This is one of the questions that more and more amateur road cycling enthusiasts are asking themselves. The power meter—also known as a wattmeter—is an essential element for any professional. But are they really useful for someone who takes cycling as a hobby? What is true and confirmed by any physical training expert is that training, or even competing, with a power meter allows you to measure every effort precisely and instantly. The power meter provides very valuable information to improve your fitness and economize your efforts. If you are interested in having this valuable information to improve your performance as a cyclist, you should consider buying a power meter. But before that, and especially considering its high price, it is necessary to take into account a series of advantages and disadvantages, like the ones we explain below, to know if it will really be useful for you on your rides.
Reasons to buy a power meter
In professional cycling, the use of a power meter is widely established. And that's not by chance. These are some of the advantages that power meters offer and from which you can benefit:
Provides accurate and reliable data about your performance
A power meter, as its name suggests, measures the power, expressed in watts (W), that we apply to the pedals, resulting from the relationship between force and speed. The meter, installed at strategic points on the bike, such as the pedals, cranks, bottom bracket, or hub, precisely collects the power data and displays it in real time on a compatible cycle computer (mounted on a handlebar bracket), connected and synchronized with the meter (usually via ANT+ wireless protocol). Power data provides more precise and reliable information than physiological data, such as heart rate. The former do not vary depending on external factors such as weather, atmospheric pressure, altitude, or the cyclist's physical condition (fatigue, stress, etc).
Optimize your pedaling cadence
2017/07/ciclistas-circulando.jpg"> When pedaling, advancing as much as possible with the least energy expenditure is every cyclist’s dream. A power meter can help you improve this relationship. You just need to know at what pedaling cadence you generate the most watts, whether climbing or on flat terrain. And you can only get this data by installing a power meter on your bike. Many power meters are capable of detecting and displaying real-time pedaling cadence data, expressed in rpm (revolutions per minute). That way, you can improve on the fly, pedaling with more or less intensity to find the cadence at which you generate the most watts.
You will get more out of every training session
The two previous reasons will help you make the most of every ride and improve your performance. With a power meter, you can measure all the parameters and details of your pedaling. You can interpret this information day by day, or week by week, using the software that comes with it and displays the records on the bike computer.
Since the arrival of power meters, the dreaded 'bonks' have become less and less frequent in professional cycling
You will be able to compare the data obtained and see your progress, so you can make changes to your training plan if necessary. The help of a personal coach at this point is very important, in case you don't have much experience training with watts.
You will economize your efforts
2020/11/cyclist-pedaling-1.jpg"> Training by feel, or based on heart rate data, makes it easier to exceed your physical limits without knowing it and enter the dreaded overtraining zone, accelerating the onset of fatigue. If you don't have objective data on your performance, which only a power meter provides, you won't know the exact margins within which you should be pedaling. Nor will you know the exact moment to increase or decrease the intensity of your training, which generates extra energy expenditure that can disrupt your improvement plans. In short, the power meter will help you economize your efforts.
➡️ What types of cycling power meters are there?
It serves as a guide for competing
Finally, if you have decided to get into competition, doing so accompanied by a power meter in each carrera will be a plus for achieving success. Many professional cyclists take advantage of having real-time power data to set margins and thus avoid overexertion that leads to fatigue or even bonks. In fact, these latter are becoming less and less frequent in professional cycling. Precisely because the power meter tells the cyclist at what cadence to pedal at all times to avoid entering that dreaded overexertion zone.
Reasons not to buy a power meter
2019/10/bike-computer-3.jpg"> In addition to these proven advantages, buying a power meter also comes with a series of drawbacks. You should consider all of them before deciding to get one.
Its price is high
Without a doubt, this is the biggest disadvantage when buying a power meter. Most amateur cyclists do not have enough budget, and that ultimately puts them off. Although its market value has recently dropped, and the supply has increased, a new power meter usually does not cost less than 300 euros. However, as an incentive to buy, there are very reliable models with error margins close to 2% for this entry price, such as the Stages Power for the left crank arm.
One power meter per bike
Apart from the power meters integrated into the pedal, which can be moved from one bike to another without any issues, the rest of the meters—especially the most reliable and durable ones (the spider and bottom bracket types)—present many complications when it comes to moving them from one bike to another. If you train with two bicycles (a road aero bike and another endurance bike, for example), the most advisable thing is to buy one for each, which leads to increased expenses.
They are incompatible with some crank models
2019/05/cropped-Road-bike-with-disc-brakes-min.jpg"> Besides this difficulty, each power meter has its own compatibilities. There are meters only valid for certain Shimano cranks, others for SRAM, hub-based ones for specific wheels, etc. That’s why before buying a power meter you should know about these compatibilities, which can limit the number of options to choose from and force you to pay more than you had planned.
Difficulty interpreting the data
There’s no point in having a power meter if you’re not going to know how to interpret the data it provides and apply it to your training plan. If you have no knowledge of physical preparation and have never planned your rides with performance improvement in mind, it is advisable to hire a personal trainer. This person should have experience working with power data to provide you with the best advice.
Addiction or dependence on the power meter
Although it has meant great progress for cyclists, the power meter can also lead to the cyclist becoming robotic, which, taken to the extreme, creates total dependence and even addiction to the data, ignoring sensations. No cyclist should ever forget this last aspect. You can’t make every decision based exclusively on what a screen says. A middle ground, combining data and sensations, would be ideal.
It is worth buying a power meter if you are truly committed to improving your performance on every ride or training session, or if you have set yourself a calendar of competitions or high-demand cycling events. The high investment will be rewarded in the medium and long term if you interpret the data correctly and use them to improve. For the rest of amateur cyclists, a power meter is still a dispensable element. Its high cost does not compensate for the little benefit you might get from it if you do not follow a defined training plan or set objectives during the season. It would be more advisable to acquire a heart rate monitor, which is much more affordable and easier to install, and train based on heart rate zones.