Power meter advice

[SimonInVic]

Hi all, recently I have decided to bite the bullet and purchase myself a power meter. I am relatively new to road cycling but have taken to it extremely well. I am after some impartial advice regarding power meters. If anyone has any thoughts on them? I have been looking at the stages crank arm but am a little worried that sometime soon everything will fall into place and single sided power meters will be out of fashion. I am also pretty sure that I put more power through one leg than the other so could a single sided power meter make this even worse?

[dalai47]

Plenty of information online in regards to power meters available.

As to one sided, bigger issue is that the difference is rarely symmetrical, so the balance is rarely consistent.

[kb]

Plenty of information online in regards to power meters available.

Some summaries

http://alex-cycle.blogspot.com.au/2013/ ... meter.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

http://www.dcrainmaker.com/2015/10/buye ... ition.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

As to one sided, bigger issue is that the difference is rarely symmetrical, so the balance is rarely consistent.

ie. Difference can varies across power and fatigue levels.

[trailgumby]

Plenty of information online in regards to power meters available.

Some summaries

http://alex-cycle.blogspot.com.au/2013/ ... meter.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

http://www.dcrainmaker.com/2015/10/buye ... ition.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

As to one sided, bigger issue is that the difference is rarely symmetrical, so the balance is rarely consistent.

ie. Difference can varies across power and fatigue levels.

My left right balance varies from 40-60 when idling along to 51-49 when pushing up steep hills.

Not a fan of left-side-only PMs.

[ProBikeFit]

Research shows that power variation becomes negligible at threshold (ref Tod Carver Retul) it does not matter if your power meter is plus neg 5 or 10% as long as it is consistent and has the same rider using it. It is a guide to personal training IE you the rider are performing effort at 109% of Threshold, that is your Threshold not someone else. regards ProBikeFit
PS I have used SRM, Quarq, Polar, Ergomo all gave me the same results.

[Alex Simmons/RST]

Research shows that power variation becomes negligible at threshold (ref Tod Carver Retul) it does not matter if your power meter is plus neg 5 or 10% as long as it is consistent and has the same rider using it. It is a guide to personal training IE you the rider are performing effort at 109% of Threshold, that is your Threshold not someone else. regards ProBikeFit
PS I have used SRM, Quarq, Polar, Ergomo all gave me the same results.

Guidance of level of effort is one of the lowest fi applications of power meter data. Problems creep in when you start to expect to do more with your data.

The issue with power meters is that typically accuracy, precision and consistency of power data go hand in hand. If you have something that inaccurate, there's probably a reason for that, and the other problems tend to occur as well.

[nickobec]

Practical issues
Practical issues, Do you have more than one bike or one wheelset?
What bike do you have? Stages and similar does not fit some bikes with the rear brake under the chain stays.

Like trailgumby my left right balance is 60/40 or so when cruising along, under load it is 49/51

As probikefit said, it is all about consistency (and they all are under a couple of percent now) because it is a training aid for an individual.

I am a powertap rider. Started off with an elite+ hubs years ago, started racing, so built a race wheelset with a G3 hub. There is no discernible difference between the reading of those two. Recently decided I want a couple more wheelsets so I bought the P1 pedals (almost got the Garmin Vector single sided) (Note multiple bikes, multiple wheelsets, multiple crank lengths so it must be pedal based for me). The P1s give a 3-4% higher reading that the Elite+ or G3. I am aware of that in my training and racing, so it does not matter,

[softy]

I also am considering a power meter,

but you hear so much different stuff. This and that????

There is problems with water ingress, another has lots of trouble quoted from a bike shop. The powertap p1looks good, but is expense and new, so who knows about the reliability of these.

So very confused about which is the best to buy, the ease of installation and swapping bikes is another as i have two quite different groupos.

decisions decisions......

[trailgumby]

If water ingress is a concern, I have had zero issues with my Power2Max Type S. Has been flawless.

[beanbiken]

If water ingress is a concern, I have had zero issues with my Power2Max Type S. Has been flawless.

Would be my choice but they seem to have dropped their 4 arm Shimano support, looking at the 4iii dual system when it becomes available

Steve

[dalai47]

If water ingress is a concern, I have had zero issues with my Power2Max Type S. Has been flawless.

If I recall there were many posts which weren't positive when you first got it...

[Strawburger]

One sided power meters = expensive junk

[nickobec]

Can not comment on water ingress on the P1s, only owned then a few months, while I have ridden them in rain, but not too the levels of the elite+ and G3

While I have not immersed the elite+ or G3 in water, but I have ridden both in all conditions, including some very wet races. They have survived without an issue.

If you have two bikes, but only need one wheelset, a powertap hub is probably the best choice, easy to swap, relatively cheap and prove technology.

Two different wheelset, very different groupsets, your only choice is pedal - Garmin Vector or Powertap P1. Unless one bike is road and the other is CX or MTB. The you are shot

[trailgumby]

If water ingress is a concern, I have had zero issues with my Power2Max Type S. Has been flawless.

If I recall there were many posts which weren't positive when you first got it...

Indeed. But that was the Classic.

It had three little screws securing the battery hatch that were super easy to over-tighten, and there was a narrow band between having it not tight enough and letting water in, and going too far. It was also prone to getting smacked by the chain on an over-shift. Not sure what the cause was in my case. I suspect a combination of both resulted in the brass threads coming loose and cracking the plastic housing.

The new Type S resolved both problems. It is not necessary to tighten the battery hatch so much, and the battry cover is of a superior design that won't catch the chain on an over-shift. Happy with the Type S to date.

[jules21]

My left right balance varies from 40-60 when idling along to 51-49 when pushing up steep hills.

Not a fan of left-side-only PMs.

this is why I am a fan of 1-sided PMs. I only pay attention to power readings when I'm making significant power*, I have no interest in my power output when I'm cruising along. I had Vectors and that was also my experience - the balance invariably approached 50-50 when my effort increased.

* some would say that's very rarely!

I currently have a Stages (2nd generation I believe) and I do have problems with water ingress to the battery case, which is annoying. but it goes away after spraying with WD40. (so far)