The first commercially available cycling power meter debuted nearly 30 years ago. While power meters have changed considerably over the years - becoming, lighter, more accurate, and much more intricate - they remain one of the most widely used and most valuable training tools in cycling. Power meters allow athletes and their coaches to understand precisely what they are doing in training and how the athlete is responding. Knowing your power allows you to train more efficiently and thus more effectively.
To fully understand the value of the power meter we must first understand what power is. In cycling we measure power in watts and simply put, this is how much work you’re doing while riding. The harder you ride generally means the more power or watts you are producing.