Advice: Power Meter of MTB?

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Permalink Reply by Chris S on February 28, 2014 at 12:41pm

For me a hard tail mountain bike is just too similar to my cx bike. I know thats a stretch, but I tackle some mildly technical trails on the cx bike. If (when?) I pick up a mountain bike I think full suspension will provide enough of a differential to justify the expense. Sorry that doesn't really address your question...

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Permalink Reply by Chris Mayhew on February 28, 2014 at 6:58pm

What's your limiter in cross, fitness or handling?

If you got a powermeter would you change the way you ride based on the data?

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Permalink Reply by Mike on March 1, 2014 at 8:08am

I'm pretty balanced, although last year handling was probably better than fitness, but that is a result in low fitness, not great handling. I would not change the type of training, but be able to do more specific sessions. For example sweet spot (88-93% of FTP) is a great workout, but a challenge to do by feel alone. For racing, it is useless until after the event but in the months leading up to the season, my thought is to build a monster truck engine with the pm. Then again, a mtb would be way more fun and open up the chance to do some short- track racing in the summer.

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Permalink Reply by BSUdude on March 5, 2014 at 5:34am

I think most people will tell you a PM is the best investment for making real physical performance gains in training.  That being said, in order to get the benefit from a PM, you need to be able to make a training schedule, interpret the data, and stick to a training schedule.

How do you feel about your physical performance?  Do you feel like you are still making gains on your own, setting your own schedule, doing your own thing?  Or do you are you wondering what you can do to make yourself better physically after last season?  If you think you've gone as far as you can on your own, and you're a performance minded rider, committing to a PM and training schedule will probably be quite fruitful.

MTB is certainly more fun, and I think MTB riding and especially RACING helps you stay sharp for CX both handling and engine wise.  So if you think you can still get more out of your body on your own, and aren't ready to commit to data driven training, a MTB might be a good choice.  As a side note, I always wonder about people who say they are riding a CX bike on mtb trails.  If you really want to ride mountain trails, you need a mountain bike.

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