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Power meter on a budget?
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Rickk
Joined: 01 Jun 2004
Posts: 528
Location: Montreal

3/16/17 7:04 AM

Power meter on a budget?

Has anyone tried and loved (or hated) the ~299$ Powerpod non-DFPM?

DC Rainmaker gave it a decent review. Some love it, others say it's still not ready for prime time.
https://www.dcrainmaker.com/2016/03/powerpod-depth-review.html


The developers seem to be fast in answering questions, trying to resolve various bugs relayed to them on the Powerpod forum.

http://ibikeforum.com/viewforum.php?f=54

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greglepore
Joined: 10 Jan 2004
Posts: 1724
Location: SE Pa, USA

3/16/17 8:55 AM

A racer I work with had one for about a month - on a mountain bike, fwiw. Rides mostly flowing stuff as he races cross and road, not mtb. Found it completely useless. Keep in mind he has srm's on his other stuff.

Might fare better in steady state training, but for highly dynamic stuff it didn't work well.

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henoch
Joined: 12 Jan 2004
Posts: 1690

3/16/17 1:11 PM

Have you looked at the 4iii I think it's $399.

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Sparky
Joined: 08 Dec 2003
Posts: 19068
Location: PDX

3/16/17 1:58 PM

The 4iii is most likely not going to work with BB90 and BB-Right frames. Not with 5800 or 6800 cranks anyway, the ones I measured. Now on the Scott with the threaded BB no problemo...

I am guessing on the BB-right, but I measured on my Madone.

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Rickk
Joined: 01 Jun 2004
Posts: 528
Location: Montreal

3/16/17 4:22 PM

Thanks guys.
Greg, that's right, I would be using it exclusively for road biking. Btw my gf lives near Deptford twp, across the Philly bridge. I sometimes ride around there!
Henoch, I called them. Unfortunately at this time they aren't Campy drivetrain/bb compatible yet. Only Shimano.
Sparky - since I'm still on Campy, I didn't bother asking 4iii which models of shimano cranksets they worked with.

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Sparky
Joined: 08 Dec 2003
Posts: 19068
Location: PDX

3/16/17 4:33 PM

"I didn't bother asking 4iii which models of shimano cranksets they worked with."

Well, more the frame. All these cranks are going to have the same internal space as a constant, but there is more frame on a lot if newer designs, especially the two I mentioned as I have specific experience with those.

I just have Shimano on the Madone and Scott to actually measure, and did before the post. I just added the BB--Right as I have worked on them. And like the BB90 there is a whole lot more frame width @ the BB.

I doubt many threaded BB setups would not have sufficient clearance.

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henoch
Joined: 12 Jan 2004
Posts: 1690

3/16/17 6:58 PM

Going up the price ladder a bit, but have you seen this? it's compatible with at least one Campy crank.
https://powermetercity.com/product/watteam-powerbeat-power-meter/

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greglepore
Joined: 10 Jan 2004
Posts: 1724
Location: SE Pa, USA

3/16/17 7:58 PM

Solving the carbon crankarm issue has turned out to be quite a challenge, it took statges what, like 5 years?

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Rickk
Joined: 01 Jun 2004
Posts: 528
Location: Montreal

3/17/17 6:25 AM

Thanks for the heads'up on the Watteam at $499. It may be a decent option for some, but for me - a non-racer who just wants to get a taste of power numbers and power-based training/riding outdoors (after enjoying zwift-based power workouts for the 1st time this winter), before deciding whether it's really worth diving in with more $$s... it's priced almost 60% more than Powerpod, so I'll pass for now. Plus, my main bikes have carbon Campy cranks.

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henoch
Joined: 12 Jan 2004
Posts: 1690

3/17/17 7:44 AM

I totally get where you are coming from, and yeah $500 is allot of money for something just to play with.
Another option, if you want to try and dig a bit would be a used Power Tap wheel.
But I just don't think an accurate power meter can be had for $300

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Rickk
Joined: 01 Jun 2004
Posts: 528
Location: Montreal

3/17/17 8:49 AM


quote:
But I just don't think an accurate power meter can be had for $300

Bingo. Well said.

So basically I guess I'll have to decide if the sometimes somewhat accurate 300$ Powerpod is "good enough" for my specific situation, based on comments/complaints/solutions on DCR or Powerpod forums.

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henoch
Joined: 12 Jan 2004
Posts: 1690

3/17/17 11:39 AM

Yeah totally, at least if you decide to it, you know going in what to expect.

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Sparky
Joined: 08 Dec 2003
Posts: 19068
Location: PDX

3/17/17 12:42 PM

So are we saying the 4iii is not worth it's salt?

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greglepore
Joined: 10 Jan 2004
Posts: 1724
Location: SE Pa, USA

3/17/17 12:55 PM

No, 4iii is fine, but it is a Potnza only solution for Campy, and above Rick's pricepoint.

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Sparky
Joined: 08 Dec 2003
Posts: 19068
Location: PDX

3/17/17 12:56 PM

Thanks for the clarity. So what say you regarding one side VS the Dual setup?

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greglepore
Joined: 10 Jan 2004
Posts: 1724
Location: SE Pa, USA

3/17/17 3:07 PM

My personal take is that if the device is consistent, and you're not rehabbing an injury that requires one sided monitoring, it matters not for intervals of over say 10 sec. For the kind of intervals most folks do, one sided is fine.

That said, the Quarq Dzero is getting pretty wide praise as the pm of choice.

I've been on Stages since a couple months after they were introduced. Had issues with the first gen battery covers, much better with gen 2.

Fwiw, most recreational cyclists don't do enough interval work to really need a pm.

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henoch
Joined: 12 Jan 2004
Posts: 1690

3/17/17 7:12 PM

My $300 remark was in regards to the Powerpod, 4iii is $400 (ok $399).

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Rickk
Joined: 01 Jun 2004
Posts: 528
Location: Montreal

3/18/17 8:36 AM

I was planning on using a cheap PM for training prep for this fall when we'll be in southern France and northern Italy mountains, with a group of guys who're pretty competitive.

I suppose one could also go much cheaper and simply use a HR monitor - since when/if your HR blows up during a very long ascent ... your legs (generally - but not always) bonk & bust also ...
However, tinkering w a PM - even though I'm aporoaching old fart status, is still somewhat intriguing to me.
;)

Btw - In case it interests anyone - this guy's youtube vids are pretty good and scientific re. PMs and several other bike related physics topics. He's a mathematician by training iirc.
'Fastfitnesstips'
https://youtu.be/HlglnUNnAnY

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KerryIrons
Joined: 12 Jan 2004
Posts: 3234
Location: Midland, MI

3/18/17 9:57 AM

Potnza?


quote:
it is a Potnza only solution for Campy


English please? I Googled Potnza and came up with nothing.

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greglepore
Joined: 10 Jan 2004
Posts: 1724
Location: SE Pa, USA

3/18/17 10:32 AM

sorry Kerry-Potenza

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walter
Joined: 11 Jan 2004
Posts: 4391
Location: metro-motown-area

3/19/17 7:28 AM

if you like your existing cranks and pedals...

...powertap hubs are the only game in town.

i like my cranks, whether they're record carbon UTs or alloy UTs or sugino supermightys or campy super/nuovo records or mavic 630s. i like cranks.

i also like my speedplays. well, my knees like speedplays.

i also want power data. well, cuz i'm nerdy that way.

so i have a few powertap wheels i can swap between bikes, whether modern or retro, and get my power data.

the downside is that you're committing to different rear hubs, when you may already have some really nice wheelsets. so when i made this change, i had to re-lace several rears with PT hubs. but i get to keep my cranks and pedals!

used PT hubs/wheels can be had for not much cash these days.

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Rickk
Joined: 01 Jun 2004
Posts: 528
Location: Montreal

3/24/17 10:12 AM

In case it interests - RoadbikeRider (coach Shultz) gave Powerpod a decent review:

https://www.roadbikerider.com/latest-rbr-newsletter-2017/272-issue-no-754/2742-velocomp-powerpod

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Jesus Saves
Joined: 16 Jun 2005
Posts: 1150
Location: South of Heaven

3/25/17 5:25 AM

Here is a different perspective to steer you off course....

On a limited budget, I would consider an indoor trainer equipped with a power meter like a cycleops. Winter training is when my fitness varies the most and having such instrumentation is helpful to see how my fitness progresses. The additional power measuring cost to be equipped is marginal for a trainer, much more so than a free standing bike.

Once you reach a stable/steady state level of fitness, you have a really good sense/idea/dialed in what your stats are....power, cadence, heart rate, etc. That is from the perspective of a purely recreational rider. If I am training to compete, then I want such incremental feedback throughout using a power meter. However you can always revert to the trainer for a wet sunday time trial training session.

Another idea is to buy a used power tap hub. It really is the best option to measure power as walter suggests.

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Rickk
Joined: 01 Jun 2004
Posts: 528
Location: Montreal

3/25/17 9:11 AM

I'm actually using a Kurt kinetic Road macine trainer w Zwift for winter training power numbers - since it's power curve is in the Zwift database. I suppose I could also opt for KK's proprietary In-Road software for similar power numbers .

As for used PowerTap hubs. I wonder if they'll work with my Campy Eurus and Zonda wheels, and with my Garmin 1000 ant+ head unit.

Otherwise, if too complicated for setting up a used PT hub w the Garmin 1000 computer and Campy wheelsets I have, I'lll likely keep the power numbers observations reserved for on-trainer sessions for now.

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Anthony Smith
Joined: 12 Jan 2004
Posts: 848
Location: Ohio

3/25/17 1:15 PM

i bike

Look at the i bike, you can get one for less than 200.00 and they are internally consistent.

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