After you have bought your first road bike, or maybe it isn't your first. The idea of upgrades will come to your mind.
Typical questions cyclists ask themselves are:
- How can I go faster?
- How can my bike look better?
- How can I look more pro?
- What do I need to do to look like the other cyclists? (yes we all seek acceptance)
In my view there are really two important things you can do to gain advantage through upgrades, 1 holds real quantifiable value, the other is questionable.
The question, what is the best $500 upgrade?
Power Meter
With no doubt in my mind, the best thing I ever did and any cyclist can do is get a power meter.
A power meter measures the force you put through the pedals as you ride, this is the true way to see what you are doing. I believe without a power meter you are riding blind.
Gone are the days of a power meter being the tool of the professionals only. Anyone can fit a power meter to their bike with a wrench in 10 minutes.
That power meter can cost as little as $500 USD, common brands are:
- Stages
- 4iiii
- Pioneer
- Powertap
Using a power meter you will be able to get an understanding of what effort you can sustain for what period of time, grabbing a copy of 'Training with Power' is a great help. (https://www.amazon.com/Training-Racing-Power-Meter-Hunter/dp/1934030554)
From here you can track the improvement in your cycling and you can focus on specific areas such as hill climbing, sprinting, time trialling, whatever your goal is.
Why not just use a heart rate monitor?
Heart rate monitors are fine but your heart rate is impacted by so many things, temperature, sleep, caffine, recent efforts. All of these things make it a difficult tool to work with.
Power is power you push the power or you don't, no in between, just black and white.
Wheels
New wheels on your bike are going to typically provide 3 things:
- Weight saving
- Less rolling resistance
- Nice ride
Weight
A middle of the road set of wheels for the $500 USD price tag might weigh 1.4 kgs maybe 1.5. That's probably a saving of 300 - 400 grams. When you think about it, that's not a lot.
Rolling resistance
With a more expensive set of wheels comes better hubs, the part of the wheels that spins around the axle, the less friction the faster the wheel will roll, again you are talking very small margins, you may or may not notice.
Nicer feel
Here we start getting subjective, they may be more responsive, they may roll better, you may get more road feel, its personal preference.
Conclusion
In my opinion the power meter provides you actionable data to help you improve and become a better rider. The wheels give you marginal gains you probably wont notice and after a few months will forget you have.
I saw a huge improvement in my riding after I got a power meter, I can pace climbs properly so I don't go to hard. I can pace long endurance rides so I don't go to hard. I can perform tests to measure my improvements.
I will write another blog dedicated to power meters as I can talk for ever on the topic.