Stages Power Meter - battery draining?

dork_knight

I left the battery out for 12 hours and all seems to be Ok, about 6 hours on the bike yesterday and all is showing Ok when connected to via Ant+ and Bluetooth.

I wonder how long this will last....

kayakerchris

I have had a stages for about 18 months I think. It is on my good bike and sometimes does not get used for a while if all I am doing is commuting.

I had a problem with the door which was sorted with a new door within 48 hours.

I thought I was having problems with the battery as the unit seemed dead and I changed batteries a few times. Then I checked one of the batteries with a voltmeter and it seemed fine. So I just put it back in. Hey presto it all worked fine. I suspect that if you leave it long enough it goes into some sort of suspended animation and that is what the shorting out gets rid of. Moral of the story is ride regularly!

GambadiLegno

Hi all!

I have the same problem with my new Stages PM (I've bought it a month ago). In my case, I don't think it's a water problem as I have a Gen 2 Stages.

I think the main problem is that the battery doesn't really connect well. I mean, it seems that the battery "dances" inside the powermeter and sometimes there's no connection. I've removed it, and nothing happens, then put it again and there was half the battery life, then removed and put it again and only a bit of life, then it was full, etc...

I've finally put an electrical tape (2 layers for the moment) and see what happens. But I think many times it's a bad connection there, as I can move the battery very easy with my finger when it's in the device... :roll:

Paulw6969

I have had Same problem got stages info done all the checks new cover ,I have just tried one more thing before I send it back bought 3volt battery no 2025 .7 mm shallower put it in still have full power I think problem is that the brass tab gets flat tend down with the 2032 as its thick and the brass tab is soft ,my problem started after factory fitt battery went flat going to see by end of the week

Paulw6969

Had brain wave put thinner battery in it works but still drained ,just put piece of tape between brass tab so it does not bottom out when battery in so it does not short out ,see how we get on don't think it blue tooth related as just been out and see if it picked up after a ride of stages app but it won't pick up unless I turn it over ,next step back to Evans

Rodrego Hernandez

According to a rep from Saddleback, the problems are down to customers not knowing how to look after them properly.

Glad that's all cleared up then.

markhewitt1978

Ah ok then . Mine has issues but I haven't been riding much outside. to actually do anything about it.

Replaced the battery, all fine, things working, did a turbo ride with it, all fine. Get the bike out a week later, dead again .

Grifteruk

I originally owned 3 Stages at once, one SRAM and x2 Shimano including "newer" versions from Aug 2015. I had x2 Shimano at once as one failed and I needed a quicker solution than online shop, Saddleback or Stages USA could provide.

SRAM has always seemed to work but is under review still.

On the Shimano's after god knows how many emails, phone calls, new battery covers, new o rings, new batteries, testing, updating firmware, swapping out old crank for new, being told problems solved, finding problems again, trying to solve again, being told same old story etc etc etc I have now returned both Shimanos and received a full refund on both. I have been through everyone involved with Stages and their supplier in both the UK and USA. I know 3 other people with Stages on their bikes. Every one of them have similar problems.

Product is a nice idea but IMO was neither ready for release nor capable of standing up to standard usage (hence their new beefed up version which I was offered in exchange but rejected).

TBH I suspect in the end supplier/online shop decided it was easier to give me my money back than get into another extended debate. Whatever their reason I feel I am best off rid of them. When the SRAM fails for the same reasons as the Shimanos, that will be going back for refund as well.

I am now looking at other options. Powertap pedals are the likely route for me.

colinsmith123

[quote I am now looking at other options. Powertap pedals are the likely route for me.[/quote]

Today my 2.5 yr old Quarq Riken started giving bizarre readings 0W to 2750W randomly whilst out on a soggy ride.

Frustrating as this was, I rode on safe in the knowledge the website has a good fault finding guide and I had the diagnostics software on my laptop and if all else failed, fantastic customer support from Quarq as back up.

Upon my return I plugged in my laptop to the PM via SRAMs Qalvin software, Diagnosis revealed variable zero offset values. So working through the troubleshooting guide I replaced the battery, checked the magnet was close to the sensor (I'm still on V22 firmware, V23 does not require the magnet). Then I removed and cleaned the battery compartment. And finally removed, the chainrings from the crank, gave it all a good clean and refitted the rings. And that last action fixed it. This took me an hour or so but now I can continue riding safe in the knowledge the problem is fixed. And if my PM should go awry, I know how to go about fixing it.

So as a replacement I cannot recommend Quarq highly enough. Other options are P2M and Rotor. Definitely not Garmin, and after bad experience with Paligap taking 8 weeks to tell me my Powertap hub was fecked and would cost £420 to fix, when it was just one month out of warranty I wouldn't buy Powertap again.

Grifteruk

Good to hear Quarq have served you well. Unfortunately Quarq will not guarantee it'll fit my BB386evo bottom bracket or avoid the chainstays of my frame, so that was a bit of a no go for me.

Paulw6969

Stages sending me new gen 2 one to replace my old one result

foggymike

Any news on the reliability or otherwise of the G2 units? I really hope they have sorted this battery thing out. If they have and they get the upcoming 2 sided version on the market at a good price they could clean up.

glasgowbhoy

[url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19780284#p19780284]Paulw6969[/url] wrote:

Stages sending me new gen 2 one to replace my old one result

I'm in the same postion. Have been through two Ultegra 6700 (1st Gen) Stages since last August.
I have now been offered a 6800 Ultegra (2nd Gen).

Lets hope this solves the battery draining and drop outs from the first two units.

dyrlac

Interestingly, I've struggled with drop outs (but not battery draining) on my Dura Ace 7710 stages unit (for track/fixed-gear). Just sent it back to the distributor today who are replacing it. No signs of water ingress or damage to the battery door, so who knows? Unfortunately, it looks like stages have not replaced the gen 1 pod for the 7710 (perhaps unsurprisingly, I can't imagine they sell many of these). But totally no quibble on the replacement.

Has anyone seen improved performance out of the Gen 2 ultegra 6800? Despite all of the hassle with the 7710, the stages form factor is the one which ticks all of my boxes (unless powertap figure out how to attach the C1 to an ultegra 6800 spider, and even then I'd prefer consistency with the fixie to secular "accuracy").

dee4life2005

Re: Gen1 stages (ultegra 6800).
I've had quite a lot of battery related problems. Chewing threw batteries in under a week, and frequent drop-outs mid ride, usually when stopped at traffic lights (or anywhere else) for more than about 15-30 seconds. I never had an issue with the first battery, or from what I remember with the 2nd battery.

I didn't have issues with water ingress and the battery door and seal were fine. When I contacted support they told me to check that the cold contact for the -ve terminal hadn't been pushed flat as this can cause battery contact issues which can mean drop-outs with road vibration. I tried their suggestion of carefully bending the contacts up a few milli-metres, but it didn't really make much difference.

I then got a few replacement doors (though that took them 1.5 MONTHS for some reason - sigh) - with the green rubber seal (my original unit had a red seal). The doors didn't make a difference either initially, although it seemed to be of a stronger plastic, and was easier to open/close. I replaced with yet another new battery and so far I've had 4 successfully rides from 4 ... and one was 3hrs. That's the first time in about 4.5 months that it's worked flawlessly between rides and for longer than about 1hr at a time.

Hopefully, fingers crossed, that this has sorted it - but I'll be keeping a close eye on it as only 3.5 months warranty left.

theozricle

Well my stages has once again gone off to stages Europe .
I will have to see what they say this time. At first stages and myself thought it may be a connection to my laptop remaining open. This is not the case.
I am now fairly convinced that stages units don't like the cold. My 2 cranks have both started playing up at about the same time of year. My bike is in an unheated garage so the temperature is probably only a degree or two above outside temp . As soon as the weather gets cold problems! It's not really good enough considering how much these things cost. Sending it back to Germany has now set me back £60 in couriers charges and it's all getting a bit frustrating.

markhewitt1978

I've been slow in sorting my Mk1 out as I've hardly had the bike out in the last 2 months, but they've asked for more photos and details of the calibration results etc. Are they replacing all with Mk2 units at the moment? Or am I likely to get a Mk1 if it has to go back? It's Ultegra 6800. Not that I mind, just having something that works would be good!

ANDYI86

So i have just posted off my Gen1 Stages FSA power meter back to saddleback who have confirmed i will receive a GEN2 as a replacement. I was have battery drain issues,Ant drop out aswell. They have said turnaround will be 2 days once they received it.

theozricle

I have had a reply from stages Europe saying that it is not temperature related. After inspection they found an unfixable fault on the circuit board and are replacing it under warranty. I am hoping to receive the Gen2 obviously and hopefully this will last longer than the last two. As annoying it is having to post it to Germany for warranty purposes I really cannot fault their customer service. Stages Europe have been excellent in sorting things out.
My new Stages should arrive today so hopefully this should be the end to my problems!

davem399

I'm not surprised that their customers services are good, they're getting plenty of practice!

supermurph09

I returned my (replacement) unit at the weekend, batteries draining, power dropouts etc. I've gone through everything the help guys suggested but still problems. Hoping for a refund but will most likely get a G2 unit if they decided mine is faulty.

Have to say though, I was considering doing away with power but after 2 training sessions without it I wont be doing that!

meanredspider

Mine has been fine up until this week - now it's stopped working. Been in touch with Stages and it seems I might be missing a lip on the casing. Will see what they do in response.

PK1

Stages have just replaced my 5700 gen 1 with a gen 2 5700 without asking for the upgrade. Mine had a broken battery cover seat so the battery didn't connect properly.

meanredspider

PK1 wrote:

Stages have just replaced my 5700 gen 1 with a gen 2 5700 without asking for the upgrade. Mine had a broken battery cover seat so the battery didn't connect properly.

That sounds identical to my issue.

ANDYI86

Great service from Stages and Saddleback UK New Gen2 power meter delivered today after posting old one on Thursday. Now to get it fitted and take it for a spin.

lee_d_m

Similar here. Been suffering dropouts for a while but went a couple of months without issue so forgot about it. Then on December it went again, saddleback sent me some new doors and o-rings which I installed and it worked until last Wednesday. Contacted saddleback again and they said they'd send me a new Gen2. Sent my old one back Thursday, new one arrived today. Fingers crossed it works properly now.

markhewitt1978

Do they always require you to send the unit back to where you bought it from? I worry because I bought mine from Germany.

meanredspider

I'm really impressed by the process so far. The guy at Stages I was dealing with was replying to emails at 10 at night then at 8 the following morning. The entire diagnosis process was carried out beyond my working day. Certainly beats those jokers at Garmin who not only take forever but even when they respond they fork it up.

PK1

I raised a support ticket with Stages, they asked me to return it to them in Germany. I didn't return it to the retailer.

markhewitt1978

PK1 wrote:

I raised a support ticket with Stages, they asked me to return it to them in Germany. I didn't return it to the retailer.

That because you bought in Germany or that they're based there?