powermeter questions

[über-goober]

I wanted to ask the collective wisdom of this forum to help me with some updates for 2012.

My old setup used the Powertap SL+ and the yellow head unit, and the free Poweragent software.

Now I am changing to the G3 hub and a Garmin 800. So far the Poweragent on my Mac can't find the Garmin when it's plugged in. And the GarminConnect software doesn't offer a lot in the way of power data.

What is a good program to use for power data? Or, how can I keep using Poweragent (which I actually like and don't feel like changing)? What is a good head unit and power software combo?

[Ypsylon]

I'm not positive, but I don't think you'll get Poweragent to detect your Garmin. You might be able to import your .fit files per hand, though.

If that doesn't work, try golden cheetah. That will work with your Garmin and might give you a file format that will be supported by Poweragent.

GC is a definetly worth a look anyways, it gives you pretty good functionality and it's free.

I still find WKO+ a little bit more intuitive and customizable, but that might be because that's what I'm used to the most. I'd recommend seeing if you can't fullfil your analyzing needs with Poweragent and/or GC first.

[dkrenik]

+1 to the feature/functionality of WKO+.

You'll need virtualization software (VMware, Parallels, Virtual Box (free), etc.) and a copy of Windows to make WKO+ work on OS X. Either that or buy your copy of Windows 7 and use Boot camp.

Dave

[j0m]

Golden Cheetah. I've never had a PT or a MAC but I've been on WKO for quite a few years. WKO is still my primary app but I've playing around , on and off, with GC since it was released. Not sure yet but I think there's a good chance that I will retire WKO for good this year. GC seems pretty good as it is and there's a great momentum in the community. If I were you I would definitely have a look at GC first. If you're happy with it there's no need to look any further.

Dave, have you looked at GC? If so, what are your thoughts of it compared to WKO? Maybe it's been covered on Wattage already but I must confess that I haven't read anything since last summer. I turned off the emails before going on vacation and forgot to turn it on and I never visit google groups. Before that I've probably read every message since back when it was on Topica.

[dalai]

Biggest concern with WKO moving forward, is that I have heard they are moving to the online model - directing customers to training peaks rather than PC based software. So unless you download your data on your PC also, there is always a possibility that in the future if the company were to fold you would loose all your data...*

*I still just use the SRM software, but have had a play with GC and liked what I saw.

[über-goober]

Interesting chart someone made. I'm somewhere in the "keep your day job" section if you scroll down from the top.

[dkrenik]

Yes I've also played around with GC and I still prefer WKO+. It's more to do with the UI/Graphics - GC still seems a little clunky in that respect to me. Great feature/functionality, just don't care for the UI/graphics.

I think it's pretty clear where TrainingPeaks is going as they update the on-line version monthly or so and haven't updated WKO+ in over a year.

Dave