I’m tempted to invest on a Quarq power meter, based on the fact that my wife’s cousin has managed to go from also ran to almost 1st cat licence in 2 seasons using one as his main training tool….the thing is he’s 15 years younger than me!

I’m riding occasional road races, probably half a dozen tough sportives a year, but mainly just riding with a group of mates (plus occasional Strava bashing!)

My training objectives really revolve around just being fitter/healthier, probably more so than trying to aspire to 2nd cat or similar level…..

BTW, in a past life I was on the fringes of the national squad for both road and track and was a regional champ at both, so I suppose I know what it takes to be good….but this was all well before the dawn of “training technology”!

Worthwhile investment?? Any experiences to share……?

Yes if you know what to do with the data.

My brothers got one. I like the idea of one but in reality I’d just use it as a passing interest to know what I’m doing at any given time, so too expensive for such a frivolity. But my brother is properly geeking out on it as he’s competing in Triathlon and he gets a crap load of useful information from it to gauge the progress of his fitness and hone it and direct his training. It is also his key tool for pacing. So if you use it properly then it’s the number 1 most useful thing you can invest in. forget wheels, electronic gears and fancy carbon frames, none of that lot made my brother faster – just poorer, but the powermeter has lifted his performance and fitness into another league.

If you’re mainly just riding with a group of mates then it’s not worth it.
If you’re doing a load of training on your own, it’s definitely worth it.

Why Quarq? Because that’s what he’s got?

4iiii in a 5800 arm is only £379, less common than ubiquitous Stages but also appears to be more reliable.

If you’re serious about racing and training then it’ll probably be the best ~400 quid you can spend – deep section wheels (for example) essentially buy you a one-off speed improvement whereas you’ll keep making gains with structured power based training.

If you’re just riding with mates then it’s a very expensive cadence sensor that adds a bit of interest to your strava uploads.

they are good and I have used single arm and BePro pedals…

The pedals are best IMHO, you get a good quality road pedal included in the price and its super easy to swap between bikes.

Really good for pacing out an effort in training rather than going off too hard and blowing up.

The “what power meter” may be best left for another thread 😉 Though I would recommend getting one that measures total power like the Quarq, or if cash is an issue, one that can be upgraded to dual sided later (e.g. Vectors.)

If you’re doing a load of training on your own, it’s definitely worth it.

I’d agree with this. A power meter is a harsh mistress when out training on your own, there’s no slacking off!

Yes if you know what to do with the data.

+1

I wouldn’t say you need to be a massive geek or a whizz with “numbers” but I guess you need to be prepared to put a bit of thought and reading in (or get a coach to do it for you)

If you want to get fitter and faster then it is a great tool to help with being more efficient in doing so and takes a lot of the guess work out of things.

As someone else said, if you are riding with a group of friends then it likely won’t change anything for you.

There are plenty nowadays which won’t break the bank and they seem to have good second hand value so why not give it a crack if you think it might suit

As above, you have to understand the figures, but its not rocket science, and once you do, then yes they are great. I used to find i would just crucify myself every ride and conversely found i was getting slower, probably overtraining. I now understand the concept of recovery rides and sticking to certain zones. It also means i can take stock of where i am when i use the Wattbike we have at the rig i work on. Whether its coincidence or not i dont know, but my FTP has gone from around 260W to over 300W in this time. Its also nice to be able to see exact figures in front of you – you can see what you’re putting on flat sections, or hills, and it means you can gauge how hard you’re pushing, and if in danger of blowing up. I use Stages, and find them to be absolutely fine.

Yes if you’re serious about training/wanting to have a measurable performance increase. If just for group rides then no.

I’ve only slowly started to use mine properly, mainly polarisation rides (sticking to the allocated zones). It’s too early to tell if it’s made a difference or not yet though.

Highly recommend a 4iiii, the app is very easy to use and gives battery % unlike the stages one. They start from £349: http://www.hinderacingltd.com/4iiii-precision-power-meter—various-cranks-29780-p.asp

I’ve only slowly started to use mine properly, mainly polarisation rides (sticking to the allocated zones). It’s too early to tell if it’s made a difference or not yet though.

Zones and power targets for intervals is one aspect. Post ride/race analysis too.

Other aspect is planning and managing load and recovery. Use something like Training Peaks to give you data like NP and TSS for rides (basically quantifying the loading.) That then feeds into a Performance Management Chart with parameters for CTL, ATL and TSB (copied by Strava for their Fitness and Freshness.) Things like the ramp rates for those parameters are important (at least for me) to make sure I’m progressing with load but also not over-training. E.g. a typical winter looks like…

With a steady ramp up of CTL (fitness) while the TSB bounces up and down with load/recovery cycles.

By contrast, the traditional method of balancing volume and intensity will also get you a long way. PM’s provide data that can be useful, but I ride volume on my own at a target speed (100 km circular look so average speed = average power), and get intensity from racing, where a PM will be only useful to show how hard you went (unless you TT).

That said, I pace my TTs using a powerpod and will move to a force meter for CdA measurement.

I won’t post my increase in fitness this year, but it’s dramatic.

I won’t post my increase in fitness this year, but it’s dramatic.

Powerpod calibration issues 😉

Yeah I forgot the post analysis stuff, it’s very useful in monitoring how you’re reacting to training.

Example, I’m 12 days into my plan and haven’t done today’s workout yet:

Powerpod calibration issues

Bwahahah – actually I only use the HR only one! Too many bikes you see 😉 The original Bannister model used HR and was applicable to all endurance sports. It’s nice to see the effects of periodisation.

Highly recommend a 4iiii, the app is very easy to use and gives battery % unlike the stages one. They start from £349: http://www.hinderacingltd.com/4iiii-precision-power-meter—various-cranks-29780-p.asp

Dave Hinde????

I got my 4iii from Evans also for about £350.

Can you use the 4iii ones with a Garmin 810? I’ve been looking at these and just realised I’ve got £80 worth of Evans vouchers in my drawer.. will make it £300 for a power meter 🙂

I use my 4iii with a Garmin 810.

I just got one this season and I’m a big fan. The biggest advantage for me is that all my rides have a purpose, and my available time to train is as effective as it can be. Went for power tap pedals so I can swap between bikes easily.

Any deals about for Stages or 4iiii? Can’t find any myself and am seriously tempted to buy a unit.

Is anyone doing an mtb spd pedal system yet, or are they still all road based?

That’s the one thing that’s putting me off at the moment – I need to be able to swap between bikes but off-road.

I have the ultegra 4iiii unit – use it with my garmin 820. Had it about a month, seems to be faultless so far and the values on it compare well to my mates bike when we ride side by side (we weigh almost exactly the same).

Haven’t seen an MTB pedal system yet, but Stages do some MTB crank arm versions.

I got ProBikeKit to price match http://www.hinderacingltd.com/4iiii-precision-power-meter—various-cranks-29780-p.asp

Then used cash back and one of their discount codes to bring it down either further, think it was £395 all in for an Ultegra version.

Evans have the 105 for £379 (that’s what I have) or the Ultegra for £469 if you want to pay more for a tiny amount less weight.

Cheapist 4iiii 105 5800 units I can find is at Hinde for £349.

PBK nor Evans have no stock of 175mm black 105 😐

The reasons I was looking at Quarq were:

1. that I use SRAM force kit, and the Quarqs are compatible with the BB’s
2. they measure “both sides”
3. they’re on offer at PBK, although I’d also need a head unit so was looking at around £250 for a Garmin 520 inc heart rate kit, which might also be useful (?)

All up that’s an investment of around a grand, which is a lot I know……

I only have a Garmin 200 currently so whatever I do, I’ll need the investment in a new head unit anyway….so minimum of around £750 inc a 105 4iiii plus 105 chainset, BB, head….

Mmmmmm….

Has anyone had a decent amount of time on a 4iii one? I’d be really interested to know your thoughts on it.

That’s why I think the DC Rainmaker’s review is great, doesn’t force a recommendation but explains the facts to allow you to chose the best one for you 8)

For me it’s Stages or 4iiii as I have Shimano cranks and both my best road bike and Croix de Fer, so I can swap arms as required, and I want to keep cost low.

Luckily I upgraded to a 520 last year so no additional cost there. That said I can recommend the 520, great head unit.

Have you done a structured training programme with a heart rate monitor yet?

That would be a cheap(er) way of seeing whether you can stick to a training programme and, if you do, see some improvements.

Do that for a year then reward yourself with a power meter.

I’ve had 2 sets of first gen Vectors, first was warrantied 2nd has been upgraded to a 2nd gen via warranty too.

I’ve a Powertap G3 on my commuter as it can be locked to something.

If I was going to start spending money on power meters again I’d get as many G3’s built into wheels as my budget allowed.

Been using structured power meter training ever since I bought a Taxc Fortius 8 years ago. So always power indoors and heart outdoor. Seems like there’s enough experience now with power meters and the price has come down enough that I’d like to invest so I can train outside with power as well.

I’ve just bought a Quarq DZero BB30 from powermeter24.com for £549 delivered as they had a 10% extra discount a couple of weeks ago. PBK have some really good prices on GXP version.

I did a lot of research and what swung it for me was native BB30 ( bikes a Super six evo), price, reviews and works with ANT+ and BLE. I’ve paired with an a ELEMNT and I’ve got to say it was simple to fit, looks great and just works. I’d heard a lot about reliability of stages with water ingress and Quarq being part of SRAM didn’t hurt either.

I get the single crank option but I am coming back from injury so it is important to get an indication of L/R performance even if it’s only based on crank position. Other options, P2M is similar cost to Quarq but would have had to also get a Praxis for BB30. FSA Powerbox is an interesting option but upgrade to BLE availability is a bit vague and the P2M platform it’s based on isn’t current generation.

Oh and to answer the question definitely worth the investment. Totally transforms approach to riding even for a casual rider like me and the cost keeps coming down as well.

Has anyone had a decent amount of time on a 4iii one? I’d be really interested to know your thoughts on it.

I’ve had mine for about 6 months and done 2000km+ with it. No issues with it at all and it’s still on the original battery. I’m not really used it properly as a training tool yet however it has helped me understand my limits better and I find that very useful to pace myself properly.

My training objectives really revolve around just being fitter/healthier, probably more so than trying to aspire to 2nd cat or similar level…..

If this is the case then would working from HR (and maybe just using Strava’s extrapolated Watts if you really want to see some sort of “Power” data) be ‘enough’ if you are simply looking to manage the general intensity/effort of your riding? rather than more focussed training for events/racing.

HR isn’t a bad tool to use, it’s pretty immediate and you can set targets/alarms on most devices now if you want to manage it that way…

A power meter just seems like quite a “Serious” racers tool, something to invest in if you’re looking for quite specific training data…

I’d second what a couple of people have said about using a HRM first. In fact, understanding of how to build a structured training programme before that (or getting someone to do it for you)

IF you do get one, I recommend Joe Friel’s Power Meter Handbook to help you make the most sense of the data you’re getting. I use TrainingPeaks to analyse my data, but Strava Premium has some similar features as does Golden Cheetah.

I was able to get a stages 105 for £400, was looking at 4iiii first but they seem to have stock issues, glad I went with the stages because 6 months down the line the 4iiii is still not in stock in my length

I’m glad I got one anyway, it has told me things about the intensity which I ride at that I couldn’t see (or feel) on my own

if you’re into that geeky side of cycling and you can afford it then why not

I bought one as I was feeling flush one day.. Never trained with it properly ever..

The good.. It’s really good at measuring effort.. Really saved myself blowing up on climbs..

The bad.. Tells me exactly how bad I am compared to anyone remotely good..