Should I get a power meter?

Yes, I understand that a power meter than be a great training aid, but training for what? My view as an older rider (same age as the OP), albeit one who's ridden all my life, is that I probably have maybe 10 or 15 years left riding. From a personal point of view, I don't want to spend that time obsessing about power outputs.

Sure, I want to be as quick and strong as I can be, but not if it involves interval training or heart-rate zones or power outputs. I want the wind in my face, the thrum of tyres on tarmac, the soft click of Campag gears, birdsong, beautiful climbs, dappled sunlight, stunning vistas.

Personally, for the cost of a power meter I would rather have a week climbing the iconic cols of the Alps or the Dolomites. That would give me far more joy than knowing whether I'm putting out 2.5W more than last month. But each to their own.

No, no, and thrice no! If you want to suck all the joy of just riding your bike, by all means get a power meter. You can then spend your entire ride peering at your stem instead of enjoying the view, and more time geeking out over power-output graphs and "analysing" your data than actually riding your bike.

If your were a 25-year-old wannabe racer, for whom structured training would be worthwhile, then a power meter might be a good idea. But for a 53-year-old recreational cyclist a power meter just smacks of someone desperate to buy something, anything, new and shiny for their bike. The fact you're asking for a "good enough reason" for buying one suggests this might be the case.

If you really want to improve, ride more often, ride further, ride harder. And spend your cash on things that will actually make your cycling more fun...some lovely hand-built wheels, gorgeous riding shoes, a KuKu Penthouse. Hell, even ceramic bearings (and they're ridiculous) would make more sense than a power meter.

The first answer was spot on - it's up to whether or not you want something to really improve your riding, or whether you're prepared to just pay for an expensive toy. Either one is a perfectly valid reason.

Personally I think it is the best value you can spend in improving your performance. I can't think of any equipment upgrade which would give more bang for your buck.

The training benefits are huge and while you may not want to race you might find it useful if you want to become more competitive at sportives, aim for better times or do more challenging rides.

The value of power training is precision. You know exactly what you are doing, at the exact time you are doing it - that means you can go out and do a very specific training session and know that you have nailed exactly what you wanted to do, whether that's a 90 minute endurance ride or exact interval blocks of 40 seconds each.

And the other aspect is that because your hard sessions are so precise you can spend a lot more time doing recovery or low intensity work.

I would highly recommend that if you do get a power meter and if the answer to the above was that you want to improve your performance then you should also look at buying/subscribing to a training program or using an online coach, unless you have someone who can help guide you.

When you first get it and start to look at the data in Strava or Training Peaks it's like drinking from a fire hose. You will need some help making sense of it all.

Final point - which system you use depends on your setup. Accuracy is less of an issue than consistency.
If you have multiple bikes but mostly the same wheels then use a hub-based system like Powertap.
If you have multiple wheels and mostly the same bike then crank systems might be better but you have to be careful about crank compatability.
Theoretically the pedal-based system should give you the best of both but in practice I think many people find the changing over very difficult and it tends to be used in the same way as a crank system.

I've been listening to podcasts from this guy http://semiprocycling.com/
He did one recently about power training. This includes discussion on how/why *not* to look at your computer too much. Seems like a very precise way to train. There's also a chart available from here (among other places) http://cyclingtips.com.au/2009/07/just-how-good-are-these-guys/

At the very least, getting a power meter, testing yourself and then comparing it to this chart will tell you how you compare (or don't) to the pros.

The other thing you could do is get a trainer like the Wahoo Kickr, which measures power. Then at least you could test yourself regularly, to see your progress. A trainer that does power would also still be around when you upgrade your bike. Depending on what power meter you got for your bike, it may not be compatible when you get a new bike.

I think if you use it well then it will probably reap much greater rewards interns of performance than any bike upgrades.

Personally I've been weighing up wether or not to get one for a while now. I can see the benefits of having one, I really like the idea of having clear and repeatable reference points for the interval training I do, and pacing myself for particular climbs or TTs would definitely be useful.

On the other hand, I've stopped using and HRM completely and never been interested in cadence, and I really don't see myself being bothered with the regular testing you have to do to get the full benefit. Given the choice of working out my current FTP and just riding my bike, I'll probably just want to ride my bike. Decisions....

Make for a sweet toy though, and I like toys as much as the next cyclist.

Now I don't do a lot of interval or turbo training, I ride steel with friction shift, but I will be getting a power meter.

Why?

Because I want to measure and control my efforts, I want to know when I am over extending myself on climbs and into headwinds, I want to know I have more to give when I have a tailwind.

For me, it's all about levelling the weather and landscape and putting out more or less power to suit my capabilities.

As I ride classic stuff, I'm waiting for Garmin Vector Pedals mkii so I can disguise it !

Second choice would be SRM or Stages cranks, I don't know anyone has hasn't broke a powertap!

Heart rate based training is a really blunt tool - you are measuring your body's response to effort, not the effort itself. Thus the delays you mention.

If you can afford it and are prepared to do a little reading on how to exploit it fully, then yes definitely get one. Used sensibly the training benefits are enormous, for cyclists of any level. You'll want to establish your FTP figure first - this forms the baseline for training.

I think you should go for it! If you like doing specific training, like intervals and that kind of thing, it gives you a much better idea of how hard to work and makes it much easier to push yourself a little hard in the interval and so make the the training more effective.

Its also a great pacing tool while doing the sportive or any event you want to do cos you know how many watts you can push and for how long.

I would say however, have you got a heart rate monitor? if not id suggest going for that first, you can make some great fitness gains from that kind of training and it can be used for guidance as to your pacing. The next step after that certainly would be a power meter.

Do you want to be able to spend hours looking at your numbers and analysing your rides, possibly with a view to structured training plan development? If so then yes, you'll get value from it so get one if it's what you want. Do you just want to look at another number on your computer screen and say " wow, 200 watts!"? Again, if you get a thrill from this then why not? It's your money. That's pretty much the only two reasons to buy one, and there's nothing wrong with that.

Nope, cannot see any reason for it, put it towards some upgrades to your bike if you really want to spend cash.

Nope, cannot see any reason for it, put it towards some upgrades to your bike if you really want to spend cash.