Power meter v's aero wheels v's Tri bike
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Jstyle posted 1 year ago.
Well that's an interesting quandry you have. I would say Tri bike since you ride a road bike right now. The wheelset would be good and everything cuz it's one of the largest speed mods you can make but you need something that is Tri related to snap it to. I dunno man either or depending on your budget...
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JamieM posted 1 year ago.
Are you solely tri's? Or do you hop in a road race or group ride now and then? The more road racing you do the more I'd lean toward the power meter. If you're strictly tri, go for the tri bike it can make a huge difference.
I agree with your logic on the wheels, though I have to admit I have a used pair of Zipps ($500 from a friend) and they are difficult to pass up.
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Tri Fanatic posted 1 year ago.
I would say tri bike. Different geometry is supposed to help save running muscles for the run so it should improve your bike time with improved aerodynamics and improve run times as your "running" legs should feel less fatigued.
edit:
I also started reading a study that was done a while back on seat post angles and HR's and what I got from the study was that the steeper the angle, the lower the HR was for the same percieved effort. So benefits of the tri bike should be; more aerodynamic, legs feeling more fresh for the run, and a lower HR for the same energy you would be expending on the road bike.
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vanjames posted 1 year ago.
I'll say power meter. The biggest gain will be from training properly on the bike not going slightly fasteron a tri bike that you may ride part time. If you are finishing in 700+ area then you can probably improve your cycling power and economy with the right information.
Someone posted an earlier article on aerdynamics from the MIT cycling team - they said aero helmets wiht non aero wheels has less drag than aero wheels wiht a non aero helmet - get a PM and an aerohelmet.
I do favour owning both bikes at some point though - don't get me wrong.
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wilsondaj posted 1 year ago.
Quote:
I also started reading a study that was done a while back on seat post angles and HR's and what I got from the study was that the steeper the angle, the lower the HR was for the same percieved effort. So benefits of the tri bike should be; more aerodynamic, legs feeling more fresh for the run, and a lower HR for the same energy you would be expending on the road bike.
huh, thats interesting, can you post the reference ? I wonder if its due to the horizontal position taken when you are down in the aero position (sorta like lying down versus standing)
on the choice, if you have a good road bike, I would say get a forward facing seatpost, good aerobars with shifters and a power meter if you can swing it all
allthough I just got a tri dedicated bike and I have to say its pretty wicked.
D
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Tri Fanatic posted 1 year ago.
wilsondaj;68062 wrote:
huh, thats interesting, can you post the reference ? I wonder if its due to the horizontal position taken when you are down in the aero position (sorta like lying down versus standing)on the choice, if you have a good road bike, I would say get a forward facing seatpost, good aerobars with shifters and a power meter if you can swing it all
allthough I just got a tri dedicated bike and I have to say its pretty wicked.
D
I actually had found it at school in the library on some weird like infrotrac thing or something like that. It was like a mini car that you had to stick in the computerized thing to read it. I have finals this week, but if I can find some extra time I would try and locate it again and get the references for you so that you can try and locate it yourself. It was a study done at some other college. If I remember corretly it was either like USC or UCI one of those two.
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Riverbrady posted 1 year ago.
Personally I'd go power meter, tri bike, wheels, in that order. The biggest difference on the bike is your engine, and the power meter will both help you with that, along with pacing and specific work you need.
"Care more than others think is wise, risk more than others think is safe, dream more than others think is practical, expect more than others think is possible."
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Keebler71 posted 1 year ago.
I have a slightly different opinion. I'd get a tri bike... not a top of the line model but not the cheapest either... The "knee in the curve" seems to be around $2200 or so apove which prices go up pretty fast. How much do you have to spend? I'd buy as much bike as you can afford, minus about 3-400 dollars and use the extra to buiy one of the cheaper alternatives to the conventional power meters. Polar make a power sensor that works by detecting chain tension, and there is another cheap alternative (can't remember what it is called... iBike or iPower or something) for about $400 although this one doesn't work indoors. After those I'd watch ebay for wheels or consider covers.
Update: The polar product is the "W.I.N.D Polar Power Meter" and runs about $300 (not including a compatible Polar HRM). No idea how accurate it is but I'd happily take reduced precision for this kind of savings.
The other power meter I mentioned is the iBike (http://www.ibikesports.com/) which runs $400. Due to the way this one works (backing out power from measuring the relative wind) it certainly wouldn't work on a trainer...
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bhanrah posted 1 year ago.
A power meter would be great, but you have to know how to use it other than just looking at the numbers in awe. I would go for the tri bike - the aero benefit of going from a road to tri body position would be far greater than changing your wheels. In a year and a half youll be so hooked on tri's you'll have them all anyways...
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kylie posted 1 year ago.
I think it should depend a bit on what interests you, your strengths, and your goals. If your main focus right now is getting stronger on the bike, and you will spend your time and energy on getting the most out of the power meter (and yes, from what I hear it takes a season to get used to and learn, a season to really start benefiting, and then a season of really seeing results -- but I don't have one so I am not sure).
If you feel that your body would benefit more from coming off the bike and being more ready to run, that would be time for the tribike. In addition, if your current bike is not a great fit you could benefit a lot from this. While you can put aerobars and different seat posts, etc. that will also change handling of the bike, and you'll have to figure out if you can get a good fit with those on your current bike. Here it is going to come down to if you want to improve the feeling of running of the bike, and if you are willing to spend the time to really get a dialed in fit.
I would agree that it is not time for wheels for you yet... I see those as coming after you have the perfect bike and training tools (ie power, hrm, etc).
Best of luck!
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lloydte posted 1 year ago.
In answer to some of questions...basically I only race in triathlons, don't do any other races, although that may change slightly to incorporate a few road races as I'm pretty new to the whole cycling/triathlon thing!!
The vast majority of my riding at the moment is done alone or with maybe 1 or sometimes 2 other people max.
At the moment I was thinking more along the lines of the power meter as some have said, sort out the engine first..... I know a tri bike would make me quicker but felt that it might just be hiding my weaknesses rather than actually tackling them...
One thing is for sure, think I can now knock off the wheel option!! Just left with power meter v's tri bike now!!
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oztrigal posted 1 year ago.
Have you got a HRM? If not, is this something you've considered? HRM's can be used to improve riding AND running so might be a more cost effective purchase?
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kona_expat posted 1 year ago.
Tim:
I agree with Riverbrady. Your best case scenario is Power Meter plus coach and/or specific training plan to take advantage of it.
If you are a gadget geek, you will acclimate to the PM quickly (it's not really that hard, trust me), but the key to gaining benefit is having a properly structured training plan to take advantage of it.
Once you begin to train with power, you KNOW what you are doing on the bike precisely, and with the right coach/plan, you will also learn how to pace properly to set you up for a great run.
Does it matter road vs. tri bike? Not to me. I'm riding both regularly now, and I don't notice that I run "better" off the tri bike. I just plain run a lot and I bike hard, and a brick off either bike feels the same to me.
Race wheels are a nice to have, but since they only make you faster when they are on the bike, they don't really improve your bike fitness, whereas training with power improves both your TRAINING AND RACING abilities.
If you decide to go with a PM, I'd recommend Ergomo with a compact crank (I have an SRM and an Ergomo; would have bought another SRM but they are now tres pricey, and the Ergomo is almost as good). If you later decide to get a tri bike and the BB of both bikes is the same, then you will be able to move the Ergomo onto the tri bike and then you'll have a great setup.
But a road bike plus PM plus guided training plus ability to ride with roadies is about the best way I can think of to become a good cyclist, and then the running will take care of itself by pacing the bike properly and a good training program.
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lloydte posted 1 year ago.
Cheers for the info guys, much appreciated. I have decided to go for the power meter after much deliberation cause as a few of you have said, thats what will ultimately make me a better racer!! Maybe I'll buy the others when I have saved up some more cash... won't be for while though!!
Hi guys,
Am at a bit of a cross-roads here and am unsure which way to go really....have been thinking about this for ages now. Basically, I can afford to get either a power meter, aero wheels, or a new tri bike.....
Was thinking which one would benefit me the most overall, initially I though aero wheels, saving me time etc...but then thought if I'm only gonna be using them a few times a year is there any point if I'm not gonna be in the top 5 or so of my age group...is saving 5 mins over an ironman course ultimately gonna make any difference when you down in 700th place....
Then I thought tri bike, mmmmm, full on tri bike would make me quicker than the road bike i got now, but, again...until I get good on the bike is ther any point!?!!?
So finally the power meter..... I have been more inclined towards this the last few days, would help me year round with training, help me on race day, plus I could put it on my next bike when I eventually upgrade!!
What do you guys think?!?
Cheers
Tim