What power meter do you use

splanagan22

Just wondering what PM you all use and why that particular one

I've had a stages and had no problems. Great for swapping between bikes. Recently picked up a set of the favero be pro pedals thinking it would be more handy to swap. So far so good but they don't feel as durable as the stages.

Do you have a PM for racing and another for training or do you constantly swap between bikes ( that's if you use multiple bikes )

Currently I have a TT, a road bike I race with and a good bike. In the market for another PM but be interesting to know other people's set up is.

Beasty

Have used Garmin vectors but didn't find them reliable. Still have a set but don't have them on a bike at present. It is though easy to put them onto a bike if I need some power data from one that I don't currently have a PM on

Have Quarqs on the road and TT bikes, and find them very reliable and accurate

Also have a Powertap wheel which is currently with my bike in Cornwall. Again I find them both reliable and reasonably accurate

Only found SRM and power2max do something good enough for my track bikes (other than the likes of the Vector - it was using them on the track bike that highlighted some issues with them) - have one of each on 2 of the track bikes and have never had an issue with either

Don't fancy the Stages as there have certainly been some negative comments about them

dancrowley

I have one bike and I've a power2max on it. It is consistent, reliable and I got about 11 months out of the first battery before it gave me a "Low battery" notification on my Garmin. I was getting the bike serviced that week, so the battery was swapped out, then.
Highly recommended.

dermabrasion

Agree with Beasty, I have Garmin Vector-S, which started well, but is fairly variable with the data it gives out. They are very simple and interchangeable, but you need keep an eye on it in terms of torque when changing bike-to-bike and also firmware updates.
I have found that PM data (for me at least) has its value on the Turbo way more than the road when doing structured training. Out on the road, or doing a race there is too much variation on road gradient, effort or interruption by traffic. While I have hills near me (South Dublin), its hard to get a flat road within a 30 minute cycle where I can get 10-20 minutes of consistent effort. In this regard, HR or perceived effort are probably as good.
So, IMHO if I was to get another PM, I would either buy a turbo with one installed, or a Quarq.

splanagan22

dermabrasion wrote: »

Agree with Beasty, I have Garmin Vector-S, which started well, but is fairly variable with the data it gives out. They are very simple and interchangeable, but you need keep an eye on it in terms of torque when changing bike-to-bike and also firmware updates.
I have found that PM data (for me at least) has its value on the Turbo way more than the road when doing structured training. Out on the road, or doing a race there is too much variation on road gradient, effort or interruption by traffic. While I have hills near me (South Dublin), its hard to get a flat road within a 30 minute cycle where I can get 10-20 minutes of consistent effort. In this regard, HR or perceived effort are probably as good.
So, IMHO if I was to get another PM, I would either buy a turbo with one installed, or a Quarq.

That's a good point. I suppose I don't find myself looking at power in a race as I'm just going as hard as possible. Maybe that will change if I can get up the grades. But in triathlon it's a very handy indicator.
I have a new turbo that can have a PM fitted and that will be what I'll be training mostly on for the winter.
But I suppose with the racing the data that's available to look back over after the race is what's good.

Leroy42

When you guys are talking about a lack of consistency what do you mean? Are the numbers different from one turbo session to the next, or even varying widely within a particular interval?
If out on the road, how can you tell that the numbers are not consistent, unless of course they are widely different, but so many variables out on the road it almost impossible to judge to anywhere close to the claimed accuracy (usually lower than 2%).

Beasty

Leroy42 wrote: »

When you guys are talking about a lack of consistency what do you mean? Are the numbers different from one turbo session to the next, or even varying widely within a particular interval?
If out on the road, how can you tell that the numbers are not consistent, unless of course they are widely different, but so many variables out on the road it almost impossible to judge to anywhere close to the claimed accuracy (usually lower than 2%).

In my case the Vectors were showing nil readings on the track bike when I did not have a freewheeling option.

In addition I found when tightening them up I was getting higher readings (which is relatively easy to gauge on an indoor track) and ended up getting a spanner out every time I used them ensure they were near the recommended torque, so quickly gave up on them.

markusz

ive the first gen Garmin Vector S and its been trouble free and consistent each time ive changed it over from bike to bike. Garmin are very good with customer support if you ever had an issue. a buddy has Powertap pedals and he had issues with his first pair; powerTap sorted it with a new set of pedals. ive heard of Garmin doing the same.
if i didn't have power now id feel naked! :rolleyes:

there is a full thread on PM's here: http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2057122814