Power Meter for Commuting

[4xsama]

I'm curious as to how many of you have a power meter for commuting.

My ride is 20km each way at the moment and on a mix of shared paths and bike paths with a very small amount of public road. IS there benefit of having a power meter, particularly on a shared path, as I suspect the want to push a consistent number might lead to 'antisocial' behavior.

Also, what is the all up cost - computer and power meter and whatever else is required. Crank set on the bike is a Quarq with Praxis chainring.

[march83]

Yeah, I commute with power. I do ~450km a week commuting so if I'm not using some of that time to train productively then I'm wasting a lot of time.

To make it beneficial, I do a few z7 rides a week where I do sprints out of corners and up short climbs. I do a couple of sweet spot rides. I do a few dedicated z2 rides. Overall, I track workload and feed the data into my PM chart. If I just noodle about without any focus I just get tired without getting fast.

Definitely worth it if your commuting makes up a big chunk of your weekly workload, or if you like to take detours on the way home, or you just have 1 do everything bike. If not, it might be better having a smart trainer and doing dedicated workouts on that - certainly easier to do quality workouts in the garage than on the commute.

[queequeg]

Yes, I commute with a power meter. It's not there to ride to power on bike paths. It is useful for the occasional 15min effort when I am on the cyclelane alongside the M2 (Sydney) and it's basically an opportunty for a 10km TT. I have also done some 5 min hill repeat efforts on the way to work. I have tried to do other types of interval training but the terrain just makes it difficult, so I leave the intervals for the indoor trainer.

The primary reason for the meter is just to quietly collect the power data so that it tracks my overall load, and basically lets me know when I should be taking a rest and when I should just go "all out". Be mindful though, when you are commuting in traffic or on paths, it's not a time to be head down at threshold effort. That's when something bad is going to happen.

I am running p2max meters for three of my bikes (Type S on 2 of them, and an NGeco on the other). The SRAM one I believe would fit your existing Quarq cranks and retain your Praxis rings, but it does depend on the specific cranks. They need to be the 3-bolt version (see the pictures on the p2max site) and not the newer DZero type. I paid $800 locally for mine, but that was before the p2max distributor changed to the current one.

EU Site:
https://www.power2max.com/en/product/ng ... wer-meter/

AU SIte:
https://www.power2max.com.au/collection ... 0-001-0110

[g-boaf]

I'm curious as to how many of you have a power meter for commuting.

My ride is 20km each way at the moment and on a mix of shared paths and bike paths with a very small amount of public road. IS there benefit of having a power meter, particularly on a shared path, as I suspect the want to push a consistent number might lead to 'antisocial' behavior.

Also, what is the all up cost - computer and power meter and whatever else is required. Crank set on the bike is a Quarq with Praxis chainring.

I have a power meter, but I don't use it for commuting. The power meter doesn't make me ride at speeds inappropriate to the conditions.

I have a Garmin 800 from 2012 something that is old as anything and a Shimano 9100 Dura Ace power meter crankset. The Shimano power meter was about $1800 including cranks and chain rings, the Garmin edge 800 was whatever it cost back so long ago.

I use it mainly if I'm riding somewhere that I'm interested in keeping track of my power, ie, up a mountain road (say 10-25km uphill and 2000m+) and to watch my TSS. I'm riding upwards of 650km per week average at the moment and sometimes I will pick up the speed so it's useful to know that sometimes.

I don't do power tests with that, there is nowhere appropriate around here for it. I have a trainer-studio setup in my home for this purpose which is far more suitable for that. Same with the proper intervals, they are much better indoors.

[trailgumby]

I use a PM as well. It tracks my TSS and workload for the week so that I don't overcook myself, now being an older athlete that doesn't recover as fast as he used to, and who needs to limit his volume increases to 10% a week..

My usual thing is to do V02Max hill repeats Tues + Thurs on the way to work and cruise home in the evening, and cruise on Wednesdays both directions. Not doing Weds at the moment as I'm still rebuilding after sone time off the bike due to a tumble in October that broke my hand.

The new Garmin 830 head unit has some quite useful dasboards based on heart rate, such that you might not need a PM. Telling me at the moment I need to do some easier efforts to break up the more intense work.

[Alex Simmons/RST]

as I suspect the want to push a consistent number might lead to 'antisocial' behavior.

To paraphrase a Pithy Power Proverb:

"Commute with power, not by power".

[nickobec]

I'm curious as to how many of you have a power meter for commuting.

I have power meter for training, which I use when I am commuting.

My commute is a minimum of 45km one way at the moment. I do extend it sometimes. I get 20km of uninterrupted and quiet path to do intervals on on that commute.

My power meter is used to structure my training and manage my workload.

Power meter(s) currently have three, long story Powertap P2 pedals (less than $1k from Pushys on special), Powertap G3 hub in DT Swiss tubeless wheelset (under $600 from Wiggle when they cleared them out) and another Powertap G3 wheelset on Mavic rims I picked up for $250 second hand. Note I do have multiple bikes, so they get swapped around a lot.

Head unit I had always had a Garmin 705, 500, 510 and then 130, life expectancy with me is about 3 years of daily use. Had buttons fall off the 705 and 500 (always use a silicon case), battery and charging issues with 705 and 510. The 130 just loses signal to the sensors, so jumped ship to Wahoo Elment Bolt $320 from Wahoo ATM.

If you want to train by power it is relatively inexpensive now, compared to 10 years ago. You can get a Stages single sided power meter/crank arm for $550 and a Bryton or Lezeyne Head unit for $150. Even less on the second hand market

[Cardy George]

The new Garmin 830 head unit has some quite useful dasboards based on heart rate, such that you might not need a PM. Telling me at the moment I need to do some easier efforts to break up the more intense work.

Are they built in from the factory, or Connect IQ?

[trailgumby]

The new Garmin 830 head unit has some quite useful dasboards based on heart rate, such that you might not need a PM. Telling me at the moment I need to do some easier efforts to break up the more intense work.

Are they built in from the factory, or Connect IQ?

Comes up in the ride stats in History, so I'm gonna say built in.

[RobertL]

You can get a Stages single sided power meter/crank arm for $550

Yes - I got a single sided R8000 Ultegra Stage power meter a couple of weeks ago for $650. It's on my road bike, not my commuter, but I sometimes commute on my road bike and incorporate my training into my commute.

I did swap my old cadence sensor onto my commuter bike so I practice keeping my cadence high now on those days when I just ride it to work.