Which Powermeter/best price?

The reason I am so high on the Ergo line is the fact that it is crank based so you don't have to ride your race wheels anytime you want to go train with power or change out your hub constantly.

On the other hand you can switch the Power Tap back and forth between your tri bike and road bike.

Both are good products, I would however stay away from the Polar Power add on kit. I have read that it is very unreliable.

If you're not going to race with it then the Power Tap is much cheaper. The benefit of the Ergomo is that you can have mulitple bikes and like Rocket said, its crank based and you can use different wheels.

You can't get it wet though! I've known someone to pee on their bike and the PT went on the fritz!

FYI - if you get a power meter learn how to use it (read training with power by hunter allen) and/or make sure your coach knows how to take advatage and train with it. AND PLEASE if you train with power, you SHOULD race with it!

Boy we are a testy hijacking bunch tonight aren't we?

The thing about training with Power is 200watts is 200watts is 200watts, whether its windy, raining, hot, cold , etc. Power output is affected by the same variables as a HRM. Much more reliable data, especially when doing intervals or threshold work outs.

This is another good online resource.  I can't decide either, let alone let go of tht kind of cash but I know I will improve greatly if I use it correctly.

http://trainwithpower.net/

1. Unlike a Power Tap, the Ergomo lets you ride and race on any wheel set you want. You don’t need to build another wheel for racing like Power Tap or race with a wheel cover.
2. Like an SRM replaces your cranks, the Ergomo replaces your bottom bracket, but the Ergomo is priced between the SRM and the Power Tap, yet provides much more information while you ride, and costs much less than an SRM.

You can learn more about the Ergomo here:
www.thepowermeter.com

If there is enough interest and there are more than 5 people willing to order through me, I would throw in free shipping and a 12 week power plan to boot.

If anyone wants to take up Mike on the 5-person plan, let me know.  I might be interested in going this route, plus I'd like to get the carbon fiber crank set to go with it.  Mike, am I understood that currently this is only available (the fiber crankset) in Campy bottom bracket configuration?  Will there be a Shimano carbon fiber unit coming out soon?

Ergomo does make their own carbon fiber cranks to go with the Ergomo bottom bracket. This would be what's called a square taper on the bottom bracket. So your Ergomo is available in Square Taper, ISIS or Octalink versions, so any crank that's compatible with those systems will work.  FSA  makes nice carbon ISIS cranksas well, Stella Azura, some older Truvativ cranks also work with ISIS.  The DA9 will work with Octalink.  Just about any 9-speed compatible crank should work with a 10-speed system. 

I haven't heard anything about a Shimano carbon set coming out.

amiine - 2006-10-17 8:33 PM

Comet - 2006-10-17 8:20 PM

If you're not going to race with it then the Power Tap is much cheaper. The benefit of the Ergomo is that you can have mulitple bikes and like Rocket said, its crank based and you can use different wheels.

You can't get it wet though! I've known someone to pee on their bike and the PT went on the fritz!

Sorry Haley not peaking on you, just using your post to make a point  

FYI - if you get a power meter learn how to use it (read training with power by hunter allen) and/or make sure your coach knows how to take advatage and train with it. AND PLEASE if you train with power, you SHOULD race with it!

Well, actually I don't understand why someone would want to drop that kind of $$ on something when they don't train with gadgets as it is and are saying they won't race with it. But this isn't ST and she didn't ask about a coach or how to use it with a coach and in training, she wanted to know the differences in the PT and the Ergomo.

Not picking on you or anything.

I do train with HRM and bike computer. I opt not to race with gadgets as I tend to over analyze stuff. With the help of my coach I stopped using gadgets and I do much better in that I enjoy racing more and I am faster. I used to think and calculate finish times as I raced and more often than not be very critical of my performance as I was racing. Not a very good mind to race in.

The thing is I love numbers and calculating this and that so racing without them was freeing and allowed me to be me and just do my best and trust my race feelings.

My cycling improved a lot this year and tend to be in the top couple women in my AG, and I can’t wait to get stronger next year and I think a power meter will help with that. I tend to think I go to easy on the trainer and power will help me train better when I can’t ride on the roads here in MA.

I think having a power meter will help my coach help me more as he can see what I actually did and give me feedback to do workouts better.

Unless it's Normalized 200 watts vs. Average 200 watts.  Then it's NOT the same.   

Right, which isn't 200 watts = 200 watts but we assume he means current watts not normalized, right? Nice race Chris, are you going to share your ride data?

The point I was trying to make is that with a reliable measuring device, wattage is much more accurate than HR when training at higher intensities. As has been discussed ad nauseam HR is affected by all kinds of different factors. That being said I still think for base training HR is better.