Powertap vs Deep-dish/Aero Wheels for 2003 season



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M

McCoughan

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hi all -

I'm on a limited budget for bike parts and am interested in upgrading my wheelsets for 2003.
However, I'm not sure if it'd be better (more productive) to invest in a Powertap wheelset or to get
a deep-dish wheelset such as a set of Cosmics.

This is a great site for opinions, so I was wondering if you have an opinion on this - buying a
powertap wheelset (for training only I guess) vs buying a set of Cosmic Carbons (or similar, for
racing only.) I'm a decent cat 3, and am hoping to upgrade in either '03 or '04, but will probably
only be racing about 20-25 times in 2003..

I currently race on either Rolf Vector Pros or Spynergy's (Spox + RevXs)- all are in decent shape,
but are a bit beat up so I'm thinking of selling two of these sets and buying another..

Do the benefits of training with wattages outweigh the benefits of a set of really fast race wheels?

(fyi- I train regularly using trainingbible.com (which has power inputs) and am no too heavy= 5'10",
155lbs.. so wouldnt pound on the wheels..)

thanks for any serious input~

Sean
 
"McCoughan" wrote:
> I'm on a limited budget for bike parts and am interested in upgrading my wheelsets for 2003.
> However, I'm not sure if it'd be better (more productive) to invest in a Powertap wheelset or to
> get a deep-dish wheelset such as a set of Cosmics.

---snip ---

> (fyi- I train regularly using trainingbible.com (which has power inputs) and am no too heavy=
> 5'10", 155lbs.. so wouldnt pound on the wheels..)

You would be well advised to e-mail Joe or Dirk Friel and ask them what they think, but I bet their
answer would be that you should spend your money on buying the powertap rather than the racing
wheelset. Using a power meter in conjunction with the TrainingBible.com tool will help you train
smarter, and I'll bet you'll improve your racing more through better training than with deep-dish
racing wheels.

Once you learn your critical power values you can really dial your workouts
in. The power meter does not lie and is a great training tool along with heart rate, etc. You can
easily lose another pound of body fat (unless you are already at your perfect race weight/body
composition) and make up for not buying the new race wheels ;)

--
Bill
 
"McCoughan" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...

> This is a great site for opinions, so I was wondering if you have an opinion on this - buying a
> powertap wheelset (for training only I guess) vs buying a set of Cosmic Carbons (or similar, for
> racing only.)

While the Power Tap is a great training tool, the previous versions were not exactly valued for
their durability. Supposedly that's all been fixed with the new models, but I am going to wait and
see before laying out the long green. Once in a while you'll see a used SRM going for about $1500
over on marketplace....you could post a WTB over there and see what turns up. Yeah, I know that's
twice as mcuh as you'll pay for a new Power Tap, but when I consider that four guys I know had their
Power Taps go tits up in less than a year of use, the cost of the SRM doesn't seem so bad.
 
McCoughan wrote:

>hi all -
>
>I'm on a limited budget for bike parts and am interested in upgrading my wheelsets for 2003.
>However, I'm not sure if it'd be better (more productive) to invest in a Powertap wheelset or to
>get a deep-dish wheelset such as a set of Cosmics.
>
>This is a great site for opinions, so I was wondering if you have an opinion on this - buying a
>powertap wheelset (for training only I guess) vs buying a set of Cosmic Carbons (or similar, for
>racing only.) I'm a decent cat 3, and am hoping to upgrade in either '03 or '04, but will probably
>only be racing about 20-25 times in 2003..
>
>I currently race on either Rolf Vector Pros or Spynergy's (Spox + RevXs)- all are in decent shape,
>but are a bit beat up so I'm thinking of selling two of these sets and buying another..
>
>Do the benefits of training with wattages outweigh the benefits of a set of really fast
>race wheels?
>
>(fyi- I train regularly using trainingbible.com (which has power inputs) and am no too heavy=
>5'10", 155lbs.. so wouldnt pound on the wheels..)
>
>thanks for any serious input~
>
>Sean
>
Your wheels are fine. Spend the money on your body, not your bike. Go for the PT.
 
Andy,

What have you heard about the new "Pro" version coming out? The web site is short on specifics.

"Andy Coggan" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:D[email protected]...
> " Tim Mullin" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:[email protected]...
> >
> > "McCoughan" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> > news:[email protected]...
> >
> > > This is a great site for opinions, so I was wondering if you have an opinion on this - buying
> > > a powertap wheelset (for training only I guess) vs buying a set of Cosmic Carbons (or similar,
> > > for racing only.)
> >
> > While the Power Tap is a great training tool, the previous versions were
> not
> > exactly valued for their durability. Supposedly that's all been fixed
with
> > the new models, but I am going to wait and see before laying out the
long
> > green. Once in a while you'll see a used SRM going for about $1500 over
on
> > marketplace....you could post a WTB over there and see what turns up.
> Yeah,
> > I know that's twice as mcuh as you'll pay for a new Power Tap, but when
I
> > consider that four guys I know had their Power Taps go tits up in less
> than
> > a year of use, the cost of the SRM doesn't seem so bad.
>
> The new Graber-built hubs have been around for about a year, and the
people
> I know who have them haven't had any real problems.
>
> Andy Coggan
 
"Chris M" <[email protected]> wrote
> Andy,
>
> What have you heard about the new "Pro" version coming out? The web site
is
> short on specifics.

I'm not Andy, but what I've heard (and this is only what I've heard; they haven't yet been released)
is that the hub is exactly the same--the difference is in the head unit, plus it will have an actual
cadence sensor (the current method of calculating cadence has flaws, if that sort of thing happens
to be of interest to you). The head unit will have twice the memory. Since you were interested in
the recording rate in previous messages, you'll want to know that it can be changed to 1, 2, 5, or
10 seconds from the current 1.26 seconds (currently, the 2.52-second recording interval actually
drops every other 1.26-second record. BTW, the new SRM Powercontrol V also records at a maximum rate
of once per second). The PT Pro's display rate is also supposed to be changeable, as is the ordering
of information on the display.

Allegedly, the Pro version will cost $200 more than the existing version. One is supposed to be able
to upgrade from an existing head unit for the same $200.
 
I've heard what Robert's heard...about all I can add is that A) the new computer is yellow, not
black, and B) some people have beta versions already.

Andy Coggan

"Robert Chung" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
>
> "Chris M" <[email protected]> wrote
> > Andy,
> >
> > What have you heard about the new "Pro" version coming out? The web site
> is
> > short on specifics.
>
> I'm not Andy, but what I've heard (and this is only what I've heard; they haven't yet been
> released) is that the hub is exactly the same--the difference is in the head unit, plus it
> will have an actual cadence sensor (the current method of calculating cadence has flaws, if
> that sort of
thing
> happens to be of interest to you). The head unit will have twice the
memory.
> Since you were interested in the recording rate in previous messages,
you'll
> want to know that it can be changed to 1, 2, 5, or 10 seconds from the current 1.26 seconds
> (currently, the 2.52-second recording interval
actually
> drops every other 1.26-second record. BTW, the new SRM Powercontrol V also records at a maximum
> rate of once per second). The PT Pro's display rate
is
> also supposed to be changeable, as is the ordering of information on the display.
>
> Allegedly, the Pro version will cost $200 more than the existing version. One is supposed to be
> able to upgrade from an existing head unit for the same $200.
 
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