Coachinginterview

THE GENIUS BEHIND THE FIRST EVER POWER METER | ULI SCHOBERER

Name: The Genius Behind the First EVER Power Meter | Uli Schoberer
Uploaded: 2024-10-04
Duration: 44 min 21 s
Description: Uli Schoberer invented the first-ever power meter in the late 1980s, fundamentally changing how cyclists train and race.

with Uli Schoberer

44:21·4 October 2024

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FTP TRAINING FOR CYCLISTS

Uli Schoberer invented the first-ever power meter in the late 1980s, fundamentally changing how cyclists train and race. This conversation traces his journey from medical engineering student to founder of SRM, revealing how strain gauges on the crank spider became the gold standard for measuring cycling power, and why this invention mattered more than almost anyone realized at the time.

Key Takeaways

The spider (connection point between crank and chainrings) is the optimal location for power measurement because it isolates torque transmission and provides space for robust electronics without moving parts or crash exposure
You don't need perfection at launch—aim for 80-90% and iterate. Chasing 100% completion kills momentum and leads to endless feature creep that prevents shipping
Power meters shifted cycling from speed-only feedback to measurable biomechanical load, enabling training optimization similar to running and swimming where pace/timing already existed
Building a hardware startup requires solving three interconnected problems simultaneously: the sensor, the computing device to record/display data, and the software to analyze it
Wireless transmission (Bluetooth) requires constant power and complicates zero-offset calibration compared to wired systems, creating ongoing engineering trade-offs between convenience and precision
Distribution and service infrastructure matter more than most founders realize—margins on repairs are thin, forcing direct investment in customer-facing operations rather than relying on distributors

Expert Quotes

"Don't give up and don't try to make everything right away 100% perfect. Be happy for the start with 80, 90%, and then finish the product and then make later go the next step. If you want something 100% perfect you will never get finished."

"You need to measure your power to describe the load you put on your body. In cycling you need the power because the speed doesn't tell you anything."

"I think if I would have not done it, someone else would have done it. I'm not sure, but I think someone else would have made it."

KEY QUOTES

“When you are running you measure your speed of running and your heart rate you can do this in swimming you can do this in All Sport but not in cycling in cycling you need the power to describe because the speed doesn't tell you anything.”
Uli Schoberer — Founder of SRM, inventor of the first power meter

“The spider is already free of all the not wanted forces because on the spider is only transmitted the torque to the chain ring and nothing else. Let's say look in a mountain bike you stand on the cranks you do a descent you jump on the cranks you have no force on the spider as long as you're not pedaling.”
Uli Schoberer — Founder of SRM, inventor of the first power meter

“If you put the weight on the Chain ring the force goes Direct in the power meter and it doesn't matter what the friction of the BB is so it's the better calibration point is the chain ring.”
Uli Schoberer — Founder of SRM, inventor of the first power meter

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EPISODE TRANSCRIPT2 SECTIONS

Why Power Needed Measuring

Ro man we have an incredible guest joining us today he is truly a part of the unique history of cycling I have the founder of the parameter ulie schober he founded SRM parameters which were the first parameters we chat about that initial Discovery how did he figure out that strain gauges were something we needed in cycling we traced the evolution of parameters and where it can go next next this is a truly inspirational inside story he gives me Tales of working with Mario chiellini Greg lemon beor re the early adopters of SRM you're going to love this conversation Julie welcome to the RO M podcast hello good morning from uh let me get you to cast your mind at the beginning of this ation all the way back to what inspired you to even think about measuring power on a bike like why did that seem like a problem that needed solving okay you know at that time where I grew up in the 70s and 80s um a lot of guys did on the weekend bike races mainly criteriums or road races at that time there were a lot and I was always focused at that time to make my training as good as possible possible but at that time maybe you had a a little device on a bike that measures the distance but this was more or less the only thing what you had on the bike when you go back in 1979 78 in that years later I moved to UL to get an engineer in medical engineering still did my bike races get more focused also on the training studied all the available training books at that time and I came to the conclusion to make the training more efficient and better you need to measure your power your performance at that time also hard rate monitors got a bit Popular by polar mainly this was the main company making making this hard rate bels and I think okay if you have the hard rate and the power then it should be possible to optimize the training so you what was the problem you were trying to solve so the parameter has become so much now it's a perer comparison tool it's a training instrument it's you know so mucho us the problem to solve is you know I was at that time you could go two three times a year to the doctor four times in the laboratory you make a step test on an arom meter measuring lactate threshold things like this this was existent then this is only one shot at one day but what you need is for the training a permanently record of your performance and this you can only do when you have a device on your bike that measures your power because this was clear for me because when you do other sports like swimming you are always on the timing or running or even if you are running you know the timing what you are doing for a certain speed on the bike this does not exist on the bike what's clear for me you need to measure your power to describe the the load you put on your body this is the only way you can look also at the heart rate that's that's clear but if you have the power and the hard rate you can describe how strong a person is at the performance and you cannot do this only with the heart rate so you need the power because when you are running you measure your speed of running and your heart rate you can do this in swimming you can do this in All Sport but not in cycling in cycling you need the power to describe because the speed doesn't tell you anything so the the challenge was then on the bicycle you use outside how can you measure the power because you cannot destroy the energy you produce because you need this to get forward so you need to measure the power in a way not destroying it and to measure the power means you have to measure two values one value is the pressure on the pedal the force because this is the contact person of the cyclist and then the speed how fast the pedals are moved forward because the pressure on the pedal creates a force on the pedal multiplicated with the crank length creates a torque and this torque is transmitted to the chain and to the rear wheel this brings you forward and then the the torque multiplicated with the angular velocity what's more or less the Cadence describes your power so you need these two values so how fast you are pedaling and how hard you are pushing the pedals and then on the bike you have different points to measure this the first is you can measure maybe on the pedals you can measure on the crank then you could also measure maybe on the spindle between the left and the right crank but this would only measure the left side then you can measure in the spider that is the connection point from the um crank spindle to the chain rings then maybe you can measure on the Chain the fibration of the chain this is what P did at one point and then the last thing is you can measure on the rear wheel on the on the connection point between the sprockets and the rear hub so you have several points and then you have to think okay what is the best point the easiest point for the start is to put some string edes on the cranks on both sides then you have the way to connect this you can do this with cables and then you can measure your force on the chain on on on the crank but this is not a good point because on the crank you have a lot of forces from the pedal in all directions different TS the most simple way and the most accurate way at my point is is to measure in the spider because the spider is already free of all the not wanted forces because on the spider is only transmitted the torque to the chain ring and nothing else let's say look in a mountain bike you stand on the cranks you do a descent you jump on the cranks you have no force on the spider as long as you're not pedaling so this is why I came to the point I need to make a power meter that's in the spider the next thing is that the spider is the first point where left and right crank are connected so you have already the total torque to the chain ring and then a big advantage of the spider is there's a lot of space so plenty of space for battery you can make a robust big electronic and there's no moving part it's not like in the pedal you have the bearings the crank is also very exposed in the crash the pedal even more exposed for the crash because the pedal are the first point contact point when you crash to hit the tarmac so this is got a corner you could SC as well I came to the spider but to do this it was maybe a 2year work to get something working it was maybe the year 1986 88 but so was this was this a a full-time job of yours in the sense that someone goes now to pursue a startup or was this a side Hustle No I was still working at I was finished with my study I'm a medical engineer and I did this during my study and this was also my master degree at the end of the study to make a power meter but the more challenging was also not only have a power meter you need computer because at that time there was no bike computer existent bike computer did not exist so you have to create a computer on the bike that records the data because the power meter alone doesn't help you you need something on the device where you display the information where you store the information where you can connect other sensors like a speed sensor like a hard R sensor and others and record the data then the next is you need the software for the computer to analyze the data so we had to do all three things make a power meter make a bike computer and write the software to analyze the data and then you go back this was 1900 maybe 88 89 nothing of this was existent and when I get to the first races with my bik computer everyone was loving and say who needs a bike computer is the last thing what recycling what it needs no one wants and needs a bike computer when you go now to a bike race and look at the guys there's almost no one without a b computer why why has I was I started use my first SRM was like 2007 2008 and I even remember then I had it would have been a power control five on my SRM and people coming to me at the race at the start like from you know Cat 2 cat three and they' be looking at the computer and going like why do you need a Game Boy on the front of your bike yes and it was still bizarre then I remember I can only imagine the looks in the 80s very very long ago at the start at the first races I had my myself bu by computer on the handle bar and I remember I hit a pothole the whole computer fell off the bike I stopped in the race put all the parts on the road in my Jersey and came back to the race and the other were laughing this is why you don't need a bike computer and now it's completely different a lot of guys now they say ah I cannot ride my bike anymore if I don't I don't have my bike computer they want this feedback so they get more or less than also I would say somehow a slave of the data without the data in front of the face they they could not train proper so this is very extreme it's definitely a problem did did you have an early vision for this to become a consumer facing product or was it going to be just something for you and Friends uh okay I I I did on the weekend races you know and then you see also the guys there on the national teams and I was lucky that I know that the German Federation had some guys that were interested what I was doing and then very at the beginning I was able to work with the German Federation the West German Federation on the track but at the same time the East German the gdr contacted me to help them to work on the 100 kilometer team team Race on the road the 100 kilometer I don't know what is the English name like a team yeah but for four people okay yeah yeah team time TR I guess yeah for four so and then I was invited in the gdr to do this and then it was funny at the world championship at that time it was in Japan they both got beaten by the Russians not Russians Sorry by the Soviet Union so the Soviet Union beat the gdr and the West Germany on the track and on the road so but then the year later did you have to convince people of this like was there almost like a little mini marketing campaign or coaches knew what they want they wanted the power and they were happy to have a device now you can put on the bike and see and also make a comparison to look at who is the best of these four to go in the team the same on the track you have a power meter you see how economic they riding so they understand this really early in the ' 80s 88 '89 90 I think the championship in Japan was 1990 and even I worked in ' 89 with West Germany there was the track in Leon and I think shamb was the robot lont God world champion this was maybe 89 and then 1991 was the first world championship East and West Germany were together to start this one nation in stutgart and they won almost everything they won the single Pursuit I think they won the team Pursuit everything and then the other Federation saw okay they have something on the bike like a power meter we need this too and then very early came the USA cycling they wanted this because they had the Olympics in Atlanta so I started working with them and then also the Italian committee they were interested too and then at the same time some Prof professionals were really interested to make the training better and the one of the first was Greg Lemont he was always Lon was talking to me about he really rates it as a pivotal moment in his career new ideas for new stuff and then also um the other guy was bian I remember when he came to team um Telecom he said I want to win the Tour France and and they were all laughing about him and then I gave him the help I I was invited in his house in Luxembourg then we go went together to pinarello to get sorted out a time try bike we made aerodynamic tests on a v Drome I think he was the first professional to do aerodynamic test on a v Drome to optimize his position before it was only done at amateurs for the Olympics like in the v Dr team Pursuit single Pursuit 100 km time Trav we did aerodynamic testing but bana was the first one doing aerodynamic test on a V drop to optimize his position on the bike and did you have to start building El you know obviously your background is a medical engineer not software engineer that you have to start building out a team for your vision because you've these different use cases now for the SRM where like you're saying Risa was using it to analyze and help with his aerodynamic profile so how did you approach solving those problems now the aerodynamic profile is easy because you make a relationship between power and speed the more challenging was to make a robot by computer to make a robot power meter and to write the software at the start I tried to make everything myself but then later I was able to hire people because I was already selling devices like Spoto shul colog they bought some devices for research so I I could create an income and then working um with the Federation you could also get government money or money from the Federation to do stuff so I was able to hire three four people to help to engineer to develop their parts to write the software so I need not to do everything myself right now I how much did the first parameter cost I think was maybe I 6,000 marks 6,000 marks so what would that have been equivalent 3,000 I think was always around this yeah I remember I think I paid two and a half when I bought mine yeah it cost more of my bike yeah but we know power meters people using for more than 10 years so it's not a throwaway product and they get a new bike but put the old power meter on they get a new bike and put the old power meter on so I lost a 10 years I tell yeah and you used to have to send it back to get the battery Chang yes but battery was so big to run at a normal guy more than two years I hours of use was more than a thousand hours of use I started I taught myself at a solder so then I'd have like all my friends who had srms would send their srms to my place to solder and you used to wreck your warranty though you guys wouldn't warranty it if I sold it myself the problem is if you do this later to make it watertight because every power meter we build we make a watertight test of building to see if it is watertight because this is the biggest challenge I think on on the most Electronics on the bike to make it water resistant and the next challenge the assistant for the vibration so I I have you to thank for my mini College business cuz I changing power meters but I was also doing the calibration so I two big weights that I hang from the pedals and I do the calibration for people as well uh it was a great little side business yes yeah but better is to put the weight on the Chain ring and not on the crank and fix oh really yes because I can explain but let's say if you put the load on the crank the crank is holded then on two points by the chain ring but also has a friction in the BB so you add the friction of the BB the static friction but if you put the weight on the Chain ring the force goes Direct in the power meter and it doesn't matter what the friction of the BB is so it's the better calibration point is the chain ring interesting there could be a slight difference but this the difference depends on the quality of the bearing but it's static so it's better to put on the on the train ring did you have any push back from let's call them traditionalists because recycling is a very traditional sport especially Mainland Europe countries like Italy France yeah still traditional but I have to say when I started the older cyclist were interested Al let's say Johnny bu used it mait fondre and there were Al at that time already older and they will understand why and B was old was the end of and and Greg lemon they were older in the years when they were and I think some young guys were more skeptical and now it's different yes now it's different but at that time more the problem where the older coach like the old coach ah you don't need this you don't need this and I I think sometimes maybe they're right right now everyone is too much focused on the B computer they look more on the B computer than on the road they have in the navigation and then they do a descent and maybe in the race the course is a little different I think the more safe is still if you look on the road and see what happens there and then I adjust because I would say in the last two three years I have seen more crashes than ever I cannot even remember when I look back and watch the tour and I remember at indor and at that time how many times he has crashed but now even the Stars they crash yeah the best look at a lot look at w how many times a year he is on the deck or the team from indos like all and why I I think there definitely it's it's a complicated one to unpack it's like for me the patreon of the pelaton the traditional hierarchy the kind of dissolution and people not respecting that anymore is a big problem like even one generation ago like 10 years ago like can salara and Boon in the pelaton people weren't jostling them for position like they were listening to their Direction but now you have Neo Pros coming in like trying to move up on the grass and the tour of Flanders and then cutting back in and wiping half the pelaton out I had uh darl impy on the podcast uh and he was saying he's seen a Neo Pro moving up on the grass in a classic and he said he wasn't being an to the kid but he tipped him on the hip and he said hey that could have went really wrong and you could have hurt a lot of people there and he said back in his day if he had have said that to a senior ryer he would have just said oh amazing thanks for the feedback sorry about that and being real apologetic he said the young kid is some the off so I for me that's a big lack of respect let's say if they do the sense a lot of crashes also happen now in the fast sense like you watch to of Spain and I think also probably what I think is when you do a fast descent and you have the super strong brakes on the bike and you make a little much too much breaking let's say on the rear wheel you immediately on the deck even when it's wet I feel like you're a little torn about your like I know I can sense you're very proud of the SRM but I can also sense that you're real cycling traditionalist and you're torn whether it's been 100% positive no okay to measure the power is one thing and and record this but now you want to measure 10 other things so you get an overload of maybe information what really takes away the focus what cycling is I think it would be possible to measure easy lactate permanently the blood sugar permanently and all the things you would record 20 things the same time yeah and then um at one point this is maybe getting too much they ban the continuous glucose monitors last year at UCI for measuring blue sugar maybe at one point you put the sensor in the body and then you cannot see from outside you think they should Bond parameters they um this is why we made Power meters with a C in the spider where you don't need a head unit we then the PM9 because I was one time at a meeting with the UCI several years ago and they were thinking to bend the power meter and not the power meter to bend the bike computer un take away to focus on the road yeah like we see on the track where it's like if you use it you're putting it behind your saddle or what yeah yeah yeah and and then I think cycle cross was not allowed to and then whatever so we made a power meter then record the hard rate speed power in the power meter and after the race you could download so you need not a head unit you think that's a good move I I okay but then at the end also you can have a watch where you see the daa so you must spend a watch too so if you have a fitness watch from gin or whatever can show the daa too so you must Bend this too yeah I don't know I know NE towards the end of his career was quite outspoken and saying he doesn't the one thing is to record the data and have the data for later analyzing to see okay this is the one thing but to have this remove from the bike as a sort of a distraction that that's other thing these are two different things and then yeah I think most of us agree that the parameter recording ability and post race analysis of the data is a good let's say you don't have on the head then are you allowed to have at least a device on the bike that tells you the distance or also nothing you have no bike computer not at all and then still you look on the motorcycle passing on the side of the road holding this okay now the climb starts in 5 kilomet or you see the marks on the side of the road how it was 30 years ago all the informations were on the side of the road and but then also the next thing is will you allow the the headphones that they can talk or should this be for B because also by talking you can get informations maybe not of your power but of other things and um so ban everything so that if you want something to know you have to go back go to the car of the sports director listen what he says and get forward but this could be danger too so I I do not know but I think the bike industry and even the ones who make the bike computer will fight against the the computers get banned yeah but still they can sell it for the training but maybe it would be nice to to see a bike race where no one has a computer where no one has nothing and it's like it was 50 years ago it would be maybe interesting only to select One race where it's like this to see how it goes then the teams even has work stronger together because the guys from each team and to the others need to talk to each other what goes on you know right now they they talk mainly with the director and the car how do you see how do you think about how cycling would have evolved if it wasn't for parameters I I think if I would have not done it someone else would have done it I think right now a power meter would exist I think I'm not sure but I think someone else would have made it I don't know and it seems like a lot of people like I don't know the engineering landscape of it but it seems like a lot of people piggybacked on your work so we had SRM for a long time and then I might miss some people but then the next one I became aware of was power tap and I had the rear wheel yeah and then I don't know what happened around 2016 27 we we seen just explosion of brands from Quark to qu to 4i to I had a patent for the power meter in the spider so for 20 years this was the only spot where I can do but but I got the pent in 88 so it 80 no no I got the pent yeah I think 88 so 2008 this was free for everyone but I think maybe we made also in the past the power meters for slam till they make their own power meter and called it quar so but now you have I think five six spider companies on the world there are two or three in China then you have the quar then you have I think think also um the Spanish company R makes something like a spider then a lot yeah and then pedals too you have three or four companies that make pedals even maybe five and then you have the companies they make the power meter on the crank like stages I think stages was the first one to make a popular power meter on the crank Ro man I know how serious you take your goal setting whether they're Fitness or life related goals if you're look for a powerful alloy to support you on this journey look now further than hu hu has become my secret weapon for when I don't have time to prepare a balanced meal it ensures I get the nutrition I need without sacrificing time or taste plus it stops me from reaching for that takeaway menu I always throw a bottle into my backpack when I'm heading into the city to work and it stops me eating junk convenience food snacking on crossons and bars of chocolate because I know they don't support my training goals it's a handy nutritious meal on the go and it's got over 20 2 gram of protein hu is perfect for athletes that don't have time to cook or prepare food before a training session it's convenient nutritious fuel at your fingertips ensuring you hit your daily fueling needs for that session hu ready to drink has 26 essential vitamins and minerals in every single bottle you're getting a whopping 175 health benefits plus it's made from natural ingredients like toeka Sunfire seed coconut and more the best part it's the flavors there's eight Crazy Beautiful flavors iced coffee is what's in my backpack right at the moment you can get youu directly to your home all you got to do is head on over to the hu website hu.com Roan and you know stage has done a good job cuz they they almost democratized the par meter a little bit cuz it became affordable the problem with it was like it didn't work for very long like you could get a couple of months out of and you had to send it back but they good customer server so it wasn't a huge problem but it definitely brought the barrier it definitely brought parameters from a tool that only super Elite people use to now if you go to a cat 4 Club League everyone has a parameter yeah okay but you see if you buy a good power meter and you know this power meter works for the next 5 years it's an investment it's like you buy a good tool you can buy a cheap tool and a cheep power me and buy every year a new one but then by the time of 5 years this cost you more than to buy right away a good device was it durable from the outset and kind as a followup to that how much did have in Riders like Greg lon's early adopter of this how much feedback did they give you to change the product mainly from the cyclist I do not get much feedback if they more or less the use what I give them and they happy the most feedback or the most development we do ourself and see what needs to be done okay I I know cyclists they are really giving feedback um and telling me okay this and this need to be better but at the end they took what I gave them and only what I adapted is all the cranks I was happy at one point that Shimano made cranks for me that I can give to the pro teams and I need not to to manipulate an existing Shimano crank so Shimano made cranks this was a time where 80% of the peleton had Asm on the bike and then also culo made cranks for as we made Power meters for canondale we made Power meters for um tra or Ram so we made for all type of um crank systems a power meter but the power meter inside was more or less all the same only the interface changed to the crank and to the chain Wings because you know come Bola has a different chain Wing size than Shimano then on the mountain bike you have others and V Drome you have other chain wings so the only in and outside changed so inside connection to the excellent crank and outside to the chain wings but the power meter itself was the same the big change came when everything went Wireless you know our old power meter has a little sensor on the frame that received the data from the power meter with a very high data rate it was 1,000 signals per second at the start where the power meter send started to the frame then later everyone wants Wireless like then you have to do something with entt and then now Bluetooth but that means at that time you send only one time per second ready calculated power and this makes a problem that zero offset is not that easy to control when you go back at our old Power meters the Z offset was controlled by the head unit and always re adjusted now the power meter has inside a temperature comp compensation and somehow needs to find it zero offset alone but better would be if the head unit on the bike could control this but right now this is not possible because then you have to work with all by computer manufacturers to integrate this in the power meter and this is not working was it a big engineering challenge moving away from the cable I know for me the cable was super reliable I never had a problem with it the challenge was I'd swap from my road bike for racing to my training bike to my time TR bike so I'd have like a Shimano octal link bottom bracket on all of them but I'd be like 11 12:00 at night changing cranks over from one bike to the other and trying to bring a wire across from one to the other and it was labor intensive yeah well you need two power met yeah I hadn't got enough money uh or buy a one or whatever now okay the cable has an advantage first is it needs less energy it needed almost no energy to sent now having Bluetooth running and all this takes more energy so the battery time is shorter okay now our our new power meters they are all rechargeable they run 100 hours fully recharged so it's easier and um the same charging plug at the power control so you need only to carry one when did you start looking at this from I guess if we call you in the early days you're an artist you're figuring out and you're you're on working on your craft when did you have to become an entrepreneur and start thinking about I need to scale this company and build systems for distribution quality assurance customer service all this it grew slowly from Al loone I have to say I made I had in the start let's say as example is the USA I had Distributors there people who had to sell or was in Australia but if you have a distributor the problem is they only want to get the big margin selling a new product but none of them really wanted to invest in the service because on the service you cannot make that much money you have to hire someone with a with good skills to open a power meter change a battery make a calibration close what is probably a time let's say of 2 hours maybe more with the handling the shipping and then you cannot charge much you say okay it's 80100 to change a battery but a guy is maybe work get this full done maybe 2 3 hours including the shipping process and then no one really wants to invest into this so at one point I had to say okay I have to go myself to the USA to do this to stay there alive this was a big investment starter office in the USA we are still there we are in Colorado I was happy to work close with you cycling and still will work with them and they're also based in Colorado so this was a good start and I think we have this now 20 years too but we have not this in all other countries and I think probably to sell well you need in each country at least a person designated only to this product and represents this product let's say in Spain and in in France and England that not everyone has to contact the main office in Germany but this is probably not to do to have in every country a service office they can do this is the quantity is not enough to to afford this and I think the other companies don't have this to I think slam has not in every country a place where they can serve as a power meter because they say okay through it away and you get a new one the same prob with stages because if you do this what do they do when they have a lot of returns they will not repair they put in the trash and send a new one because to repair is too expensive I would say when you look at the emergency AI now is does that offer potential for next Frontier with how we can use param meter data or are we nearing the limits of what can be extracted from the data okay um nice would be let's say if the commun and a bike would know already at the start of the training day what would be at this day the best for you but for this it needs a lot of informations and this is maybe better to handle outside with a software with um artificial incy that can do this that it's feeded with maybe 20 body parameters like like what the fitness watches already do how good was your sleep how long was your sleep what is your body weight what is your body temperature what is your heart pressure what is your heart rate address what all the things and then knowing what was the body load before and then to make a day by day by day Based training and not follow a strict brain training plan that was created for the next two weeks and see okay it's easier let's say if a Coach is present like you have a team training camp with 10 guys and the coaches there every day sees you looks in your eyes and see okay maybe you should today have a rest day because it gets too much or you do only the half and then you see tomorrow but also a lot of guys maybe not the top Pros that follow strictly a training plan and at some point they don't see it this maybe too much because they ship the data to the coach the coach is 500 kilm away and looks only at the data but does not see the person directly behind and sometimes you need to look in someone eyes to see okay he is really tired or just H he had a stress with his wife or with his kids or whatever it's maybe good he has today a easy day not to make too much load on him but this only works when you're closer to a coach but in cycling now you have a lot of external coaches they sitting somewhere and get the data R man I've got something exciting to share with you it's been making a huge difference in my performance of late especially when it comes to 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From Mailed Printouts to Cloud Uploads

Shop and use the code roadman on your local website to get 15% off your first order if you're listening in the US you can head on over to the feed.com pillar and use the code roadman for the same 15% of your first order yeah I think training Peaks really made that possible so like a combination of you know your work Pioneer and Par meter and then Dirk Freel and the guys over at Trina Peaks to give that cloudbased ability it seems like 99% of all cyclists that have a parameter now use training Peaks yeah no I know when I started in 88 889 there was no email so I was with the team I printed out this on a black and white printer made the curves colorful put in an envelope and sent by m to the coach Joe was tell me the you had no cell phone yeah cell phones get popular 92 93 1988 19987 no one had a cell phone and no one you had no email you can go in speak on the phone you can maybe send a black and white facts but then you don't see the color no one had a color monitor on on the computer it was you have to send the data by mail by envelope and now you can send by email this is a big challenge to 20 years ago but people do not realize this how quick they can have access to the data but they don't see the person but even the evolution of that Yuli like it went from you're sending it by mail but it still wasn't that like when I was around and starting to use it it still wasn't that user friendly cuz you had to download the SRM into I think it was wko Plus or the SRM software and I'd have to get those files download them attach them to an email and send them to my coach yeah yeah and then he would import them on his end yeah okay now pc9 can put it right away as a email can send as an email and what we do with the pc9 2 can send or the Garment right away when you finished at home it sends to your phone and then from your phone you can do what you want upload it right away to straa or whatever but do you you this this was not even not 10 years ago this was possible 10 years ago no one had a fitness watch do you feel disappointed that you such a head start in the hardware game and you guys are still pretty much market leader in the hardware software it seems like train and Peaks won the race I don't know we have still our software I think some coaches used to analyze deeper because it's a very precise tool and yeah but I think Al a lot of guys simply uploaded it on sta Buster and see how it was and do not much more and then still on on straa also you can see a nice diagram what you have done the intensity and things like this basic for everyone to understand but for deeper understanding your ride you need training Peaks or you need sit down and look at the rad data like with the SM software or with golden cheetah or with something else looking back on the journey what are you most proud about I'm proud that we still alive and make our product because I see a lot of companies going and we are still making power meters a lot and um that's good we develop a pc9 too and we have a indoor train and we have Argo meter and other stuff you make Power meters for ships too with America cup the header in the past the power meter and the and the for the Grinders and the what is the the pile where they putting on the piston on the ship where the Grinders yeah yeah yeah yeah pedestal on the pedestal and then we have power meters for Wheelchairs and we made a power meter for the space station M for the Russian cosmonauts so there a lot of things we did if somebody's listen to the podcast and they have a hardware technical idea like this that they're working on what advice would you give them don't give up and don't try to make everything right away 100% perfect be happy for the start with 80 90% and then finish the product and then make later go the next step because if you want something 100 person you will never get finished because doing this every month you get a new IDE and want to make it better and better answer we will never end so be first happy with something that's good but not perfect and then make the next step and try to do something better better and better but not fly right away at the first shot to make a perfect perfect device this is not possible and you get lost in the details and we never finish Julie thank you for your work thank you for joining me today it's so wild and interesting to me that the track of your life intersect with almost every list in the world now they'd be living a different day and they'd have a slightly different training flow and workflow if it wasn't for your amazing Innovation so thank you very much thank you and have a good day okay thank you byebye if you enjoyed this conversation please click up here there's another video I know that you're absolutely going to love click over here and subscribe to the channel so you don't miss any of our amazing upcoming guests

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Who invented the cycling power meter?+

Uli Schoberer invented the first cycling power meter, the SRM, in the late 1980s while completing his master's degree in Ulm, Germany. Schoberer was a medical engineer who designed the system to give cyclists an objective, real-time measure of effort. His device preceded any comparable product on the market by years.

Why are strain gauges placed in the crank spider on a power meter?+

Uli Schoberer chose the crank spider because it isolates the torque produced by pedalling from extraneous forces caused by impacts like jumps or crashes. The spider also provides sufficient space to house the electronics and battery the system requires. Placing gauges in the pedals or cranks would introduce measurement errors from those additional forces.

How did pro cyclists first start using power meters?+

Early adopters of the SRM included Greg LeMond and Mario Cipollini, who began using the system shortly after Schoberer developed it. Because no compatible bike computer or analysis software existed at the time, Schoberer had to invent both alongside the power meter itself. This meant the SRM launched as a complete system rather than a standalone sensor.

When was the SRM power meter invented?+

Uli Schoberer built the SRM power meter in the late 1980s, making it the first power meter ever used in competitive cycling. The device was developed as part of his engineering studies in Ulm, Germany. No equivalent product existed anywhere in the world at the time of its creation.

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Key Takeaways

The spider (connection point between crank and chainrings) is the optimal location for power measurement because it isolates torque transmission and provides space for robust electronics without moving parts or crash exposure

You don't need perfection at launch—aim for 80-90% and iterate. Chasing 100% completion kills momentum and leads to endless feature creep that prevents shipping

Power meters shifted cycling from speed-only feedback to measurable biomechanical load, enabling training optimization similar to running and swimming where pace/timing already existed

Building a hardware startup requires solving three interconnected problems simultaneously: the sensor, the computing device to record/display data, and the software to analyze it

Wireless transmission (Bluetooth) requires constant power and complicates zero-offset calibration compared to wired systems, creating ongoing engineering trade-offs between convenience and precision

Distribution and service infrastructure matter more than most founders realize—margins on repairs are thin, forcing direct investment in customer-facing operations rather than relying on distributors

Expert Quotes

"Don't give up and don't try to make everything right away 100% perfect. Be happy for the start with 80, 90%, and then finish the product and then make later go the next step. If you want something 100% perfect you will never get finished."

"You need to measure your power to describe the load you put on your body. In cycling you need the power because the speed doesn't tell you anything."

"I think if I would have not done it, someone else would have done it. I'm not sure, but I think someone else would have made it."

KEY QUOTES

“When you are running you measure your speed of running and your heart rate you can do this in swimming you can do this in All Sport but not in cycling in cycling you need the power to describe because the speed doesn't tell you anything.”
Uli Schoberer — Founder of SRM, inventor of the first power meter

“The spider is already free of all the not wanted forces because on the spider is only transmitted the torque to the chain ring and nothing else. Let's say look in a mountain bike you stand on the cranks you do a descent you jump on the cranks you have no force on the spider as long as you're not pedaling.”
Uli Schoberer — Founder of SRM, inventor of the first power meter

“If you put the weight on the Chain ring the force goes Direct in the power meter and it doesn't matter what the friction of the BB is so it's the better calibration point is the chain ring.”
Uli Schoberer — Founder of SRM, inventor of the first power meter

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Who invented the cycling power meter?+

Why are strain gauges placed in the crank spider on a power meter?+

How did pro cyclists first start using power meters?+

When was the SRM power meter invented?+

THE GENIUS BEHIND THE FIRST EVER POWER METER | ULI SCHOBERER

Key Takeaways

Expert Quotes

KEY QUOTES

Why Power Needed Measuring

From Mailed Printouts to Cloud Uploads

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

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THE GENIUS BEHIND THE FIRST EVER POWER METER | ULI SCHOBERER

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2.From Mailed Printouts to Cloud Uploads

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2.From Mailed Printouts to Cloud Uploads

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Why Power Needed Measuring

From Mailed Printouts to Cloud Uploads

Why Power Needed Measuring

From Mailed Printouts to Cloud Uploads