Powertap coming tomorrow. Easy to install?

jsull14 said:

My new PT SL on Mavic Open Pro will be here tomorrow. I'm sure there are a bunch of instructions included and stuff, but in a nutshell will I be able to ride tomorrow or will I be installing this device all weekend you think?

providing you know how to put a tyre and a cassette on your wheel, and you can neatly install the receiver kit on your bike, that should take about 15-mins to do at the very most. You then need to read the manual and set the computer up (probably do this in 30-mins; reading and set up). Then check it downloads correctly (spin the cranks/wheels for 30-secs to collect some dummy data). Set up the programme (WKO or Power Tuned) and download data - that's another 10-mins.

ZERO THE TORQUE - then go for a ride.

The Power Tap is the easiest of all the power meters to get started with

Ric

and the PT SL 2.4 (wireless) is even easier !!!!!!!!!

jsull14 said:

My new PT SL on Mavic Open Pro will be here tomorrow. I'm sure there are a bunch of instructions included and stuff, but in a nutshell will I be able to ride tomorrow or will I be installing this device all weekend you think?

It took me 15minutes for the initial hub-only installation. And another 30 minutes to reroute the cables to incorporate the crank sensor when I found out that it was more accurate that way.

Use the crank sensor and turn off the hub cadence -- you'll get more stable power readings.

Pelotonium said:

It took me 15minutes for the initial hub-only installation. And another 30 minutes to reroute the cables to incorporate the crank sensor when I found out that it was more accurate that way.

Use the crank sensor and turn off the hub cadence -- you'll get more stable power readings.

the cadence/crank sensor has no bearing whatsoever on the power readings.

ric

ric_stern/RST said:

the cadence/crank sensor has no bearing whatsoever on the power readings.
ric

With all due respect, how could that be, Ric? Power = Torque x Cadence. If cadence goes noise-crazy, it can't help but affect the power reading.

I saw a posting that definitively showed the difference in cadence between a hub-only set-up and a crank-only set-up. The hub cadence sensor seemed very very noisy and unstable.

Pelotonium said:

With all due respect, how could that be, Ric? Power = Torque x Cadence. If cadence goes noise-crazy, it can't help but affect the power reading.

I saw a posting that definitively showed the difference in cadence between a hub-only set-up and a crank-only set-up. The hub cadence sensor seemed very very noisy and unstable.

Power = angular wheel velocity x torque inside hub

Ric

ric_stern/RST said:

Power = angular wheel velocity x torque inside hub
Ric

I see. The sharkfin senses the wheel angular velocity and the hub senses the torque. The two values get multiplied independently of crank cadence.

Got it. My mistake.

In that case, what I should have said is that you'll get much better cadence readings if you use the crank-mounted cadence sensor, and turn off the hub cadence sensor.

I went through this process last weekend installing a PT Pro. Ran into one problem here ->http://www.cyclingforums.com/t419279.html. I suspect that my CPU is getting cadence data from the hub and not from the sensor for the same reason listed. I think it's worth noting for new PowerTap users that Cycling Peaks WKO+ is a really great tool for analyzing your ride data.

-fb

Thanks for the help. I got it working. It's a pretty neat device. The wheel is a bit out of true and I am having trouble installing the included software but not a big deal as I plan on buying software from Cycling Peaks anyway. The device confirmed why I get dropped a lot in centuries. I averaged 271w for 15 minutes on a steady 4-5% grade and I was in a world of hurt. But at least now I know I have to work harder.