Power is a lot of fun, especially if you have nerdish tendencies. After a while tho it can get on your tits, seeing how weak you are all the time. I set up my powertap again the other day for an inside ride and was amazed at how hard 300 watts was : ( I wonder what the CINCH one is like? Had not heard of it before. Seems like everyone is doing them these days.
the easton/RF PM they bought from team zwatt. team zwatt mentioned 3 different power meter systems whent he launched and 1 mysteriously disappeared, with easton/RF launching an identical one to the missing team zwatt model. so now we know where it went.
it’s similar to the rotor INpower in that it measures left only by measuring twisting forces on the spindle.
you will be locked into that spindle length though if you go that route, which means you can only use either next sl or turbine cranks, but that may not be an issue.
That’s the issue with any crank-based power meter, I think. Direct-mount also limits your spindle options.
I was recalling Fred’s nerd crank question when I started looking into 30t options for me. My chain guide won’t run as tight with a crank with a spider. A direct-mount crank would give me more security, but rules out any Shimano options.
Yeah. RF lines up their bb30 like sram does, so we are locked into making our own spindles to mate them up with our fsa-made left cranks. which stinks, as it means we have to keep adding spindle lengths. our spindle is actually only intended for next sl, though sort of works on some other options (plus you can use one of our spindles + an allloy bb30 meter or alloy 386 meter if you want a metal crank. the bb30 option just opens up q-factor to line up better with something wider than a next sl).
Okay, this is a vastly more basic question than most of what’s been going on in this thread but:
I want to start doing longer rides in the fall here in Virginia, and am curious if there’s a reason to get a midrange Garmin (like, 520?) rather than just using my iPhone for navigation. I don’t do any power*/cadence/HR measurement and care about speed only in the most broad terms, like how long will this 110 mile ride take, rounded to the nearest hour.
Is there some magical additional functionality that a dedicated GPS device like a Garmin offers? I’m generally impressed by how fancy they look, as I last bought a bike computer c.2005, but I don’t quite see how they’re better for my needs than an iPhone with a whole lot of extra batery.
*unless there’s some $50 power meter that talks to iOs devices
[quote=iwillbe]I don’t do any power*/cadence/HR measurement and care about speed only in the most broad terms, like how long will this 110 mile ride take, rounded to the nearest hour.
Is there some magical additional functionality that a dedicated GPS device like a Garmin offers? [/quote]
Unless you’re doing something with the data, which it doesn’t sound like you are, the short answer is no.
I’ve put the data Stravistix generates up against what Golden Cheetah collects from the power meter. The difference is within 5%, once you figure out what terms are equivalent. At that point, all you’re going to gain is not having to key the information in.
An iPhone with RideWithGPS or Strava Routes will give you all of it.
The benefits of a head unit are:
- your phone stays in your pocket
- your phone doesn’t need to burn its battery to do navigation
- adjustable data fields.
- sensor data recording and display
I like having a head unit, but I’m also not really navigating with my head unit.
My experience with Garmin devices is limited to troubleshooting ones that are failing for some reason (poor design, manufacturing differences, etc.) so take what I’m about to say with a massive grain of salt:
if you like the Garmin 520, look at the Lezyne GPS range, and the Wahoo head units, where you may be able to get more function at a lower price.
The Giant Neos Track GPS has all of the functionality of the 520 at a much lower cost
[quote=eric_ssucks]The benefits of a head unit are:
- your phone stays in your pocket
- your phone doesn’t need to burn its battery to do navigation
- adjustable data fields.
- sensor data recording and display
I like having a head unit, but I’m also not really navigating with my head unit.
My experience with Garmin devices is limited to troubleshooting ones that are failing for some reason (poor design, manufacturing differences, etc.) so take what I’m about to say with a massive grain of salt:
if you like the Garmin 520, look at the Lezyne GPS range, and the Wahoo head units, where you may be able to get more function at a lower price.[/quote]
This is about what I’d thought. I have a bunch of backup battery power (battery case + lipstick backup because I’m paranoid), so I should be fine as long as i’m not running the phone with the GPS and screen on all day. Having to unlock the phone to check navigation prompts is annoying, but if I’m only doing it about once an hour, it’s not so bad.
I did a fair bit of data collection and consideration in my 20’s, lots of spreadsheets and wattage calculations. It made riding bikes less fun, and I stopped caring about numbers at the end of the 2000’s. I wouldn’t mind having a countdown timer for intervals, but that’s a different application than mapping on long rides, and I’m basically cool with counting down in my head.
I do like the lezyne mapping function, but it’s no Google maps/ride with gps/etc.
FWIW I use the tiny Garmin 25 and I like it a lot. I mostly just record with it but I have used it with routes before. Unfortunately you have to use the Garmin site on a desktop to plot a route (can’t use your phone) but otherwise it’s just right for me. It’s simple and I really like the size, much better than having to use my enormous phone.
[quote=iwillbe]Okay, this is a vastly more basic question than most of what’s been going on in this thread but:
I want to start doing longer rides in the fall here in Virginia, and am curious if there’s a reason to get a midrange Garmin (like, 520?) rather than just using my iPhone for navigation. I don’t do any power*/cadence/HR measurement and care about speed only in the most broad terms, like how long will this 110 mile ride take, rounded to the nearest hour.
Is there some magical additional functionality that a dedicated GPS device like a Garmin offers? I’m generally impressed by how fancy they look, as I last bought a bike computer c.2005, but I don’t quite see how they’re better for my needs than an iPhone with a whole lot of extra batery.
*unless there’s some $50 power meter that talks to iOs devices[/quote]
i got the garmin b/c im going to be riding in new places and will need directions constantly, plus wanted to have the phone available for calls in an emergency, but it sounds like you’ve got all that covered.
I figured that my current solution (iphone and backup batteries) was decent if a bit inelegant, but I’m often surprised by what technology I had been ignoring can do. For all I knew, Garmin head units could voice dictate text messages and play Pokemon Go while keeping a 15 hour battery life.
I guess I’m sort of surprised that separate head units are still a thing - I note that Stages can talk directly to a phone, why isn’t this universal already?
Separate head units are a thing because I don’t want my phone exposed on the front of my bike where it can get destroyed. Phone cost a whole lot more and easier to break. My Garmins have taken some hard hits.
Any power meter can talk to your phone. If it’s Android it most likely has ANT+
https://www.thisisant.com/consumer/ant-101/ant-in-phones
If not, you can get 4iiii Innovations V100 HR monitor. It bridges all ANT+ devices to bluetooth.
It has been my experience that ANT+ is much less common than that site leads you to believe, but BTLE is superior in many ways W.R.T. data transmission and every phone does Bluetooth.
Yeah, that. “Extensive tire database” pretty much means that your favorite tire isn’t there.
Superfluous CAPITALIZATION and overuse of “Quotes” has me “CONVINCED”
road.cc somehow still gave it a generous 1.5 stars
Lemme guess: it doesn’t work.