I have been looking at getting a power meter for the past three seasons but still haven’t since typically I do all my training on a smart trainer and just racing on feel, and like everything else in cycling/triathlon it is not cheap.
How did getting a power meter change the way you ride outdoors?
Has it helped at all with your racing and pacing of efforts or do you feel it has held you back too much?
Overall do you feel you have gotten your moneys worth?
short answer…
YES, pm is a game changer…
If you have the money, get one.
It depends. It’s not NECESSARY. But it’s a nice to have.
For triathlon, it can be quite worth it for pacing. For training outdoors it can be good as well. Pacing climbs as well can be very well supported with power meters.
That way i can focus on riding in a certain zone. And as i get better at knowing what it feels like, it becomes easier to ride at that same zone by feel.
er…yes! 
Once with watt, always with watt 
/JB
It’s worth it for outdoor training and post race data review. About the only time I’ve used it during racing was a solo breakaway during a road race and just making sure I was keeping an effort I could sustain solo
I have a PM on all my bikes, including my long travel enduro bike.
I ONLY use the numbers when doing intervals, which are mostly done on the road bike (which I use on the trainer). I will refer to the power numbers on the XC bike after a race, but I haven’t been able to use them to help my performance. I virtually never use the power numbers in a race; road or MTB.
If you can afford one, you will probably enjoy having the data. But you also don’t have to get the most expensive one to get the benefits. All my bikes are single sided (Garmin, Race Face, 4iiii, Stages).
If you honestly do all your training on a smart trainer, then I wouldn’t worry too much about getting a power meter for racing…at least if it is road racing. You are either there or you aren’t in a road race (whether an actual RR or a crit). Doesn’t matter what you power meter says…you are in the mix or your not.
Now, for triathlons, it is a different story and racing with one is MUCH more critical as a properly paced bike set up a good run.
You know skynet, I mean adaptive training will need all your rides to have power to give you the best training. Well once they analyze external rides. So if you want the best training from tr in the future you’ll want to have one
yes it is worth it.
For triathlon I would say it’s a game changer and valuable asset as it allows you to stay within yourself on the bike leg as well as allow you to see how your effort was post race and quantity your performance.
For road racing it’s a nice to have as you won’t be checking in with your numbers all the time and if you don’t have the legs that day it doesn’t really matter
If you do a lot of outdoor workouts or even just casual riding outside it’s nice to have post so the work is quantified and so you get accurate tss numbers for your efforts
I’m getting my money’s worth. I’m geeking out, learning about training and learning WKO5.
I use it frequently for intensity control. Today was supposed to be an easy day so I’m using the power meter to average Z2 watts and I’m making an effort to not go way over threshold every time I crest a hill.
Like any tool, if you aren’t going to use it, it’s not going to be worth owning.
For training outside, it’s definitely worth it. It you race TT, it’s definitely worth it. As mentioned already though, the only time I’ve used it during a road race is during a solo break to make sure I could sustain the effort. That said, I didn’t ride to power, but used Xert MPA data field.
I feel that using a power meter regularly has really helped me to understand and structure my training. Ironically, I would now feel more confident training without one having learnt so much. Nevertheless, it is nice seeing the numbers to see the impact of the training.
Definitely worth it, I would put it ahead of a host of other kit ‘upgrades’ if I wound back a few years. I just have a single sided crank PM costing under £300 in the UK (can get for less than that as well) and love it almost as much as having power indoors.
It does two things for me in practical terms, first it reins me in every time the road goes up so overall my power/speed are better and second it gives data to have a look at afterwards regardless of how undisciplined I am on the ride. Usually along the lines of ‘hmmm, that’s not zone 2’.
I don’t need it but I don’t regret getting it.