Guess what I just bought!!!!!
 

http://www1.towxchange.net/personal/.../powertap1.jpg
http://www1.towxchange.net/personal/.../powertap2.jpg
http://www1.towxchange.net/personal/.../powertap4.jpg
And I'm sooooo excited! Time to start training with POWER, baby!

http://img492.imageshack.us/img492/5493/borat3nm.jpg

You need cycling peaks and training and racing with a power meter now too. Then you'll be dialing it up to 400w and dropping OMG Posers in no time...

So here's the big question: Do I race with the PT, too? Even though my current set of "racing wheels" is Ksyrium Elites?

Not always...but you frequently get your best data out of races. I'd not use it in my "A" races, but otherwise I'd keep it on there.

good thing you have a yellow bike. :)

If you start talking like R600DA, you're getting a water bottle in your spokes. I just got a couple free ones from the shop so I'm armed. :D

Hah, I'm envisioning my next ride with you going like this:
"Hey Pete"
"Yeah?"
"Guess what"
"what?"
"I'm doing 360 watts right now. What about you?"
"I don't know"
"Ohhhh that's right, you don't have a powertap!"
"Aren't you riding a Felt?"
"yeah :cry: "

+1. I was going to say the exact same thing. (except without Borat) They'll help you get a lot more out of the data.

Your racing data will be some of the most valuable info you get from the PT, and you can actually use the PT data for in race strategy. (although I have to admit, I've done that exactly once.)


With the basic PT, you are adding some weight, so I'd definitely use it for the first few races, and intermittanly after that, leaving it off on hillier courses, and probably on your real goal races.

What you actually need is a second PT wireless, with a Zipp 303 tubular rim for race day.:)

Or you could lose 2 lbs off your waist and race with it all the time. When you get to the performance level that you can't lose 2 lbs or the aero advantage in a road race is the difference between winning and losing, I'm guessing you'll have wanted to buy a second one.

That doesn't mean I'm not looking at purchasing a second one on a lighter more aero wheel, myself some time later this year

sweet, BD! I'm jealous...I've had my eye on the 2.4, but it's hard to drop 1.5k on what would amount to a novelty to me. My training currently is just go-out-and-ride, but next year I'll start regimented training.

:roflmao: :beer:

BD- What kind of rim/spokes are those? Can you tell us where you got this and what you paid?

Congrats by the way.

thats an open pro rim

Welcome to the darks side, your training is now complete....soon you can dial up your wattage to whatever is needed to drop poseurs.

PT's are great, I've been very happy with mine, feel free to PM me if you have any questions.

So EDR, Merlin, DrWJO et al... In July my available training time goes to damn near zero--I'll be lucky to get 1-1 1/2 hours in 4 days a week. Would training with power noticeably help me optimize that training time? I'm guessing a coach would have to come into the equation too, though...

Train and race with it. If you are doing 60 minute climbs where that small amount of extra weight is going to hurt you, then perhaps you should change to an SRM. Until then, you should really have power data from all of your races. It is amazingly helpful in a) pacing and b) analysis of what you thought you could not do.

Dr Pete;

1) If you're considering a coach, the PT will definitely help you get the most out of the coach. You coach can really see what's going on, which not only helps with the coaching, motivates you to create a pretty file. (i.e. not slacking on the last interval).

It's the main reason I got it in the first place. Penny wise pound foolish to pay a lot for coaching and have no data for the coach to analyze.

2) Training with power vs. training with HR to me is much more precise, so I think it can help with getting more out of limited time.

3) Limited time, I'm assuming will likely mean more trainer workouts. Using a powertap on the trainer really helps you know what you're doing on the trainer, and how it compares to the road.

Definitely buy Training and Racing with a Power Meter by Allen and Coggan. It will help you decide. If you don't buy a power meter, the $20 on the book saved you a lot of money. If you do buy a power meter, it will help you select which one, and help you maximize its use.

Thanks, merlin, and thanks bdcheung for tolerating the thread-jack.

This past year has led to such a boost in my riding that I really want to maintain through my chief resident years. I keep cringing at the thought of paying big bucks for a coach but I might have to cave in after all, in which case I totally agree that a power meter would be great.

And I get an office, so I can keep a beater set up on a trainer in there for when I'm on call. :D

+1 on the coach. Two things, first training at a specified wattage is far more precise than perceived effort and second, the PT doesn't lie. There is a scene at the beginning of Overcoming where Sastre, who is doing climbing drills with an SRM, says "the computer must understand me, I do not need to understand the computer". What I took away from that comment was he felt like he was where Riis wanted him to be but the SRM told a different story.

When I got a data acquisition system for my race car I was very surprised to find out that the places that I thought I was full throttle I was actually lifting out just a bit. Telling my crew chief that I was flat out and being flat out turned out to be two different things. The power tap will give you and your coach the real data not what you think the data is. For someone like me I find that I'll back off of perceived effort but will keep going if I know what the wattage is.

didn't you just get a set of cosmic carbones?

used effectively a power meter wil have a greater impact on your riding than a set of bling wheels.

my girlfriend bought them for me for christmas, I didn't know I was getting them :)

edit: but point taken. I said "novelty" because I just started riding and I feel like I'm at the point where any riding will improve my ability and that once I start to plateau, then I could start analyzing my training and getting it more regimented. Is this a bad way to go about it?

One the days when it mocks you despite your best efforts at generating decent numbers, just remember it's nothing personal. It's what it's there for. :D

+1 There have been days where I've thought oh I'm tired, I can't do a good ride today it's a zone 2 day...but then I go out and end up having an amazing ride. Other days I think I have it in me but the numbers say otherwise. It has been an awesome tool for helping me figure out when to keep pushing and when to hold back and avoid overtraining.

People who have years of training and racing experience probably have some intuition about this sort of thing. The powermeter though helps you climb the learning curve faster to learn about yourself. I also agree that it's a great pacing tool for races, particularly TT's. I use it to make sure that I am not starting out to hard and that I stay on track.

Nice. Time to come back and test on Diablo :)

+1 on Cycling Peaks. +1 on doing at least some races with it.