If you have the Garmin enabled for heart rate monitor and are not wearing it while trying to calibrate, the Garmin will search endlessly for the HR monitor before carrying out the calibration.

Hope that helps.

Hugh

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Genetics load the gun, lifestyle pulls the trigger.

That did it, thanks.


After calibrating, got a nice unexpected surprise to know my virtual power is actually around 40-45 watts lower than what my P1s are showing. Always heard it was the opposite.

Excellent news on both counts. Virtual power while a useful concept is a poor cousin to the real thing. Glad you found the calibration solution quicker than I did.

Hugh

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Genetics load the gun, lifestyle pulls the trigger.

Is it even worth doing though? P1 manual is pretty specific about the pedals not needing calibration.

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Next races on the schedule: none at the moment

It was only 7 watts difference if I understand the way the head unit displays. Like I said, my watts were higher than I expected after 6 months of using virtual power on TR. I wanted to calibrate to make sure since I was expecting lower readings. Plus the website does say they recommend a manual zero before each ride.

I think the terms calibration and zero-offset are being used interchangeably here. You are correct, the P1 is calibrated at the factory and this is a one time thing. But I think the OP is referring to a zero-offset procedure which PowerTap does recommend before every ride.

From their website:
Will the P1 need to be calibrated? - There is no extra needed calibration when installed.

Can I manually zero the P1 Pedals? - Yes, just like the PowerTap hub, you can perform a manual zero.We recommend that you perform a manual zero before each ride.

What makes it confusing is the Garmin 500, like most head units, actually say Calibrate on the screen, when in fact they are referring to a zero-offset.

Cheers!

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Power Meter City
Your Power Meter Specialists

Got it. Makes sense - thank you for the explanation!

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Next races on the schedule: none at the moment