Which Powermeters can ...

cbjesseeNH said:

Show you power averaged over a moving average? Seeing instantaneous power isn't as useful as I can't work in a given power range.

Do any powermeters show you power with the option to see averaging over the last 10s, 30s, 1min, etc?

I think my Polar Power sensor only shows instantaneous power, although one can record at different intervals - but I'm not sure about that.

Power gives a good record, but it seems I need that moving average to train better.😕

I can only tell you about PowerTap, because that's what I have. PT Pro and SL have a rolling average watts display, which is user-definable for the rolling average time interval (1 sec, 2 sec, 3 sec, etc.). Through use of the Interval feature (you press a button to mark the beginning of the interval), you can view the average watts for the interval.

But, I never use either of those functions and here's why. I manage my power output real-time and, other than post-ride analysis, I don't have much interest in what my average power was over the past x seconds or minutes. I manage my power by finding the gear and cadence that puts me at my desired watts and then, unless the wind or grade changes, I manage power by holding a constant cadence. When the wind or grade changes, I adjust my gear and/or cadence as necessary and then go back to managing my output with a constant cadence. Sure, my power bounces around a little but I know that if I maintain a pretty consistent cadence that I will be very close to where I want to be. Post-ride analysis confirms this. I'm not telling you how to train, I'm just telling you how I manage my power and why the moving average functions aren't of any use to me during the course of a training ride. But, they're there if you want them.

cbjesseeNH said:

Show you power averaged over a moving average? Seeing instantaneous power isn't as useful as I can't work in a given power range.

Do any powermeters show you power with the option to see averaging over the last 10s, 30s, 1min, etc?

I think my Polar Power sensor only shows instantaneous power, although one can record at different intervals - but I'm not sure about that.

Power gives a good record, but it seems I need that moving average to train better.😕

I do the same as RapDaddyo, but when doing intervals I sometimes look at average power for the interval. It's easy to switch between avg. and current displays.

Note that the PT "rolling average" display shows the average over the last 1 to 30 seconds (as chosen in the setting), but the PT still updates every second. So the power will jump around quite a bit, but that's the nature of power.

It's also important to maintain your sense of intensity without always looking at the pm. Averages over time are what you want to look at, so glancing at your average every so often should be enough for longer intervals. For 5min or less, it's more important to look at average power more often to stay dialed in.

Ciao, Jimmy

I have two Polar Power Output kits. when you press the lap button - then later look at the chart - if you look at the lap info you will get the avg power per lap as well as avg HR. So just press the lap button when you ride certain time intervals.