Pros

Once upon a time it was only the pros that could afford enough technical equipment to get accurate readings. Now, however, even GPS-enabled machines are tumbling down in the price. A couple of hundred quid can get you a Garmin that will provide more data than your can shake a selfie stick at.

Winter Training: Base Miles for Road Cyclists

Cons

The only piece of recording technology that still presents a considerable spend is a power meter. Like most technologies, the price is slowly going down, but you’ll still be dropping around £1000 to learn how many watts you’re laying down.

This is still a big expense for anyone that isn’t a professional, but it undoubtably provides the most accurate and useful measurement of performance.