Ergomo and Power Tap comparison

In article ,
Phil Holman wrote:

"scott patton" wrote in message
...
In article t,
Phil Holman wrote:

Thanks for supplying the info Robert. Interesting to see another
power
measuring device that probably doesn't perform any better than a
Powertap at almost twice the price.

Let's get the facts straight:

MSRP:
- PT w/Training Wheel - $799
- PT Pro w/Training Wheel - $999
- PT w/Race Wheel - $1099
- PT Pro w/Race Wheel - $1299
- Ergomo Sport - $1289

Still as fiesty as ever Scott.

Huh? Just getting facts out so we can talk about them.

The market demand for such devices being
able to support several companies is questionable. I thought the $300 I
paid for my PT was OK. It was used but the hub had just been replaced
and personally, I wouldn't pay over $1000 for one.

It really depends on what you want. Many people wouldn't bay $500+ for a
crankset you aren't going to race on.

All of the power meters are tools to optimize your training, if use properly.

This from their
website.....
"Fortunately for the consumer, there are several options on the market
to choose from. At $1279, the Ergomo Sport® is a great value considering
that the comparable competitor retails for more than twice the
price"........
They obviously don't consider the PT as being comparable.......more
straight facts no doubt.

I am very up on what the web page says (I am the guy that did it). In many
ways I consider them comparable. Others, I do not. To most cat 3's with
the whole weight weenie race wheel thing going on, PT and Ergomo are NOT
comparable. You cant race with a light rear wheel with a PT. You can howerver
run disco wheels with an SRM or an Ergomo.

I am a dealer of both PT and Ergomo. I don't try to sell one of the other
based on price, rather on what will you use it for?

Now, I would also argue that if you go with a PT option, you need to
pick
up a copy of CyclingPeaks Software as the PT software is pathetic!
That's
another $75.

I think it's pretty hard to call that "almost twice". There are some
other
significant advantages to the Ergomo, including:

o Use your own wheels.
o Rechargable battery.
o Lighter
o hardwired computer eliminates data drops

Using your own wheels is good and you could possibly use this on a track
bike if you can get the chainline right. There's a little extra hassle
when moving this to another bike unless you buy another BB sensor.

VERY true. Using an Ergomo on 2 bikes is a challenge! The same applies
for an SRM.

We are working on some fixed gear testing, but the Campy Triple model is the
same bottom bracket (size) as a campy track bottom bracket. Chainline should
be just fine! More on that soon!

Scott



--
-*- Scott Patton
-*- Colorado Springs, CO
-*- http://www.FixedGearFever.com
-*- Track Racing Web Services

In article ,
Nick Burns wrote:

Until I found out it only measures one side, I thought this was potentially
the best system. You can use virtually all of your own equipment, and other
great features. Measuring one leg could be a deal breaker for me, especially
if the athlete has no way to determine what his or her power distribution
is. I have seen many athletes that have more slow twitch pwer on the non
dominant leg and of course more fast twitch on the dominant side.

While the ride Robert tore apart is only one ride, we are finding that
people riding both a PT and Ergomo are coming up much like the analyzed ride.

How is the softwares? What is the raw data format?

The software is called ErgoRacer and is the same as CyclingPeaks Software.

www.CyclingPeaksSoftware.com

It far exceeds other power analysis software!

It stores the data in a proprietary .wko format. It can however export to
..csv, .txt and other major formats to share files with people not using
CyclingPeaks Software.

CPS also integrates the Normalized Power, Training Stress Score and Intensiy
Factor made famous by our own Andy Coggan.

Scott

--
-*- Scott Patton
-*- Colorado Springs, CO
-*- http://www.FixedGearFever.com
-*- Track Racing Web Services

If one wanted to increase their numbers they could just buy an SRM and
input a slope coeficient half that of the one set for their meter.
That would give them nice big numbers. Then again, if they wanted to
do that they bought it for other reason besides improving
performance...

CH

"Jim Martin" wrote in message ...
"scott patton" wrote
There are others, you can find details @ http://www.ergomo-usa.com.

Thanks for the link Scott. Just looking at the device, it seems to me that
it can only measure torque carried by the bottom bracket spindle which means
it can only measure left leg power/torque.

If you are just using it to follow your own training it might not matter.
Then again, you might adopt a left pedal power style to get bigger numbers
;-) Can't imagine paying that much for a device with such a large inherent
assumption.

Cheers,

Jim


---
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I can't say that I would agree with your assessment, Phil. One could
argue that it's hard to see how the market could sustain itself
selling $1500 wheelsets, which can't improve performance as much as an
effectively utilized power meter. Moreover, power meters have become
the new HR monitor with numerous techno geeks AND serious cyclists
looking to buy them. In my experience, many non-elite riders want to
take the plunge to simply train better, and I can't disagree with them
(granted, I do have an interest in them buying).

Having used many of these devices, I would say the Ergomo looks the
most promising because of its simplicity, weight and wheel usage.
Whether the leg issue comes into play we'll have to wait and see, but
I don't believe most healthy cyclists have such a (leg) discrepancy
that it would come into play. But we should find out soon.

CH



"Phil Holman" wrote in message k.net...
"scott patton" wrote in message
...
In article t,
Phil Holman wrote:

Thanks for supplying the info Robert. Interesting to see another
power
measuring device that probably doesn't perform any better than a
Powertap at almost twice the price.

Let's get the facts straight:

MSRP:
- PT w/Training Wheel - $799
- PT Pro w/Training Wheel - $999
- PT w/Race Wheel - $1099
- PT Pro w/Race Wheel - $1299
- Ergomo Sport - $1289

Still as fiesty as ever Scott. The market demand for such devices being
able to support several companies is questionable. I thought the $300 I
paid for my PT was OK. It was used but the hub had just been replaced
and personally, I wouldn't pay over $1000 for one. This from their
website.....
"Fortunately for the consumer, there are several options on the market
to choose from. At $1279, the Ergomo Sport® is a great value considering
that the comparable competitor retails for more than twice the
price"........

They obviously don't consider the PT as being comparable.......more
straight facts no doubt.

"chris" wrote in message

Moreover, power meters have become
the new HR monitor with numerous techno geeks AND serious cyclists
looking to buy them.

Power meters do not replace HRMs. I would be foolish to track power without
heart rate.

"Nick Burns" wrote in message
m...

"chris" wrote in message

Moreover, power meters have become
the new HR monitor with numerous techno geeks AND serious cyclists
looking to buy them.

Power meters do not replace HRMs. I would be foolish to track power
without
heart rate.

And why is that? (I know of plenty of scientific investigations of exercise
responses in which HR has not been measured, and nobody seems to miss the
data...in fact, probably about the only scientists who view it as
indispensable are those studying the cardiovascular responses to exercise.)

Andy Coggan

"Andy Coggan" wrote in message
ink.net...
"Nick Burns" wrote in message
m...

"chris" wrote in message

Moreover, power meters have become
the new HR monitor with numerous techno geeks AND serious cyclists
looking to buy them.

Power meters do not replace HRMs. I would be foolish to track power
without
heart rate.

And why is that? (I know of plenty of scientific investigations of
exercise
responses in which HR has not been measured, and nobody seems to miss the
data...in fact, probably about the only scientists who view it as
indispensable are those studying the cardiovascular responses to
exercise.)

Andy Coggan

Because CV response is critical.

In article ,
Nick Burns wrote:

"chris" wrote in message

Moreover, power meters have become
the new HR monitor with numerous techno geeks AND serious cyclists
looking to buy them.

Power meters do not replace HRMs. I would be foolish to track power without
heart rate.



I think you have that backwards....

http://www.topica.com/lists/wattage/...=d&start=15447

Posted today.

Scott

--
-*- Scott Patton
-*- Colorado Springs, CO
-*- http://www.FixedGearFever.com
-*- Track Racing Web Services

"Nick Burns" wrote in message
m...

"Andy Coggan" wrote in message
ink.net...
"Nick Burns" wrote in message
m...

"chris" wrote in message

Moreover, power meters have become
the new HR monitor with numerous techno geeks AND serious cyclists
looking to buy them.

Power meters do not replace HRMs. I would be foolish to track power
without
heart rate.

And why is that? (I know of plenty of scientific investigations of
exercise
responses in which HR has not been measured, and nobody seems to miss
the
data...in fact, probably about the only scientists who view it as
indispensable are those studying the cardiovascular responses to
exercise.)

Andy Coggan

Because CV response is critical.

Assuming for sake of argument that you're right, what then do you do with
the information that HR provides you about your cardiovascular response?

Andy Coggan

"Andy Coggan" wrote in message

Because CV response is critical.

Assuming for sake of argument that you're right, what then do you do with
the information that HR provides you about your cardiovascular response?

Andy Coggan

It gives a measure on each ride of how much of your current CV potential was
required to complete the ride or section of the ride.

If you are not tracking HR, you are bound to miss out on key information
when things do not go to plan. Imagine you complete a ride and you find that
your average power was down. You have perceptions like "my legs were
toasted" or whatever but knowing where your heart rate was would tell you
more about what is going on. Cardiac drift happens and it is useful to know
when it happens.

I am not claiming that you can't improve fitness without that data, but that
you will have more information to track trends in the fitness of the
subject.

There is really no question about this.