Power meter V. Cadence tracker?
 

Hi guys. I've looking around and getting lots of great info from this forum. I have also been getting more and more into cycling, not only for fitness, but as a great hobby. I am realizing that I need some way to track my progression, and wondering if you guys think the Power meters are the way to go, or would a cadence tracker suffice?

All input is welcome. Thanks.

Cadence and power are two totally different things. Cadence is good for improving technique and optimizing gearing. A power meter is a hardcore training tool, with a buy in cost of ~$1000. Something like a Garmin with heart-rate monitor could probably do the vast majority of what you'd want. You can always add a power meter later if you want.

Since you don't understand the difference between cadence and a power meter, I'll wager that a power meter isn't right for you (unless you've got a $1000 burning a hole in pocket, and already have a really nice bike).

I do believe I understand the difference. I was simply wondering if the added cost is worth it. Apparently not.

I think a good way to track progress as a newer cyclist is a heart rate monitor and GPS computer. As you do the same rides over you can compare speed, HR, time, time on a certain hill, etc. and as you get faster you'll see that and might also see that you can do more with a lower HR. When HR becomes not enough info then you get a power meter.

I've been riding about 8 months now. Early on a cadence meter (cat eye is what I have) was extremely helpful in gradually working up to higher rpms as my average cadence, second great thing was joining strava.com this is great because you can ride the same roads over period of months (you can even create segments) and track your improvement, if you ride a popular segment, it'll also compare you to others riding the same course. Obviously variance as to weather conditions etc. But still very helpful, it also helps to encourage to ride.

I've just not really looked at power meters very much or heart rate monitors, as for me it just gets too complicated. But I know lots of folks that swear by em!

If you have to ask, the answer is no.

Yup, although you can get used for less.

A cadence meter just tells you how fast your legs are spinning. Not very useful information in most cases.

Thank you. Very helpful.

Read "Training and Racing with a Power Meter" by Allen and Coggan first.
Training and Racing with a Power Meter: Hunter Allen, Andrew Coggan: 9781934030554: Amazon.com: Books

Yeah. HR training works well. But when you do it you'll soon figure out that your HR is more than a bit variable. It's affected a bit by fatigue, diet, dehydration, temperature, fitness, the phases of the moon, migrations of lemmings in the arctic, and probably a bit by astrology.

It's not a big deal because IME the HR you get at higher effort levels doesn't seem to be as variable.

And, as someone else posted, once HR training isn't enough, you get a power meter.

most power meters pick up cadence as well. just got a stages PM on my new Domane. Love it.

Shoot. I knew something was missing from my training plan. It was lemmings. Duh.

The key words in the question are "track my progression." Power is the clearest metric. A power meter gives you access to it. There are plenty of other measurements, though. Any cyclocomputer will give you average speed, so if you do a given route in shorter and shorter times; there's something to track. Add a heart rate monitor, and you've got average HR. If you do the same route in the same route but HR goes down, there's something else.

I understand: I want to track my progression too. But I don't have a grand for a power meter, so I bought a $40 Wahoo speed and cadence transmitter and a $99 subscription to TrainerRoad, and use my trainer to test "virtual power." Is it accurate? Don't know. Is it consistent? Seems to be. So I ride on the road with HR, and use my trainer time to see how I'm doing numerically.

Use a long, steep hill with a steady grade to track your progress. 7-8% or so if you can find one, and time yourself up it. The longer the better. You'll be going slow enough wind resistance won't matter much, so your speed up the hill will correlate quite closely with your power level, at least if your weight remains pretty constant.

Cadence and heart rate monitor has helped me improve my riding tremendously. I had a tendency to pedal at a lower cadence in higher gearing and as I began to focus on a higher cadence by using lower gearing I feel I kept my legs fresher and gradually built up my average speed. Even climbs were easier when i wasn't mashing as hard. I think a power meter, like many have said here, are really for the hard core especially given the entry cost. I have a few bikes I ride and it's easy enough swapping the Garmin from each bike with nothing but a separate cadence sensor needed for each. If the entry cost of a power meter ever fell to a few hundred dollars I'd be on it like white on rice though.