I’m finally in a position to put some green down. I now have a choice:
- Race wheels: Planet X 82 tubs
OR - Ergomo pro powermeter.
For the record my current race wheels are 2001 Mavic Kysiriums.
Any thoughts?
Will
Ooh - tough call since your current “race” wheels are not aero at all (those are my trainers)
Both will make you faster - the wheels right away with no further effort (nice wheels BTW, but I’d do an 82 F/101 R since they cost about the same). Probably looking at an immediate 3 mins per 40K (WAG) right there.
But, the ergomo will make you faster in the long run and overall (assuming the thing works well - I’ve heard some rough stories …)
considering the problems I have seen of late with the Ergomo…I say a Power Tap with a disc cover…
(or an SRM:-))
KP
I love my Ergomo but am skeptical of it at times, i am going to ride it into the ground and then get an SRM when i win some kinda lottery.
tfun~
My Ergomo is rock solid and has been for the last year. I sold my race wheels to fund it and am glad I did. I eventually bought race wheels to replace what I had. Never really missed them. You will use the Ergomo (or other PM) every ride. I am a big believer in it and I think a PM should come before race wheels for anyone who is serious about getting faster over the long haul. Of course this assumes you are willing to learn how to use it. If you can’t be bothered to learn a few easy concepts then you are better buying race wheels. No sense in having a $1500 PM acting as a bike computer :).
Alternatively you could have a PowerTap laced into a set of race wheels. Zipp and Hed both offer this option. Maybe get a set of clinchers that you can race and train on. Zipp 404’s with PT can be found on ebay for less than 1500 in the off season. Do a search and see what you can come up with.
You want to look fast or be fast?
If the latter, Ergomo. Or any other power meter. The speed you might gain from the wheels is negligable when compared against the speed you’ll gain from training properly with a power meter.
Wheels.
As one of my teammates puts it, screw the power meter, take that money, spend it on a trip to France and go train in the mountains for a week, that will do you much better and be way more memorable, then getting a power meter or blingy race wheels to save you 5 seconds in your race.
ummm i see what your saying here. And i Agree with the logic, but you will definitely get more than 5 seconds with aero wheels than ksyriums. And a PM could help you pace better to help with a killer run…
why not get the wheels/PM and ALSO train hard…
Go with the PX 82 wheelset. They are great wheels. Get a powermeter later on when you have some more money. You can still train effectively without a powermeter and the 82s over the Ksyriums are free speed.
Ric
My Ergomo is rock solid and has been for the last year. I sold my race wheels to fund it and am glad I did. I eventually bought race wheels to replace what I had. Never really missed them. You will use the Ergomo (or other PM) every ride. I am a big believer in it and I think a PM should come before race wheels for anyone who is serious about getting faster over the long haul. Of course this assumes you are willing to learn how to use it. If you can’t be bothered to learn a few easy concepts then you are better buying race wheels. No sense in having a $1500 PM acting as a bike computer :).
Alternatively you could have a PowerTap laced into a set of race wheels. Zipp and Hed both offer this option. Maybe get a set of clinchers that you can race and train on. Zipp 404’s with PT can be found on ebay for less than 1500 in the off season. Do a search and see what you can come up with.
anyone serious about getting fast would find a way to train full time!!! a powermeter is only another gadget from so many and definitly not essential to become a faster athlete, there is a lot of other cheaper option to monitor your training and everyone as to choose what tools fit him the best.
as for me, i dont want a powermeter, it takes away a lot in the riding, i prefer to learn to know myself to another level and trust my body and listen to it. I dont think any bad of powermeter and would recommend them to many people but you can make it to the highest level of the sport without them for sure…
the powertap is the best investment i have made, second to powercranks. i’m trying to find a way to buy an ergomo so i can use better race wheels now that i’ve trained for 3 years with power - right now i use a wheel cover and rev-x front - not the best combo and pretty heavy.
I would buy wheels, though probably not tubulars.
Having had an ergomo and several different sets of race wheels, the answer to your question is mostly personality driven. If you are a number-cruncher, very detail oriented and loved to “analyze” your ride then perhaps a PM will suit you. Mine just annoyed me after a while. PM’s are not “magic pacing devices” as some would have you believe, though they are highly useful to show how you spike power. If you are a long-course racer doing only IMs then the PM becomes a little more valuable.
For the kind of money you are talking about, you could build a PT wheel, have a wheelcover to use for races and buy a deep front wheel with the rest.
FWIW, my Ergomo worked fine for a couple of years and allowed you to use whatever race wheels you wish. As for being a better long-term investment, I can say the same thing about a ruled notebook. Buy one, record your volume and make the goal to increase it each year. Do that for a while and you will be faster as well. After all, MORE is MORE.
Chad
What you are saying is correct. Lots of riding will do it all by itself. I did this for many years. After a while though I wasn’t getting any faster. In addition, I lost the ability/desire to log 200-300 miles a week on the bike. Job, family, injuries, burn out, etc. I like being able to quantify my bike work outs and feel it is a great help. All ithat being said- yeah you don’t need one. Get on your bike and ride as far and as fast as possible and that will work just as well, if not better. :).
have ergomo and it’s cool. a great teaching tool, you’ll find alot about yourself - good and bad!
Thanks for all your replies. For the record my main focus is for IM’s. Having read all your replies I guess my real dilema is this:
I have a CT which enables me to train with power, albeit from the confines of my garage, but I can’t take the powermeter out on the road or to a race. My main thrust for wanting the PM is to be able to pace better during the IM bike leg. However, many athletes figured out how to pace the bike correctly before PM’s so there has to be a cheaper way to do it than buying a PM. Also a PM will not guarantee good pacing, the kit is only as good as the rider that interprets it, or takes notice of it. I understand the limitations of using a HR monitor to pace with, but truth be known I have always ignored my HR monitor during a race, so I have never given it a chance to prove itself. If I’m expecting the PM to be a magic pacing bullet, when I ignored the HR, then maybe I’m fooling myself.
As for the wheels . .well it’s a no brainer. I buy the wheels, get a bit faster and my bike looks cooler.
Any further observations would be much appreciated.
Will