Just started training with Power? Post your questions/comments here!
05-20-15, 09:48 AM
#7201
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I mostly disappointed that it freaked out in the rain. Ive ridden and raced in the rain plenty of times and had zero issues..depending on what they end up doing, I wonder if putting an extra o-ring or something behind the battery compartment would help seal it a little better. They had me check to see if that was tight, which it was..but I didn't realize (and I probably should have but I guess ive never thought about it) that that spot could be a potential spot for water to get in
05-20-15, 10:20 AM
#7202
Senior Member
Update, from Stages support: apparently some battery door covers manufactured in late 2014 were slightly oversized and could cause the kind of issues I'm having. Sounds like I have all the symptoms - difficulty installing or removing, and pulls the battery out when you remove it. I just assumed that happened because it was supposed to. So I'm guessing that a replacement battery door will soon be on its way.
05-20-15, 10:57 AM
#7204
Senior Member
Either way, I will see what they say with this email I just sent them.
05-20-15, 11:00 AM
#7205
Senior Member
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I just got a new stages arm yesterday. Cracked one of the battery door tabs in the pod. Clearly I have too many watts for this product.
05-20-15, 11:09 AM
#7206
Keep calm, Cycle on
Join Date: Apr 2014
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Been using Garmin Vector S for 3 months now. Power was all over the place before, highs and lows. Even after recalibration and torque wrenching it. After a service update I feel that the pedals have better consistency and accuracy. I'm using my zones more (because I cant be bothered wearing a heart rate monitor all the time). Before I had completely trained through heart rate, but it's nice to have measurable data to visualize improvement gains.
In road racing & group rides, I will use the power meter and attempt to ride by threshold zones.
In cyclocross I will continue to use my heartrate monitor as getting on and off the bike and what not, doesn't lead to useful measurements.
In road racing & group rides, I will use the power meter and attempt to ride by threshold zones.
In cyclocross I will continue to use my heartrate monitor as getting on and off the bike and what not, doesn't lead to useful measurements.
05-20-15, 11:15 AM
#7207
Senior Member
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New battery door and O-ring came. Still doesn't work. Damn. I have figured out a hack, where I basically used a spare O-ring as a shim between the battery door and battery to press it down more firmly. Clearly it's a battery contact issue related to the door, because this works. I have power data for now, but it's not something I want to rely on. The seal is probably compromised by doing this (though it might have been already). Back in touch with Stages support. This is frustrating!
05-20-15, 01:11 PM
#7208
Senior Member
No. I can't see why it's started acting up like this. It was fine for five months, I left for vacation, came back a week later and it was all but non-functional. And yes, I hope they'll send me a new or something. Still waiting on a reply from my latest email telling them that the fix didn't work.
05-27-15, 08:10 AM
#7209
Senior Member
Quarqs customer service that is supposedly amazing isn't so much. I called them last week because mine got wet and offset went to -3000. They had me check the battery compartment to make sure it was tight and asked for the offset (which finally went back to positive numbers). I explained to them originally what the offset has been over the last year and that it hasn't varied by much from ride to ride. They told me to log my offset over the next couple rides, and it has been anywhere from 80 to 230...135-150 is normal. I emailed them back yesterday and have yet to get a response from them. Im going to call them this afternoon if I don't get a response because this is starting to piss me off.
When I told them it was -3000 they should have been right on top of things
When I told them it was -3000 they should have been right on top of things
05-27-15, 08:19 AM
#7210
Nonsense
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I know you've already got a Quarq and so this might just sound like I'm rubbing it in, BUT if you're in the market for a power meter in the future, Powertap/Saris Customer Service is ridiculously good. They've helped me sort out (minor) powertap issues, replaced a 5 year old trainer that started leaking for free, and were willing to give me a crazy deal on a new front rim rebuild after this weekend's crash because the hub is powertap, even though the rim is reynolds. They've been nothing but awesome every time I've dealt with them, and my understanding is they're coming out with a crank/chainring based power meter sooner than later. Also their g3 hubs are entirely weatherproof, I've thrown pretty much everything possible at them and the offset/accuracy hasn't changed and the hubs still spin smoothly.
Again, not rubbing it in, this is just in case you're going to be in the market for a power meter sooner than later.
Again, not rubbing it in, this is just in case you're going to be in the market for a power meter sooner than later.
05-27-15, 08:28 AM
#7211
Senior Member
Im not too big on getting a powertap..I have 3 sets of wheels and unless I could find a couple hubs cheap it would end up being too much. They do have good customer service..my friend basically gave me his fluid2 trainer and after a couple years it sprung a leak. They replaced the resistance unit for free even though I wasn't the original owner.
05-27-15, 09:55 AM
#7212
fuggitivo solitario
Quarqs customer service that is supposedly amazing isn't so much. I called them last week because mine got wet and offset went to -3000. They had me check the battery compartment to make sure it was tight and asked for the offset (which finally went back to positive numbers). I explained to them originally what the offset has been over the last year and that it hasn't varied by much from ride to ride. They told me to log my offset over the next couple rides, and it has been anywhere from 80 to 230...135-150 is normal. I emailed them back yesterday and have yet to get a response from them. Im going to call them this afternoon if I don't get a response because this is starting to piss me off.
When I told them it was -3000 they should have been right on top of things
When I told them it was -3000 they should have been right on top of things
05-27-15, 11:34 AM
#7213
Senior Member
Just got off the phone with them. They said since the drift isn't anymore than 50 on a single ride that the numbers I am seeing are healthy...
5/21 - preride 175, postride 210
5/22 - 190, 210
5/23, morning ride - 175, 186, afternoon ride 181, 184 mid ride, 186
5/24, 99, 136 midride, 130
I told him that after I did the firmware update last year it was always between 135 and 150 with very little drift pre/post ride. He didn't seem concerned. He did tell me to do a reset using 2 pennies in the battery compartment for a few seconds..so I guess I will try that next...
5/21 - preride 175, postride 210
5/22 - 190, 210
5/23, morning ride - 175, 186, afternoon ride 181, 184 mid ride, 186
5/24, 99, 136 midride, 130
I told him that after I did the firmware update last year it was always between 135 and 150 with very little drift pre/post ride. He didn't seem concerned. He did tell me to do a reset using 2 pennies in the battery compartment for a few seconds..so I guess I will try that next...
05-27-15, 11:58 AM
#7214
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Just got off the phone with them. They said since the drift isn't anymore than 50 on a single ride that the numbers I am seeing are healthy...
5/21 - preride 175, postride 210
5/22 - 190, 210
5/23, morning ride - 175, 186, afternoon ride 181, 184 mid ride, 186
5/24, 99, 136 midride, 130
I told him that after I did the firmware update last year it was always between 135 and 150 with very little drift pre/post ride. He didn't seem concerned. He did tell me to do a reset using 2 pennies in the battery compartment for a few seconds..so I guess I will try that next...
5/21 - preride 175, postride 210
5/22 - 190, 210
5/23, morning ride - 175, 186, afternoon ride 181, 184 mid ride, 186
5/24, 99, 136 midride, 130
I told him that after I did the firmware update last year it was always between 135 and 150 with very little drift pre/post ride. He didn't seem concerned. He did tell me to do a reset using 2 pennies in the battery compartment for a few seconds..so I guess I will try that next...
05-31-15, 03:00 PM
#7215
Senior Member
Question for those who know more than I do, I've seen this particular powertap wheel posted on CL Powertap CycleOps on BontragerHub&RaceLiteRim w/Michelin Krylon 700x23 and not sure whether this is a wired or wireless model, I'm only generally familiar with powertap but not specific models. Is this a reasonable deal or would you expect this particular model to be priced differently?
05-31-15, 03:06 PM
#7216
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Yellow cap Powertaps are the oldest. I'd stay away. It looks like a wired model but the pictures are so crappy it's hard to tell. If it comes with the LYC, you will need a mount, speed sensor, and wiring harness.
06-02-15, 08:21 PM
#7218
Senior Member
Peak 60 minute NP from tonights club race would suggest I bump FTP 10 watts. (my quarq has settled and has been calibrating fine since the freakout)
What say you 33, would you?
What say you 33, would you?
06-02-15, 08:26 PM
#7219
W**** B*
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As I'm sure you already know, a few short intervals of very high power is enough to throw off the NP when the average was actually lower than FTP.
06-03-15, 04:22 AM
#7222
Senior Member
06-03-15, 06:17 AM
#7223
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TL;DR - there is more than one way to skin a cat, no way is perfect, more than one way is best
Alex's Cycle Blog: The seven deadly sins
Normalised Power (from a Hard ~1hr Race)
#4 is pretty handy, particularly as an indicator of when a rider's FTP may have changed. Frequently riders who do not do time trials, but do other races such as shorter road races or criteriums of approximately 1 hour duration, can use this as a crosscheck of their current FTP. Assuming the race was hard (that is, you were pretty much on the limit for most of the race), and you were not overly fatigued beforehand, then the 60 minute maximal Normalised Power should be at least at your FTP if not a little higher (up to about 5% higher). If your 60 minute Normalised Power is reported as more than 5% above your FTP, then that is a strong sign that your FTP needs re-setting (upwards).
#4 is pretty handy, particularly as an indicator of when a rider's FTP may have changed. Frequently riders who do not do time trials, but do other races such as shorter road races or criteriums of approximately 1 hour duration, can use this as a crosscheck of their current FTP. Assuming the race was hard (that is, you were pretty much on the limit for most of the race), and you were not overly fatigued beforehand, then the 60 minute maximal Normalised Power should be at least at your FTP if not a little higher (up to about 5% higher). If your 60 minute Normalised Power is reported as more than 5% above your FTP, then that is a strong sign that your FTP needs re-setting (upwards).
Sin of Sins #6 – 95% of a 20-min mean maximal power = FTP
Well, this method of establishing FTP isn’t one of the listed Seven Deadly Sins in the first place, but it has become such a commonly referred to/utilised method (mainly due to its publication in the excellent book, Training and Racing with a Power Meter) that it gets its own SOS number.
Firstly, the main issue with this common Sin of Sins is that the ratio between 20-min power (or other similar shorter TT duration power) and FTP is not the same for everybody, and neither does the ratio remain static for an individual. One should recognise that due to several factors, not least of which is the contribution of anaerobic capacity and the exact protocol used (e.g. performing a pre-ride blowout effort), that the ratio is likely to be within a range and where someone is within that range is anyone’s guess.
So, FTP might be anywhere in the range of, say 90% to 98% of 20-min max average power. Personally, my FTP has been at both 92% and 96% of my then 20-min max average power. So, by all means use 95% of 20-min max power as a starting point but remember it may well be out by some margin and it would be wise to use an additional or alternative method to validate your FTP estimate.
Well, this method of establishing FTP isn’t one of the listed Seven Deadly Sins in the first place, but it has become such a commonly referred to/utilised method (mainly due to its publication in the excellent book, Training and Racing with a Power Meter) that it gets its own SOS number.
Firstly, the main issue with this common Sin of Sins is that the ratio between 20-min power (or other similar shorter TT duration power) and FTP is not the same for everybody, and neither does the ratio remain static for an individual. One should recognise that due to several factors, not least of which is the contribution of anaerobic capacity and the exact protocol used (e.g. performing a pre-ride blowout effort), that the ratio is likely to be within a range and where someone is within that range is anyone’s guess.
So, FTP might be anywhere in the range of, say 90% to 98% of 20-min max average power. Personally, my FTP has been at both 92% and 96% of my then 20-min max average power. So, by all means use 95% of 20-min max power as a starting point but remember it may well be out by some margin and it would be wise to use an additional or alternative method to validate your FTP estimate.
06-03-15, 01:00 PM
#7224
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
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so I've been training with power for 5 years, lamenting that I can never reach the AP in a race-hour than I can in an hour hillclimb, but never look at NP/EP/XP whatever system you use.
I just went to cycling analytics and tabbed the power chart to EP (his version of NP) and the past few races had 1 hour NP of like ~360. The AP I hit on Palomar this year was 370. My flat 1-hour AP max this year has been 320.
NP is where it's at!
I just went to cycling analytics and tabbed the power chart to EP (his version of NP) and the past few races had 1 hour NP of like ~360. The AP I hit on Palomar this year was 370. My flat 1-hour AP max this year has been 320.
NP is where it's at!
06-03-15, 01:11 PM
#7225
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I hit NP numbers in crits that are consistently 30-40 watts over where I think my FTP is. There's no way that I could do an hour average at some of those NP numbers.