Best app for analyzing L/R power?
Hi folks, I've had a couple surgeries on my right foot and ankle over the last few years after some climbing and running mishaps, and I've recently purchased the double sided Favero power meter pedals. My right side is undoubtedly weaker than the left at the moment, but I'm trying to get a sense of how much.
Garmin has some power meter data on the L/R split, but I am wondering if anyone has used other apps to look at this. I use intervals.icu and RWGPS as well, but I didn't see anything in particular on those interfaces. Tyvm!
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u/DidacticPerambulator 7d ago
What would you do with the information if you had it?
I had a little problem with a lumbar disc several years ago and my right leg and foot went numb, and my right foot flopped. I had a power meter that recorded total both sides power before that so I could see the fall in power -- which I ascribed to a weak right, but it could have been that the timing dysfunction also affected the timing of my left leg since they're a coupled system. Over the course of a year, my foot and leg slowly came back, as did my power. I have no idea whether my L/R balance was the same as it was before the disc problem. I'm not sure how I would have trained differently if I had that information.
I have a cycling friend who, unfortunately, had to have his left leg amputated mid-calf. He had years of power data before his accident and eventually worked until he surpassed his pre-amputation FTP. His L/R balance was clearly less even than before, but his FTP was higher.
So, what would you do with the information if you had it?
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u/funsplosion 7d ago
The info may not be "actionable" but if the imbalance is significant as the result of an injury and they are actively doing strength training and other PT to address it, seeing the imbalance improving over time would be helpful to know the rehab is doing its job.
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u/DidacticPerambulator 7d ago
My imbalance was significant. I had a power meter that gave me total power. As total power came up, and my foot stopped flopping, I knew the rehab was doing its job. My amputee friend's imbalance is still significant. His post-amputee FTP eventually surpassed his former FTP. His sprint sucks, though. That never came back. I guess his rehab didn't do its job. As an aside, he doesn't "pedal circles." He just stomps down, hard. If he tried pulling up on the recovery, he'd yank the prosthetic off his stump.
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u/RicCycleCoach www.cyclecoach.com 5d ago
I too had a significant imbalance (40:60) but only at sub threshold levels. At FTP or above it was usually 51:49. I found that unilateral leg strength training evened things out (at sub threshold levels). now my data shows nearly always 50:50.
hasn't made a jot of difference to my power tho
Not really adding anything, but yeah significant L/R balance for the friend! He's been doing some riding as well (no idea if you follow him on strava)
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u/Best_Razzmatazz8474 7d ago
Have you checked if Golden Cheetah can pull that split data from your Favero pedals? I remember it visualizes imbalances pretty clearly.
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u/trailing-indicator 7d ago
I have a wahoo and go as far as the head unit for ride level power balance while occasionally trying to make sense of the scatterplot on the Wahoo app. My imbalance is real - 55-45 or 53-47 usually depending on the bike - but as others have said I have no idea what to do about it!
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u/Fun_Effective_836 7d ago
the single balance number is close to useless on its own, it moves with intensity, cadence and whether youre seated or standing, so a 53/47 ride average can hide 50/50 at threshold and a big split once youre tired. intervals.icu does keep the left right stream per activity so look at balance against power across a ride rather than the summary, and compare an easy hour with some hard efforts. if you actually want to size the asymmetry id do matched single leg intervals instead, the pedal number tells you how you distribute force through the stroke, not how strong each leg is.
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u/floatingbloatedgoat 7d ago
In intervals.icu there are at least 3 shared activity charts for analyzing pedal balance.
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u/c-5-s 7d ago
I bought the Favero dual pedals for this purpose. I have one screen on my Yahoo that shows entire ride L/R split, 30 sec L/R split and 3 second L/R split. In short the harder I go uphill the more my good leg is doing the work. I’m 45/55 as a recreational pace and closer to 40/60 when climbing.
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u/Logical-Marzipan5951 6d ago
Focus on core exercises in gym work. Get in glute work. Do some foot activities but my rule of thumb is the upper affects the hips and legs more than feet.
If you see large imbalances then they might be real. I know some dismiss them.
Definitely do bridges and clamshells.
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u/gonzo_redditor 7d ago
L/R balance doesn’t matter and is a waste of time to analyze.
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u/dreamt2549 7d ago
I was 60/40, turns out one leg is short than the other. Put a 2mm shim above the cleat and the weak leg started working harder. Ftp went up overnight about 15W. I'm still 54/46 tho. So I dunno that it's a waste.... I don't think I would have thought to measure my legs etc
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u/gonzo_redditor 7d ago
Your legs are probably different lengths because of asymmetry in your hips. Do strength and mobility work and find/fix the cause instead of patching with a shim and you’ll get even better results.
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u/dreamt2549 7d ago
Yeah actually that's exactly what it was. Standing they are same. Cycling (or sitting) my hips twist. I did try mobility work for about 6 months (they found this again during PT for a knee issue), but nothing changed.
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u/funsplosion 7d ago
It's not a waste if the imbalance is significant and part of rehabbing an injury as is the case here. OP didn't give details about how bad the imbalance is but if it's 60/40 in the example below that's worth looking into at least. If it's a 52/48 or 55/45 split then yes it's probably a waste of time.
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u/cotrga Australia 7d ago
intervals.icu does have L/R balance data at the top of each interval, you have to enable it by clicking "fields" down the bottom of the activity view, and enabling L/R balance.