From German with love #urgestalt #lightweight #framemywheels

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Merry Christmas everyone! What a morning for a ride. May your dream come true and found the special magic from Santa. I'm sure that you have been good #festive500 #wymtm #fromwhereiride #lightweight #urgestalt #framemywheels

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Stage Power meter firmware upgrade

Here are the details. 

StagesPower iOS App notes:
*    Bug Fixes and API updates
*    Fahrenheit/Celsius toggle for Zero Calibration Data
*    Battery Level Indicator

That will be useful as to see when to change the CR2032 or when to keep a spare.

The green indicator at bottom screen show how much juice is left.

(More from Bike radar)

"Less high tech, but equally if not more important – the update now features battery level indication. When connected via Bluetooth the App will show the battery meter as shown above, and when connected via ANT+, the power meter will send out a low battery notice which means you have about 10 hours of battery life left."

*    Tools Page - can now read the power meter's calibration data and settings for improved customer service and support. (Feature available with firmware versions after 2.0.21)
*    High Speed Data - the StagesPower App can now record pedaling force (kgf) and torque (Nm) 64 times per second and email the data for post ride analysis in Excel (.csv format). (Feature available with firmware versions after 2.0.21)

V2.0.31 Firmware notes:
*    Bug Fixes and API Updates
*    Low Battery Warning (ANT+)
*    High Speed Data - the ability to transmit pedaling force (kgf) and torque (Nm) 64 times per second via Bluetooth to the StagesPower app for recording and post ride analysis. (The ANT+ power and cadence information will continue to transmit as normal, when High Speed Data is in use)
*    StagesPower Tools - functionality to transmit calibration data and settings to the app for improved customer service and support.
*    Torque Efficiency (ANT+ only, available on Garmin 510 and 810)
*    Pedal Smoothness (ANT+ only, available on Garmin 510 and 810)

Hope you have a smooth and #happyhumpday. Always mad this time of year before Xmas. Looking forward to some #Rapha500 madness! #fromwhereiride #rapha #lightweight #urgestalt #framemywheels

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I bought a weed hugging hypster bike #lightweight #urgestalt #framemywheels

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Happy times! #wymtm #lightweight #urgestalt #framemywheels

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Stages Power Meter Review

I always want a power meter, but somehow something will come up and the "power money" has gone somewhere else. This $999 gadget is affordable and how I know how shit I'm compare with the Strava estimate.

The way I see things of the power meter world. There is no gold standard of how to measure power. The strain gauges that most crank based systems calculate power via an estimate, from their own-derived algorithm. As long as they are consistent, I think it is ok. How do you know who is right? Absolute value is pointless, as someone does 1000W in one machine using one type of power meter will show a different value with same strain on a different bike and a different power meter.

I started noticing Stages power meter in cycling websites. I basically chose the Dura Ace crank based on the fact that Stages will be available in Australia soon. I have considered alternatives like the Rotor new power meter, but the look gets me. I would not though get a Quarq with SRAM as I will have full Di2. This is just a crime! SRM will give me a solution, and a very expensive solution too!

I started using Stages for about a week or so. For a novice, this is very easy to set up. Point the crank down at 6 o'clock position and click the (((•))) button on the Garmin, select the power meter icon, click calibrate and wa la in less than 5 seconds.

The down side I have is that Stages has recommended to remove the Garmin speed/cadence sensor, since Stages can calculate the cadence for you, all you have is the GPS in the Garmin to calculate speed. I always think this is a less accurate way, particularly to look at VAM (vertical meter gained per hour). But now I think if I climb basal on power, it will be the same and more accurate since the roughness of the bitumen and the wind will be a factor on the climb. Just use cadence and power makes more sense.

However, that make me thinking that putting a power meter on my better bike makes no sense. Since I am not riding this everyday and now force myself putting more KMs in these beauty. There will be a time that I will swap the Tarmac to Dura Ace and use Stages. Why don't I put a Quarq Specialized spider you ask. Well I just said 2 different power meter has 2 absolute values in the same effort at the same form. How do I compare? Besides one such spider is $2000. A crank and Stages combine I will have change for a Rapha Pro Team bundle.Well you can't compare riding a Tarmac to riding this German bitch any day haha.

I deliberately do not include any result, since more detail work has been done by a sponsored blog. http://www.dcrainmaker.com/2013/06/stages-review-update.html

He has more scientific analysis than I will ever be. If I have that much time to make this, I would rather use the time to ride bike or get a second job so I can have 10 more bikes.

Using a power meter is a way to ignore the "guesstimate" of Strava power. How can I constantly hit 300W on the flat or how can I been averaging 200W on bike track hubbarding I don't know .... On the climbs though, where Strava use to formula to calculate power, seems to be around the ball park.

One real con that will really shit me is I'm already on the second CR2032 battery. Fuck that if I have to change battery every 2 weeks. I will acquire a coin battery company before next Christmas.