Polar power sensor

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Polar power sensor

Postby Ivor » Wed Feb 06, 2008 10:58 am

Anyone know how accurate the Polar power meters are? I have one fitted, originally simply because I was having a devil of a time with the wireless sensors... and er, I saw it on eBay, like so much of the stuff I seem to have accumulated. :D
It was quite interesting/amusing seeing the change in my left right power balance over time after I'd injured a leg, not quite so exciting now its always at 50%/50%. Quite interesting to see other stats like the percentage of the stroke producing power and so on.
But I was thinking of paying a bit more attention to the actual power output figures and wondered how to check what it's saying?
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Re: Polar power sensor

Postby Ian A4size » Wed Feb 06, 2008 6:10 pm

Orv- nice to meet you on saturday in the cafe,

BTW Andrew Green is our resident power meter guru :wink: , I am sure he will offer you some advice (posts passim....)
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Re: Polar power sensor

Postby Toks » Fri Feb 08, 2008 10:32 am

[quote="orv"]Anyone know how accurate the Polar power meters are? I have one fitted, originally simply because I was having a devil of a time with the wireless sensors... and er, I saw it on eBay, like so much of the stuff I seem to have accumulated. :D
It was quite interesting/amusing seeing the change in my left right power balance over time after I'd injured a leg, not quite so exciting now its always at 50%/50%. Quite interesting to see other stats like the percentage of the stroke producing power and so on.
But I was thinking of paying a bit more attention to the actual power output figures and wondered how to check what it's saying?
Hi Orv, if i'm honest most of the reviews I've read haven't been that favourable. However if like some turbo powermeters (Elite/Kurt kinetic etc) the readings are consistent and reliable then even if they're 10% above or below top of the range SRM/PowerTaps it shouldn't matter a great deal. As long as you can get a fairly good idea of fitness gains and losses who cares if the results are not comparable with other powermeters. http://www.roadbikereview.com/cat/train ... 07crx.aspx
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Re: Polar power sensor

Postby mrP(Boonen)VT » Fri Feb 08, 2008 12:10 pm

This is omething to do with sunlight, like those panels on the roof are they not?
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Re: Polar power sensor

Postby Ivor » Wed Feb 27, 2008 10:57 am

ok totally non-scientific test.... got my elite hydromag trainer yesterday and gave it a quick blast.
laid up with a stinking cold so didn't feel like a real session but couldn't leave a new toy in its box! :)
anyway had 10 minutes speeding up/slowing down/playing with the controls....
and the power readings seemed pretty similar between the polar display and the elite display, albeit with a bit of lag on the polar reading....
anyway, stopped after 10 minutes and checked the average....

Elite: 177 watts
Polar: 177 watts

Anyway, that gives me a bit more confidence that the numbers are in the right ballpark (and that all the time I spent setting up the Polar, weighing and measuring the chain and frame probably helped).

I'll spend a bit more time and do some proper timed runs and see what sort of numbers come out.

Cheers,
Ivor
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