The Sirens Song - A Power Meter Tale of Warning

I have been around Power Meters off and on and, last year, two of my team mates had SRMs and were trying to seduce me into buying one as well. I was tempted but, in the back of my mind, I already knew I was going to quit racing at the end of the season so the investment didn't make sense.

Fast forward 6 months and I've been convinced to race again and have a new PM lashed to my bike.

I've been racing for 20+ years and after plenty of trail and error and after getting my coaching license, I have a pretty good idea of how my body responds to training; I know what I need to do to get to race weight or get race fit. I also know what doesn't work for me.

It used to be that I would block out 6 week training cycles and pretty much stick to them. I'd put in the time and the work would generate predictable results. But that damn PM lashed to my bike has ruined all that.

It started slowly. At first it was a simple enjoyment of a new toy. I'd play with the buttons as I rode and see what I could see. I used to enjoy the the terrain that I passed over as I logged the miles, but now I found I couldn't wait to finish my ride and go download it onto my computer so I could see what I had ridden. It wasn't about the road anymore, it was about the cool charts and graphs I could make. I could barely remember any of the real details of what I'd just ridden.

I few rides later and, to my horror, I discovered that I had lost my ability to speak a single sentence that wasn't riddled with acronyms. I was becoming obsessed with generating numbers that were comparable to others. I needed to see numbers that I knew I had generated in the past (through testing). I began second guessing everything I knew and everything I was seeing. I was constantly readjusting my schedule to fit with some idea of training that hadn't every worked well for me. How is it that I could forget everything I knew, disregard all the tell tale signs and ride like a big dummy?

I should have listened to the cremudgeons who howled their warnings at me from the front gates of my LBS. They warned me that this could happen. The had tried to dissaude me with tales of other riders who had suffered a similar fate but I was deaf to their pleas. I had been lured by my PMs Siren Song and now lay spent on the sofa with the debris of several wasted weeks of training scattered all around me.

In retrospect, I should have ridden as I had in the past and used my PM to collect data. After I had some fitness I could have then used the information wisely instead of foolishly getting caught up in the the technology and everyone else's ideas of how I should train.

Luckily, I have survived to tell my cautionary tale but this season is, for the most part, a write-off. Now I need to dig down and humbly begin again.

Ergomo: The Install Pt.2

I went back to the bike and gave the spacers one more shot. This was the original configuration I had tried but, after having mastered the alternate torquing technique, I'm pretty sure I got it right this time. I torqued to spec and did a 4 hour ride. Everything seems ok, but I am going to verify that everything is still within spec tomorrow before I consider this a done deal.

I set up the speed and altitude sensors and everything seems to be working properly.

Total set-up time: 2 hours.

Ergomo: The Install Pt.1

Well, rocket surgery it ain't but there is a bit of heavy lifting.

This would be the BEFORE shot. A little dirty from riding in the rain but not too bad.

The basic tools needed. Not shown are the taping and facing tools in my shop, at work. Also grease. Oh yeah, that BB tool sitting there, it's the wrong one. I found that out a few seconds after snapping this picture when I tried to remove the Campagnolo BB. I had the Shimano tool. The other tool is the tool that comes with the Ergomo. More on that later. That'd be frame polish in the spray can. Finishline to be exact.

OK. Cleaned and all shiny, shiny. Whenever I remove my cranks, I have a good look at the BB area. I clean it and put a heavy layer of polish on it.
I skipped the tap and face as I'd just done it a month ago when I put in a new Campagnolo BB. I'm sure it's still fine (...more on that later).
I scrubbed the threads with a stiff brush. Degreased, then added an even film of FinishLine grease over the threads and the shell face. Yum.

I installed the drive side cup hand tight (lip snug to the BB face by hand). I added the same even layer of grease where the BB will seat in the cup. There's the grease.

The destruction manual is pretty clear on 1 point; The wires need to be at the 9'0clock position for the Ergomo to be most accurate. To do this, you really need to face and chase the shell. The Ergomo comes with 3 different width spacers and it is a trial and error procedure to discover which ones you need to use. I guess you could mic everything but you'd probably have to install it, at least twice, to be sure.

The good new is that the torque spec for the cups is quite broad. This allows you to cheat a little bit. All that grease I put on previously came in pretty handy here. This was also a trial and error procedure. I had to alternate between torquing each cup while trying to have the cable at exactly 9'oclock as the torque fell into range.

It all seemed like a great plan, so far.

This is the tool that came with the Ergomo. It has a tooth missing so that you don't damage the cables during installation. It was cut well, feels like good quality tool steel and fit solidly in place and felt solid during use. Which is a good thing because I had to use it quite a bit and I am far from done using it.

Here's the latest incarnation of my bike - I've gotta lose the flames. The whole Ergomo set-up is quite unobtrusive. I hate zip ties on my bike but these are minimal.


The beauty shot. I think the water is kinda sexy. I was going to take a shot of the front of my bike coming out of the pool, dripping wet, but they were cleaning the pool today so this was my second choice.

Install to date:

Chase and face is a must. It's a trial and error install. I'm 1.5 hours into it, so far.

I went for a ride to test the system afterwards. It worked fine. If I had actually read the computer set-up destructions, I would have gotten the speed sensor working properly. Other than that, and not setting up the altimeter at all, they system worked and felt smooth.

The bad part. Technically, I got the cups into the lower range of their torque spec. Over the course of my ride, however, the cups moved. This means the data I recorded may be inaccurate. To what degree, I don't now.

I worked with the spacers and have come to the conclusion that I have to both add 1 more (there are different thicknesses) and face the shell again, thereby removing the tiniest amount of material. I'm positive that this will do the trick.

Without access to cutting tools, I could not have installed the Ergomo system at home. In short, a proper shop must be involved in the process. Factor these costs into the overall cost of the Ergomo PM.

I will follow on with an update on the installation and then it is on to the computer itself. There is some pretty cool stuff there.

Ergomo 1.1 - J'arrive!

Or something like that.
Well, it's here. I'm a tad disappointed because the cranks didn't show up. It's no biggie as I have some cranks that I can use.

I flipped through the destructions. All the whining I'd read about installation seems a bit much. It looks pretty straight forward and should take about a hour if I have a beer in one hand.

The case is really nice and the computer display look excellent. I like the screen choices and I'm sure I will have much more to say about that once I start using it.

It obviously comes with software. I think that will be the real make or break for the unit. I will document the installation and hopefully put to bed the idea that Ergomo is a pain to install.

Come' on folks, it ain't rocket surgery.

Ergomo 1.0 - The anticipation

I am a few days away from receiving and installing my new Ergomo set-up.

I have heard both good and bad things about the system but have decided that it is the best option for me. I am currently testing wheels for Novatech, so a PowerTap was never on the table. SRM would be nice but I feel the cost is prohibitive. I also like the idea of Ergomo in terms of how it interfaces with the bike. Another plus seems to be the computer display itself. it has features that others don't.

I have heard users complain about how difficult the Ergomo system is to install. With many years of bike shop and industry experience this doesn't worry me at all. We'll see.

I've been racing for 20+ years. I am a licensed coach. Although this gives me a pretty good background I am most excited about what changes, in terms of training structure, using a power meter will bring.

I have already adapted some of my interval work to those that are based on use with a PM. My former team mates were using SRM so I had access and exposure to their equipment and training methods but I never fully made the switch as I felt I was close to retirement and didn't think a complete revision of my training was worth the energy. Obviously I've changed my mind.

I will post about the installation procedure once the unit arrives but for now all I can do is wait like it's December 23rd.