Which power meter and where from?

shmooster

Hi All,

I'm looking at buying my first power meter, and trying to work out the best option. I've read lots of reviews including DCRainmakers, have a budget of around £500, ride a Shimano 5800 groupset and use a Garmin 510 to track rides.

Am I right in thinking that Stages is my only option in that price range?

I know people raise concerns about left/right balance but I'm planning a wattbike session to see how bad that is, suspect it isn't a big issue for me.

I want to both track and improve fitness and understand my sustainable output so I can pace some Italian Alpine climbs (including the Stelvio) in late June.

If Stages is the best option, are Mantel offering the best price at the moment (£450)?

https://www.mantel.com/uk/stages-105-5800-gen2?spec[]=285

Thanks in advance.

harry-s

4iiii are worth a look:

http://4iiii.com/product/precision/

$400, and you'll probably get charged some import duty. Still a good price though.

fenix

That indiegogo power meter from Limits is MEANT to be appearing in the next month according to their updates.....

If that appears and works - it might be worth looking into.

redvision

There are loads of lower priced PM's now, and hopefully prices will continue to fall.

Are you dead set on a crank based pm?
You could get a set of Bepro pedals for just over your £500 budget.

As others have said, 4iiii are definitely worth a look, they do a ready made crank arm now (no need to send yours off) http://www.probikekit.co.uk/brands/4iii ... t_id=57391

Also check out pioneer as they do a left crank arm pm.

Alternatively, look out for the powertap wheelsets. You can often find a good deal with those.

shmooster

4iii looks interesting price wise, but sending off my crank doesn't appeal, and the pre-built option arrives too late for my June trip (DCR says July, Probikekit says June, looks a bit tight). For indiegogo I don't trust anything that's just appearing on the market :-)


Edit:crossover with redvisions post.

imposter2.0

shmooster wrote:

I know people raise concerns about left/right balance but I'm planning a wattbike session to see how bad that is, suspect it isn't a big issue for me.

L/R balance isn't really a massive issue for anyone really - the main issue is how much power you can produce with both legs. Either way, a Wattbike won't tell you much about that either, as the power balance plots are highly misleading.

harry-s

4iii looks interesting price wise, but sending off my crank doesn't appeal

It's no big deal, - I've done it twice and the service has been good both times. They send the prepaid fedex paperwork to you, all you do is bag it up and send it off.

shmooster

Harry-S wrote:

It's no big deal, - I've done it twice and the service has been good both times. They send the prepaid fedex paperwork to you, all you do is bag it up and send it off.

How long does it take? I need the crank to ride my bike, and although it's primarily my weekend bike it's also my standby for commuting. Maybe I shouldn't have chucked the old one when I replaced the crankset :-)

Had a look at the Bepro and looks great value, but I see concerns about how long they'd last and those charging ports look like they'd get full of road cruft quickly. Lost enough lights to the British weather to be very wary of exposed ports. There aren't many UK suppliers of them either.

harry-s

They're quoting a two turn round on their site, and IIRC, that's about what it took with mine.

supermurph09

I'd go here: http://www.cyclepowermeters.com/

Milton81

At this stage 4iii seems to be possibly the cheapest out there! And has some good reviews but from memory it won't work on carbon cranks.... not good for campagnolo riders ((
Awesome products by Campagnolo but way behind the others on power meters option. Do something about it!!! Come on!

daniel_b

BePro pedals?

https://www.powermeter24.com/uk/bepro/bepro-power-meter/bepro?gclid=CM6T_d6dvswCFbYV0wodjgIBEQ

Or single sided:
https://www.powermeter24.com/uk/bepro/bepro-power-meter/bepro-s

No idea if that place is the cheapest, just did a quick google as forgot the name. I have Vector 2's myself.

bigmat

Milton81 wrote:

At this stage 4iii seems to be possibly the cheapest out there! And has some good reviews but from memory it won't work on carbon cranks.... not good for campagnolo riders ((
Awesome products by Campagnolo but way behind the others on power meters option. Do something about it!!! Come on!

Annoying Stages / 4iii won't even do an option for an alloy Campag crank arm, I wouldn't be too fussed at pairing a black alloy powermeter with my carbon UT cranks.

colinsmith123

I want to both track and improve fitness and understand my sustainable output so I can pace some Italian Alpine climbs (including the Stelvio) in late June.

You can do all of that just as well with a heart rate monitor and a PM is not likely to help you that much in two months. I'd suggest you re-evaluate why and how you want a PM as a training tool, otherwise it might just become an expensive toy on your bike.

sloppyschleckonds

I'd probably go with SRM, Powertap, Quarq, P2Max, then the rest if i wasn't that bothered about accuracy or consistency.

cookeeemonster

SloppySchleckonds wrote:

I'd probably go with SRM, Powertap, Quarq, P2Max, then the rest if i wasn't that bothered about accuracy or consistency.

Wrong according to DC Rainmaker...

stueys

Ideal world power2max, rock solid and very consistent. I think the price differential between left sided power and 'full' power is close enough now that it doesn't make sense to go left side only. It just introduces another variable into the mix.

gethinceri

My BrePro has worked well for 3 months in snow & rain, it has none of the wear & tear shown in DCRainmaker's review.

shmooster

colinsmith123 wrote:

You can do all of that just as well with a heart rate monitor and a PM is not likely to help you that much in two months. I'd suggest you re-evaluate why and how you want a PM as a training tool, otherwise it might just become an expensive toy on your bike.

It's not like I'm going to stop riding after I get back. I've been using a HRM for 4 years or so and while it's very useful, a PM is a much better indicator of effort.

StillGoing

colinsmith123 wrote:

I want to both track and improve fitness and understand my sustainable output so I can pace some Italian Alpine climbs (including the Stelvio) in late June.

You can do all of that just as well with a heart rate monitor and a PM is not likely to help you that much in two months. I'd suggest you re-evaluate why and how you want a PM as a training tool, otherwise it might just become an expensive toy on your bike.

HR is variable and effected by outside elements including weather/temperature, what you've eaten, how you're feeling etc. Power is constant so it is the same in artic conditions as it is in tropical heat and irrespective of whether you're feeling 100% or full of some bug.

If you can find a Power2max power meter second hand, go for one of them.

FatTed

Quarq has been good for me, the Riken now has L & R power. Powermeters do go wrong, after sales service should be an important part of your purchase decision.

AK_jnr

My powertap g3 has been rock solid touch wood.
I do like the look of the single sides bePro pedals though.

shmooster

Thanks everyone. So many choices, I'm more confused now than when I started :-)

I guess this is still an emerging market with a lot of change happening. I need to do more research and see what works for me, I'm still leaning towards stages as I know a couple of people who use them with great success, and they're available from a number of shops near me but there are clearly many other options to consider as well.

dyrlac

A little late to the party, but I own two stages units, one for my Dolan and the other for my Plug (yes, this means the drivetrain of my fixie is worth about 3 times what the whole bike originally cost me :roll: ). Here's the thing, stages QA is awful. You can count on needing to send back the unit at least once due to drop outs/battery draining issues, etc. They are good about it, and eventually you get one that works (just wish they'd send you that one first!), but don't count on being able to sell your "spare" left crank arm, you'll need it back soon enough. That said, stages is and remains the PM that works best for me:

1) Pedal based systems require either SPD-SLs or Look Keo. I'm strictly a SPD/Speedplay man and will never change. Brim Bros' speedplay compatible cleat insert is promising, but isn't yet in mass production.

2) Chainset/chainring based systems are either v. v. expensive or incompatible with the latest iteration of Shimano (6800 or 5800), or both.

3) BB based systems are still largely vapourware.

4) Powertaps lock you into one wheel.

Which leaves you (well, me) with crank arm based systems. 4iii wasn't widely available when I was in the market, so stages it was. The left only thing is suboptimal, but I think consistency is more important than raw accuracy, at least for the keen duffer. As always, hie thee to dcrainmaker. The powerpod is v. v. v. v. v. interesting. I may pick one up if I find some cash burning a hole in my pocket to do CdA analysis.

calbelfield

I'm definitely part of the bepro fanclub! Have experienced a touch of wear on the pod from my overshoes after 4 months, and the charging port is absolutely fine as long as you aren't ridiculously heavy handed. USB port is actually waterproofed so the cover isn't necessary, just there for cosmetic purposes. There's no need to worry about any cosmetic wear on the pod either as the internals are so deep inside that no amount of slight rubbing from shoes could ever expose them.

Shameless plug for my video review here!
https://youtu.be/JlhmU8isJjw

Got mine from bikefast.co.uk and they arrived within a week.

For the price you can't go wrong really, especially if it's your first foray into power meters.

vinnymarsden

I treat myself to a Stages PM, and it's great, as mentioned re HR monitoring, there are so many variables BEFORE you get out there, and with the 2nd gen Stages I have had precisely none of the previous issues ,it appears they sorted the problems rather than just blundering on replacing units ad infinitum. No I don't work for Stages either!!

shmooster

Stages 175mm in black seem to be out of stock most places, and 4iii are on pre-order for £300 from probikekit so I'm going to hold for a bit and see what happens to Stages prices when they have more competition. Bepro does look good but I ride SPD-SL and if I change I have to replace pedals and cleats on my other bikes/shoes.

iPete

It's a tough call, each one has it's own compromises. I'd only go stages if using a good shop and as a Gen II.
Personally I'm very happy with the Powertaps on both bikes (although the bearings need replacing on one but it's done maybe 8-10k miles), the batteries last 4-6 months (3-5k miles) and I'm not into having event specific wheels.

devildawg

Just a word of warning for anybody considering a purchase from P2M. My Rotor 3D+ based powermeter had a problem after less than 1 year of use (the spider came loose from the crank arm). P2M immediately decided, without any investigation, or examination of the item, that it must have been my fault, therefore they would not fix it under warranty. I will be sticking to brands I trust in future, and have just bough a Quarq Elsa, because SRAM understand Customer Service.

shmooster

Reminded me to loop back on this, I bought a Stages in the end from Sigma Sport Kingston. Very happy with it, it just works, no issues to report at all.

StillGoing

devildawg wrote:

Just a word of warning for anybody considering a purchase from P2M. My Rotor 3D+ based powermeter had a problem after less than 1 year of use (the spider came loose from the crank arm). P2M immediately decided, without any investigation, or examination of the item, that it must have been my fault, therefore they would not fix it under warranty. I will be sticking to brands I trust in future, and have just bough a Quarq Elsa, because SRAM understand Customer Service.

I have a P2M Type S on a Rotor 3D24 crankset and have never had a problem. I dismantled my Rotor crankset and fitted the P2M myself using the recommended thread locking and no issues of coming loose. I have to agree with P2M's reasoning that the spider could only come loose if the locking ring hasn't been secured properly.