As part of a structured training program everyone is advising the use of a power meter. They all seem absurdly expensive and it’s not clear which one to use. Does anyone have any experience with them? Any advice would be very welcome.
Tim
Pure Mountains

Hi Tim. Train with a power meter, though mostly on the turbo. I’m by no means an expert though. It’s worth reading Joe Friels book on training with a power meter. The Allen and Coggan one is meant to be very good too. Also worth looking into things like Training Peaks, where it works well with things like their Performance Management charts.

I got the PowerTap one. Seems to work well with my Garmin. Being part of a wheel can be a pain at times as you can’t swap wheels, but then it’s easy to swap between bikes. They are quite expensive but for me it’s been well worth it.

Edit: I’ll add that I don’t have much time to train so a power meter has helped me make the most of the time I have and quantify progress. I’m guessing you don’t have the same problem 🙂

If you are being coached, then Power Meters can be brilliant as they relay the full info to your coach.
They are not the be all and end all though and although they have many good points, there are a few negatives too, like getting too hung up on numbers.

Depends on what you are training for, how seriously you are taking it and if you have the money available I suppose.

Thanks for the advice guys. I’ll think it over but it’ll probably come down to money in the end 🙂

Tim
Pure Mountains

i have power meters on both my road (power tap) and my MTB race bike (Quarq)

it depends what you aims are.
They are a great tool if used correctly, having a coach to help if you don’t have much knowledge of power.

It allows you to see clear progress.
I much prefer my Quarq as i can still run my race wheels!

they are a lot of money thou but for me they have made a big difference to my training/racing.

The answer might depend on where you are with respect to structured training.
If you are reasonably experienced, understand the core principles of training and are looking to move up a level, a power meter might be a good investment. You need to understand how to apply a power meter, so it won’t get you fit for free, however.

If you are new to training, I wouldn’t recommend rushing out to get a PM. Buy yourself a basic HRM and some training books, do some reading, and if you want to spend a bit more, get some coaching. If you join a good club, you might even be able to get some coaching for free.

Power meters are the gold standard for training, but they are not essential, and you can learn to train very effectively without one.