I would go with the Power2Max & KK combo. Having the PM to pace yourself in a race will be very helpful, and once you start using power indoors you're going to want it everywhere. Having the trainer adjust resistance is nice, but for me at least focusing on keeping my power output in line with the workout helped the workout go by quicker. I also felt like I learned a little bit more about pacing and how to meter my own efforts.

Ditto this ^
I've been using virtual power on a KK for years and have a hankering for an actual power meter for outdoors.

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<We all know that light travels faster than sound. That's why certain people appear bright until you hear them speak>

+1 - Being able to take power with you on race day/anywhere you go is big.

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Travis Rassat
Vector Cycle Works
Noblesville, IN
BikeFit Instructor | FMS | F.I.S.T. | IBFI
Toughman Triathlon Series Ambassador

+4 on getting a powermeter on your bike. You need it.

P2M, for sure.

Well I went with the kickr. Thanks for the help.














Just kidding. I took everyone's advice and ordered the kk road machine and P2M and picked up a Bontrager Node 1.1 today. I wanted the display to be small a simple so hopefully this one will workout.

Power meter and KK, can't go wrong.

Why don't you get p2max and the kickr? I think its money well spent thatwill help you train and race better (both indoors and out).

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Are you ready to do an Ultraman? | How I calculate Ironman race fueling | Strength Training for Athletes |

Maybe eventually. Not today.

I trained with a powermeter + Trainerroad + Cycleops Fluid2 trainer for the past 1.5 yrs.

I just got a Kickr a few weeks ago.

If you actually train indoors a lot, Kickr is DEFINITELY the way to go. It allows a much better control of your power targets - before using the kickr, the closest I could get was within 10 watts of my power target on Trainerroad. (If target was 200, I'd be usually 200-210, with bigger swings sometimes.) With the Kickr, it's dead-on, like 198-202 for a 200 target. Workouts feel much more reproducible and it really makes the possibility of incrementing FTP by 2 watts per week doable.

I would only say the PM+Fluid trainer would be better if you mainly train outdoors and are only sporadically on the trainer, since you'll then use the PM more. But if you're indoors a lot, Kickr is awesome, SO much better than the powermeter setup (although to be fair, the powermeter setup is pretty darn good as well!)

Another vote for P2M + KK Road Machine. Having a power meter on your bike is a big deal: pacing, analyze race performance, do aero field testing, etc.

I you are just using the node as a display that will work fine, but I do not think that it actually records any data that can be downloaded. Trust me, that is what makes spending the money on a power meter a good worth it. Just getting the average power of your ride is just scratching the surface of the data that a power meter provides. Hopefully you have something that actually records that data.

Didn't think about or know that but I'll be using trainer road for vast majority of my rides. It's hard to explain but I go to Oklahoma for work for 25+ days at a time and literally live on site while here. Usually down miles of gravel road. This was my emphasis on indoor training because it is much easier than leaving at 6 pm and driving my bike to the nearest crappy paved rd. I'll only be doing out door rides when I'm home (DFW, Texas). Ill probably look to upgrade once I've gotten the hang of it all.
Unless you know of a display unit that isnt too expensive that would be better?

The Garmin Edge 500 recently dropped in price to $150. Still over double the price of the Node 1.1, but pretty small incremental increase when you consider the total package you are about to (or already have) buy. Maybe you can still return the Node?

Yeah my wife picked it up today. Hasn't been opened yet. If I can find the garmin 500 for 150 I'll grab it up for sure. Thought they were like 250.

Get the 500. You want to be able to record data.

I am going to go against the crowd. I have both a kickr, a powertap and garmin vector but would recommend the kickr:

I would say the kickr is the best - assuming you do most training indoor of course. I really like the ability to program the workout and with the erg mode be able to zoom out and just do the work without thinking too much. Just focus on pedalling, that is it. I think the benefit of a PM on the bike for outdoor use, if you train mostly indoors, is for races. However, i have had a few training rides where focusing on the numbers did not do me well and I am sure in a race it would have been a disaster going by the numbers. Afterall, things are not static and some days you are stronger than others and going purely by the numbers can be dangerous and lead to sub par performance. That said, if you use it as an indicator but not go by the wattage only, it is less risky.

Just thought of something. With the kk you can't really do real course profile rides on trainerroad can you?

Or you can get a Joule for $99 http://www.powertap.com/...uters/products/joule

Thanks I'll check it out

I haven't done it myself, but I think you can use Perfpro to make a course from a .gpx file and import it to ride.

I think you can also do the same with bestbikesplit.com & Trainerroad, but I forgot the mechanics of doing it.