I’m trying to get in the power market, but find I’m confusing myself. Here is my setup and dilemma:
I bought a used 2008 specialized transition off ebay 2 to 3 years ago. I like it a lot, but have the itch to get a 2014 trek sc 7.5 someday.
If I go with a crank powermeter I want a quarq. But that is a bb30 and would not transfer to the trek if I get it.
if I get a powertap set, then I either buy race wheels and train on the rear, or buy a training wheel and then add a cover. Also, right now 4iiii is not compatible with my red crank.
Longtime user of a powertap, loved it, swore by it…until I got a stages. Now I love the stages, so much better than having to deal with a stupid wheel & wheelcover. Used it all season & have no complaints.
Pedal-based power meters would solve your dilemma. There are no real hardware compatibility issues moving from bike to bike because the threading on pedal spindles are about the one thing that hasn’t changed in 30+ years.
If the Brimm Brothers pedals ever come come out (and work well), I will be selling my collection of PTs.
You should be able to get a BB90 (2014 7 series) compatible Quarq (Elsa R or Riken R) and then use it with a set of adapters in your Transition’s BB30 until you upgrade. From my understanding almost anything can be adapted to BB30 but not everything can be adapted to the 24mm shells such as BB90. Therefore generally safer to buy a 24mm/GXP setup and adapt it to BB30 unless you are confident you will never end up with a 24mm shell.
Powertap is the best solution for low cost in your situation. The downside is your race wheel gets a lot of wear, but you can always replace the spokes and rims around the hub, especially if you just use a cheap, durable wheel with a cover, no problems.
The other downside is swapping a race tire on before each race. If you don’t race often that is no problem, if you race a lot it gets old.
If you can find a good deal you might even get a used training wheel powertap cheap and then get a newer one on a race wheel to go with it!
That is what I did eventually.
I’m trying to get in the power market, but find I’m confusing myself. Here is my setup and dilemma:
I bought a used 2008 specialized transition off ebay 2 to 3 years ago. I like it a lot, but have the itch to get a 2014 trek sc 7.5 someday.
If I go with a crank powermeter I want a quarq. But that is a bb30 and would not transfer to the trek if I get it.
if I get a powertap set, then I either buy race wheels and train on the rear, or buy a training wheel and then add a cover. Also, right now 4iiii is not compatible with my red crank.
I’m trying to get in the power market, but find I’m confusing myself. Here is my setup and dilemma:
I bought a used 2008 specialized transition off ebay 2 to 3 years ago. I like it a lot, but have the itch to get a 2014 trek sc 7.5 someday.
If I go with a crank powermeter I want a quarq. But that is a bb30 and would not transfer to the trek if I get it.
if I get a powertap set, then I either buy race wheels and train on the rear, or buy a training wheel and then add a cover. Also, right now 4iiii is not compatible with my red crank.
thanks for your help.
I have the same issue as well. BSA BB for the TT bike, BB90 for last year’s bike, BB386 for this years… Ugh. I just got a PT and a wheelcover for them all, but now I want a proper race wheel with power, too.
A crank system locks you into the same length cranks for your road and TT bikes. Plus, the PT is probably the ideal setup for testing aero and tire/tube drag (though you can’t measure drivetrain drag).
Things are probably a little different now, but 3 years ago when I wanted into power training, I could get in for $300 with a wired PT and a cover.
Rolled that way for a long time and was happy with it. Now I have upgraded little things over time (primarily from classifieds) and I have two quarqs on two bikes.
They are so much more convenient.
The quarqs are not without their problems, but every time something goes wrong, they fix it ASAP. Usually I am not without a meter more than 7 calendar days from noticing a problem to getting my meter back (or a new one).
Under warranty and I have never paid a dime for the fix.
A crank system locks you into the same length cranks for your road and TT bikes. Plus, the PT is probably the ideal setup for testing aero and tire/tube drag (though you can’t measure drivetrain drag).
Unless you go Power2Max. I’ve got Rotor spindles in 175mm and 170mm for road and TT respectively, and basically just swap the spider at the end of road racing season and at the end of the tri season.
A crank system locks you into the same length cranks for your road and TT bikes. Plus, the PT is probably the ideal setup for testing aero and tire/tube drag (though you can’t measure drivetrain drag).
Unless you go Power2Max. I’ve got Rotor spindles in 175mm and 170mm for road and TT respectively, and basically just swap the spider at the end of road racing season and at the end of the tri season.
That’s interesting. Do you check the calibration after you swap?
There is no perfect solution. If you race/train on the same bike I’d lean towards crank based power. If you race/train on separate bikes than I give the edge to getting two Powertap wheelsets. The economics also depend on your particular situation. If you’re looking to get new wheels Powertap is easier to justify. If you have Power2Max compatible crank installed on your bike already that makes P2M a more economical solution.
i did what jackmott has done. I started with a PT wheel for training and racing. then bought a pair of race wheels with a PT in the rear and swap for races. the PT training wheel sees a lot of time on the trainer and when i go outside a few weeks before any races ill swap the sets. its not bad but can get costly
Right, I agree with this. However, I was just pointing out that lots of people seem to think that a rear race wheel is slam dunk more important than having the right crank length on a TT bike. For many, the gain in speed from having different cranks on a TT bike will outweigh the gain from a rear race wheel.
A crank system locks you into the same length cranks for your road and TT bikes. Plus, the PT is probably the ideal setup for testing aero and tire/tube drag (though you can’t measure drivetrain drag).
Unless you go Power2Max. I’ve got Rotor spindles in 175mm and 170mm for road and TT respectively, and basically just swap the spider at the end of road racing season and at the end of the tri season.
That’s interesting. Do you check the calibration after you swap?
Zero-offset seems to be pretty consistent across the two crankarms, yes. However I also change chainrings at the same time (which, like the arms, Power2Max claim don’t affect calibration).
Just as an FYI wheel covers do not usually work on the transition due the narrow width of the seat stays.
The 30mm spindle Quarq can be made to fit just about any bike with the right combination of spacers and BB or adapters. The downside is that it won’t really be ‘native’ to any one setup.
The same can be said about the new Shimano-compatible Quarqs. I have a 30mm Elsa right now, but if I were to buy a new one I would get the 24mm Shimano compatible. That is the least headache for BB86/90 equipped bikes.
