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Home > Forum > Triathlon Forum > P1 - what is my problem?

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P1 - what is my problem?
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MI_Mumps
Dec 19, 17 15:57
Post #1 of 9 (1219 views)
My lovely wife gave me the left-only PowerTap P1 pedals for Christmas. My readings have been wildly inconsistent - pedaling the same cadence/ gear/ trainer resistance and the power fluctuates wildly by the second. 90-163-221-179 etc.

Both their PowerTap app and Trainer Road show this. Battery is new, I calibrate, I put on their pedals, tire pressure is good, chain rings are round, firmware is up to date.

Ideas? I have a Wahoo Blue speed/ cadence sensor. Could that Bluetooth signal be interfering? Could the cadence magnet on the left crank be a problem?
Aaron Bales
Lansing Triathlon Team
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Re: P1 - what is my problem? [MI_Mumps] [ In reply to ]
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Jan de Visser
Dec 19, 17 16:20
Post #2 of 9 (1197 views)
MI_Mumps wrote:
My lovely wife gave me the left-only PowerTap P1 pedals for Christmas. My readings have been wildly inconsistent - pedaling the same cadence/ gear/ trainer resistance and the power fluctuates wildly by the second. 90-163-221-179 etc.

Both their PowerTap app and Trainer Road show this. Battery is new, I calibrate, I put on their pedals, tire pressure is good, chain rings are round, firmware is up to date.

Ideas? I have a Wahoo Blue speed/ cadence sensor. Could that Bluetooth signal be interfering? Could the cadence magnet on the left crank be a problem?

Get in touch with Powertap support. I had the same problem (with the L/R pedals but same symptoms) and they had to do some magic.
Citizen of the world, former drunkard. Resident Traumatic Brain Injury advocate.
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Re: P1 - what is my problem? [MI_Mumps] [ In reply to ]
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bx3
Dec 19, 17 17:07
Post #3 of 9 (1164 views)
MI_Mumps wrote:
the power fluctuates wildly by the second. 90-163-221-179 etc.

This is actually normal. All power meters do this. Use the 3 second average or 5 second average display feature on your head unit to get less erratic numbers.
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Re: P1 - what is my problem? [MI_Mumps] [ In reply to ]
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kileyay
Dec 19, 17 17:18
Post #4 of 9 (1144 views)
Your problem is that you are relying on an inherently inferior mechanism for accurate and reliable power assessment

Is it so hard for the world to acknowledge that there are better locations on a bicycle to detect force measurements than others?
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Re: P1 - what is my problem? [kileyay] [ In reply to ]
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MI_Mumps
Dec 19, 17 17:25
Post #5 of 9 (1138 views)
Your problem is you relied on attending an inferior member of the Seven Sisters for college. Bryn Mawr?

I missed you, Kile Yay. That’s a solid post.
Aaron Bales
Lansing Triathlon Team
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Re: P1 - what is my problem? [MI_Mumps] [ In reply to ]
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SLOgoing
Dec 19, 17 17:48
Post #6 of 9 (1118 views)
Do you have your settings correct? Mine were wonky but it thought I had a 172.5 on the left and a 165 on the right. Mass confusion ensued until I corrected crank length.

And make sure that new battery is lithium. It matters.
Hillary Trout
San Luis Obispo, CA

Your trip is short. Make the most of it.
https://www.slogoing.net/
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Re: P1 - what is my problem? [SLOgoing] [ In reply to ]
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MI_Mumps
Dec 19, 17 18:14
Post #7 of 9 (1090 views)
Good call. Battery is what came with it - I'll verify it is lithium. I'll double check the crank numbers.
Aaron Bales
Lansing Triathlon Team
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Re: P1 - what is my problem? [bx3] [ In reply to ]
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MI_Mumps
Dec 19, 17 18:17
Post #8 of 9 (1083 views)
bx3 wrote:
MI_Mumps wrote:
the power fluctuates wildly by the second. 90-163-221-179 etc.


This is actually normal. All power meters do this. Use the 3 second average or 5 second average display feature on your head unit to get less erratic numbers.

Man, that's going to be annoying. That's why people use those average display features, eh?

I'll check and see if Trainer Road or the PowerTap app offer that. Not sure what my head unit plan is going to be for racing. I haven't paired it with my TomTom watch yet.

Ah crap, just opened myself up to more sniping from Kileyay...
Aaron Bales
Lansing Triathlon Team
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Re: P1 - what is my problem? [MI_Mumps] [ In reply to ]
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quintana who
Dec 19, 17 20:04
Post #9 of 9 (1020 views)
Probably because you clearly couldn't wait until Christmas to open your present. They'll probably work fine after 25th Dec.
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