powermeter recommendation

billy121 · 18-12-2015 12:36am #1

I am looking for some recommendations for a powermeter. I tried a stages whcih worked very well for a while but ended up having a lot of problems with battery drain, water ingress, calibration failures and have since given up on this.

I am looking for something robust, preferably light, easy to transfer between bike and most importantly something that wont let in water in and cause problems. Any recommendations that tick all of these boxes or just some?

Bepro pedals look interesting and are cheap in comparison to other pms:
http://www.bepro-favero.com/en/

Anybody have experience with these? I was thinking of trying to source a secondhand SRM given their reputation, however, I have heard that these also have issues with water getting in. What about power2max?

cheers

easygoing39 · 18-12-2015 12:54am

I cant give you info on which power meter to pick.But I can give info regarding Stages,as Im using one at the moment.Mine hasnt given me any problems in the 18 months Ive had it,But,I do know that from reading forums on the web that other riders like yourself have had wateringress problems.You should contact the shop where you purchased the Stages and get them to do youre warrenty claim.Stages have a very good record of looking after their customers.One of the reasons I got one of their PM,s in the 1st place.

billy121 · 18-12-2015 1:09am

Thanks for your reply. I have done several warranty replacements now and have had problems with each of the replacement - perhaps just bad luck for me. Stages support were very helpful.

Amprodude · 18-12-2015 9:13am

I'm in the same boat as yourself. Have gone through 4 powermeters and all have been trouble. Started off with Garmin vector pedals and they were trouble. Then have had 3 Stages powermeters one replaced and now new one giving big trouble so l have given up at this stage.

billy121 · 18-12-2015 9:23am

what was the problem with the vector pedals?

Its a pity about the stages as its light and easy to move between bikes. When its dry it gives good power data

fat bloke · 18-12-2015 9:56am

My mrs has had the vectors for 6 months with no probs and I know a couple of other lads with the same experience. I'm hoping for the same myself cos I recently acquired a set.

I had a powertap for a couple of years and it was faultless, but it was almost exclusively used indoors on the turbo which may or may not have contributed to its reliability.

Amprodude · 18-12-2015 11:24am

billy121 wrote: »

what was the problem with the vector pedals?

Its a pity about the stages as its light and easy to move between bikes. When its dry it gives good power data

Garmin had similar issues with inaccurate readings and loosing connection during spin. Stages is great when it does work but realbility is a big problem with them.

PringleDemon · 18-12-2015 12:50pm

Have you looked at the Pioneer power meters yet ? Very similar in design to Stages but they have got better reliability and more features too.

Easy to switch between bikes .

billy121 · 18-12-2015 2:22pm

PringleDemon wrote: »

Have you looked at the Pioneer power meters yet ? Very similar in design to Stages but they have got better reliability and more features too.

Easy to switch between bikes .

Have you got one? If so, have you had it for long and have you experienced any problems?

PringleDemon · 18-12-2015 4:30pm

Yes , I have the dual leg power meter and the Pioneer head unit . Only had a few test rides on it so far but very impressed with the data available. Gives a L/R balance on power out put and can show where the power comes into the pedal stroke .

Cant really foresee any problems with it as it looks to be a better quality build than Stages .

It puts anything that Stages has to offer into the shade .

Can't post any links here yet but if I could I would share my recent workouts to give an idea on the info available .

billy121 · 18-12-2015 5:36pm

PringleDemon wrote: »

Yes , I have the dual leg power meter and the Pioneer head unit . Only had a few test rides on it so far but very impressed with the data available. Gives a L/R balance on power out put and can show where the power comes into the pedal stroke .

Cant really foresee any problems with it as it looks to be a better quality build than Stages .

It puts anything that Stages has to offer into the shade .

Can't post any links here yet but if I could I would share my recent workouts to give an idea on the info available .

Thanks for that, will have a look into this. One final question, the test rides you have done, any of them been in very wet conditions?

PringleDemon · 18-12-2015 6:39pm

Remember Storm Desmond ? I rode though a 200m long puddle with the water level over the chainset height. Still worked 100%.

Zyzz · 19-12-2015 8:59pm

*cough* Quarq *cough*

tunney · 19-12-2015 11:34pm

SRMs. Only ones proven to still be working and accurate ten years later. Yes I've experience of it

RobFowl · 19-12-2015 11:56pm

With all these power meters floating around I'm sure Chris Froome is sh*tting himself......

Zippe · 19-12-2015 11:57pm

billy121 wrote: »

I am looking for some recommendations for a powermeter. I tried a stages whcih worked very well for a while but ended up having a lot of problems with battery drain, water ingress, calibration failures and have since given up on this.

I am looking for something robust, preferably light, easy to transfer between bike and most importantly something that wont let in water in and cause problems. Any recommendations that tick all of these boxes or just some?

Bepro pedals look interesting and are cheap in comparison to other pms:
http://www.bepro-favero.com/en/

Anybody have experience with these? I was thinking of trying to source a secondhand SRM given their reputation, however, I have heard that these also have issues with water getting in. What about power2max?

cheers

Power2max.... No messing about sending it away to get battery changed,serviced or calibrated,I've the power-tap chain rings on order for my son so I'll give them a while to see what there like, I've P2M last 3 years on my training bike and still working 100% I fitted them on my TT bike and my race bike also this year to save the changing about,SRM is the top of the list if you can stretch to it but you do have the maintenance cost to think of also, I was going to go with the SRM but I went for the P2M in the end,

Cheers zip,

billy121 · 20-12-2015 4:33pm

Thanks for all the advice. SRM and power2max seem like the best options with p2m defo winning on price. Pioneer system could be great but prefer going with something that has been out longer, i think it will be a p2m for me

tunney · 20-12-2015 11:17pm

As a long time user of SRMs. Almost ten years. I love them. Yes there are battery changes every three years. But not one query or question on days quality or performance.

That being said I'd take a punt on P2m the next time, Kettering the SRMs as fallback, as all I've heard is positive from many people on them.

The rest of the "power meters" - at best toys, at worst junk.

markusz · 21-12-2015 9:13am

you won't go wrong with Garmin Vectors either. have mine nearly a year and its faultless.... best money spent in awhile. clubmate is after getting Powertap pedals and they look good as well; very easy to move between bikes.

Amprodude · 21-12-2015 6:32pm

markusz wrote: »

you won't go wrong with Garmin Vectors either. have mine nearly a year and its faultless.... best money spent in awhile. clubmate is after getting Powertap pedals and they look good as well; very easy to move between bikes.

Depending really, my vectors were trouble and they were torqued correctly.

dancrowley · 22-12-2015 6:30am

power2max. I picked up a power2max type s for my campagnolo-equipped bike. I bought it on the premise that it's "plug and play" and the battery can be easily replaced. I also didn't want a hub-based nor a pedal-based solution. ive had no issues with it. it wasn't cheap for the campag version, but the non-campag ones look very competitively priced.

Smalltom · 22-12-2015 7:32am

I also have a Rotor 3D P2M and have it switchable between my winter/race/tt bike and can do it in less than 2minutes. However being a lazy bast**d, I just ordered a set of P1 pedals for Xmas for the race bike. The P2M is over 2years old and all I've ever done is change the battery. I've heard good 'real world' reports of the P1 pedals from people who are research/technical junkies and they love them and have no complaints.

Quigs Snr · 22-12-2015 8:56am

3 x P2M type s for me... too lazy to swap between bikes). First one, older classic type developed a problem after a year and was replaced immediately (with an apology and upgrade to the type s). Good product, good company. I can't imagine why anyone would get anything else at that price range.

Amprodude · 22-12-2015 12:01pm

Quigs Snr wrote: »

3 x P2M type s for me... too lazy to swap between bikes). First one, older classic type developed a problem after a year and was replaced immediately (with an apology and upgrade to the type s). Good product, good company. I can't imagine why anyone would get anything else at that price range.

What happens if you are using shimano dura ace?

joey100 · 22-12-2015 12:10pm

I'm not sure you can use dura ace cranks with a P2M. I'm another vote for them, have 2, one on road bike and one on TT bike. No problems so far have only had to change the battery.

Would you notice the difference between a Rotor+ crank and a Dura Ace crank?

If you want to keep your Dura Ace your probably looking at a pedal based system or the Pioneer system.

billy121 · 22-12-2015 12:52pm

I am gonna go for the power2max type S rotor 3D24 as I have been running shimano chainsets across a couple of bikes and the 3D24 will be compatible without having to swap out bottom brackets.

For this unit there are several ring options available - Praxis works on sale at 99, rotor R @ 150 (aero 199) or RotorQ @199(aero 199).

Any of those that have p2M any thoughts on the rings? I have read that the Praxis works are supposed to be excellent and probably better shifting that Rotor rings even though they are cheaper

Quigs Snr · 22-12-2015 1:18pm

billy121 wrote: »

I am gonna go for the power2max type S rotor 3D24 as I have been running shimano chainsets across a couple of bikes and the 3D24 will be compatible without having to swap out bottom brackets.

For this unit there are several ring options available - Praxis works on sale at 99, rotor R @ 150 (aero 199) or RotorQ @199(aero 199).

Any of those that have p2M any thoughts on the rings? I have read that the Praxis works are supposed to be excellent and probably better shifting that Rotor rings even though they are cheaper

Praxis are excellent and usually cheap if bought with the P2M. Recommended.

Quigs Snr · 22-12-2015 1:21pm

Amprodude wrote: »

What happens if you are using shimano dura ace?

If you are torn between the need for a good powermeter and want to keep the aesthetics of the Dura Ace without paying for an SRM then P2M is not for you. However, that being said, most of the Dura Ace equipped folks in my club who got the P2M just got it built into a rotor crank and are very happy with the performance.

That being said, I was half tempted to buy one of those awful stages things for the Dura Ace 9000 crank on one of my lightweight bikes. Just can't make myself do it though.

Zippe · 22-12-2015 1:36pm

Rotor 3D24's is what I'm running and I like to keep thing looking right and I have DA9000 Di2 on my race bike and my tt bike and ultegra 6800 on my training bike and all running with P2M and Rotor 3D24's and they fit in very well, I could not mix Sram or Campag with shimano as it would no fit for me, but that's just me, you won't be disappointed with the P2M, don't forget to order chain ring bolts...

If your looking for rings I have some sitting about and will be off loading them,

Rotor QRings 53/39 130bcd
Rotor No Q Rings 53/39 130bcd

Both have small km's done,the rotor cranks are handy to swap from bike to bike also and there is a great range of bb's to fit any bike,

Cheers zip

billy121 · 22-12-2015 3:37pm

Zippe wrote: »

Rotor 3D24's is what I'm running and I like to keep thing looking right and I have DA9000 Di2 on my race bike and my tt bike and ultegra 6800 on my training bike and all running with P2M and Rotor 3D24's and they fit in very well, I could not mix Sram or Campag with shimano as it would no fit for me, but that's just me, you won't be disappointed with the P2M, don't forget to order chain ring bolts...

If your looking for rings I have some sitting about and will be off loading them,

Rotor QRings 53/39 130bcd
Rotor No Q Rings 53/39 130bcd

Both have small km's done,the rotor cranks are handy to swap from bike to bike also and there is a great range of bb's to fit any bike,

Cheers zip

Thanks for the info Zip,

I think I will go for the 110 BCD as I'd like to run the 52 36 semi- compact. Out of curiosity how did you find the q-rings vs the non-Q?

Quigs Snr · 22-12-2015 3:59pm

Are the NOQ's the aero or regular rings Zippe ?

Zippe · 22-12-2015 11:05pm

Quigs Snr wrote: »

Are the NOQ's the aero or regular rings Zippe ?

Both are aero rings,

Zippe · 22-12-2015 11:11pm

billy121 wrote: »

Thanks for the info Zip,

I think I will go for the 110 BCD as I'd like to run the 52 36 semi- compact. Out of curiosity how did you find the q-rings vs the non-Q?

Tbh,I think it all in the head :-) I have 56/44 QRings on my tt bike but I run no Q's on my road bikes,

powermeter recommendation

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