Power Meter

Bryan Davis

Considering a Power Meter

Closing out of my first season of becoming a triathlete, I say "becoming" because my first tri was in May followed by IMLP (true time of 13:58) and IMMD(Time 13:14). Two middle of the pack finishes for age group 40-44.  I still have so much to learn about nutrition, swim bike run technique and HR. I started using HR just before LP but I'm still miles away form being a good practitioner or understanding it fully.  I've looked over the three year plan but I'm not sure if I've graduated to year 2 yet?

Current equipment- Cervelo S1 road bike with aero bars.

For money and time ROI, what should I focus on.

A) Become a better practitioner of HR

Buy a Power ( thinking about Stages)

C) Both A &B

D) You have bigger problems and should throw in the towel before you further embarrass yourself and EN!

E) other suggestions

Juan Vergara

Bryan, powermeter does make a huge difference keeping you honest in training and smart/disciplined when racing. In retrospect I think I wasted a year which is how long it took me to make the decision when I joined EN. PM coach R and he will give you the best possible advice on what to purchase. Good luck.

Paul Hough

Powermeter and rear wheel disc cover.

Mark Maurer

Powermeter. It makes training some much more precise than training with HR. I trained with HR for a bunch of years and I realized that I was training in the dark pretty much compared to using a powermeter. Wheelbuilder has a pretty good price on a powertap G3 with an alloy wheel at less than $800 right now. Coach Rich said he can't beat that price.

Shaughn Simmons

As the veterans have mentioned below, a Powermeter and disc cover are, hands down, the highest ROI combo if you are willing to follow the plan and do the work.

Good luck!

William Jenks

Agreed. If you do it, a PM will completely revolutionize how you think about your bike effort.

If you are willing to go into the used market, you will probably find that the used PowerTaps are going for $500 or so for the wireless models of just a few years ago that remain fully compatible with all the ANT+ electronics.

That and stages are they two most affordable ways in. Just depends on what you want to think of as the thing you might want to or not want to move around or change (wheel or crank). A couple years ago, I went to shorter cranks, which would have meant having to invest in a new PM just to experiment with the new crank length instead of the $150 for a used crank. OTOH, there are those that don't like the idea of it being attached to a particular single wheel...so either choice is reasonable.

Coach Patrick

Sounds like you have your answers... year one is always a crap shoot -- you survived and can only get stronger and smarter from here!!