Power Meters / Powermeters (SRM, Powertap, Quarq, Ergomo, Vector, Stages, power2max, P2M, 4iii, InPower, Cinch)

The P2M has a bit of a lag with the cadence with a garmin, takes a few seconds to update this. It doesn't bother me especially since I used to destroy garmin cadence sensors on a regular basis!

I have a distinct hatred for my GS10.

Gluing powerful magnets into the NDS of my bikes helped a lot. But I still find myself unexpectedly pushing a 280 cadence when it falls down. Cadence vs power is a pretty big deal for me. 280 rpm spikes are a PITA.

Apart from the slight delay for the P2M I've had no issues at all with the cadence in a few months, always works.

I needed cadence on 2 bikes and was planning on getting a P2M sometime this year, when I realised it would be £80 for more garmin sensors I just decided to get the power meter, really glad I did. Swap it about between 2 bikes which is easy

I have 4 bikes I want cadence and speed for really. But only wanted power for the road bike though.

so i want to get a benchmark for how much power I can generate, so i can test myself throughout the season, I have access to a wattbike for whenever i need it, what is the best measurement/test to do to have as a benchmark?

My tri coach has suggested a CP30 test, but the watt bike I have access to doesn't seem to have this test pre-loaded on to it from looking at the manuals, and ideally the test would be on the machine so i can just get on it and pedal...

A 8 minute or 20 minute FTP test would give you a value you can punch into all sorts of calculators.

They both take an hour with warm up and warm down.

ok a bit more googling suggests doing a 3minute aerobic test resting a bit then doing a 20 minute high percentage of maximum minute power test - does that sound like a useful use of an evening...?

60 minute FTP test

Shirley?

FTP is great, and will help track improvement. But it doesnt paint the whole picture. Really you want best averages for 30sec, 2min, 5min, 20min, etc.

So you know your strengths and weaknesses better.

Think of it like running. If you're doing a specific distance against the clock. Thats the zone you need to focus on.

ok a bit more googling suggests doing a 3minute aerobic test resting a bit then doing a 20 minute high percentage of maximum minute power test - does that sound like a useful use of an evening...?

Its the first thing you should test. But I'd still ask what distance you are focused on.
**

**

The 20 minutes Test

**

The 20-minute Critical Power test is conducted as follows:

•On a relatively flat, UNINTERRUPTED section of road, warm-up easy for 15-20
minutes

•Over the next 5 minutes, do five (5) hard 30-second efforts, followed by 30
seconds of soft-pedaling. The purpose of this drill is to open up the blood and
oxygen flow and to increase the heart rate prior to the 20-minute effort, so
don’t go too hard. Push a wattage you think you can sustain for 10 to 20
minutes.

•Pedal easy for 5-minutes and prepare yourself mentally for the 20-minute
test, as it’s going to hurt!

•Start a new interval on your power meter and immediately begin the test.
Start the 20-minute test by selecting a wattage you think you can sustain for
the full-20 minutes. The cardinal rule of time trialing applies here: don’t
start out too hard. Keep in mind that the best cyclists in the world can only
sustain 400-500 watts over a 1-hour period of time, so if you find yourself
starting out at 500 watts, you know you are likely going much too hard. It’s
best to start out easy for the first two minutes, and then build progressively
to a wattage level you think can sustain.

•Hold that level for the first 15 minutes, and then give it your best effort
during the final five minutes. (If you find yourself fading in the last five
minutes instead of holding steady or building, then you may have gone out too
hard. Keep this in mind for your next test).

•After 20 minutes, immediately start a new interval to save the precious
power data you just worked so hard for! Cool down completely and head home.

Your Functional Threshold Power will be 95% of you average power during the
20 minute effort

**

Shirley?

If you have a iron cast mind. Yes.

But the 20min is pretty accurate. So why torture yourself?

@SEd.

If you're going to use a watt bike. Don't. Or if you must, is has to be the same one every time you test. AS the 'power' value between machine can be large.

If you do a 20min test, a large portion of that is going to be anaerobic. So either you need to do a 5min blow out first. Or not and be aware that the value you get is anerobically affected.
Youre % of 20min power will vary over time. But 95% is average. Use a lower % if you don't do the 5min blowout.

My favourite test is a MAP test. As with other things there is an element of pacing. However with a MAP test pacing is non existant, you just go as hard as you need to sustain a set cadence as power gets ramped up, until you blow. It means, that you get a more reliable figure, by excluding pacing.

Talking of which - I've signed up for a cycle specific test at http://wilierppl.com/tests to find out what's happening with my body. Will report when it's done.

More like a running VO2 max test, yes. I read it wasnt such a good measure to start with though.

Ok, well there's only one watt bike in my club, so that's not a problem as such.

I'm training for an ironman, so distance is 112 miles.

My understanding is th e3 minute test is worth doing fresh, and hopefully that will limit my ability to go anaerobic for much time within the 20 minute test when i do that 10 minutes later...

I will try a ramp test next week...

Essentially i think i want to find out what my FTP then apply a formula to that to work out what output i should be aiming for a 100 mile TT and then another reduction for 112 miles with a marathon to do afterwards...

At that point I guess I will make a jdgement about buying a power meter and work out if I can get away with buying one without my wife noticing!

How do you get yoru FTP from MAP test results?

I've done a MAP test so have all my zones set out from that but don't have a seperate FTP value, which is the one everyone seems to talk about

I've just been looking at lawnmowers, I couldn't get any more middle-aged if I fucking tried.

Looking at buying them or looking at them in terms of modifying them to race around a track? One is most definitely middle-age. The other likely not.

Looking at buying one to cut grass with.

I know.

I would have thought they need to be able to translate between the two systems. I.e. sky train grunt #2 was producing x watts at this stage last season on srm now he is producing y watts with this new meter. The question facing brailsford et all will be; Is that because he has different fitness levels or because they changed the measuring tool from srm to stages?

The systems would be tested so if there was a difference it would be known. The difference between the systems would likely be small enough to be irrelevant anyway and if it's not could easily be factored into their early season testing.

SRM also make most teams pay for their power meters which means teams like SKY will not have them on all bikes as the cost would be too great. Stages will be giving them for free and you could buy 4 stages power meters for the price of one SRM

You really think Sky's budget doesn't extend to 'power meters for everyone!'?

I needed cadence

Really?

so i want to get a benchmark for how much power I can generate, so i can test myself throughout the season, I have access to a wattbike for whenever i need it, what is the best measurement/test to do to have as a benchmark?

My tri coach has suggested a CP30 test, but the watt bike I have access to doesn't seem to have this test pre-loaded on to it from looking at the manuals, and ideally the test would be on the machine so i can just get on it and pedal...

Options for testing FTP in increasing levels of accuracy.
Whatever method you choose, repeatability is key.

http://alex-cycle.blogspot.co.uk/2008/05/the-seven-deadly-sins.html

FTP is great, and will help track improvement. But it doesnt paint the whole picture. Really you want best averages for 30sec, 2min, 5min, 20min, etc.

So you know your strengths and weaknesses better.

Think of it like running. If you're doing a specific distance against the clock. Thats the zone you need to focus on.

Except that he's doing steady state long course triathlon/TT so 30s, 2m, 5m power values are almost irrelevant and tend to increase with increased FTP anyway.

But the 20min is pretty accurate. So why torture yourself?

Accuracy and fun.