Powertap without heart rate worth it?

Triathlon Forum
1

Hey everyone. I am considering purchasing two PowerTaps. One for me and the other for my wife. Obviously, buying two of everything stretches the budget. There is a substantial price difference between the wired version (MSRP $599.95) and the wireless PowerTap Pro (MSRP $1199.99), which is the cheapest wireless model to offer heart rate.

The wired version does not offer heart rate, and I was wondering if that feature was worth the additional cost of the PowerTap Pro. We have Polar heart rate monitors, but I’m wondering if we would be missing out on correlating power output with heart rate, cadence, and RPE if the heart rate data is not collected along with the other. (I hope this is making sense!)

So, in a nutshell, can someone get as much out of a wired Powertap with a separate heart rate monitor as they would with a wireless Powertap that did heart rate as well? Any thoughts are welcome.

Thanks!

2

If you are going to make that significant investment, I would get the wireless with heart rate monitor so you can consolidate some electronics and get better feedback.

3

I have the wired with HR. I never use HR. The wireless would be nice, but not $500 nice.

4

I would NOT get a wired powerTap, very annoying, but that is just me. I hate wires.

for what it’s worth, I do not use the HRM on any of my PowerTaps. Its just too much info. Power trumps HR for me.

I think I have a PowerTap elite+, and with a Flashpoint 80 wheelbuilder.com build, without computer it costs me ~$1400.

I use HR on the run because I am going to wear a watch for pacing anyway.

5

You’re looking to get a device that measures direct power output and worried about a device that indirectly measures what you are doing?

Heck, I have 2-3 PT NIB HRM straps I’ll sell super cheap. (unless I tossed them which is entirely probable)

6

The 2009 wired powertap reads hr if you buy the Cycleops hr strap for $59. An older wired model can be upgraded to hr for $199.

7

IF you are going to have power on the bike, you will soon find HR is nearly irrelevant.

I can count on one hand the # of times I’ve used the HR strap for my PT SL+ wireless wheel. I didn’t spend all the extra $ to “upgrade” from wired for HR.
(altho the old wired ones did/do have HR, but I didn’t use it then, either).

PS - does Competitive Cyclist still have that killer closeout deal on wired PT’s going?

Ah yes, they do. WITH HR, if that’s still of interest to you:

http://www.competitivecyclist.com/road-bikes/product-components/2009-cycleops-power-tap-compdt-rr-1.1-complete-wheel-5905.380.0.html

No need to thank me. Beers will suffice. : )

8

I’m new to this stuff so bear with me. If you don’t use the HR function, aren’t you limiting your ability to compare power output to your exertion level?

9

Interesting question, because the first few years with my PT I required myself to always wear it. Now I barely ever remember to put it on. It is data I don’t do much with. Not that it is irrelevant, because it is interesting to look at. However, it just doesn’t jive with the protocol. Show me the watts, baby!

10

power output is your exertion.

11

Did it take you a while to associate your power output with a certain heart rate level or did you base it on RPE? I think part of the issue is that I have based most of my training on heart rate, so it is hard to grasp how relying on something other than heart rate is going to work!

12

Right, but how do you associate the power output with your physiological response to that output?

13

Once you do your testing with the power meter then you will never use the HR for cycling again. Basicly read this short book, before you purchase and it will guide you to why you do not need HR.
http://www.amazon.com/Training-Racing-Power-Meter-Hunter/dp/1931382794

-mb

14

Thanks for the heads-up on the Competitive Cyclist deal! As I mentioned in response to someone else, what is tough for me is that I’ve always based everything on heart rate and RPE. Using something other than that is completely foreign.

15

Thanks for the link. Based on everyone’s responses and your e-mail, I am getting the impression that HR becomes irrelevant pretty quickly. Thanks again.

16

I look at the numbers being produced and then look to see what my FTP is.

Hr is an indirect measurement. why would I take a direct measurement and peg it to an indirect measurement that fluctuates based upon numerous variables?

Before PM’s LTHR was the bomb, now it’s collateral damage.

17

Ok, I get what you’re saying. I have always based my training on heart rate using different zones depending on the workout. Establishing the FTP on a PowerMeter allows me to then based my workout on a percentage of FTP depending on the type of workout I want (i.e. recovery, endurance, etc.). Using the PowerTap is a similar strategy, but using a more accurate (and as you said…less variable) measurement.

18

How clean were you able to run the wires? I haven’t seen a wired set-up, so I have no idea how many wires are involved. Thanks!!

19

I have a wired SRM.

I’m pretty happy with how clean mine is run. I honestly don’t understand why people think it’s such a hassle to run a simple wire - as far as the powertap goes why would you spend 800 dollars more just because it’s wireless?

20

Almost 3 years using PowerTap. I still wear the HR strap most of the time, but just for data collection and curiosity. If the hub were to die during a TT, I have a decent idea of wear HR is at FTP and I could swap the CPU to bike computer mode to at least have HR.

That said, HR is a dependent variable while power is an independent variable. I look at HR just to see what it’s doing and don’t adjust my training based on the number that the CPU displays.