What's your power data telling you?
Harness the power meter data from your rides on Strava. Gain insights into your power metrics to plan your training and track your progress
Connect
Harness the power meter data from your rides on Strava. Gain insights into your power metrics to plan your training and track your progress
ConnectPress the below button to provide Power-Meter.cc access to your ride data.
Strava will ask for your consent before making your ride data accessible.
If you change your mind later, you can easily revoke access – refer to the FAQ to see how.
If you find Power-Meter.cc useful, then consider subscribing. It costs less than a coffeeper month with a free 7-day trial and no minimum commitment. In return for showing your appreciation you will get access to additional features listed below.
Connect with Strava above, then revisit the
Import all your rides from Strava, not just the previous 6 weeks
Receive an email with your ride's power metrics straight after it has been uploaded
No. Advertisements. Ever.
Forecast your Fitness, Fatigue and Form to taper effectively
* Pending Strava changes
* Work in progress
Provide access to your coach for ride analysis and advice
* Work not started
Choose between light and dark modes
Regular |
| |
| Import all rides from Strava | Previous 6 weeks only | |
| Email summaries after rides uploaded | ||
| No advertisements (ever) | ||
| Plan your taper before a race | ||
| Choose between Light and Dark themes | ||
| See your power trend across 5s | 1min | 5min | 20min | ||
| Analyse your rides | ||
| Power analysis of Segments | Strava Subscribers only1 | Strava Subscribers only1 |
| See your Power Profile | ||
| Review the impact of rides on Fitness, Fatigue and Form |
1 constraint is from Strava.com and outside of Power-Meter.cc control
Connect with Strava above, then revisit the
Quick facts
Started in September 2016
8,600+ Strava athletes are connected to the site
More than 346,000 activities processed
Power-Meter.cc was started in 2016 by me, Adrian — a passionate cyclist, parkrunner, and (then) part-time triathlete.
After buying a power meter for my bike, I wanted to get the most out of my investment, so I buried myself in the literature.
In particular, I found the below book, "Training and Racing with a Power Meter" the most useful — the authors are pioneers of training with a power meter, and this site incorporates many of the concepts that they developed.
I highly recommend reading it to gain a detailed understanding of the subject.
I found the tools available for power analysis tended to be overkill for what I needed. They also weren't web-based and needed you to install them on your computer (and carry that around with you).
So after getting hands-on with web development, this website started as a hobby and way of learning more. When Strava began its app store, I decided to make the website available to the community — and registered the Power-Meter.cc domain name.
The feedback and interaction with cyclists from around the globe have been fantastic and motivates me to continue developing the website. If you would like to get in touch, please feel free to drop me a line using the contact form below.
I live in the Northwest of England, and I'm on the doorstep of the beautiful area of the Ribble Valley. After riding for 5 years and over 34,000km, I decided to purchase a power meter to see if I could improve my power and fitness.
I consider myself a recreational rider that doesn't race, but I don't want to be at the back of the group, and therefore I need something to monitor my progress without breaking the bank. In the past, the only power meter I used was on my indoor turbo, and for this reason, I didn't feel it was necessary to use something like Power-Meter CC. Now that I have a power meter on my outdoor bike and using Power-Meter CC I'm able to monitor my progress with ease, and £1.99 p/m is a great price.
Before this, I monitored my progress using Strava fitness and freshness tracker, which is pretty good at keeping on track; however, it does have some limitations. Firstly Strava only gives you a fitness and freshness score and a power curve with estimated FTP. It doesn't give you a power profile of your maximum power for 5 secs, 60 secs, 5 minutes and FTP.
This I feel is important to try and improve in your weak areas. In my case, I don't sprint very well, and I'm trying now to address this problem. I like the menu tabs that give clear and concise information over a user selection interface. The training tab is excellent, and you can even plan your next few rides, and it will work out an estimate of your fitness score so you can decide to take more time off the bike or go for it.
The support I've had off Adrian has been excellent communication through email, and he's made some changes after I've put a request in. I'm sure those that use something like TrainingPeaks would carry on using it if that's what they need. Right now I don't need it and probably never will.
https://www.strava.com/athletes/10828519Using Power-Meter.cc since December, 2017
Power-Meter.cc data is usually my first stop post-ride because the power stats are hands down better than Strava, Wahoo, or Garmin.
Power-Meter.cc is intuitive and easy to explore and keeps adding more features. If you're serious about training and racing, then you need a power meter, and you need to deep-dive your power numbers.
Power-Meter.cc should be in your Bookmarks!
https://www.strava.com/athletes/5307888Using Power-Meter.cc since September, 2020
I love Power Meter CC as it is excellent value for money, giving me all the key statistics I want with a modern analytics UI for a very modest fee.
Equally appreciated is timely and helpful support from Adrian.
https://www.strava.com/athletes/8748495Using Power-Meter.cc since July, 2018
Power-Meter.cc PRO gives me the insights I need to direct my training using Maximum Average Power and the power curve for my races and events.
The Fitness, Fatigue & Form tab helps me to plan my peak fitness for race readiness.
I strongly believe in this project and recommend it to all cyclists who want to improve either their fitness or competitiveness.
https://www.strava.com/athletes/10403197Using Power-Meter.cc since July, 2019
There are two elements of power-meter.cc that help me keep motivated:
Using Power-Meter.cc since January, 2018
In the short time I have been using Pro Power Meter CC I have seen very quickly the areas I need to focus on. The MAP breakdown and AEPF analysis for each ride have helped me understand exactly what each ride is giving me.
I believe that PPMCC will definitely help me when I sit down to do my training plan for the next racing season (Fingers crossed it's for 2021) With the ride stats I will be able to look at the numbers for each ride and adjust my training accordingly.
https://www.strava.com/athletes/2072518Using Power-Meter.cc since July, 2022
Maximum Average Power (MAP) represents the greatest amount of power (watts) you can sustain for a specific amount of time measured in seconds.
For example, MAP5 is the greatest amount of watts you can output over 5 seconds.
MAP1200, i.e. 20 minutes, is often used as a practical value from which to determine your Functional Threshold Power (FTP), which is seen as the gold standard for assessing an athlete's performance and for benchmarking against others.
Regular FTP testing indicates whether your performance is improving.
Your FTP and other key Maximum Average Power values are used to determine where your strengths and areas of improvement are, on which to base a targeted training plan using your power zones.
This is the first place you will be directed to after connecting Power-Meter.cc to your Strava account. It lists your Strava activities recorded in the last 6 weeks and calculates your Maximum Average Power (MAP) values for durations of 5 seconds, 1 minute, 5 minutes, and 20 minutes. This combination of short intense efforts and longer sustained efforts are useful to model your "Power Profile" (more on this later!)
A summary of the number of activities processed in a progress bar is shown at the top of the page. Activities not of interest (e.g. runs and swims) are ignored. Only cycling activities recorded with an actual power meter will be processed. (Note: Strava does not make its estimated power available to third party websites like Power-Meter.cc)
Each dot on a chart represents your MAP for a given ride. A line of best-fit is added to provide insight into what the effect of your training has been at each MAP duration. The charts show you where you are improving and where more effort may be required.
Each row in the Power Trend table represents an activity, and when hovered-over its corresponding points on the MAP charts are highlighted. The checkboxes to the left of the table enable you to remove unwanted data points from the charts.
Sorting — the table can be sorted by clicking on the top header row. Click again to alternate between ascending and descending ordering of the data.
Searching — you can search and filter the data included in the charts by typing in the upper-right box. This is particularly useful if one or more data points are affecting the line of best-fit (for example, because you have recovery rides or commutes where you have taken things easy).
To analyse a ride in more detail, click on its chart icon...
(I do not receive a commission)
Training and Racing with a Power Meter is the pioneering, cutting-edge guide that makes it possible for any rider to exploit the incredible usefulness of any power meter. Coach Hunter Allen and exercise physiologists Dr Andy Coggan and Dr Stephen McGregor show how to use a power meter to profile your strengths and weakness, how to measure fitness and fatigue, how to optimise your daily workouts, how to peak for races, and how to set and adjust your racing strategy while you are racing.
Hunter Allen is one of the world's leading experts in training with power meters. He is a USA Cycling Level 1 Coach, CEO of Peaks Coaching Group, and a former professional cyclist with the Navigators Team.
Andrew Coggan PhD, is an internationally recognised exercise physiologist. He is the originator of Normalized Power, TSS, power profiling, quadrant analysis, and the Performance Manager concepts.
Stephen McGregor PhD, is an exercise physiologist and USA Cycling instructor. He is Director of the Applied Physiology Lab at Eastern Michigan University and a USA Cycling instructor.
Note: not all functionality is available when using mobile browsers. Use the desktop version for the full experience.
The basic ride information (distance, duration, date, time, etc) is pulled-in from Strava. Power metrics for the whole ride are calculated using your FTP and weight (sourced from your Strava profile/settings):
| FTP | Your Functional Threshold Power is your ability to sustain the Maximum Average Power output for 60 minutes. Regular FTP assessments can give you a good indication of whether your performance is improving. FTP also provides a benchmark used to determine cycling-specific training zones. |
| NP1 | Normalized Power is calculated using an algorithm that accommodates fluctuations in your effort during a ride. As its name suggests, it normalizes a ride and attempts to provide an average power output for an equivalent ride that does not have fluctuations of effort. |
| AP | Average Power is the mean power value for the whole ride and is affected by fluctuations in effort e.g. zero power readings from freewheeling downhill. |
| VI | Variability Index is the ratio of Normalized Power to Average Power and how evenly paced a ride was. A steady time trial effort should be close 1.00 whereas a criterium race would likely be 1.10 or higher. |
| IF1 | Intensity Factor is the ratio of Normalized Power to your FTP and measures the relative intensity of a ride taking into account differences in FTP between riders. A typical recovery ride may be less than 0.75 (i.e. 75% of FTP intensity), whilst an all-out short time trial may exceed 1.15. |
| TSS1 | Training Stress Score is modelled on Dr Eric Bannister's HR-based training impulse (TRIMPS) and is proportional to the intensity and duration of a ride. The higher the TSS, the greater the fatigue and training effect of the ride; and also the longer that a rider will require to recover. A TSS of less than 100 is likely to indicate a recovery ride, whilst a TSS exceeding 400 shows serious rider exertion. Recovery Easy Moderate Hard Epic |
1 TSS, IF and NP were invented by Dr Andrew Coggan.
The map initially shows the entire ride. It automatically updates when a section of the ride is being analysed through:
To make the chart lines less jagged and focus on the patterns in the data, you can smooth the charts using 3, 5, or 30-second moving averages.
You can click to alternate between distance and time on the chart horizontal axes.
The power histogram shows the distribution of your ride power data by sorting it into a series of intervals. The higher the bar, the more time spent in that range of wattage.
If your FTP is set on Strava, then the histogram will colour-code the bars based on 7 power zones: where zone 1 (Z1) is riding very easy and zone 7 (Z7) is for very short all-out efforts.
Power Training zones/levels invented by Dr Andrew Coggan
Quadrant Analysis invented by Dr Andrew Coggan
The quadrant analysis chart shows the relationship between how hard and how fast a rider pedalled during a ride. This will vary significantly depending on the type of ride (e.g. a criterium vs time trial) but is useful to help identify strengths and weaknesses, as well as tendencies when self-selecting.
The vertical axis denotes Average Effective Pedal Force (AEPF), measured in Newtons (N). This is how hard the pedal was pressed. The horizontal axis is Circumferential Pedal Velocity (CPV), measured in meters/second (m/s). This is directly proportional to cadence and is how fast the pedal was turned.
The blue line represents a rider's Functional Threshold Power (FTP) at a given pair of AEPF and CPV values. Therefore we can see a correlation with how much of a ride a rider was riding at, above, and below their FTP.
The quadrant analysis chart shows the percentage of the ride spent in four quadrants (starting top-left and going clockwise):
| HF / HV | High pedal force / High pedal velocity – e.g. from all-out sprinting |
| HF / LV | High pedal force / Low pedal velocity – could be from "grinding" up a hill |
| LF / HV | Low pedal force / High pedal velocity – from spinning or using rollers |
| LF / LV | Low pedal force / Low pedal velocity – such as turning the pedals gently downhill |
If you are a Strava Subscriber, you will also see a table that contains the Strava segments from the ride. This table identifies "Starred" or segments marked as your favourites in Strava, and also achievements (e.g. KOM or personal bests) from the ride.
If the same segment is ridden more than once, then you can do further analysis of that segment by clicking on the compare segments icon. This will take you to the next page...
The segment is highlighted on the map in blue.
As you hover over the chart on the right, colour-coded markers that relate to your efforts will be displayed on the map and the time difference between the baseline and the other efforts is displayed in the table.
Each marker's colour relates to an effort in the table below. The black marker is the "baseline" – i.e. the effort against which the others are being compared against. The chart shows the time gap between efforts: being above the baseline means you are in front; below is behind. You can select a different effort to be the baseline by click on the icon.
Each effort from the ride being analysed is included in the table in the order they were recorded. The time taken for each effort is displayed, as is the maximum and average values for power, heart rate, and cadence (where available).
Similar to other tables, you can sort the rows by clicking on the column headings.
On this page, you'll see your FTP, weight and gender pulled-in from Strava. At the top-right of the page is your "Power Profile". The detail of which rides contributed to the power profile are below. The power profile is created using your best effort for each of the Maximum Average Power values.
Watts per kg, rather than just watts, enable comparison with other rider data. Dr Andrew Coggan developed categories based on the known performance abilities of world champion athletes and untrained persons.
Power Profile invented by Dr Andrew Coggan and Hunter Allen
Power Profile is Copyrighted by VeloPress books, and is printed in Training and Racing with a Power Meter
Click here for Dr Andrew Coggan's original Power Profile spreadsheet, which was used to develop the Power Profile chart above.
Your power profile can be used to identify your strengths and weaknesses, which can then be used to determine a training program and also possibly identify events where you may be most successful.
The below descriptions are based on text from the book above
| A generally flat or horizontal plot, where all four Maximum Average Power values are around the same point on their respective range, is characteristic of an All-Rounder. All-Rounders do not excel at shorter or longer durations but are likely to be competitive in their category across a broad range of events. Given that only specialist Sprinters and Time Trialists truly excel at the outmost durations (i.e. 5 seconds and 20 minutes), very few athletes will show this pattern and be at the upper-end in each category. The vast majority of non-elite athletes will likely show some degree of a horizontal power profile, but at the mid to lower-end of each range. | |
| A distinctly down-sloping plot (especially between 1 minute and 5 minutes) is characteristic of a Sprinter. i.e. athletes whose natural abilities are skewed towards success in a short duration and high-power event that utilise a great deal of fast-twitch muscle groups. Since aerobic ability is relatively trainable, Sprinters may be able to turn themselves into more of an All-Rounder by appropriately-focused training. However, if they have already been training hard for many years, they are likely to remain better at short anaerobic rather than longer aerobic efforts. If so, focusing on events that favour these abilities (e.g. track and criterium racing) may result in the most success. | |
| Distinctly up-sloping plot (especially between 1 and 5 minutes, but also from 5 to 60 minutes) indicates that the athlete is more of a Time Trialist. i.e. weak in neuromuscular power and anaerobic capacity, but with a relatively high aerobic power, and especially a high lactate threshold. While such riders may improve their performance by working on their weaknesses, this may not necessarily be true if it results in a decline in their strength, which is sustainable power. | |
| A sharply inverted-V pattern is characteristic of an athlete that has both relatively high anaerobic capacity and aerobic ability, and therefore well-suited for events such as the pursuit. Pursuiters have high potential as an All-Rounder if they have not focused on raising their lactate threshold to its highest possible level. |
The chart backgrounds are bars of shading that denote race categories (i.e. Cat 1, Cat 2, etc.) and can be used to benchmark yourself against other riders.
Similar to the Power Profile page, your FTP, weight and gender are pulled-in from Strava.
Performance Manager Chart invented by Dr Andrew Coggan and Hunter Allen
Fitness = Chronic Training Load (CTL)
Fatigue = Acute Training Load (ATL)
Form = Training Stress Balance (TSB: CTL – ATL)
As you move the mouse cursor over the chart, you will see values for Fitness, Fatigue and Form.
Form is a good indicator of your race readiness. It is the difference between how Fatigued you are from training over the past two weeks and how much Fitness you have gained over the past 6 weeks.
Fatigue and Fitness are expressed as Training Stress Score (TSS), which is related to the intensity and duration of training performed each day. The greater the TSS number, the greater the impact on your fitness and fatigue.
The "right" Form varies from rider to rider, however as a rough guide:
You can switch Fatigue and Form on and off to de-clutter the chart.
You can add planned rides to the calendar to forecast the impact of these on your Fitness, Fatigue and Form. This is useful when planning tapering ahead of a big race to ensure you are sufficiently recovered whilst maintaining fitness.
For example, if you do the same ride every Wednesday and know that it usually results in a TSS of around 100, you can add this to Wednesdays in the future where you will complete the same session.
There are Drag n Drop boxes you can drop onto the calendar to see the effect of future rides on your Fitness, Fatigue and Form. You can dial the TSS values up and down – the page remembers your preferred defaults.
You can also remove items from the calendar by clicking on the icon, or move them to another day.
You can your profile information if you have made changes on the Strava settings page to your name, location, profile picture, FTP, weight, etc.
Cadence and crank length can be set for each of your bikes set up in Strava. These values are used when drawing the Quadrant Analysis chart on the power analysis page. The default is 90rpm and 172.5mm respectively.
Delete activities if you want to re-process them; Hide if you just don't want to see them!
