newjunior

Here's where I am now

• HRM
• Garmin Edge 500
• Speed/Cadence
• Broke ($150)
• Cat 4 Junior

I've been looking at the following:

• Stages Crank Based (800ish)
• CycleOps Powercal ($100)

What should I get?
I'm leaning towards PowerCal because I'll have it NOW rather than the 5-6 months it's gonna take for me to get to the Stages. Any opinions?

umcade

Get a used wired Ptap. They usually go for 200-300$ depending on wheel build it comes with.

newjunior

I want it to be compatible with my Edge... Is wired compatible with Edge or only PTap's proprietary head units

HMF

Don't get either of those. Get the used PowerTap (any wireless version). Do it right the first time.

newjunior

Alright. Been looking at Ebay, anywhere else to buy? And why is wheel based better than a crank or HR based?

carpediemracing 

Wheel is cheaper than crank based, based on your wants ("now", "$150").

HR based basically can't be accurate. Okay maybe that's harsh, but there's a reason why everyone didn't go out and buy the PowerCal as soon as it came out (and related devices).

Look at other forums classifieds, slowtwitch seems to have a lot of turn over in their classifieds. There are classifieds here too. Keep an ear out at local races and group rides.

newjunior

Will do!

carpediemracing 

You can get a pretty complete crank based power system for $800-1000 used. I haven't looked recently but my SRM was $800 or something like that. I bought a Powertap, realized real quickly that I would have to buy $2400 in hubs minimum, decided to go SRM, and bought a bike that had an SRM on it for about $1000 more than the SRM itself. Sold off some stuff. Still racing the component group 5 years later.

I also took my time. I spend 1-2 years looking at power meters, the PT-> SRM switch took a summer, etc.

Although things seemed really important when I started racing you're either going to be a top level rider or you're not. If you are going to be a top level rider then a power meter won't matter because after you easily/accidentally win the first 5 or 10 races you enter someone is going to set you up with whatever you need. If you aren't going to be a top level rider then a power meter right now doesn't matter because it just doesn't. Race hard, use your HR/speed/cadence charts (you can download stuff off your Garmin?) to figure out what you're doing right/wrong, and save up a bit for the power meter. The charts are good - until I had my SRM I had no way of knowing what I did during a ride - I only knew avg and max values. I had no idea how I did on a particular climb or whatever prior to the SRM.

rbart4506

Good post CDR...

Hermes

Order of preference for power measurement.

SRM (Future owner)
Quarq (owner)
PT (owner)
Stopwatch (owner)
All the rest. (not likely)

bikepro

This is a very good choice. You will have a single wire running from a small "fin" on the left chainstay. You can easily run the wire from there, up the down tube to the computer on the handle bar. If you want to do it right, get the wire covers used for the Di2 shifters to cover the wire. Forget the CycleOps Powercal. Even the Stages system is dubious since it is based on doubling the power from one crank arm.

bikepro

Wired PT can only be used with the wired head unit. You can still get a used wireless ANT+ Power Tap on eBay fairly cheap. Just be sure it uses ANT+ Some of the older wireless were not ANT+.

retrac1324

The Powercal is really limited in what it offers.

https://dcrainmaker.com/2012/11/cycle...th-review.html
https://bikeradar.com/gear/category/accessories/gadgets/product/review-cycleops-cycleops-powercal-47026

mattm

If you're actually broke, save the $$ for entry fees, food, and gas.

shovelhd

They can be upgraded with an $89 upgrader. If you look around, you may find a used upgrader for half that. The module has at least two upgrades in it.

Agreed that a wired powertap is a waste for someone who has a Garmin.

topflightpro

Note, the "THEY" that Shovel is referring to is the PowerTap wireless 2.4. Wired PowerTaps cannot be upgraded to wireless to work with a Garmin.

And yeah, you can find a decent used crank-based PM for $800-$1000. We may soon be selling my wife's Quarq, and if we do, I probably will list it for $1050 with hopes of getting $900 - Craigslist just seems to work that way.

newjunior

Well who ever sold anything on Craigslist for what they wanted anyway? Start high and work down. But I'm now refreshing ebay and craigslist like a madman, and have emailed several members of my team as well.