Another PM question....plus a crankset!

Sean Sullivan

So I have a 2012 Cervelo P3 with stock FAS crankset.  I am a fairly new triathlete (3ish years), but am progressing and plan on focusing on IM distance with HIM mixed in here and there.  I have a grand total of 1! IM under my belt.  IMTX last year, I biked too hard and cramped the whole 'run.'  I have used a CT in the off season last year and this year, my FTP as per CT last year went from 175 up to 205 during winter training.  This year i've gone from 195 to 220.  I weight 150-155, so I'm not a great cyclist, I'm more of a runner.

Last year I rented some Zipps and rode with HR.  IMTX was hot last year (108 heat index) and I don't know how accurate my HR was, but clearly I pushed my bike too much while relying on HR.  I would like to be more scientifical this year and start racing with power and being able to train on the road with it as well.  So I am considering the vast array of PMs.  I have a nice bike, I splurged, but $ is an issue so her comes my question....which PM?

I have access to some zipp wheels for races from an injured friend, I have a FLO disc rear wheel as well, so I am considering a stages PM due to the price and not having to worry about which wheel I use.  I am not enough of a cyclist to even consider swapping cranksets depending on condition....maybe someday, but not in the foreseeable future.  However, is the FSA crankset something I want to upgrade now?  I have ~5700 miles on my bike, ~315 hrs since June 2012.  If I do upgrade the FSA, it will cost me more, obviously.  But I don't want to buy a PM for this crankset and then buy another in a few months or a year.  

I don't have a bike computer (use a polar rcx5 HRM now) so i will also have to get one of those babies, which I haven't yet researched either.  

Anyone have any simple suggestions?  If you were me, planning on stages PM, which crankset, which computer?  Spend my money!  But not all of it.  Or say "don't waste your money, you suck!  Train more, get faster, then worry about power next year."  

Thanks 

carruti77

I have been doing some research and I am about to decide between Quarq (which we can get at a discount) and Power 2 Max. Both of them could include the cranks. From what I have learned training with power is the best way to go.

Just my two cents

Brad Marcus

@Sean - I went through a similar dilemma last year. Unfortunately, last time I checked, Stages does not make PM's for FSA cranks. In other words, if you were to go with stages, you would be forced to order a whole new crankset. This isn't the end of the world, but would certainly bump up your costs. You mentioned that you have a disc wheel - I'm not sure how attached you are to it but if you intend on using the disc to race, this would prevent you from using a powertap PM. That leaves the last option to consider which is a crank-based PM. You can buy new or maybe consider looking for a used Quarq on eBay. They are usually readily available if you go that route. Bottom line, is that you have a few choices, but if I can offer any advice, it would be to do your best to go for the power meter! It will definitely help your performance, especially if you're going too hard on the bike and killing your run, which you mentioned as your strong suit.

steven cummings

Ditto on what Brad said. I had the same issue a few months ago when looking since i had an FSA crank but Stages won't release their FSA version until sometime this year. I ended up going with a used Quarq off of the slowtwitch classifieds and I got a great PM for about 50% less than full price.

Sean Sullivan

Thanks for the input guys, awesome....

Don't know if this changes anything but I believe stages does have an FSA PM : http://store.stagescycling.com/stages-power-meter---fsa-energy-p27.aspx $699.

So is a Quarq crankset + PM better than a FSA + Stages?  Or upgrade to Shimano crankset + stages?  

 

 

rwsmith96

I upgraded my FSA crankset on my 2012 P2 to Ultegra so that I could get a Stages PM, and I think it was totally worth it.  I found that front chainring changes work MUCH better with the Ultegra crank compared to my old FSA.  With the miles/time you are putting in, you might find the extra $300 for an Ultegra crankset to be worthwhile.  I sure did.

Brad Marcus

Wow. That's a fairly recent development for stages to add the FSA model. In any case, I decided to go with the quarq att he time rather than switch my crankset and get the stages. My reasoning was simply because stages was the new kid on the block and I had read mixed reviews from EN teammates regarding their experiences with quick battery failure with the stages. In the time that stages has released their pm, they have definitely made improvements with firmware, etc. And, the battery issue may be a non-event. Also as a factor for me was that I found a great deal on a new quarq at the time that I haven't seen since and one of my local bike shops was willing to match it.

I'm sure if you ask around here at EN, you'll get varying reviews on the stages, quarq, and other PM's. Some are certainly more time tested than others. Here is a link from DCR reviewing all models. He is pretty thorough in his analysis:

http://www.dcrainmaker.com/2013/09/power-buyers-edition.html

I think that in the end, you'll be pretty happy either way. Good luck.

Edwin Croucher

Sean, I use the Quarq and a garmin 800. My Garmin 910xt also picks up the data, but I find having the larger display from the 800 right in front of me the best way for me to use the information. I can also easily scroll through screens to different data fields much easier.(no crashing) I chose the quarq because I was going to change my crank for a compact 50/34. I am doing IMLP and it is a better crank for the hills. Also, I can switch to any wheel I want and always have the power information.