UKH

A new power meter about to come on the market for only £350:

http://road.cc/content/news/141538-5-cool-new-products-4iiii-mio-ism-ortlie...

Does anyone on here use one currently? And if so, does it lead to a world of even more obsessiveness? Does it help you get faster and stronger??

In reply to Kimono:

Training helps you get faster and stronger. A power meter helps inform training. Like any tool it won't do the job on its own, it has to be used in the right way.

In reply to Byronius Maximus:

yes, well obviously i didn't think that just sticking a pwoermeter on my crank was going to turn me into Nibbles

So, do you use one?

In reply to Kimono:

Andy from Embsay who posts on here has the Stages power meter, not sure how much use he makes of the data.

I use virtual power with Trainerroad on the turbo - I couldn't justify the cost of getting a genuine PM - it might not be 100% accurate but if it's consistent then it's fine. There is so much data and the values jump around so much that analysing the data is hard beyond the "I pushed out xxx watts at maximum". Riding to a value is hard if not impossible but it's relatively easy to ride to within a small band.

I've not used one out on the road but I'd use it for post-ride analysis rather than keeping an eye on your bike computer all the time. On its own the data isn't that useful - you need to compare it to other data such as heart rate, cadence or gradient. As an example, comparing power to cadence can help show what rate of pedalling gives *you* your maximum power output and you can generate values for one minute, five minutes, an hour or whatever. Also you can't really use data from just one session, you need to compare data across sessions to pick things up. I had a hard turbo session the other day - looking at the data, my HR was 10bpm higher than a similar session the previous week but for lower power, I was starting with a cold but didn't know it at the time.

So, yes useful but you need to put work (sic) in to get the most out of them.

In reply to Bob:

ok, that's a very helpful answer Bob...thank you

In reply to Kimono:
Don't know if you've seen it but DCRainmaker has a review of a pre-production model - http://www.dcrainmaker.com/2014/09/4iiiis-introduces-precision.html which does look slightly different to that in the roadcc piece

Looks interesting in that you could add a second unit to get left-right data at some time in the future.

In reply to Bob:

I've got a Stages on my race bike and a Quarq on my do-everything commuter/training/winter bike. I have found that having a power meter (in combination with a coach to help me with the numbers) made a massive difference to my training. To put it into context last year I went some from someone who was hoping to ride the Etape Du Dales to achieving my cat 2 road racing licence. The big difference for me was having a number I was trying to achieve in training sessions which made me work harder for a more longer period. In the past I would see my HR going up, feel tired and tend to let up a bit, HR would stay up so would think I was still working hard. For example doing a L1 long road ride is much easier to regulate with a power meter.

It will only help you get faster and stronger if you either pay someone to put a training plan together and stick to it, or sit down with one of the training books and put a plan together.

In reply to alisonk:

Good effort on getting a cat 2!

You've hit on the problems with HR based training: lag and cardiac drift. With power, the number is the number (assuming you've calibrated the unit). Having said that, both are useful especially in the instance I mentioned earlier where HR shows a large increase for lower power output.

In reply to Bob:

I've just given up on Stages (after 15 months of sending stuff back) - sent my Dura Ace one back and got a refund. They've now admitted there's a "regional difficulty" with their meters draining batteries in the UK.

In reply to andy:

A long drawn out saga that mate.

In reply to Bob: It was when my brother got one and only ever used it on his turbo, then it started draining batteries - then they said "Ah, the well known battery door seal problem. Just let it dry out and it'll be fine." "Erm. It's never been outside" "Oh."

In reply to Bob:

Its possible to buy Vector for around £1k (£915?) which is tried, tested and proven. Getting 2 of the above would save a couple of hundred which is not to be sniffed at but to be honest I'd stick with Garmin at least till the 4iii has got some milage under its belt.

Also nothing to say Garmin won't do anything pricewise with Vector if the 4iiii starts eating its sales.

In reply to Kimono:
Sorry, rather unhelpful answer from me before. I don't own one but use the Watt bike at the gym so indoor sessions now and it allows for well structured sessions as well as being a more quantifiable way of measuring changes in fitness. My point before was that it can be a useful tool but needs to be used with some thought to really get benefits from it...I think quite a few people just have them as a gadget to tell them their numbers without then using that data (though thats fine if that's what you want it for I guess).

Put simply, I could see myself getting one in the next couple of years now that I am sticking to more structured training though the cost (especially when looking at transferring between bikes ) is too much for me right now.

In reply to Bob:



Left-right data is all very interesting but I don't see how it's actually any use. I mean, what are you ever going to do with that information? Concentrate training on your weak leg to balance it out? It has that data on the Wattbike but I've never really given it a thought.

In reply to Kimono:

Stolen from bikesnobnyc blog -

In reply to Byronius Maximus:

You'd have to have a pretty large power difference between legs for it to be worthwhile. I've a fair difference between the two following a hip replacement just over a year ago on my stronger side - I really notice it doing individual leg exercises - it's something like 15%. But other than that and recovering from injury I can't see much use for it. Everyone is going to have some difference but they've had a lifetime to adjust to it.

I'd like a session on a Wattbike to see just how good my pedalling is: I hope I don't draw a peanut or figure of eight!

In reply to beh:


ouch!

In reply to Byronius Maximus:


Ok, now worries, thats a much more helpful response...thanks

In reply to Byronius Maximus:


Well you are an idiot.

Ever used rollers? If your leg split is too one sided you'll quickly fly off..........

In reply to ClimberEd:


Thanks for pointing that out, will sort it out ASAP.


I use rollers regularly. I had wondered why I'd been breaking so many bikes by crashing off to one side. I'm glad I've got polite, well informed people like you here to tell me these things.

In reply to ClimberEd:


cock