j-sworks
Maximum Pace
- Feb 5, 2012
- 1,199
- 48
We all know that they are expensive so I'm not going to ask if its worth it, and if your unsure then I suggest reading the ample reviews, tests, expert opinions etc. I'm not asking about pricing or whatever here, but I'd like to know if its appropriate for my goals.
Firstly, I currently use cadence/speed sensor and a heart rate sensor, and of these currently HR is what I best understand to gage my efforts, training intensity, improvement, and how long I can sustain a given effort.
My goals at present are to ride stronger and faster in group century rides and push the pace, and in the next few years I want to do the Tuesday night criterium races (cat4 or 3), but the main races I am interested in are the Granfondo series in Canada (perhaps 2-4 of these per year). After watching road races in Canada (online) I can say that I'm not hot 'n' horny about riding flat-land circuits for 30-60 minutes, and adding the entry fee's plus transportation times... No thanks. I'd rather spend a few hours or so on a weekend century.
I've got a training book from Chris Carmichael that I will try out for my first structured training program, and as with many others Chis talks a lot about the benefit of training and riding with power vs. heart rate. Summed up; HR is unpredictable, unreliable, and only measures half of the information required for accurate improvement (input but not output). PM is accurate, more reliable because it's not effected by all of the confounding variables that effect HR, and it measures what most impacts your riding - the power you put-down when peddling (as the book stated; not many people train to improve their heart rate, but most train to improve their ability to ride hard and fast and dole-out pain to those around them).
My main issue with the tools I use right now is that I feel as though I'm shooting in the dark, and this is because I can't tell from these tools how long I can sustain a particular effort and therefore I'm not sure how, why, or what I'm improving or de-proving (I don't think that's a word but there you have it). I've seen my HR do all sorts of odd things, and this book explained the issues with using HR as a measure of improvement etc. what I want to be able to do on a ride is say to myself "ok so I know I can ride at this __ for __" and when things pick-up or I want to dictate pace I want to say "alright now I'm going to take it up to __ which I know I can hold for __ ".
In the end I think that a power meter is an investment that can lead to better performance in the future, but Carmichael did mention that they train athletes who use only HR and they still meet or exceed their goals for racing or century rides.
The crux is, am I willing to put that money into a part that will enhance my training/knowledge and subsequently improve my performance, or would I rather have a new drivetrain.
Firstly, I currently use cadence/speed sensor and a heart rate sensor, and of these currently HR is what I best understand to gage my efforts, training intensity, improvement, and how long I can sustain a given effort.
My goals at present are to ride stronger and faster in group century rides and push the pace, and in the next few years I want to do the Tuesday night criterium races (cat4 or 3), but the main races I am interested in are the Granfondo series in Canada (perhaps 2-4 of these per year). After watching road races in Canada (online) I can say that I'm not hot 'n' horny about riding flat-land circuits for 30-60 minutes, and adding the entry fee's plus transportation times... No thanks. I'd rather spend a few hours or so on a weekend century.
I've got a training book from Chris Carmichael that I will try out for my first structured training program, and as with many others Chis talks a lot about the benefit of training and riding with power vs. heart rate. Summed up; HR is unpredictable, unreliable, and only measures half of the information required for accurate improvement (input but not output). PM is accurate, more reliable because it's not effected by all of the confounding variables that effect HR, and it measures what most impacts your riding - the power you put-down when peddling (as the book stated; not many people train to improve their heart rate, but most train to improve their ability to ride hard and fast and dole-out pain to those around them).
My main issue with the tools I use right now is that I feel as though I'm shooting in the dark, and this is because I can't tell from these tools how long I can sustain a particular effort and therefore I'm not sure how, why, or what I'm improving or de-proving (I don't think that's a word but there you have it). I've seen my HR do all sorts of odd things, and this book explained the issues with using HR as a measure of improvement etc. what I want to be able to do on a ride is say to myself "ok so I know I can ride at this __ for __" and when things pick-up or I want to dictate pace I want to say "alright now I'm going to take it up to __ which I know I can hold for __ ".
In the end I think that a power meter is an investment that can lead to better performance in the future, but Carmichael did mention that they train athletes who use only HR and they still meet or exceed their goals for racing or century rides.
The crux is, am I willing to put that money into a part that will enhance my training/knowledge and subsequently improve my performance, or would I rather have a new drivetrain.