What, why, where and when (power meter & software)

[murph75]

G'day,

I'm new to forums and hopefully will soon be new to training with a power meter.

If anyone could answer any of the questions below to assist me make an educated decision purchasing a meter and software would be greatly appreciated .

A bit of background info I was initially sold on a Powertap SL+ but am now leaning toward a quarq or a second hand SRM, I use and would like to continue to use a Garmin edge 500 (ant), I own a mac and only want to use Mac native software, I run Campag 11 speed..

1. What power meter do you recommend and why
2. Is WKO+ software ever going to be compatible with MAC, if so when.
3. How much would you expect to spend to maintain different meters
4. Is there anywhere you would recommend to purchase a power meter based on price and service
5. Recommended websites for researching training with power
6. Is there any manufacturer that builds a meter that can be used on my existing Campag cranks

Thanks Again
Peter

 

[mx416]

I have an SRM and I love it, but I would probably go with a Quarq because it is quite a bit cheaper and very easy to replace the batteries. With the SRM, you either have to take it apart to solder in new batteries or send it off and pay alot to have them changed.

The Wattage group is a fantastic resource]http://groups.google.com/group/wattage

I would recommend buying "Training and racing with a powermeter" before anything else, it will help you decide if power training is really right for you.

 

[murph75]

I have an SRM and I love it, but I would probably go with a Quarq because it is quite a bit cheaper and very easy to replace the batteries. With the SRM, you either have to take it apart to solder in new batteries or send it off and pay alot to have them changed.

The Wattage group is a fantastic resource]http://groups.google.com/group/wattage

I would recommend buying "Training and racing with a powermeter" before anything else, it will help you decide if power training is really right for you.

Thanks mx416 this is the exact type of info I am after , I have purchased the book you mentioned and have started to read it I get the impression this is like the Bible of training with power.
Thanks again for the info
Peter

 

[Felt_Rider]

I have emailed some blog reviewers for Quarq and everyone of them said that they love their Quarq PM and each have used other PM's as well so they had experience to make the comparisons as users. They also gave Quarq customer service very high marks.

To answer your question about using your campy cranks the down side is that Quarq does not use campy and are fairly limited as to the cranks they are currently using.

Even my SRAM Red crank is not compatible and I would have to use a different SRAM crank in order to use the Quarq.

The other bad thing about Quarq if you are in a hurry it seems they are selling quickly compared to production so it appears that there is a waiting time for some of the crank/PM options.

I am a Powertap user, but if finances were not in the equation I would scrap the PT and go for the Quarq and use my 705 as the cpu.

 

[lanierb]

Same advice here. I've owned several PT's and a Quarq. Both are great but I prefer the Quarq. It seems to require a bit less maintenance and you can use any wheels you want. So if you can afford it get the Quarq but otherwise the PT is great too.

 

[fallzboater]

I wonder if anyone that's read the Training With Power book has actually decided that they don't need one. I was able to borrow a PT rear wheel, and after doing a couple of interval workouts with that, rather than just a HRM, I was hooked.

There are a lot of used PT hubs and wheels available on eBay. I just bought an SL+ for $650, shipped, which is $350 less than I was able to get a new one for. Hopefully, I won't have any major issues. It's a bit of a gamble, but even if I have to send it in for a rebuild, I won't be over the cost of a new one. I build all my wheels, so that's not an issue.

The crank systems are attractive, but the cost difference is hard to swallow, especially since I use 180mm cranks, which reduces my options. Also, I wanted to be able to swap the one PT wheel between multiple bikes (road and cross), put it on my wife's bike, or loan it to friends for testing, more than I wanted to be able to use multiple different wheels on one bike.

I also use a Mac, and have been using the free PowerAgent and Golden Cheetah programs, as well as Garmin Training Center and Garmin Connect. I may well buy WKO+, but will then have to start using a PC, or run Windows on the Mac. Golden Cheetah does do the Critical Power and quadrant analyses plots, but I'm sure WKO+ has some significant additional features.

 

[hammonjj]

1. What power meter do you recommend and why

I currently use a Powertap, mostly because of the expense, but also because it's easy to transfer to my TT bike. Honestly though, if I didn't have multiple bikes, I would have purchased a Quarq. It isn't that much more expensive and it's easy to switch out wheels and still have power data.​

2. Is WKO+ software ever going to be compatible with MAC, if so when.

After listening to what the developer has said and the length of time between build releases: probably not. I recommend getting either a VMWare license and running Windows in a VM or getting Golden Cheetah.​

3. How much would you expect to spend to maintain different meters

I haven't hard hardly any problems with my PT, so not much time at all. The time I did have to send it in though, their customer service was top notch.​

4. Is there anywhere you would recommend to purchase a power meter based on price and service

If cost is an issue, E-Bay. Wired Powertaps can be gotten cheap there and, for the cost, you could buy several of them for the cost of one new PT.​

5. Recommended websites for researching training with power

This website and bikeforums.net, but you can also find a lot of information by just using google.​

6. Is there any manufacturer that builds a meter that can be used on my existing Campag cranks

Obviously, PT will work just fine. I don't know about the others.​

 

[RHR38]

Hello,

Any info how GC, PowerAgent and WKO work w/ Windows 7 Professional 64?

 

[cheetahmk7]

Originally Posted by RHR38 .

Hello,

Any info how GC, PowerAgent and WKO work w/ Windows 7 Professional 64?

I'm running the lastest development version of GC on Windows 7 Home Premium. It has the occasional crash, but I'm pretty happy with it.