tri808's Spring Pot Luck (CLOSED) (Page 38)

tri808 - 2011-03-05 9:00 PM

Here's what I'll be rockin tomorrow at my 10 mile TT.  404 front, powertap disc covered rear, and a computer.  NOTHING ELSE.  No cages, no bottles no bento box, no saddle bag, even stripped off the cadence sensor.  It's not a sanctioned race, so I'll be able to use my tri top, which is the tightest fitting top I have.  Flat kit will go in the rear pocket.

 

tri808 - 2011-03-06 1:00 PM

Here's what I'll be rockin tomorrow at my 10 mile TT.  404 front, powertap disc covered rear, and a computer.  NOTHING ELSE.  No cages, no bottles no bento box, no saddle bag, even stripped off the cadence sensor.  It's not a sanctioned race, so I'll be able to use my tri top, which is the tightest fitting top I have.  Flat kit will go in the rear pocket.

 

tri808 - 2011-03-04 5:47 PM

you're right about how it's measured.  The reason why though that it's much more valuable (and also much more expensive) is because it's nearly 100% accurate.  Your HR takes time for it to adjust to your effort.  A power meter takes less than a second to notice differences in pedaling force.  You can also be going at the same effort for 2 hours straight, and your HR will slowly climb as you fatigue...aka cardiac drift.  A power meter will not vary.

Ok...on to your question.  The next year is an exciting time for power meters as more companies are entering the market.  Currently, the main two types of power meters available are hub based and crank based.  Meaning the power meter is in the hub of your rear wheel (powertap brand) or in your crank (SRM and Cinco Quarq brands).

Powertap - currently it's the most affordable.  Brand new, you can get a decent powertap built into a training wheel for about $1000.  Used, you can find it for $500-700.  The pros is that it's affordable, and it's easy to swap between bikes (if you want to use it on both your road and TT bike).  The downside is that if you use race wheels, you can't use it during your race.  The solution to that though is to buy a disc cover for this training wheel to turn it into a race wheel for tris and TTs.  But again the downside is that you can't use a disc in road races.  You could always get a powertap built into a race wheel and use it for both training and racing if you wish. 

SRM & Cinco Quarq - SRM has been considered the gold standard and is the most expensive.  The Quarq is relatively new to the market, but has a great reputation thus far and has a slightly cheaper price point.  A SRM will run you about $3k brand new...a Quarq...about $1800.  Used, hard to say because they don't come up to often...but you're still looking at $1800 for a SRM and $1200-1400 for a quarq.  What's good about them is that they are crank based...which means you can use both race and training wheels with them.  Swapping it out between bikes can be a chore, but it's possible. 

New players are also coming in.  Garmin just bought out a company called metrigear that was developing a pedal based power meter.  The great thing about that is that pedals are very easy to interchange between bikes.  And this solves the race wheel problem that the powertap has.  Nobody knows yet how much it will cost, or when they will hit the market...but rumors are that it will be in the same price point of the powertap (around $1k) and will come out sometime late in 2011 or early 2012.  SRM's patent on their power meter technology has also ran out, so there are other companies using their technology to enter the market soon as well.  Keep in mind that power meters are expensive because of the R&D used to develop them...not really because they are super expensive to make.

So when considering a power meter, you really need to think about what your needs are first.  Do you plan to road race?  Do you plan to use a power meter on more than one bike?  How often would you switch between bikes?  2-4 times a year?  Or 2-4 times a month?

For me, I went with the powertap in a training wheel because it was the most affordable.  I have a disc cover for it to use it for racing time trials and tris.  However, I do plan to road race where I can't use a disc...but I still plan to use race wheels.  In this case I made the decision that I do not need a power meter to do road races.  The reason being that road racing is more about conserving energy in the draft of the peloton and responding to attacks.  Meaning your power will be all over the place.  Not like a time trial or a triathlon where your goal is to ride steady at your goal power.

For now, I'm very happy with my powertap.  But if I had to do it all over again, I would strongly consider waiting for the pedal based meters to come out, and also see if any other crank based power meters hit the market at a lower price point. 

At this point though, you can't go wrong with looking for a used powertap wheel...see how you like it.  Honestly...it's not for everyone.  Like I mentioned before...you still need to put in the work. 

tri808 - 2011-03-05 11:00 PM

Here's what I'll be rockin tomorrow at my 10 mile TT.  404 front, powertap disc covered rear, and a computer.  NOTHING ELSE.  No cages, no bottles no bento box, no saddle bag, even stripped off the cadence sensor.  It's not a sanctioned race, so I'll be able to use my tri top, which is the tightest fitting top I have.  Flat kit will go in the rear pocket.

 

tri808 - 2011-03-06 4:04 PM

Did much better than expected at my TT.  Even hit the podium...first time ever.  There were only 21 participants in my division (Novice 4/5), but I'll take it.

 

http://www.beginnertriathlete.com/discussion/forums/thread-view.asp?tid=243948

pistuo - 2011-03-07 5:22 PM Sickness still lingering a bit, but got 2000 meters in today... HIM is a month away and I've only got 2 weeks to get some real training in...

luv2bhealthy - 2011-03-08 3:26 PM

Dirk P. - Thanks for the welcome back.  Just a lot on my plate right now as you can imagine.  I would read the posts, but sometimes wonder if I really belong in this group since so many of you are accomplished tri-ers already.  That is probably why several individuals have dropped out.

Is the April tri too ambitious?  I don't expect to place, but is that doable for my first one?  1/2 m. swim, 23.8 m. bike, 3.1 m. run

Thanks!

 

luv2bhealthy - 2011-03-08 5:26 PM

Dirk P. - Thanks for the welcome back.  Just a lot on my plate right now as you can imagine.  I would read the posts, but sometimes wonder if I really belong in this group since so many of you are accomplished tri-ers already.  That is probably why several individuals have dropped out.

Is the April tri too ambitious?  I don't expect to place, but is that doable for my first one?  1/2 m. swim, 23.8 m. bike, 3.1 m. run

Thanks!

 

luv2bhealthy - 2011-03-09 7:26 AM

Dirk P. - Thanks for the welcome back.  Just a lot on my plate right now as you can imagine.  I would read the posts, but sometimes wonder if I really belong in this group since so many of you are accomplished tri-ers already.  That is probably why several individuals have dropped out.

Is the April tri too ambitious?  I don't expect to place, but is that doable for my first one?  1/2 m. swim, 23.8 m. bike, 3.1 m. run

Thanks!

 

tri808 - 2011-03-07 11:59 PM

Sorry if I missed it earlier, but which HIM are you doing?

 

luv2bhealthy - 2011-03-08 4:26 PM

Dirk P. - Thanks for the welcome back.  Just a lot on my plate right now as you can imagine.  I would read the posts, but sometimes wonder if I really belong in this group since so many of you are accomplished tri-ers already.  That is probably why several individuals have dropped out.

Is the April tri too ambitious?  I don't expect to place, but is that doable for my first one?  1/2 m. swim, 23.8 m. bike, 3.1 m. run

Thanks!

 

pistuo - 2011-03-09 2:31 PM

Galveston...  Ordered wetsuit today from Xterra.  Went with sleeves, but should have time to return if i need sleeveless.  What do you guys have???

pistuo - 2011-03-09 12:31 AM

 

Galveston...  Ordered wetsuit today from Xterra.  Went with sleeves, but should have time to return if i need sleeveless.  What do you guys have???

I was hoping to be MOP when training was going great.  Now, I'm thinking BOP is more realistic... my left foot has developed pain right below the middle toe (bone spur?)... anyone ever had this?

luv2bhealthy - 2011-03-08 11:26 AM

Dirk P. - Thanks for the welcome back.  Just a lot on my plate right now as you can imagine.  I would read the posts, but sometimes wonder if I really belong in this group since so many of you are accomplished tri-ers already.  That is probably why several individuals have dropped out.

Is the April tri too ambitious?  I don't expect to place, but is that doable for my first one?  1/2 m. swim, 23.8 m. bike, 3.1 m. run

Thanks!