Who is training with a power meter

[Fixed]

Do you like them ?
Or is it a distraction from the ride
I am thinking of the advantages of riding
with one as I am older

[unterhausen]

the main advantage of a PM for me is tracking training stress. As an older person, this is really important. Also climbing when I think I could go harder, look at the PM and realize that it wouldn't last long if I was going harder.

Having a trainer with power makes it a lot more valuable on the road. I know what it's going to be like if I ride at 95% of ftp.

[woodworker]

Great for interval training and repeats. One other good use, which the previous poster alluded to, is for training stress, and also to let you know why a particular ride felt hard (or easy). If you spend your time in base training, a heart rate monitor is generally more useful and all you need.

There are good books on training with one. Try Allen and Coggan's book, or Friel's book. If you're not going to put in the time to learn how to use them and what they're telling you, then they are a distraction and a waste of money.

I like mine and think that it has improved my cycling fitness FWIW.

[earlfoss]

I use my meter for structured rides or rides with a purpose. A few of my bikes don't have a pm, which is fine with me. For longer rides, hrTSS ends up being as accurate as power based TSS so it's all good in terms of tracking training load.

[maslow]

Great for interval training and repeats... If you're not going to put in the time to learn how to use them and what they're telling you, then they are a distraction and a waste of money.


I think this post sums it up well.

If you're prepared to make the monetary investment then IMO it's worth learning how to read and use the power readings or data for want of a better word. I started off with TrainerRoad and virtual power before investing in proper power meters for myself and wife. I already had Joe Friels books (Cyclist Traning bible and Traning for the over 50's) so it's been a great way to improve our structured training. Whereas before we'd always relied on HR having both power and HR has, like the post above, really enhanced our cycling experience. I will say that we don't use them all the time as we also ride bikes that aren't fitted with them. The beauty with that though is we then resort to perceived exertion.

[superbowlpats]

I'm 60, have a PM on my road, CX and TT bikes. i like the data but until recently only used them with Training Peaks (TP) for the metrics (TSS, CTL etc). Now I'm following a TP FTP improvement plan and the PM is very useful in trying to make rides consistent with the plan. What i find is that pre-plan most of my rides were fairly hard (i was focused on ave speed). Now with polarization of workouts of the plan, my rides are really hard or really easy. and I'm getting fitter. the other thing with a PM is you realize how strong the best riders are (W/kg) and how weak you are :eek:

[joosttx]

If you want to improve your cycling then they are very good with a HRM and a plan. As others say they help you target ideal training areas, prevent overtraining, and improve you pacing. But if you just like to ride and enjoy the scenery and the vibe then they will not help you.

[makoti]

I do & love it (as much as you can love something like this). I don't even look at speed, anymore. I find that knowing your different wattage ranges keeps you both focused and honest.

[mtechnica]

I couldn’t go back to not having one personally. It’s extremely helpful to track your own progress and efforts, even though they’re not always accurate as a direct comparison to other power meters.

[Robot870]

Total distraction and total disconnect from what's really going on!

[FlashUNC]

If you're doing interval training to improve fitness, it's really the only way to go.

[Toddykins]

Disagree with the consensus - I only periodically do structured training. Mainly it makes indoor training bearable. But even if you don’t, I like riding with a power meter because:

1. Data is cool!
2. Its great for pacing/metering efforts

[Coffee Rider]

I don't even train, but I've gotten pretty addicted to having a power meter to just be able to measure what's going on. The power numbers are not on the main screen on my computer to avoid the distraction. While I'm addicted to having power meters, I can't imagine I'll have another HRM for riding since I can l live without the straps.

[kppolich]

For sustained efforts, TT's, focused intervals, or FTP tests there really isn't anywhere else to go. The power meter doesn't lie. It doesn't get tricked by the wind, it will only read out how hard you press on the pedals or how fast you spin the cranks.

A must for anyone looking to optimize their efforts, but a nice to have for everyone else just curious about what their FTP is or what 1 Horsepower (745.7watts) feels like. I think I find the most joy in 1 minute power, but the first thing I look at after a ride is the calorie output in kJ to see how much I can eat/drink.

Really cool when you can calculate your FTP accurately and then use your heart rate monitor to see a ballpark LTHR (Lactate Threshold Heart Rate).

[FlashUNC]

For sustained efforts, TT's, focused intervals, or FTP tests there really isn't anywhere else to go. The power meter doesn't lie. It doesn't get tricked by the wind, it will only read out how hard you press on the pedals or how fast you spin the cranks.

A must for anyone looking to optimize their efforts, but a nice to have for everyone else just curious about what their FTP is or what 1 Horsepower (745.7watts) feels like. I think I find the most joy in 1 minute power, but the first thing I look at after a ride is the calorie output in kJ to see how much I can eat/drink.

Really cool when you can calculate your FTP accurately and then use your heart rate monitor to see a ballpark LTHR (Lactate Threshold Heart Rate).

One the thing numbers have confirmed for Ghost of Christmas Past me is that, no, no matter how much I trained and raced when I was younger, I was never going to go pro.