So You Bought a Power Meter (Now What?)
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- čas přidán 5. 08. 2024
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How to train with a power meter? That is a simple question yet one that is overlooked when first investing into a power meter on your road bike. So in this video series - brought to you by Assioma power pedals - I will provide a three step guide for getting set up with success, including install and set up, working out your trainer zones, and a simple base fitness test you can do with both a power meter and heart rate monitor to assess where you're at fitness wise.
My free eBook: camnicholls.com
Join me in the Uplevel Road Cycling Course: go.roadcyclingacademy.com/pro...
Test Power Meter Accuracy: www.wolfgang-menn.de/
Power Zones Calc: bit.ly/3q2yyFG
20 min test: cycling.favero.com/blog/basic... - Sport
If you want to train "properly" a PM is an absolute gamechanger. I've had a 4iiii single sided crank for about 6 months & it has completely transformed my riding. Deffo will try the drift test to see how I stack up.
I purchased Assioma Duo power pedals in the summer of 2020 after riding and training to power on Zwift. It became addicting riding and training to power, honestly, speed and heart rate became less relevant during outdoor rides after setting them up on my outdoor bike. Summer turned into winter and I hung my bike up for the winter months in Canada and pulled the skis out of storage.
All was well till my 4th day on the slopes when I had a rather nasty ski crash, I dislocated my patella (knee cap). I don't recommend doing this unless you enjoy some magic drugs at the hospital while they pop your patella back into place. The doctor prescribed 6 weeks of no loadbearing on my left leg and I had to keep it in a zimmer brace (mummy cast) for the duration as well. To make a long story short, my left leg lost almost all of its strength and muscle mass (muscle atrophy is no joke). I started physio 4 weeks into my rehabilitation and a few weeks after starting physio I was back on the indoor bike. If you want to see a grown man cry make him complete 1 full crank rotation after almost 7 weeks of not moving his leg!
Fast forward 17 weeks post-injury, it's now spring 2021 and I am back outdoors on the road bike. Little did I realize that after that first ride that the data that my power pedals provided was going to be invaluable to my recovery. There is a little known data metric on all dual-sided power meters that will provide you your left / right leg bias in real-time and an average post ride. For me, it was 30% left 70% right (yikes). My wife started to call me "flappy" as the left leg on the bib shorts would flap in the wind with my left leg being so small. With this knowledge in hand, I headed back to the gym to focus on left leg strength training. After 8 weeks of rigorous training, I was able to get my balance in check with an even 50/50%.
Without this data, I honestly think I would have been shooting in the dark for rehabilitation and my recovery would have taken significantly longer. I can't say enough good things about power meter pedals. They are great for training and they are invaluable for rehabilitation!
TLDR - Get power pedals, you won't regret the purchase and maybe one day they will help with rehabilitation! :)
Thanks for sharing on the thread 👍
Thanks Cam, very clear and given I’ve just upgraded from Garmin V3 to Assioma duo I fully agree these pedals are very well designed for ease of use and longevity.
As always - eye-opening information. Many thanks!
no worries Karriem. Cheers
Excellent video - thanks for posting
Was researching getting one today, good timing!
Nice one!
Great job Cam. Again simplistic advice on the use of Power metres.
Cheers Gavin
Great video Cam! Do you have anything coming up on how to use the Assioma Duo and drills etc to help sort out L/R power balance issues?
Thanks a lot, very very helpful indeed! 🙌🏼
Helpful vid! Looking forward to part 2 now!
Next Wed!
@@CamNicholls Wonderful. As someone who got a power meter and have been training to it this year, I do a mix of training now - in theory it is: longer zone 2 rides, generally flat, shorter hill rides at high watts (1 hour), and some HIT-type rides. 250km a week. Now that we are out of lockdown, I will also add some longer hill rides eg 120km and 1500m vert. It is quite hard to do an FTP ride outside because of traffic lights, but I know through KOMs that I am getting faster and better stamina. No heart rate drift. Keen to continue to get a mix correct so I optimise FTP increase. Only issue about that training set is sometimes get distracted with zone 2 rides and end up smashing it. At the end of the day, I ride for fun so I won't commit to a locked in training program, and won't go the gym. So I'm happy however it turns out!
I have a pair of FA’s… spent about six months researching crank based, single sided, and pedal options before finalizing the FA’s… love’em… easy to install, setup, recharge, and update the software… definitely makes a difference in your training… in short, they’re worth the investment…
Thanks for sharing on the thread mate, I'll need to look them up!
@@CamNicholls FA - Favero Assioma… I just didn’t feel like spelling it out… 🙃😆🍻
@@CycoWarriorx that was actually good for a chuckle 😄
Great video Cam, and content in general. I've been cycling since 2013. Watching some of your videos over the past two weeks has already allowed me to start making some changes and therefore improvements.
I don't have a PM yet but I do have zwift and a kickr so I can perform tests there.
A PM will still be great outdoors as I learn to ride by the numbers more.
I'm keen on the 4iii as I will need two.
I do have a question regarding the FA pedals, is there a noticeble difference in the cleat system from shimano?
I looked at the FA axle system for shimano, but the wide q factor is a concern for me.
Great info 👍🏻
Just superb advice Cam.. Thank you.
Cheers Andy
Lots of value here Cam
Can’t speak highly enough of your content
Keep up the great work 👍
Brought a Garmin vector 3 about 2 months ago
Looking forward to seeing the whole 4 series of how to use your power meter effectively 👍
Cheers James and good timing!
Such a great content 👍
I have Assioma Duo. Bloody fantastic mate
Great info Cam! Bought a used Stages crank meter, and found it very helpful in trying to achieve a more efficient pedalling action, as well as seeing just much power is required in different situations!
Nice one Patrick, thanks for sharing on the thread👍
Looking forward to the rest of this series. My FTP has gone from 250 to 280 but I have no idea what I'm doing lmao I mean I don't kill myself for average speed anymore so maybe I'm just doing more physiologically beneficial riding.
Nice one mate, thanks for sharing on the thread. I'm sure this series will help support your next steps in training
Set up a custom workout on Zwift with 60 mins at 70% of FTP to complete the heart rate drift test ……… let’s just say that I will need a little help from the next instalment in this series!
just bought one about a week ago. thanks for the vid
Awesome! This will be a good series to follow then.
I bought a pair of Assiomas. Worked great for several months. Then one morning for no reason power went super wonky. Would wildly swing from saying I was producing 100w of power and then a few seconds later 1300w of power. I was probably doing 200w of power.
After some back and forth with Customer Service, taking pictures, and them analyzing the data from the pedals, they sent me a new left pedal body for free, they didn't require me to send the bad pedal back, and I had to pay for shipping from Italy of the new part. The whole process, from bad pedal to getting the replacement installed back on the bike took three weeks.
I had to take apart the old pedal and install it on the new spindle body they sent. Super easy, provided you have the right socket wrench size.
I wish it was faster than three weeks, because having no power data was agony, but Favero were professional and thorough.
Thanks for sharing on the thread. They are good people to deal with service wise for sure
Hi Cam, thanks for your great explanation. can you please share the link to the Excel file again to use for calculation of the FTP ? The current link isn't working anymore
Thank you Cam, excellent video, very useful. I've been using my Lactate Threshold power as my FTP but it turns out these are not the same. Is there a formula i could calculate my FTP if i know my power on Lactate Threshold?
Excellent insight. I'd like a dual pedal powermeter setup, but they are pretty pricy.
As a man who mainly rides just one bike on the road, I reckon a single-sided crank based unit makes the most sense. The big question is what brand?
I've seen some good and plenty of horrendous reviews of Stages and 4iii meters.
If anyone has any advice on which to get - i.e. maybe the latest versions are much better than previous generations - I'd appreciate it.
Cheers
Great video. I am thinking about getting a power meter, Assioma look very good, but i use pedal spindle extensions, can i use the extensions with these, will affect the accuracy of the readings? Thank you.
I did have the use of a powermeter on the bike for a little while but came to the conclusion that for me, power for training indoors on the smart trainer is where I need power numbers. Outdoors on the road, I just wanted to ride and enjoy it without looking at any numbers. So no fancy pedals for me
Yes I get that. The trainer is actually the best place for the testing I discussed too.
Hi Cam, when you say 10pm, does that exclude warm up? Say 10m warm up and then the drift test? Also assume you have lots of work ahead of more than 10bpm?
Yes I should have mentioned from around the 15min mark is when you take the first measure
This statement is from someone that has never used a power meter but I'm looking at getting one but the biggest thing that has held me back is you still have to comeback to heart rate. But one big advantage though with a power meter that not many people talk about because no one ever gets sick 🤒😂 is the ability to see a sickness happening before it really gets hold of you by knowing what your heart normally does at a x power. If your seeing some strange stuff over a couple of rides probably best to back it off.
You will use both. They complement each other really well.
@@CamNicholls it's interesting I was reading a relative old book the other day written by a exercise physiologist and their advice was that your best using a more scientific approach to training the older you get. So it's time 😂
Should you warm up for the 60min test? Surely that will play a massive part in what your starting HR is vs your ending HR.
Finally a decent Channel that brings us info simple info on a set of power pedals and general power info👌🏻 now what’s your discount code for them Cam 😜😂
Cheers Jay 👍
Why did you stop using the 165mm quarq cam? Accuracy issue or crank length??
For newbies to power, I’ve found lap power (avg) is excellent for interval training. It makes it quite easy to maintain specific watts for the duration of the interval.
Good tip thanks for adding to the thread
One thing about those pedals Cam absolutely glosses over is that they increase the Q-factor (width of your stance). I am 183 cm tall, and they made my stance wide enough to be unusable. This is very clearly stated in the tech specs and also overview by Assioma. Everyone considering this product, should be aware of this.
In order to gloss over something I believe it needs to mentioned or discussed briefly, however, I didn’t talk about Q factor at all. Irrespective, thank you for sharing on the thread. Useful for others to know
@@CamNicholls Yea, definitely not accusing you of anything, and as said, they make this feature very clear in their product description and specs. I thought this was an important thing to underline though because it affects the usability of the product.
Cam, can you update the link for the power zone calc sheet? Looks like it's been deleted from the Dropbox.
So if you could only invest in a smart trainer or power meter, which would it be? Currently riding a dumb trainer with cadence and speed sensors plus HR monitor and training on Wahoo SYSTM.
Power meter on your bike gives you both really, although you can't get ERG mode. So it depends on where you're doing most of your cycling. I'd let that decide.
Those gym scenes were like something out of the movie 'Pumping Iron'. You are Australia's own Lou Ferrrigno
Haha
Shame I can't use Assioma with Catalyst pedals, I've been looking into power meters for a few weeks now but I love my pedals and barefoot-style shoes too much to go clipless. Thanks for the vid though! I'm learning a lot from you.
Yes I was originally a speed play user myself. They are still my preference but don’t mind the Looks
@@CamNicholls Been using Time for over 30years not going to change now.
hello,
i didn´t understand the part of 3s test, can you explain better?
There any way to get power zones calc? Says its deleted
Hi Cam, what is the light you use on the BMC?
It’s called an Allty
Ok, I just took advantage of the black Friday sale and ordered a pair of pedals! So what head unit / bike computer do you recommend?
Personally I like Wahoo. The bolt would be a good option although I use the roam
@@CamNicholls thank you!
The topic is exactly what I was considering earlier today lol. I am gonna buy myself a newb power meter and then what?! And what else do I need to buy for it?
A head unit that can display your data!
I know this is totally off topic, but any chance of a rough timeline/schedule for your seka exceed bike stuff? Am dying to find out if its worth buying.
I need a group set. It’s not easy
@@CamNicholls oh shit, fair play, shortages out here too in Malaysia.
So what are the next steps? Let's assume that I can complete 90mins of 70%FTP with heart rate drift below 10bpm. What does this mean now? Does it mean that now I'm ready to add higher intensity training to my routine? I guess I should still do low intensity rides, but should I up the power a notch (say 5W) and ride them until I see
thinking about getting one but not sure if i need one. most of my gains come in the winter on my trainer and in the summer its long rides or balls out kom fun for couple of hours.
haha, yes having one on the trainer helps big time. As long as you have one somewhere you're in a great place for effective training
I feel that having a power meter definitely helps you to gauge your efforts. Even if its for a bunch ride, having a power meter can help you time your fuel and drink timing and also make sure your cadence is where you want it to be.
Should you use nutrition if you use this base test (cardiac drift) for multiple hours? My goal event is 7 hours... If I ride my indoor trainer for 4 hours (+-70% FTP) to check the aerobic decoupling? should the test be fasted?
This is the problem with extending the test. Too many variables can come into play like dehydration, heat, eating etc. Have a listen to this www.fasttalklabs.com/fast-talk/cardiovascular-drift-with-dr-ed-coyle/
@@CamNicholls Thx Cam! Love your content. Keep up the good work ;-)
When would you start to measure the drift for the base fitness test?
Roughly from the 15mins mark
Okey, thanks!
I don't have a PM but did just get an smart trainer. A lot of what you said makes sense to me (a lot of other advise I've read or watched hasn't) so top work. One question, and this is after watching Pt 2, is how long do I go training my base for? Is it until I am seeing drift under 10bpm over a 90 minute session? Also, any advise for someone who's time pressed what with kids and work?
What’s your bike stand Cam?
Westwood bike stands
The smarttrainer/pedal difference is due to the drivetrain loss, which is usually somewhere at 2-8%. As for the 3sec avg or instant power on headunit, I would clarify that it also depends on what kind of meter you have. Pedal/crank ones are likely to jump around more than hub or spyder based ones. So for those I would recommend instant power.
Yes good points thanks for sharing on the thread
Does Assioma have a spd Power meter?
No, I wish they did. That is my preference in pedal type but I don't mind the Looks TBH
Must be the cycling gods speaking.. i just bought a power meter 2 days ago.. now i see this video.
Haha nice one Nathan
I had nothing but problems with my Stages crank meter.
For me theres just too many problems/catches, for a product that ranges from £300 to £1200. They should be easy and flawless at that price point imo.
manufacturers pretty much ask you to install to a specific torque, whilst blind folded, doing a headstand and drinking a cup of water and the meter will be accurate to +/-20 watts.
I think a lot of people are kidding themselves about how accurate/useful their meters are.
Thanks for sharing on the thread Robert. My stages cranks used to read much higher, so I had issues myself many years ago.
@@CamNicholls mine was reading about 150 watts too high, on about 4 out of 5 cycles. Strava now shows my estimated FTP at 509 watts lol.
Power Zones Calc says it's been deleted... ?
I got a power meter after using zwift for a while which is power based
I bought power pedals and installed them in my running shoes
Right, that's a new one! How did it go.
😂😂😂
In this video (Speedplay VS Shimano Pedals REVIEW (Incl: why I choose Speedplay?) you stated that you prefer speedplay pedals over any other pedal system and that every time you tried something different you went back to speedplay after 1 or 2 weeks……and now your telling us that the favero assioma is hands down the best power meter system ? What do you want us to believe?
I’m actually enjoying the Look system, I’d never tried it before. I think it’s a little unreasonable for me to allow my personal pedal preferences to get in the way of what others will find very easy to install and use. At the end of the day Shimano and Look are very popular and this isn’t a pedal comparison it’s mainly a how to video with a little bit about Assioma.
Oh...to have a rechargeable power meter pedal system, unlike my Vector 3 pedals that gobble battery juice. Are you listening Garmin!
Gosh I'm 4 minutes into this add read and can't handle it any more!
Not sure why you’d spend an extra 30secs leaving a comment then 😂 by the way, it’s ‘ad’ not add.
If you buyed power meter pedals, but still don't know what to do with it (?!), you can donate'em to me. I will certainly know what do do with them!
Yes, base, base and more base. Everyone wants to skip it, but you cannot.....
Hmm the half Monty, I’m more of a full Monty man myself.
haha
Cam... 170 unanswered calls... 364 unread messages... you need to do a serious cleaning of your phone... :)
Hahaha 🤣
Did you have a crash?
Yes, I didn't realise it was bleeding through the patch. Came off on a roundabout. Oil on the rd with some light rain. Bike just came out from under me. Scary when that happens!
@@CamNicholls What tyres and width?
@@CamNicholls that sounds nasty hope you have a speedy recovery.
They're too expensive, when the price gets more reasonable,yes then get one.
You can get a carbon fibre winspace frame and fork for the price of a power meter.Yet another example of how the cycling industry is rolling people. 🤷♂️
I'm just speaking from personal experience here, but I spent thousands of dollars over many years buying the next frame or wheel-set to make me go faster. Yet, it's been the power meter and effective training techniques that have done wonders for my performance. It's easily the best investment I ever made. Way back in 2014 now.
Speaking of the Favero‘s, they‘re absolutely not. It‘s an engineerings masterpiece to fit all the tech in such a small form factor and get a +-1 accuracy. They‘re engineered and made in Italy. Can‘t compare that to chinese carbon (not that it‘s bad in any way).
Also the FA are about half the price of a winspace bike frame, what are you on about?
Seems most of the equipment produced for cycling has just gotten crazy expensive over the last 10 years or so. The profit margin must be huge and the modern day cyclist must be making a hell of a lot of money these days because bikes and the technology continue to sell. Reminds me of the Shark Tank show hosts when they ask a presenter "and what does it cost you to make your product? Well, it cost us around 5.25. Okay and what do you retail it for? Well, we currently sell it for 660.00. The hosts go crazy praising and glorifying the presenter like they're a god. As any good capitalist will tell you, an item is worth what ever you can sell it for. All's fair in business and suckers are abundant.
You’ll find the price of power meters has come down dramatically in the last few years.
@@JonReid I'm just jealous of those that can afford them even at current prices lol. Been cycling and running for over 30 years using Garmin equip with a heart rate monitor and guess it's enough.
Most important thing people need to consider is "Do I even need a power meter?" Because most cyclists are not pros, do not race and simply 'ride their bikes' rather than 'train' - so how does a precise and expensive monitoring of wattage help the 90% of cyclists? Just be happy with the wee estimates Strava provides and focus on enjoying your bike 😊👍
I will hold off on buying a pair of power meter pedals. Currently keeping my bank account flush with cash for a new bike.
Fair call I get that.
Too complicated needs to be easier
Isn’t this a paid ad?
It's a sponsored video so I incorporate just under 90sec of Assioma and the rest is about using power, whether that be Assioma or something else. Did you watch the whole video or drop off after a few minutes?
I don't need a power meter, I just go out and ride my bike, people are obsessed by numbers... I'm more interested in keeping my new Titanium hip moving..... "JUST RIDE" ...
Haha I get that, but I also get the other side too!
I like your vids but this one sounded way too scripted 👎
Probably best to stick with the casual Friday Vlogs then. Wednesday’s are more formal. ✅