Power meter - assioma duo or quarq d1

javidr

Hi

I am interested on buying a power meter and I have two candidates. Assioma duo, which are pedal meters, or quarq d1, which is based on the crank

Which one would you recommend? I tend to believe pedals are more accurate but never used a crank meter

Any advise please?

Thanks

super_davo

I have Assioma's, and I rate them, as do pretty much everyone I know with them.
They are accurate, don't have to faff changing batteries due to the magnetic charging cable, and are easy to swap between bike to bike, you don't need to torque them etc.
The main reason you might not want to pick them is if you don't get on with the Keo pedals e.g. need Speedplay or Shimano or whatever (you can get Assioma Shimanos, but they are a little more faff).
But if that isn't the case for you, you won't be disappointed with them.

javidr

Thanks. I already use keo so that’s not a problem

Thanks for the comment. Everybody seems to be in love with those pedals

I would like to hear any opinion about the quarq too, as there’s not much information about it online

dannbodge

Had assioma duos for about 4 years now.
Never had an issue with them, the only maintenance they've had is new bearings last summer (because I wanted to, not needed to)

javidr

Another question, looks like the power meter adds some gap between the crank and the pedal itself compared to standard pedals. I think you will need to change the leg angle and open your legs more wide. Is it confortable to ride this?

daniel_b

I have a pair of these, but have yet to install them, looking forward to using them in the summer on my aero bike, have only heard good things about them, and picked them up at a good price from Sigma recently.

One thing I did take from a raft of customer reviews, is that standard Look keo cleats do not engage with them perfectly, instead you need some of these which I assume must be shaped very subtlety different, OR a similar version:

https://chainreactioncycles.com/lifeline-road-pedal-cleats-look-keo/rp-prod155202

daniel_b

javidr said:

Another question, looks like the power meter adds some gap between the crank and the pedal itself compared to standard pedals. I think you will need to change the leg angle and open your legs more wide. Is it confortable to ride this?

I'm no expert, but I did a quick google on the Look keo blade pedals, and they have a reported Q factor of 53mm, another search of the Assioma pedals, all be it dating back to 2017, puts them at 54mm - so a negligible difference, but I'm sure you could shift your cleat across the mm if you felt a difference.

Looks like stock Shimano pedals are on the whole 52mm, or 56mm if you opt for the longer axle.

However if you buy the Shimano Assioma axle kit to go in existing pedals, that will push the q factor out to a likely more noticeable 65mm.

MidlandsGrimpeur2

I have used quarq cranks for about 8 years and always been trouble free, just a case of changing a battery every few months.

To be honest, the main consideration is really ease of use. If you intend to have power meters across multiple bikes get a pedal based system, cheaper and easier. If it is for one bike, I would go for a crank. That is just personal choice though as I am fussy about pedal type and foot position, so stick to standard pedals I have used for years!

Also, if you do have any issues, easier to send back pedals, with a crank you either have to remove the entire thing or lug a bike to your LBS!

javidr

Thanks both!

@MidlandsGrimpeur2 how accurate is the crank meter? Mainly I’m interested in which power you put in each leg and how balanced it is. I think the crank meter cant measure it, or if it does, it’s just an estimation

Thanks

MidlandsGrimpeur2

No worries!

@javidr in terms of power readings, I can only compare it to power readings from a static bike during a lab test and the numbers were pretty close.

It is a dual sided power measurement and does give a power balance reading for both legs. Anecdotally mine is always 51/49 right/left leg. When I had an injury on my right side for a few months it was 45/55 which would suggest it does pick up on leg balance quite accurately.

dannbodge

I notice no difference in Q factor between normal look pedals and the assioma.

I use the cheap lifeline cleats from wiggle and they're fine.

I compared mine to my Tacx Neo and the power readings were bang on.

Mine get used on the bike I rode outside, so summer bike in summer and winter in winter. They get ridden through every weather imaginable from the hot summers to freezing cold or wet that's we've had recently (one even got dipped in a "puddle")

daniel_b

That's good to know re the cleats and the neo power match. I'll have to see how they compare with my Neo og.

I'm going to take mine to the turbo trainer doctor for a full service and some preventative maintenance in the spring.
6 years old in March, would be nice to get 4-6 more out of it.

katani

I must be the only one who have had an issue with the Assioma. I had the Duo. Power drops to 0 every couple seconds. Emailed their tech support, but they couldn't diagnose via the smartphone app diagnostics, so suggested I post the pedals to their lab in Italy for testing. This was because I purchased the pedals directly from Favero on their website. The insured postage was going to be some 40 Euro using a courier, because Favero had discouraged me from using a regular mail service saying the Italian postal service are rubbish and will very likely delay the delivery for even up to 3 months, based on their past experience. The day I was going to post the pedals they emailed me again to advise that they had eventually found a bug in their firmware and updated it accordingly. After the update I never had any issues again until I sold them after 2 years of use.

So if you decide to go for the Assioma, I recommend purchasing them from a retailer based in your country of residence. That way if you have an issue which requires sending the pedals to Italy for diagnosing, you only pay for shipping them to the retailer.

What I didn't like about the Assioma and why I got rid of them was that they didn't seem to support the Look cleat as firmly as my Look Keo pedals. There was too much rotational float about the vertical plane in along-axle direction.
Ideally I would replace them with the Look/SRM pedals, but they are a pain to calibrate and massively overpriced.
I am getting an Ultegra crankset with a Stages pm instead to be able to use Look pedals with it as soon as the C2W order window re-opens in February. I don't have a problem replacing the whole crank set between my bikes the chain rings I use are all the same 52/36.
And since it is installed on the crank arms it shouldn't need re-calibrating after swapping over between different bikes, or does it?

hpaul

I have a power 2 max s type, similar to the quarq, 2040 battery, no hassle dual sided, fantastic. It's bad if you have to change the battery once a year, I use a 4iiii single crank on the winter bike, 2030 batteries. They don't last as long.

wobblebob

daniel_b said:

One thing I did take from a raft of customer reviews, is that standard Look keo cleats do not engage with them perfectly, instead you need some of these which I assume must be shaped very subtlety different, OR a similar version:

I have the Favero's and 4 pairs of shoes all with genuine look cleats and no engagement issues. They go in and out exactly the same as the genuine keo pedals on my turbo bike

daniel_b

wobblebob said:

daniel_b said:

One thing I did take from a raft of customer reviews, is that standard Look keo cleats do not engage with them perfectly, instead you need some of these which I assume must be shaped very subtlety different, OR a similar version:

I have the Favero's and 4 pairs of shoes all with genuine look cleats and no engagement issues. They go in and out exactly the same as the genuine keo pedals on my turbo bike

How odd, I read a raft of reviews that mentioned that issue - I wonder if they marginally changed the design at some point since the launch.

Bikeauthority.cc

In my experience they are both quality products that you are unlikely to have an issue with. Both are accurate, have decent customer service and will likely last a long time. The only real downside as I see it is

1. Think twice about assiomas if you race or are careless with your equipment. I've know several get damaged beyond repair due to pedal strikes etc.

2. To the very best of my knowledge quarqs are not dual sided, they estimate the left side. You may consider this a deal-breaker but in reality the data is not hugely useful.

The stuff about Q factor is a valid point but after about 10 minutes you will forget all about it.

Having said all that I always recommend Power2max, as mentioned by hpaul. Absolutely bullet proof

dannbodge

daniel_b said:

That's good to know re the cleats and the neo power match. I'll have to see how they compare with my Neo og.

I'm going to take mine to the turbo trainer doctor for a full service and some preventative maintenance in the spring.
6 years old in March, would be nice to get 4-6 more out of it.

There isn't really any maintenance that you can do, bar greasing the freehub and hoovering any dust from the air vents.

I hoover mine every couple of months, but apart from that it gets a wipe with a baby wipe every now and again.

Mine's 5 years old too and hope it does the same.

daniel_b

I thought that too, and aside from changing the service hub kit, and the free hub that is all I had done.

However this chap says he has seen a fair few have failures on the PCB at around this age, so he goes over it and replaces some key components on it, as well as the fan, which I have been lucky with but I know can frequently cause overheating issues - I'll probably hang onto the original as a spare.

As the price of the service bearing kit is fairly high now anyway (And don't own the tools to make the change of just the bearings), I feel the extra costs, plus my time saved, and the fact I have a spare service kit with new bearings ready to go, will be money well spent to hopefully allow it to live on for some time yet.

whyamihere

Bikeauthority.cc said:

In my experience they are both quality products that you are unlikely to have an issue with. Both are accurate, have decent customer service and will likely last a long time. The only real downside as I see it is

1. Think twice about assiomas if you race or are careless with your equipment. I've know several get damaged beyond repair due to pedal strikes etc.

2. To the very best of my knowledge quarqs are not dual sided, they estimate the left side. You may consider this a deal-breaker but in reality the data is not hugely useful.

The stuff about Q factor is a valid point but after about 10 minutes you will forget all about it.

Having said all that I always recommend Power2max, as mentioned by hpaul. Absolutely bullet proof

The bolded bit's not quite right (though maybe just poorly worded). Talking about Quarqs (or P2Ms) as dual sided doesn't really make sense. They're spider based, so they measure total power. They do have to estimate where the power is coming from to produce a L-R split, but total power will be accurate. That's different to a single sided pedal/crank based power meter where the best it can do is to take the power from the single side and double it. I do agree that the L-R data's not particularly useful.

MidlandsGrimpeur2

The bolded bit's not quite right (though maybe just poorly worded). Talking about Quarqs (or P2Ms) as dual sided doesn't really make sense. They're spider based, so they measure total power. They do have to estimate where the power is coming from to produce a L-R split, but total power will be accurate

To be specific, Quarq PM has a single strain gauge housed within the crank. This measures power on the downward stroke on both left and right side of the pedal stroke and then uses an algorithm to fill in the missing data. Agree, it is not dual sided in the sense that it does not have two separate gauges measuring L/R cranks, but I tend to say it is 'dual sided' as it is taking a power measurement from left and right, rather than a straight up single sided crank like a stages left side crankarm.

Bikeauthority.cc

My point is related to the fact that the OP is talking about assioma duos Vs quarq. I am simply pointing out that one measures power on both sides, the other does not. This is often a misunderstood point and is worth considering if one of the reasons for the purchase is to have the most accurate dual sided power numbers.

I completely agree a spider based system is a much better option than crank based for L/R measurements (never mind the other flaws).

Dorset_Boy

I have Assimo Shimanos. It was literally a 5 minute job to fit the spindle to the pedal. Their power ties in with my Kickr.
On the Q factor, you won't notice it at all.
Do all bikes have the same BB width?
Unlike others, I think knowing your L/R split is very useful, as you can then work to improve the imbalance. If you are 51/49 or better then that is as good as you will ever get.

hpaul

Dorset_Boy said:

I have Assimo Shimanos. It was literally a 5 minute job to fit the spindle to the pedal. Their power ties in with my Kickr.
On the Q factor, you won't notice it at all.
Do all bikes have the same BB width?
Unlike others, I think knowing your L/R split is very useful, as you can then work to improve the imbalance. If you are 51/49 or better then that is as good as you will ever get.

Perhaps if you have only started you can make use of the dual thing. I got my p2max from a friend, was well used but it was free. So no complaints. Ive never been more than 49 51r, I'm mostly 50 50 unless I'm struggling and really pushing myself. I'd thought the pm was just old, but I give it to a friend for a week who was 56 44.

I can't see experienced cyclists changing things to improve their balance, if I buy another it will be a p2max because it just works. No calibration or anything. I've found minus temperature will throw the cadence, but most sensible people won't go out in such. If I did buy pedals I'd buy the uno, suppose easy for me to say when I know my balance isn't bad.

jimmythecuckoo

Maybe not the long awaited Limit crank mounted one based on this review...

https://www.bikeradar.com/reviews/training/power-meters/limits-bia-power-meter-review/

daniel_b

jimmythecuckoo said:

Maybe not the long awaited Limit crank mounted one based on this review...

https://www.bikeradar.com/reviews/training/power-meters/limits-bia-power-meter-review/

wow, that looks like a total crock.
Bearing in mind in recent times a 105 4iiii P2 crank could be had for ~£180, I struggle to see why anyone would buy that.

The IQ2 pedals are allegedly going into production soon.........
Some 5ish years after the initial crowdfunder
Backers are not believing the latest raft of updates - we'll see what happens.

Dorset_Boy

hpaul said:

Dorset_Boy said:

I have Assimo Shimanos. It was literally a 5 minute job to fit the spindle to the pedal. Their power ties in with my Kickr.
On the Q factor, you won't notice it at all.
Do all bikes have the same BB width?
Unlike others, I think knowing your L/R split is very useful, as you can then work to improve the imbalance. If you are 51/49 or better then that is as good as you will ever get.

Perhaps if you have only started you can make use of the dual thing. I got my p2max from a friend, was well used but it was free. So no complaints. Ive never been more than 49 51r, I'm mostly 50 50 unless I'm struggling and really pushing myself. I'd thought the pm was just old, but I give it to a friend for a week who was 56 44.

I can't see experienced cyclists changing things to improve their balance, if I buy another it will be a p2max because it just works. No calibration or anything. I've found minus temperature will throw the cadence, but most sensible people won't go out in such. If I did buy pedals I'd buy the uno, suppose easy for me to say when I know my balance isn't bad.

Sorry (IMHO) that's bollocks!
I think a great many experienced cyclists, including myself (150,000+ kms in the last 11 years) would like to improve it, or at least find or work out the cause.

pippi_langsamer-2

Assioma Duo's here too. They just work. They're also extremely light for a power "system". Based on the Xpedo Thrust pedal body. Assioma also seem to be very good at stocking spares for all the components, which is good should you ever need them.

I'd agree with the cleat comments- I found authentic Look cleats were awful for squeaking. Seemed to engage OK but maybe not quite as clean as the aftermarket ones. I find the generic Wellgo/ Xpedo/ Lifeline (they're all the same), work better and are silent (and probably cheaper).