Take a training ride with a real pro and you'll learn the following: (1) Your assumption that power is the ultimate training metric is correct. Real pros obsess over power like they do their weight. Bike racing is semi-random and totally chaotic. Pros like to control the little they can control, and their W/kg is one of those things. (2) Few amateurs give kiljoules sufficient attention. Your average power PR for a 15 minute interval will not amuse you after you've burned 4,000kj. But the power you can put out after 4,000kj of work -- it's perhaps the best snapshot of your chances of hanging with the big boys when the real racing starts. No other single piece of data can tell you how hard a ride was than kj's. (3) Cumulative feet climbed per ride is essential daily information. Riding on a flat road -- unless it's behind a moped at 400W -- is more-or-less useless to a real pro. There's a reason why real pros live in Girona and Tuscany, not Normandy.

The reason why the SRM Professional Powermeter has been a staple piece of pro equipment for the last decade is pretty simple: No other powermeter comes close to SRM's reliability in provided all the critical data required by serious riders. And no other system allows you equal flexibility to choose the wheelset you need for a given day's terrain.

The only downside of the SRM, in fact, relates to point #3 above. The Powercontrol V has been a standard component in an SRM for a decade, but it doesn't offer any altitude-related functionality. So more and more riders rode with a virtual cockpit on board : an SRM and a GPS. Sure, it looked kinda high-tech to have 2 computers on the handlebars, but it made post-ride analysis a pain.

And, so, for the first time since the mid-1990's, SRM is making a platform change for their Professional Powermeter. Yes, the big headlines surrounding it is the fact that the new platform is wireless. We're sure grateful for this. Our days of needing to rig up the notoriously tough-to-mount SRM sensor cable are over. But the real news is that the SRM wireless comes with the Powercontrol VI, and you now get the previously AWOL altitude data you need to get a comprehensive overview of your training.

The Powercontrol VI works on the ANT+ wireless platform. This means that it can communicate with any other ANT+ compatible powermeter. Keep in mind, though, that while it is an altimeter, it is not a GPS. Because of this, you don't track speed and distance via satellite (like you do with a Garmin GPS). Rather, this system comes with a small wireless speed pod manufactured by Suunto. You can mount it either on your fork or on your seatstay (depending on whether you'd like to read speed from your front or rear wheel). Along with the speed pod, this system will also come with a Suunto heart rate chest strap transmitter. While the wireless SRM transmits power data to the Powercontrol VI via ANT+, speed and heart rate are transmitted via ANT (not ANT+) -- something to keep in mind in case you try to use the pod or the transmitter with another ANT+ device.

Along with the speed pod and transmitter, you'll also receive a small BB-mounted bracket impregnated with a magnet. For those of you familiar with the wired generation of the SRM, you'll note that it looks an awful lot like the head of a sensor cable. The purpose of this magnet is to read cadence, and you must install it -- even if you don't care about cadence. Why? It's because Power = Torque x Cadence, so with no cadence reading you get no power reading.

When you first receive your system, you need go through a quick "pairing" process. This creates an exclusive connection between your Powercontrol VI and your Wireless Powermeter, your speed pod, and your heart rate strap. By doing this pairing process, it ensures that you won't pick up your riding partner's signals, and it's also the means by which your Powercontrol reads the slope of your Powermeter. (FYI if you own two Powermeters on two bikes, but want to use just one Powercontrol, you'll go through this pairing process when you move your Powercontrol from bike to bike -- this ensures that the slope will be correct and your power reading will be optimally accurate.)

The only values you'll need to calibrate manually are the zero offset (this is no different from the wired generation of SRM) and altitude. In terms of the latter, you'll note that there's a GoreTex membrane on the back of your Powercontrol VI -- this is where barometric pressure is read from for altitude data. But for the sake of absolute accuracy SRM advises that you use Google Earth to determine your exact altitude at the beginning point of your ride, and enter this in your Powercontrol.

Some other notes of interest here: This system is built from the Dura Ace 7800 10-speed generation crankset. It is not the 7900 version, and no 7900 version will be forthcoming due to its design. Also of note is that there is NO cross-compatibility between the SRM wired Professional systems and the Wireless Professional systems. The only piece, in fact, that works for both systems is the handlebar clamp. The download cable, the charger, etc, etc are all non-compatible between wired and wireless.

When you purchase this system, you'll get the following: The Dura Ace Wireless Powermeter in the cranklength of your choosing (170mm, 172.5mm, 175mm, or 180mm -- and this will come with a 53t outer chainring and a 39t inner chainring); a Black Powercontrol VI; an oversized handlebar clamp; a Suunto speed pod; a Suunto heart rate chest transmitter; a BB-mounted cadence magnet; a new generation charger/download cable (like an iPod's, this is a dual-function cable); and an instruction manual.

Nothing is more convincing as you consider purchasing an SRM Powermeter as an understanding of the virtues of training with power. We've done our best to provide this with our article "Power: The Ultimate Training Metric". Reading it will be a worthwhile investment of your time, and please feel free to contact us if we can elaborate on any of the topics brought up there.