.

I use a PowerTap power meter and it's still the one that I would recommend as an entry-level device. The PowerTap G3 Hub is a terrific value and, as DC Rainmaker says, "is the closest I get to ‘set it and forget it’ when it comes to power meters on the market today". Older units, like the PowerTap Pro+ hub that I use, can often be found on the used markets and are just as good (though much heavier) as the current units. Avoid used wired units; they won't work with your Garmin. If you keep an eye out, you can frequently find sales on new PowerTap wheels and wheel sets.