Stages Cycling Adds Power To SRAM X0-1 & XX-1 Cranksets

Power Meters might not be the most popular aftermarket upgrade on mountain bikers’ minds, but maybe it should be more popular. Ask any riding coach or any rider who’s fast, and they’ll tell you that power is THE way to train accurately. In fact, Jared Graves credits using a power meter as being responsible for some of the biggest improvements to his results on the Enduro World Series. The data he was able to gather from his power meter during racing allowed him to optimise his gear selection and overall riding technique, so he could get maximum power where he needed it most, while saving energy where he didn’t need to put in so much effort.

Stages Cycling is a US brand that has been pioneering crank-based power meters since 2013. In that very short space of time, Stages Cycling has established its name in a market that has previously been dominated by the likes of big-ticket products from Quarq and SRM. Whereas other power meters rely on chainring and spider-based systems for measuring your power output, Stage’s system sees a small unit that sits on the inside of the left hand crank arm. The beauty about this design is in its simplicity, ease of use, and cost. Coming in at a fraction of the price of the more elaborate systems out there, Stages Cycling cranks allow mountain bikers to get into the power meter market at a much more accessible price point.

In their Boulder, Colorado factory, Stages Cycling takes left hand crank arms, and applies their unit to the inside surface of the crank arm. A series of strain gauges measure the bending forces you apply to the crank during pedalling, and then a computer does some mathematics and turns that number into a Wattage. A wireless transmitter then sends that data to your compatible computer head unit, such as a Lezyne or Garmin computer.

The way the Stages Cycling system works is that you buy a left hand crank arm from them to replace your current crank arm. Stages works alongside the likes of Shimano, FSA, and Cannondale, and previously with SRAM too. But because SRAM now produce their own crank-based power meters through the Quarq brand, they don’t supply Stages Cycling with cranks anymore. So Stages Cycling went to FSA, and got them to produce carbon crank arms that would be compatible with existing SRAM crank and bottom bracket systems. That means people out there with X0-1 and XX-1 carbon cranks can now fit a Stages Cycling crank arm to their bike.

This is a unique product, as there are no other carbon crank arms on the market that will measure power with a strain gauge. The new mountain bike carbon crank arm is available in both BB30 and GXP versions, and you can get multiple lengths too. There’ll also be a version for the Race Face Next SL crankset, and we expect other models to emerge in the future too.

“The Stages Power meter is built to the proprietary Stages Power carbon left crank arm. The full carbon fiber Stages Power meter and crank arm is compatible with many SRAM GXP mountain cranks with a 168mm q-factor. The new Stages Power meter is slimmer, and up to 28-percent lower profile than our original meter. It’s sleeker by way of a 17-percent reduction in frontal area, and we’ve also made it stronger. The new housing design increases the strength of the battery door and housing connection by 200-percent over the previous design.”– Stages Cycling

Stages Cycling also continues with their alloy crank arm options to suit Shimano Deore XT and XTR cranksets. Pricing ranges from £649-£749 for the crank arm with the power meter installed. Inside is a small circular battery that powers the unit and transmits the Bluetooth and ANT+ data. Stages Cycling claim you’ll get 200+ hours out of each battery.

Plenty of World Cup downhillers are making use of power data too. Stages Cycling offers a Saint crank power meter for those willing to make the leap.

Stages Cycling works alongside FSA, Cannondale and Shimano to offer some 28 different models of power meter. Shown here is the hollow Si Cannondale crankarm with the in-built power meter.