PowerTap 2.4 SL Setup Options

Porkyboy

Hi

I wonder whether those who use this or a similar unit would let me know which options they have found to work best and would advise to be selected when first setting up the unit. This may save me quite a lot of trial and error, what works best for you in the computer setup options?

1). Rate of display (1-30):

Watts
Speed
Cadence

2). Include Zero readings?

Watts average
Speed average
Cadence average

3). Auto zero function?

Yes/No

Thank you for your help.

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rob of the og

I think Auto zero should always be yes unless you're using a fixed wheel.

The others are entirely up to you, depending on what you want to see. The rate of display is usually pretty low for me, like 1, 2 or 3 seconds. You might set it higher if you're doing longer intervals and want to see the rolling averages over a longer period. When you first start using the PT you might be surpised how much the power jumps up and down, so using a high rate of display period will stabilise the numbers and give you a feeling for what averages represent what perception of exertion. But go to the shorter periods as soon as you're happy, so that you get used to looking at the 'real numbers'. The same principle applies for speed and cadence, but I can't think of any reason why you'd be interested in longer averages for those, so just stick at 1s.

Whether you have zero's included in your watts average is again a personal choice. I always view without the zero's because I find that a relatively good proxy for normalised power, and also just because I think the numbers make more sense that way. But lots of other people do include the zero's. With average speed, you'll probably have it set to stop/start when the wheels stop/start moving so there shouldn't be any zero's anyway. If you have it stop/start with your heartrate signal then it's just a matter of whether you consider the average speed to be for the whole time you're out or just when you're actually riding.