Powerbeam Pro

guadzilla · December 26, 2011, 8:26am

I have Kurt Kinetic Road Machine, and do most of my structured training on it, and have been thinking of upgrading to a Powerbeam Pro.

A few questions:

1/ What is the ride quality of the Powerbeam? It is as choppy as a mag trainer, or is it closer to a fluid trainer?

2/ Can you do ERG workouts (e.g., like the ones being sold on Trainingpeaks for the Computrainer) on the Powerbeam?

3/ How does one adjust resistance on the Powerbeam? On the fluid trainer, you simply go faster and the resistance increases. Do you have that mode on the Powerbeam as well, or do you need to set a desired power level through the controller?

Anything else I should know?

TIA.

irontri · December 26, 2011, 3:55pm

I have Kurt Kinetic Road Machine, and do most of my structured training on it, and have been thinking of upgrading to a Powerbeam Pro.

A few questions:

1/ What is the ride quality of the Powerbeam? It is as choppy as a mag trainer, or is it closer to a fluid trainer?

2/ Can you do ERG workouts (e.g., like the ones being sold on Trainingpeaks for the Computrainer) on the Powerbeam?

3/ How does one adjust resistance on the Powerbeam? On the fluid trainer, you simply go faster and the resistance increases. Do you have that mode on the Powerbeam as well, or do you need to set a desired power level through the controller?

Anything else I should know?

TIA.

I train on one and LOVE it. Answers to your questions:
1-RIde quality is silky smooth. It has a farily heavy flywheel, maybe 18lbs, and helps cause a smoother, steadier feel
2-You CAN do pre-programed workouts, but not sure if they are ERG. You program them in, but I believe, can also download them into poweragent.
3-The resistance, in this case specifically power, is adjusted by your head unit, in my case, the Joule 3.0. It’s an iterative loop, whereby you adjust the Joule, it tells the trainer to change resistance, your output is measured, and the trainer modifies.

Let me know if you have any more questions. By the way, I have an extra one for sale:)

guadzilla · December 26, 2011, 5:40pm

Thanks - PM sent, btw
.

thekid · December 28, 2011, 2:46pm

Check this out. www.virtualtraining.cycleops.com/

stratman05 · December 28, 2011, 3:20pm

You have way more flexibility for workout types, but you can not do .ERG workouts from training peaks.
Depends on what you are doing. If it’s pre-programmed, the resistance will adjust based on the desired metric (power, power range, slope, etc).

Check my signature for the link to ErgDB . you can import .ERG files and then export the PowerAgent workout equivalent.

ghill · January 16, 2012, 10:34am

do you still have one for sale?

thanks

irontri · January 16, 2012, 4:14pm

Sure do. It’s brand new, inbox

coopdog · January 16, 2012, 4:25pm

I cant add more to your questions that have already been noted. However, I have been using the Powerbeam for about 4 months now and really am impressed.

It is very easy to load your own work-outs with Power Agent, and compared to my old fluid trainer, the time flys by when riding a course to to the constant changing.

I also found it very easy and intuitive to use and set up with the Joule 3.0, and the couple of questions I had for the customer service reps were handled quickly.

I only have 2 complaints (and they small ones)…

There is not a simple “start/stop” button on the Joule 3.0. You have to press and hold a button, and the only way the Joule picks up data is if you have either a power reading or heart rate reading (you can change the setting to either).
My unit must have a small glitch. 99% of my workouts the Joule unit stops reading the power between 35-40 minutes into the workout. I have to stop and unplug the unit and it reads power again. Very strange and consistantly 35-40 minutes into the workout…

guadzilla · January 17, 2012, 6:44am

Thanks, Coop. I think I’m going to get it (timely revival of this thread, even)

Former_User · January 17, 2012, 7:45am

Agree with the others, i can also say this has been the best feeling trainer i have been on, and i have tested quite a few high end trainers. Also one aspect i really enjoy is the slope control, i can make the resistance very similar to climbing.

el-jibe · January 17, 2012, 9:45am

As we talking about the Powerbeam Pro, I would have to ask something about that.

It seems whatever the power I am pedaling, I’m always have to be + or - around 87-90 rpm.
I would like to have rpm dissociated from the power i.e. 110 rpm at 150 watts or 80 rpm at 150 watts if I want, or other example 100 rpm at 300 w or 80 rpm at 300 w if I want to work more on strength.
Is it possible ? How ?
Thanks

coopdog · January 17, 2012, 11:01am

Cant you just deactivate or delete the cadence sensor?

If you have the joule set to manual workout, and set to a particular power setting, I have found cadence doesn’t matter. Do you have it set to target slope instead of power?

el-jibe · January 17, 2012, 11:22am

Cant you just deactivate or delete the cadence sensor?

If you have the joule set to manual workout, and set to a particular power setting, I have found cadence doesn’t matter. Do you have it set to target slope instead of power?

I don’t want to deactivate cadence sensor, I like to have the information, specially in high power.
I don’t have the Joule, I have the former device (can’t remember the name), that was sold with the PowerBeam. I preprogram my workouts on PowerAgent before, for more accuracy during the training. I always target power. But I should have the choice of the cadence I want to use, or am I wrong ?

coopdog · January 17, 2012, 12:37pm

I know that is how the Joule works, not familiar with the unit you have. May be worth a call/ email to customer service, I have found them very helpful…

el-jibe · January 17, 2012, 1:33pm

You’re right. I shall mail them.
Thanks

SCOTTinNJ · January 17, 2012, 4:21pm

As we talking about the Powerbeam Pro, I would have to ask something about that.

It seems whatever the power I am pedaling, I’m always have to be + or - around 87-90 rpm.
I would like to have rpm dissociated from the power i.e. 110 rpm at 150 watts or 80 rpm at 150 watts if I want, or other example 100 rpm at 300 w or 80 rpm at 300 w if I want to work more on strength.
Is it possible ? How ?
Thanks

The ranges you have above should work fine. The only thing that messes with my unit is if my cadence drops really low, like below 60 rpm. I believe there is a chart floating around the net somewhere that shows the power v. cadence max/mins for the powerbeam. Or maybe Saris can provide it to you. Again though, the ranges you are talking about should work fine.

el-jibe · January 17, 2012, 4:25pm

They should, I know that, there are nothing abnormal. But they don’t.

SCOTTinNJ · January 17, 2012, 4:32pm

Sorry. Found what I was thinking of. It’s speed vs. wattage. Not sure if that helps you.

SCOTTinNJ · January 17, 2012, 4:35pm

They should, I know that, there are nothing abnormal. But they don’t.

What mode are you using? Are you just setting 150 watts and then varying your cadence? if so, the faster you spin the less resistance the unit should provide. I can check on mine, but I’m fairly certain I can go up to 120 rpm or more. On the flip side, I probably can get down to 70 rpm or so before the unit starts to act up.

If you have it at a defined slope, like 0%, then things might be a bit different. The power there will depend on gearing and cadence.

el-jibe · January 17, 2012, 4:46pm

I’m using the mode “target Power” in Poweragent. Slope is always 0% (I never use this mode).
If I’m setting 150 w, I can begin at 70 rpm, it will be easy till I arrive around 90 rpm. If at 110 rpm, it will get harder till I decrease around 90 rpm.
At high power, it ever more relevant. I can’t spin at 110 rpm at 300 watts (I sometimes would like !).