Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on May 15, 2017 15:48:44 GMT
|
|
|
Post by Rocket on May 15, 2017 16:09:05 GMT
My 4iiii is proving invaluable for pacing competitions and training - especially with my HRM being unreliable. You need to know how to interpret the numbers for yourself and ride accordingly though.
|
|
|
Post by Paulinblack on May 15, 2017 16:14:46 GMT
Nearly down to a price I'd consider. Keep going @davefy7 !
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on May 15, 2017 17:51:20 GMT
Nearly down to a price I'd consider. Keep going @davefy7 ! Same here, Paul. I've just bought my first Garmin GPS for £32. I now just need to wait until power meters get somewhere near that price. Hmmmmhh.... I'll probably have popped my clogs before then.
|
|
|
Post by Paulinblack on May 17, 2017 8:59:56 GMT
I am starting to get fixated on this now..... £379 is a lot of money but SWBO has said I can have one if I want one. I sent an email to the Avio people who @davefy7 flagged up were about to start selling a £250 power meter. From all of the stuff I have been reading, it seems that there have been lots of manufacturers who have promised to deliver stuff and basically haven't. There have also been some comments about their claims of 1% tolerance on accuracy - And whats all this about hanging a 10 litre bag of water off the crank to calibrate it? They sent an email back really quickly. I asked about accuracy and whether the Powersense was fully developed or a beta model. They said 'It's not exactly Beta although it will be the first released rendition of the product. Although we don't claim it has no bugs, obviously we've done everything we can to ensure smooth running of PowerSense'.
It seems to come with a 1 year guarantee along with the normal statutory rights stuff, so perhaps the £129 saving over the next cheapest power meter I can find may compensate for that. I'm also worried about sticking it to my crank and it falling off while I am riding. Its happened (admittedly only once) with a cadence sensor magnet, but that was cheap enough to replace. The Avio wouldn't be! Avio said: 'She won't fall off. Super...SUPER sticky adhesives are utilised to take into account road grime and grease. 'I'm double checking when it will be out and how I could buy one. (I'll update when they get back to me) I've also been looking at the 4iiii Precision 2.0. It seems to get good write-up from DC Rainmaker (although he prefers two sided power meters) and others. And if it is good enough for Rocket then I'm sure it will be good enough for me (What I mean by that is that I have seen that Rocket carefully analyses things before buying. If he has plumped for the 4iiii then it must be good at what it does and also cost effective - As much as anything cycling related is!) There is also the same issue of stickiness on the crank, but, if someone else is sticking it and I'm buying the crank arm with the device attached, I figure if it falls off its a claim from 4iiii rather than me having to buy another. I've decided to rule out all of the other power meters. I don't want a hub based one as I am worried about wheels at the best of times! All of the other ones I have seen are far too expensive for me to consider - Basically more than I paid for my bike! There is also the bit about whether I 'need' one. The answer to that is that I don't 'need' one but I would 'like' one. It would be an extravagance, but I do cycle a lot. I also need to set myself some better goals for next year, as I don't think I want to do Velothon for a 3rd straight year! I do fancy some of the longer 100 mile+ rides, that I don't think I could currently do. My strategy when riding a bike is to make sure I've been to the loo first, take drinks and food with me as necessary, carry cash and a phone for an emergency, then pedal as fast as I can without getting too out of breath! If I'm going up hill, then keep looking at the HRM and try to relax and breathe to keep my HR down. Nothing more complicated than that! Maybe a power meter would help me structure my rides better and complete them faster and/or more efficiently? I found that I was able to push myself on Zwift races by using my smart trainer readings to stick to specific power zones, which resulted in me going faster than I thought I could! At the end of the day I know that I am a fat middle-aged bloke who isn't going to win any cycling awards. But, I enjoy myself and want to see if this gives me an extra buzz. It might do or it might not! Interested in anyone (and everyone's) thoughts on these ramblings.
|
|
|
Post by Rocket on May 17, 2017 10:00:04 GMT
So yeah, just buy it 👍
|
|
|
Post by RobP on May 17, 2017 20:26:51 GMT
You don't need to justify it to anyone Paulinblack if you can afford it and want it then buy it fella
|
|
|
Post by Paulinblack on May 17, 2017 22:26:48 GMT
You don't need to justify it to anyone Paulinblack if you can afford it and want it then buy it fella I was just writing to clarify my thoughts rather than justify it. I was hoping that people might pick holes in my arguments and possibly give me something more to think about w/r/t the £250 Avio versus the £379 4iiii. At the moment I am waiting until 29 May to buy the Avio. If it is delayed I might just go for the 4iiii. I'm not sure whether that is the right decision or not? (I'd also hope to stimulate some discussion and breathe some life into the forum, which is pretty quiet still)
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on May 17, 2017 22:37:15 GMT
Why don't you wait a bit longer until the reviews start coming in on the Avio?
|
|
|
Post by robertsims on May 17, 2017 23:44:28 GMT
Come the autumn I'll be getting a 4iii very likely. Rather have something more established and I'll use it for training and pacing in TT
|
|
|
Post by Rocket on May 18, 2017 7:20:55 GMT
Paulinblack don't forget that if you buy a 4iiii from Evans like me and have Tesco Clubcard vouchers then these are worth twice their face value.
|
|
|
Post by Paulinblack on May 18, 2017 18:00:58 GMT
Paulinblack don't forget that if you buy a 4iiii from Evans like me and have Tesco Clubcard vouchers then these are worth twice their face value. Black 175mm Shimano 105 currently not in stock. Have asked them to email when it is. Parents have Tescos vouchers. Not used them before. Not sure how they work. Also should have a £5 off next purchase coupon too.
|
|
|
Post by Rocket on May 19, 2017 6:55:36 GMT
Tesco Clubcard vouchers. You go to the Clubcard website and say you want to convert them into Evans tokens and how many. Tesco email you a code that can be used on Evans website or in store. You order from Evans and use the supplied code and top up the order with cash/card if it doesn't cover the whole amount.
|
|
|
Post by Paulinblack on May 21, 2017 10:21:20 GMT
I just did a search on 'cheap power meters' and came up with something called a 'PowerPod'. This, unlike the 4iiii, Stages, Avio etc etc just hangs on the handlebars. It costs £269. I've read some fascinating article which explain how it works. It works by measuring opposing forces working against you (e.g. wind resistance, gravity (hills), acceleration and friction). It integrates with your speed and cadence sensors to see how fast you are going and how fast you are spinning your cranks. It then works out how much power you must be producing to output to overcome the total opposing force. I saw DC Rainmaker gave it a good review: www.dcrainmaker.com/2016/03/powerpod-depth-review.htmlI don't claim to understand all of the science behind this stuff. But the review seems to suggest that the results are 'similar' to other more expensive power meters. For me, the thing I liked was that I could transfer it between bikes. With the 4iiii and Avio I was nervous about the fact that I might upgrade at some point from the Shimano 105. Has anyone looked into this and if so what are your conclusions? Edit: More analysis: Pros: Price Transferable between bikes Cons: Prob need another bracket to avoid fouling cables Needs recharging after 20 hours Doesn't turn on automatically
|
|
|
Post by robertsims on May 21, 2017 10:53:34 GMT
I just did a search on 'cheap power meters' and came up with something called a 'PowerPod'. This, unlike the 4iiii, Stages, Avio etc etc just hangs on the handlebars. It costs £269. I've read some fascinating article which explain how it works. It works by measuring opposing forces working against you (e.g. wind resistance, gravity (hills), acceleration and friction). It integrates with your speed and cadence sensors to see how fast you are going and how fast you are spinning your cranks. It then works out how much power you must be producing to output to overcome the total opposing force. I saw DC Rainmaker gave it a good review: www.dcrainmaker.com/2016/03/powerpod-depth-review.htmlI don't claim to understand all of the science behind this stuff. But the review seems to suggest that the results are 'similar' to other more expensive power meters. For me, the thing I liked was that I could transfer it between bikes. With the 4iiii and Avio I was nervous about the fact that I might upgrade at some point from the Shimano 105. Has anyone looked into this and if so what are your conclusions? Edit: More analysis: Pros: Price Transferable between bikes Cons: Prob need another bracket to avoid fouling cables Needs recharging after 20 hours Doesn't turn on automatically My main issue would be no use on the turbo trainer as nearly all my 'training' (I.e. not commuting) is on turbo so no use to me. Now if don't do much on turbo then not an issue. Other thing would be you'd have to stay in same position throughout/each time so wouldn't know if on hoods/drops/aero bars. Again this may or may not be an issue but for me on TT bike then always on aerobars. On road bike usually on hoods etc.
|
|