Understand How Your Power Meter Works
Power meters are what they sound like – devices placed on your bicycle that measure what you can produce. The devices measure your cycling power output – by multiplying the torque applied on the pedal or crank arm by its corresponding angular velocity. Knowing how your power meter works is essential to its long lifespan. Here is how you can prolong it.
Regular calibration
Regular calibration is a way to ensure accuracy and to protect your device. Calibrate your device before every major ride and after big maintenance, as well as when you are riding in a new place, especially if it has a different climate.
Environment
Power meters are affected by temperatures and humidity. Always store your bicycle in a controlled-temperature room. During the winter, do not store your bike in an unheated garage.
Battery
Battery maintenance can also lengthen the lifespan of your power meter. Always use the battery type recommended by the manual. Change it before it dies. Check the battery caps for salt marks a couple of times a year, and clean or apply some grease to the connectors that contact the battery to ensure power delivery.
Firmware
Updating your power meter’s firmware is essential, as it usually includes new services and prolongs hardware life. Always download new firmware. Newer power meters are usually equipped with an app that alerts you to new updates.
Physical impairment
One possible way to make power meters less accurate or lengthen the data retrieval time is by physically missing them. Using a dedicated bike stand when you are not riding for whatever reason is key to not letting the power meter become misaligned. Always take good care when on the roads – do not drop your crank arm, miss the other one, or hit the power meter pod with your shoe. Always stay safe in traffic – many car drivers are not aware of your extra expense on the bike. Do not put your bike through any heavy activities that do not involve cycling with the equipment you would use against the ground to stabilize the surface. Power meters can resist cushioned hard hits – without this cushioning, ground impact is considerable.
Avoid Physical and Chemical Damage
Handle with care
Keep careful when the bike is with the power meter installed. Do not knock your bike or your power meter against any hard surface. If you place your bike in a bike rack, ensure that it does not fall, and it is not squeezed by the other ones. Such an event can move the strain gauges within the power meter’s cranks, start, or pedal, thus providing incorrect shifts.
Clean properly
Regular cleaning is also a measure that will prevent chemical storage, which often results from road salt and sweat. There must be clean, sweat, dust, and dirt leftover. Use a soft cloth dampened with lukewarm water and a mild dish detergent. Try to avoid common cleaners, as they could contain aggressive solutions that potentially damage the protective coatings on the components. After the salty winter road, you would need to rinse the power meter after taking it off. The salt does not corrode salt easily, but it is not the ideal environment for the equipment.
Chemical exposure
Look out for the common irritants that will probably come into contact with your wearable accessory. Never apply lubricant or cleaning solutions directly on the power meter, thus potentially eroding the inner parts. Some cyclists have critically damaged the devices by using aggressive solvents to wipe the power meter’s surface. Apply such media to a clean cloth and then softly rub the adjacent areas while trying not to disturb even the stubborn stains with force.
Perform Regular Maintenance and Inspections
Maintaining your power meter properly and performing regular checkups is one of the best ways to ensure its longevity. The current resource describes a number of detailed steps and examples that can be useful in this regard.
What Should Be Cleaned and How Often Should It Be Done
One of the simplest methods to maintain your power meter is to clean it every two weeks or indeed after any type of a wet or muddy ride. A soft brush and a mild type of a cleaner are quite sufficient to rid the power meter of debris and a variety of corrosives that include roads salts or mud, among other things. It is possible to clean the entire chainrings and the pedals while performing maintenance to ensure that no residues continue to accumulate after a ride in the rain. The maintenance time shortens, and multiple devices will not need to be cleaned in parallel.
When to Perform Routine Inspections and What to Look For
It is possible to use a monthly basis when performing routine inspection and check the condition of a power meter. Time may also be used to perform visual inspections for cracks, corrosion, or any parts coming loose. A torque wrench should be employed to ensure that all parts and fittings meet the proper torque standards specified by a particular manufacturer. This will mitigate the risks of the parts coming loose during a ride and ruining a power meter or producing incorrect measurements. This information can greatly extend the life of a database device and improve the quality of maintenance.
Take Appropriate Protective Measures
Making sure that you take the right protective measures is crucial to extending the life of your power meter.
Use a Protective Cover
A cover is a necessary accessory you might want to purchase to shield your power meter from exposure to likely forms of damage including the impact, dirt, and moisture that accumulate and negatively affect the device’s health over time. When you are involved in a mountain biking competition, the cover will prevent the mud from collecting on the device and keep it from any forms of exposure that would be particularly hazardous.
Use Transportation Care
Whenever you are traveling with your bike, make sure the power meter is protected properly. You can try using the bike bag to prevent accidental impacts and flying specks of dirt, and an especially good idea to use one that incorporates padding. This is a particularly important point when you are flying and need to check your bike with other luggage. Bacause such transportation is likely to be rough, precautinary steps are particularly important when you want your power meter to stay intact.
Waterproofing
While modern power meters are already waterproof to some extent, the Zinertek’s power meters can be additionally protected from the harmful exposure to water using some sealant. A silicone sealant applied along the edge of the battery compartment will enhance the level of your device’s protection, ensuring that it retains its capacity to work despite coming into contact with water, especially so if you are an active cyclist who often takes long trips.
Manage Software Updates and Upgrades
Managing the software updates and upgrades effectively is crucial for maintaining the performance and extending the lifespan of your power meter.
Check for Updates
It is recommended to set a reminder for every three months to check whether any updates for your power meter are available. Most manufacturers release them in order to improve the functionality, eliminate bugs or to add new features that can make your device more accurate or convenient to use. One cyclist decided to update firmware and noticed that his power meter became around 2% more accurate, which was in line with the results of the lab test.
Use Official Software Only
It is crucial to use only the official application or download files from the manufacturer’s website. Using the software from third-party developers is wasteful as the main advantage of their product is the ability to download the updates much earlier. Not only such software will be incompatible with your device, but also if your power meter breaks after installation, the manufacturer can refuse to cover the device under warranty.
Backup Before Uploading
The initial step is to backup your settings and data prior to updating or upgrading the software. It is usually possible from the app associated with your power meter. Before uploading any software that includes a major change, it is recommended to export the configuration files and any data to store. Your settings will not be wiped out in case the update will reset the system or eliminate the features.
Follow Manufacturer Installation Process
The final tip is to follow the instructions developed by the manufacturer. Do not power down your device during installation, as it will likely ruin the firmware. It is also recommended to start the process with a freshly charged power meter or even to keep it plugged in if the update permits it.
Extreme Weather and Environmental Impacts
In order to save your power meter and elevate its longevity, a person has to learn to manage the critical outcomes of extreme weather and environmental conditions.
Temperature changes
Monitor the degree of temperature closely and pay strong attention to the tendency of increments and decrements. The two gages are particularly sensitive to extreme temperatures because it affects battery life.
Scenario : You are going to ride your bike in extremely cold conditions. In this regard, make sure to leave the bike indoors and do not expose it to cold before the actual commencement of a workout. It is advisable to cover the power meter with the thermal cover to maintain a stable temperature of the entire device. This will ensure the proper functioning of sensors and devices.
Moisture and water resistance
Although the type of power meters under consideration are typically water-resistant, long exposure may represent a certain risk. In order to increase the level of protection of the entire device, it may be useful to apply water-resistant lubricant at least once in a fortnight or a month, depending on its type. If a person usually rides in a wet or humid environment, applying this lubricant once in two weeks is a better way to protect the power meter. If you perceive that your power meter has been previously exposed to water, it is essential to ensure that it is perfectly dried with a soft and clean cloth.
Dust and airborne particles
Use a breathable fabric to protect your power meter from dust and other litter that is common in a dusty environment or in a season of strong winds or storms. After you notice that ambient particles have been collected on the device, gently move compressed air towards the location of the power meter from a distance of at least 15-20 cm.
Educate Users on Proper Use
Users should be fully educated on how to use their power meters to ensure that their power meters can serve them for a lifetime.
Knowledge of Specifications
A user must be aware of the operational capabilities of a power meter. If a power meter is intended to be used in a certain temperature range, users should avoid anything beyond those temperatures. A cyclist may be riding in extreme heat above the manufacturer’s recommendations. The operating conditions of a power meter will not only be properly installed and can be destroyed permanently with time.
Experience with Installation
Ensure safety of installation. Discover and clearly understand how a power meter should be installed. Contact experts or have a specialist installed. Improper installation of a power meter can give the wrong impression of stress and may potentially damage the wafers. A cyclist must be strictly advised on how to properly install or insure a wrist power meter to avoid stem damage.
Training Properly
Users should know how to properly understand how they can use the data captured and make it useful. Users can learn to train to correctly analyze the data. Data that users are using the wrong way to analyze what these sets of data really are, and it facilitates the performance of users.
Education regarding the Maintenance of the Power Meter
For each cyclist, there are specific tasks that you can complete one or more power meters. For example, if a one can learn to troubleshoot and perform an installation check to ensure that a power meter is working correctly, he or she can clean the power meter. The firmware update can be checked occasionally.
