power meter rental

tweakier

I'm looking for a power meter rental service as I'd like to try training with one for a couple of months before I go ahead and buy one.
I've found 3 places where I can rent from:
- cyclepowermeters.com
- panaguabikes.com
- athleteservice.com
Anyone has ever used them? Or any other alternatives?

MiddleRinger

Athlete Service in Henley is good if you're local to that area. Pop in for coffee at their KOM cafe too! Cycle Power Meters always gets a good rep and they're active on various forums across the cycling net as well. I've never used or heard of the third one you list.

What power meter were you looking at? An alternative is to buy a second hand PowerTap wheel and use that for a couple of months. If you don't get on with it you can usually sell it for close to what you paid.

napoleond

Cyclepowermeters are a fantastic company to deal with.

tweakier

MiddleRinger wrote:

What power meter were you looking at? An alternative is to buy a second hand PowerTap wheel and use that for a couple of months. If you don't get on with it you can usually sell it for close to what you paid.

To be honest, I'm not sure which power meter I'd go for, hence my thoughts on exploring renting options first.
I was more inclined towards Stages or Vector due to the relatively small effort of installing compared to the PowerTap hub, but that again was just a thought that would make things easier if I rented one. Accuracy is a big thing but I think these three options(vector/stages/powertap) pretty much cover me.

On the topic of second hand power meters (which also applies to rentals), I read at a DC Rainmaker's blog post that it's recommended to send it to a third party/manufacturer for validation.
Is that too far fetched or it is indeed common practice?

vinnymarsden

Hi mate,

I bought a Stages last year…can HIGHLY recommend it..got mine from Tredz, who have just been bought by Halfords I believe.
The thing that made me punt for buying straight off is the resale value if you don't get on with it…you look on the Bay and they go for almost brand new cost, so really, use it for a few months and if its not for you, sell it there…whatever you lose, will be offset by the cost of NOT renting..simple!!Lol

napoleond

Problem with stages having spoken to numerous (ex) users is that they're a random number generator compared with pretty much anything else out there.

philbar72

I've got a stages version 2 ultegra. as well as a power2 max. for the record its not as bad as what a lot of folk say but the left leg doubling feature does give you a slightly distorted set of numbers. compared to a true right/left solution. the power2max shows my right leg is stronger, and thus my power curve based on the proper inputs from power2max is very slightly different.

but if you were tracking progress, the stages is nowadays a safe bet.

MiddleRinger

tweakier wrote:

On the topic of second hand power meters (which also applies to rentals), I read at a DC Rainmaker's blog post that it's recommended to send it to a third party/manufacturer for validation.
Is that too far fetched or it is indeed common practice?

I didn't with my second hand SL+ PowerTap hub when I first got a power meter and it was fine. That said it was in very good nick with low usage and I probably paid over the odds for it. With anything second hand though it's a risk you take.

If you are happy going with the single-sided arguably less reliable/accurate Stages option and have the cash up front, buying a new one to use for six months and then selling it on here or eBay would probably work out cheaper than renting.

Dave_P1

Another vote for cycle power meters