Newbee w PT & Joule 2.0
ok, after riding a week with my trainer that has a built in PM, i totally "got" power and decided to do it right, Rich got me set up with a PT & Joule 2.0 from WB. I will be setting up tonight.
here is the setup and what i have:
- PT
- Joule 2.0 (all charged up)
- Garmin ANT+ Speed & Cadence Sensor
- Cycleops heart rate strap
- Training Peaks Device Agent 3.0 Loaded on a PC
- WKO + 3.0
Ok, Now some questions:
what configuration should i have on the screen of the Joule?
do i need the poweragent from Cycleops on my PC?
I plan on setting up sensors tonight, aside from that is there any calibration to be done?
how do you tell the Joule that you are starting/finishing a workout?
Once i have a workout in, how do i get the Joule talking to WKO?
what dont i know that should? (let's keep it to the Joule & PT) 
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Comments
Scott,
I can't help you much as I don't have a Joule, but you don't need poweragent if you are using WKO.
Other than that I'd recommend that you get the power webinar that RnP have. It's not specific to the Joule and PT setup but will help with learning power.
Gordon
good questions, thanks.. I just logged into this forum to start some reading as I've ridden my quarq 2x now.
Was similarly curious re: what folks think are the best things to have on the joule screen (so many choices).
Very glad to know I don't need poweragent and WKO... I still haven't figured out how to export my first workout to wko from poweragent. I pushed my morning workout straight to WKO this morning, skipping the poweragent step.
if you look in the cycleops book there is something about calibrating/getting the zero to start. I had mine installed at the LBS, I'm assuming they did this, but need to double check before my first test.
as far as starting a workout, hop on the bike and hit the mode or interval button and it wakes up and starts automatically.
When you're done, press mode and hold it a second or two - you'll get options to stop and save and some others...
--keep in mind, I'm a total newbie, too... I'm muddling my way through it. I've listened to the first 2 podcasts which give a great overview to power. But they don't explain the technology at all (as far as how to work the joule/wko, etc... granted, the 3rd podcast is about reading the data so it might be that one). I did a lot of forum digging before the purchase and plan to go back and read the old threads to learn from what others have done... there is a wealth of information here!
If you wish to export workouts from PowerAgent to WKO+ (I sometimes do this when am unsuccessful in downloading directly to WKO+) highlight the Activity you wish to export. Then go to File/Activity/Export Data and export to your desktop. From there, open WKO+ and then drag and drop that activity from your desktop to WKO+.
For the Joule config I show the following on my Joule:
Watts MPH
Miles TSS
Ride Time Cadence
I highlight Watts (using the joystick) so that Average Watts and Max Watts are shown on the bottom of the Joule screen.
I am sure many others prefer showing IF and dropping other info. The more you ride the more comfortable you will get with the info you works best for you.
Good luck and I hope you enjoy your Joule/PowerTap set up as much as I do.
@Becky/Scott: Here is what is in my Joule display -
Left column: Watts, CAD (Cadence), Ride Time
Right column: Nom Pwr, TSS, MPH
Norm Pwr tells me the "average" watts I am pushing over that interval or ride time. So if your FTP is 300 and your interval is 95/100% (Z5) then that number should be between 285 and 300. During intervals that is the one thing I keep my eye on all the time. Well, that and the time. :-)
Watts tells me in real-time how hard I am pushing the pedals.
The NP and watts are side-by-side in my display.
The rest are just "good to know" for me.
As far as calibration . . . when coasting (no pedaling) on your bike the watts in the display should drop to zero. If it does, then you are fine.
One tip I have is don't over think the power stuff or you will fry your brain. Seriously. For now, just focus and doing the bike workouts and importing into WKO and seeing what is says.
In WKO, click on the workout date, click on the Journal tab on the bottom and review the Summary box. That will show your intervals, overall bike, etc. and will look like this:
Lap 1:
Everything else about WKO and power will come over time. And the ***** noted above is the most important data point of all, IMHO. That is your IF (intensity factor). That tells you your level of work.
Hope this helps,
John
Scott:
The Joule has the ability to automatically start/stop based on either speed or heart rate. I use Speed. On the unit, go to "Setup Joule:Joule Mode:Record Control" and select "Speed" or "HRM". If you select speed, then once you start pedaling and the the speed sensor is locked, it will begin recording. If you stop, the Joule will stop recording after about 5 seconds.
If you have WKO+, make sure you've downloaded Device Agent. In Device Agent, select the Joule as your power meter under the "Device" dropdown list. If you have a TrainingPeaks login/password, you might add that as well, although I don't think it's needed. In the "Browse" dropdown list, select the drive letter that Windows assigns to your Joule. Under "File/Options" select "bike" as the default sport and "TrainingPeaks WKO+" under the "Save To" dropdown list.
When you open WKO+ and click "Download" it should start Device Agent (if not already open) and ask you to open the file. If you click "Open Files" on Device agent, it should open your Joule and list any files on the unit. Select the one you want to import and you're good to go.