Power Meter Pedal - Rechargable or Battery for Multiday / Ultra / Bikepacking

[andrewr]

Hello All!

First post here!  Searched and didn't immediately see a relevant post - if this is duplicated please let me know and I'll close :-)

Started road biking about 18 mos ago, quickly realized I like long distances and climbing.  Haven't started doing ultras or bike packing, but hope to later this year / 2021.  For example, BikingMan event, or Mallorca 312 (signed up!).  Looking forward to learning from the forums!

Considering getting a power pedal, to get accurate power data from long outdoor rides to review post-ride training progress and plan achievable speeds/power for long events.  NOT planning on watching the Watts while riding except on long climbs along with Heart Rate to stay out of red :-)

QUESTION 1 - for ultra, multi day, and bikepacking, is it preferable to have pedal with replaceable watch battery that could be carried along (Vector 3 pedal) or a rechargeable pedal that requires charge every ~50hrs (Assioma pedal).

QUESTION 2- for above usage - is it even worth HAVING a power meter vs using Strava power/calorie estimates? Thinking wind/weight of carrying lots of supplies impacts my estimates.  I use a Heart Rate strap already.

Thanks so much and look forward to participating in the forum!

[Howard70]

Hello Andrew:

I'd say there is absolutely no need for a power meter at all.  However, if you are a data geek (I am) and want a powermeter (I do) then I'd look at the SRM X-Power units that should be released soon.  They'll work with SPD pedals.  Other pedal based meters that I know of all use road pedals which have cleats too large for reasonable walking.  Some folks have altered one of those types of pedals to mount an SPD housing on the road pedal so that could be an option.

If you want to use platform pedals (no cleats) then I think you're out of luck for a pedal based powermeter.  You'll be looking at spindle, crank arm, hub meters.

Have fun,

Howard

[alpamayo]

For endurance and bikepacking type riding, or even mtn biking alone, no I don?t find a power meter useful. This kind of riding for me is more about feel and perceived effort, and the metal hame than it is about the numbers. But I also come from a road racing and training background and power meters are very useful from this perspective. IMO powermeters are not very useful as retrospective data, whic, is unfortunately how most people use them. What o mean by this is that if you?re just curious and looking at the dat after you ride, I don?t think that?s a very good use of a power meter. Where they shine is using them for training plans  where you have training targets, and you use the meter to a plan Power is the only objective measure of effort, whereas hr fluctuates too much based on environment, fatigue, temperature, etc...

[Lentamentalisk]

Not to mention bikepacking can involve a lot of hikeabike which isn't captured at all in a power meter. For me the biggest appeal on multiday trips is something more like the whoop strap that can help you keep track of calories burned to make sure you're eating enough food. Even wearing that for a few shorter trips helped me get an estimate for how much food I'd need (5000cal per day) when I was shopping for a big restock between towns. Actual power put out on the pedals only accounts for a fraction of the total energy consumed during your trip.