Anyone tell me why this crankset is $3000?

harmonix1234

harmonix1234

Eats Squid
If you're an elite athlete at the pointy end of the peleton it is an investment.
When you train at that level you need to squeeze every bit of efficiency, power, stamina, speed, ergonomics and consistency out of your body and there comes a point when you can only learn so much about your body without the aid of devices to measure these factors accurately.

Well worth every cent if that's what your'e doing with your riding.

Although I can see one on a new 5 kilo S-works carbon roadie being taken out of the boot of a new BMW (next to the golf clubs) by one of those rich fat guys that likes to think he's the king of the bike track in his full Astana team kit.
 
flamin'trek

flamin'trek

Likes Bikes and Dirt
I wouldn't be surprised if nearly every pro roadie or XC rider has some of these, or similar, for training especially those who have a team monitoring their every move.
 
Josh Seksy

Josh Seksy

Likes Bikes and Dirt
To support Flamin'trek...

Your right, I would be safe in saying that 90% of the pro tour riders would run powertaps, SRM's or similar on there bikes, because they understand the difference it can make to there performance.

Take a look through the photos i've attached

All the HTC boys & Radioshack all run SRM's (the yellow box on the bars)
Cadel can be seen with his powertap (yellow speedo on the bars) which is a similar concept except inbuilt into the hub, not the crankset.

Google protour bikes and you'll get an idea of the scale of these things.


lance_armstrong_team_radioshack.jpg
cancerc1_600.jpg
1645-default-portrait.jpg
tdf9-545x355.jpg
team_radioshack_trek_madone_drivetrain_600.jpg
 
dilstubs

dilstubs

Likes Dirt
...

Too young? Really? I don't get the point of someone justifying $3000 for a crankset and then saying because I can't justify it that I must own a fucking K-mart bike...
 
thecat

thecat

NSWMTB, Central Tableland MBC
dilstubs said:
Too young? Really? I don't get the point of someone justifying $3000 for a crankset and then saying because I can't justify it that I must own a fucking K-mart bike...
Click to expand...
Are you are pro racer? No then how on earth can you justify a GT DH bike?

Oh. You like it and could afford it and wanted it even though you don't push it anywhere near it's limit....


Some people like to know how much power they produce when riding and can afford fancy power meters built into cranks.

It aint rocket surgery
 
V

vogmae

Likes Dirt
flamin'trek said:
I wouldn't be surprised if nearly every pro roadie or XC rider has some of these, or similar, for training especially those who have a team monitoring their every move.
Click to expand...
they do and they now regularly race with them too. Power is the most accurate measure of performance, whether for racing and training, and training using power is the established measure for specific training. It has revolutionised cycling training. For 99% of us that doesn't matter, but if you are serious about becoming better, no matter what level you are, then a power meter is, along with learning how to interpret the information it gives, probably the best investment you could make. I don't have one, am a mug punter anyway, but appreciate that if you want to train you need to train specifically, and this does that.

As an example, collecting race data via a powermeter taught people that the key thing in a road race was not just endurance and aerobic capacity but more importantly (if you take endurance as a given) it was the ability to pump out a lot of power in short intense bursts. This is where races are won and lost (attack, the break, the top of the climb, etc), and once you know what these numbers are, you can then train very specifically to improve.

It is a science, if you aren't interested then fine, but I don't understand why then you'd think it is stupid or silly to do. I know people who think that having 27 gears and suspension on a bike is crazy, or who think spending even $3k on a new bike is the other side of insane. SRM cranks are scientific instruments, I think they remain the most accurate and certainly are the power meter of choice amongst pros. It doesn't come cheap, but you'd only pay for them because you want and can use the level of data that they provide.
 
ajay

ajay

^Once punched Jeff Kennett. Don't pick an e-fight
Well said mate, hopefully some people can draw some meaning from that, as a few seemed to struggle with this whole concept!

It reminds of a nice modification of a cliche by one of my guitar teachers years ago: "practice does not make perfect, perfect practice makes perfect". I think that's a simple way to summarise.

They're a fantastic tool for performance, no question.
 
harmonix1234

harmonix1234

Eats Squid
vogmae said:
they do and they now regularly race with them too. Power is the most accurate measure of performance, whether for racing and training, and training using power is the established measure for specific training. It has revolutionised cycling training. For 99% of us that doesn't matter, but if you are serious about becoming better, no matter what level you are, then a power meter is, along with learning how to interpret the information it gives, probably the best investment you could make. I don't have one, am a mug punter anyway, but appreciate that if you want to train you need to train specifically, and this does that.

As an example, collecting race data via a powermeter taught people that the key thing in a road race was not just endurance and aerobic capacity but more importantly (if you take endurance as a given) it was the ability to pump out a lot of power in short intense bursts. This is where races are won and lost (attack, the break, the top of the climb, etc), and once you know what these numbers are, you can then train very specifically to improve.

It is a science, if you aren't interested then fine, but I don't understand why then you'd think it is stupid or silly to do. I know people who think that having 27 gears and suspension on a bike is crazy, or who think spending even $3k on a new bike is the other side of insane. SRM cranks are scientific instruments, I think they remain the most accurate and certainly are the power meter of choice amongst pros. It doesn't come cheap, but you'd only pay for them because you want and can use the level of data that they provide.
Click to expand...
So true. You can also spend around $3,500 on this badboy if you are serious about monitoring your power output.
SPD pedals, proper saddle, awesome software, independent leg power measurement and incredible accuracy. The Wattbike







http://wattbike.com/au/wattbike/
 
pistonbroke

pistonbroke

Eats Squid
Just remember kids, $3000 is not a lot of money to some people. Just because Mum won't give you $1000's to play with does not mean others don't earn far too much. I know a builder who paid $7000 (or 46 Huffys) for stickers for his Lambo. And the head of the Commonwealth Bank earns close to $50,000 a DAY!
 
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