I miss my power meter. A few months ago I started riding a new Serotta MeiVici and since I needed to get it built quickly I used the parts it came with rather than transfer my SRM from my previous bike. No big deal, I’ve been riding for more than 30 years – most of them without a power meter – so it’s not like I need it.
I can give up power whenever I want.
No, I don’t have a problem.
Hello, my name is Chris and I’m a powerholic. Actually, it’s not that bad but I do miss my power meter. I consider myself a very good judge of intensity, meaning that like many experienced riders I know how to gauge my efforts by feel. Still, there’s something missing from my rides: context. I have my perceptions, but I can’t compare them to real data to see if my perceived exertion is appropriate for my actual power output.
The other thing I really miss is knowing my kilojoules per ride. Kilojoules are the measure of how much total work you’re doing on the bike, and by a coincidental relationship between a conversion factor and your mechanical efficiency, the kilojoules produced during a ride are approximately equal to the kilocalories (read ‘calories’ in terms of food energy) burned during the same period of time. When you keep track of kilojoules, you see that 2 hours on the bike – even over the same course – can be very different rides. Headwinds, hills, and time pulling at the front of the group increase the kilojoule count for a ride, while tailwinds, descents, and drafting tend to lower it. I’ve gotten accustomed to using the kilojoule display on my SRM to gauge when it’s time to go home. Instead of going by miles or even hours, I would often go out for 1700 Kj (about 2:30 on rolling hills and light wind), 2100 (close to 3 hours in similar conditions), or 2600Kj (about 4 hours). Basically it comes down to about a 650-700 KJ/hr work rate. Without a power meter, though, it’s difficult to figure out the real energy demands of my rides.
If there’s one benefit to not installing my power meter yet, it’s that the lack of data allows me to really appreciate my new bike. I know I’ve raved about bikes in the past, but there’s something unique about this MeiVici from Serotta. As the time between me and my pro career grew longer, I started to get less comfortable riding no-handed at high speeds. Back in the day, I could careen downhill no-handed next to the team car while stuffing ten water bottles in my jersey, and I figured that losing that level of comfort and confidence was just part of getting older, having kids (and hence consequences to serious injuries), and losing some flexibility.
Remember, I live at the top of a twisting 5-kilometer climb that ascends 1200 vertical feet. I know that descent so well I can do it in the dark without lights… not that I ever would, dear. (Wink, wink, nudge, nudge.) Riding my MeiVici down Cheyenne Canon was the first time in a long time I’ve been that impressed with a bike. I know I haven’t changed and the descent hasn’t changed, but I felt more connected to the road, more stable, and more nimble than I’ve felt since I was a pro.
I asked Ben Serotta about it, and besides telling me about the precise tolerances and alignment of the frame, he also mentioned the bottom bracket drop. This is how far the bottom bracket sits below an imaginary straight line connecting the front and rear hubs. Lowering this point of the bike lowers your center of gravity and accounts for some of the stability and “connectedness” I feel going downhill on this bike. Best of all, I feel perfectly comfortable riding no-handed – at any speed – again. Now, more bottom bracket drop (or a lower bottom bracket) does mean a greater chance of clipping a pedal on the pavement while pedaling through tight corners, but it’s not like I’m diving into corners in criteriums any more, so I’m all for a little lower center of gravity.
You know what would be perfect attached to that lower bottom bracket? An SRM. Yeah, that’s it. I can see it now. I should really put it on the MeiVici… for the bike’s sake, you know? Yup, I need to install my power meter this weekend.
No, I don’t have a problem, why do you ask?
Chris Carmichael contributes blog reports to Bicycling.com twice a month. To read more of his blogs, and watch video blogs, visit the Training section of Bicycling.com. 
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