Cycling Dynamics

[Chunky]

Hi,
i've been looking at getting a power meter of some kind, this is obviously the cheapest way into it (apart from buying second hand).
My question is:
I have a Garmin Edge 520 which has an option to show cycling dynamics.
1) Is the Edge 520 compatible with the Powerpod
2) What can I expect to see while i'm riding (power, power per leg, wind resistance, etc.)?

I currently cycle with a club and a few riders already have powertap hubs, stages arms and various other types of power meters, nobody has this type of "virtual" power system and they are very sceptical (as i'm sure you would be if you'd spent at least twice as much on something different). Their argument being "why don't the pro's use them then?

3) So why don't you see them in any of the pro races?

Many thanks

[Velocomp]

The reason to get a PowerPod is because it is accurate, portable, and affordable.

1) With PowerPod you'll be able to see EXACTLY on your Garmin 520 what the PowerTap and Stages power meters show you: power, speed, and cadence

2) The pros DO use our power meters. This year we are the power meter of the Contador Foundation cycling team. Last year we were the power meter for Tinkoff VIP team. We paid these teams ZERO for these sponsorships; rather, these teams picked us because of our innovative technology.

3) Manufacturers want their products to be "seen" in the Tour races have to make sponsorship payments of hundreds of thousands of dollars. Your friends who see their PMs in the big races have to pay MORE for their power meters, so the manufacturers can pay the high sponsorship fees! We think this is a lousy way to spend cyclists' money, particularly because it would cause us to raise prices.

4) Where you do see PowerPod is on lots of bikes...in fact, if you check around you'll find that we are the #1 selling power meter on some of the biggest web stores around--stores who sell ALL of the popular PMs. You'll also find out that customer reviews are extremely positive.

[Chunky]

Didn't mean to offend ;o)) thanks for the info.
I've read a bit on dc rainmaker who says that it won't transmit left and right power (is that still a garmin limitation, something to do with private Ant+)?
He also says about it not working on cobbles, i have some pretty rough roads i ride on, is it affected by this?
Can you send aerodynamic data to the 520 at all via connect IQ or similar?
I note there is a PowerStroke upgrade, is that only available through yourselves as most of the UK shops only seem to supply the pod in standard form?

The more info i get the more i'm leaning to taking the plunge...
Many thanks for the swift response.

[Velocomp]

Most power meters don't transmit left right power, including PowerTap hubs, Stages, and many more...

PowerPod, with PowerStroke feature, gets you left/right AND front/back acceleration, accessible through Isaac.

We have a firmware update coming very soon (free) that will help greatly with rough roads.

You can get wind speed, CdA and more through our free Isaac software. We haven't yet done anything with Garmin Connect IQ.

Most of our upgrades are available through the web, as firmware upgrades, very simple!

[Chunky]

Completely understand that the others don't supply this either.
So we won't see left and right power displayed on our garmin units while riding, only when going back and doing analysis in the software?

Cycling dynamics

maxresdefault.jpg (48.75 KiB) Viewed 10695 times

I know we wouldn't get the platform bits as thats for the Garmin own power pedals.

Would be great to see power / side and aerodynamic efficiency, etc.
Anyway, thanks for your answers, off to look for a good deal on one somewhere (if possible).

I assume there aren't different versions of the PowerPod?

[Velocomp]

The basic PowerPod does not include the PowerStroke or Newton/PowerPod Tracker options. Both are firmware upgrades that can be purchased separately.

[Chunky]

Really disappointed with the price point in the UK. I can't find it anywhere here for less than $400 compared to the US $299 (£225)
Thats a massive hike in price!
Who are the UK suppliers that you know of, ProBikeKit I know sell them for $400 ish (£299), are there any others or is that the price they are going to sell for in the UK?
Looking less likely if thats the price point here for me getting one.
Thanks

[Velocomp]

The problem is the UK government.

Prices in the US are quoted without sales tax. So, you see $299. And if PP is shipped anywhere except Florida, there is zero sales tax.

International is different.

To ship to the UK is $50 (trackable package), or $349 total.

But the killer is VAT...20%, or $70.

So, the equivalent price of PP in UK is $299 + $50 + $70 = $419.

$400 is actually a reasonable price in UK.

It the UK government driving up your price.

[Chunky]

As always.
Thanks, will have to wait to see if any used ones come up anywhere.

[Chunky]

Well I received my PP today, put it on the bike, paired everything up and went for a setup ride.
All seemed good although its strange with the delay between putting the power down and it displaying on the screen.
Whats the default delay?
Can it be more "live"?

It already improved my normal route speed, as I wasn't concentrating on heart rate just the power!

Anyway I put the ride data into Newton and was a bit disappointed with only being able to use half of the units ability, if that. And that you want another £75 to enable what the item is already capable of

Where do I find the Cda in Isaac?

Obviously early days yet and i'm sure there's lots to have a play around with that I don't know about.
Many thanks

[kaevin]

Hi,

I think you can set the power smoothing through the Issac (PC) software
Menu->device->setup->Netwon power smoothing

Also there is averaging setting in the garmin to be set for display

Kevin

[brock]

Sorry to resurrect an old thread, but this seems like the right place for this.

Would PowerStroke enable left/right power via ANT+ on the Garmin bike computer, or in the .fit file that's uploaded to TrainingPeaks from Garmin Connect? Or would I have to separately pull that via Isaac? I'd also love to see ConnectIQ fields used to get headwind and such but that's a separate issue.

[Velocomp]

No, we don't transmit left/right data by ANT+.

At present you can get PowerStroke data only through Isaac.

[brock]

OK, thanks for the clarification!

[discipulus]

John/Velocomp, regarding https://www.dcrainmaker.com/2017/10/gar ... anies.html does it seem like we'd be able to see some real-time "Cycling Dynamic" or "PowerStroke" data on our head-units/watches in the near future?

[Velocomp]

Something is coming, but in a way you likely won't expect (hey, if it were obvious we wouldn't do it!)