Cycleops Powercal - accuracy and reliability

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hatsunagi
Posts: 25
Joined: Sat May 13, 2017 4:29 am

by hatsunagi

I have recently find the powermeter(?) which virtually calculates by HBR and *unknown* parameters- powercal by cycleops. And i have also known a kind of "inexpensive" powermeters which calculates power from other figures...

Please tell me accuracy and reliability of a powermeters which "calculates"(from speed, hbr, cadence, wind..) rather than measures power.

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TheKaiser
Posts: 653
Joined: Thu Sep 05, 2013 3:29 pm

by TheKaiser

hatsunagi wrote:I have recently find the powermeter(?) which virtually calculates by HBR and *unknown* parameters- powercal by cycleops. And i have also known a kind of "inexpensive" powermeters which calculates power from other figures...

Please tell me accuracy and reliability of a powermeters which "calculates"(from speed, hbr, cadence, wind..) rather than measures power.


No personal experience, but from what I understand the answer to your question regarding accuracy and reliability is "not much". You would be better off buying a Stages left hand arm, or if you ware worried about left/right imbalance issues, then a Powertap hub for $299.

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AJS914
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Joined: Tue Jan 28, 2014 6:52 pm

by AJS914

I'd recommend reading about this kind of stuff on the DC Rainmaker site. Powerpod is the other cheap "power meter".

https://www.dcrainmaker.com/2016/03/pow ... eview.html

nevikte
Posts: 6
Joined: Thu Mar 09, 2017 5:15 pm

by nevikte

I have a powercal, on flat, descent and short climbs is totally useless.
but I get an accurate "avg power" on long steady climbs (20+min).
I'm able to get the same avg as the stages power meter (using both at the same time).

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hatsunagi
Posts: 25
Joined: Sat May 13, 2017 4:29 am

by hatsunagi

AJS914 wrote:I'd recommend reading about this kind of stuff on the DC Rainmaker site. Powerpod is the other cheap "power meter".

https://www.dcrainmaker.com/2016/03/pow ... eview.html

Thanks for response. Ive come to know that it is meaningful in the line of reference; not worth to fully rely on it. :(

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hatsunagi
Posts: 25
Joined: Sat May 13, 2017 4:29 am

by hatsunagi

nevikte wrote:I have a powercal, on flat, descent and short climbs is totally useless.
but I get an accurate "avg power" on long steady climbs (20+min).
I'm able to get the same avg as the stages power meter (using both at the same time).

That's really close to what i felt on this. When i go through steeper climbs or short sprints of which i need to push myself in very short time, the 3s power data fluctuate so much and i have no idea how much power i make. But for 30s power in long rides, i think i can have meaningful data from this.
Thx for sharing your experiences :)

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PMC
Posts: 8
Joined: Wed Nov 12, 2014 1:22 pm

by PMC

I used one for a while on bikes with and without power and for anything of short duration it wasn't even close which isn't shocking. For overall values on a ride it was within 10% on average which is basically worthless IMO. I don't see any way to use it for training if you want to use power.

Mep
Posts: 516
Joined: Fri May 28, 2004 4:11 pm

by Mep

My experience on the HRM suggested that the power numbers were garbage, averaged or not. It's a one size fits all approach, regardless if you're 800, 80 or 8 in years or pounds. They took away the calibration feature, but it's possible to try and recalibrate it yourself. I did that several times to try and improve the estimation to no success.

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2lo8
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by 2lo8

What is the point of knowing approximate power average? So you can compare power with your friends? Might as well look at stravawatts. Power's big advantage not including trying to brag about your watts, is that it is instantaneous and less variable compared to heart rate for training and figuring out what zone you're in. Remove that advantage, and you've removed the primary usage of a power meter. Although I have to admit I own one mostly because I was curious about it and wanted another metric to look at.
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