Anyone got any experience? I have been given some money (About enough to cover IQ2 peddles) on the condition that I spend it on something entirely impractical for me! I’ve had a long term hankering for a power meter probably peddle based so I can swop it/them around bikes easily. Ive been watching the IQ2 saga keenly but I’d rather than spend money on something untested. I was looking at single sided Vectors but have read about the problems with them randomly dropping out. The Assioma and Powertap P2 peddles look good.

Do I wait for IQ2 reviews and risk the money disappearing on school trips or go for one of the others?

Thanks

The golden rule in power meter buying is never the first generation of any – you are basically their beta tester. IQ promised innovation and found it too hard, so reverted to the same technology as everyone else.

If it is for road, buy Assioma UNOs as they are second generation, robust and simple to swap. I have a lot of road bikes and they all now sport one pedal, as I swap before rides.

The best bit of kit you can buy for your bike….always wiser to upgrade yourself than the bike. I’ve got a 4iiii on my road bike and its been brilliant. It’s brought so much more structure to training and for longer endurance rides and events is invaluable in pacing.

Never had any issues with my 4iiii. inclement weather hasn’t caused it to miss a beat or anything. Goes a bit twitchy around firmware update time, but there is an effective routine that works and once you’ve done that all is fine and dandy again.

Wouldn’t bother with it on my MTB…MTB’s are more about fun and fitness is just something to help you stay out longer before getting completely shagged. I guess if you were an XC racer than power would be more important.

I’ve used powermeters for about the last 10 years or so, first with an SRM, but more recently with Rotor. The SRM was ok, but Rotor seem to have it pinned when it comes to reliability. One of the biggest frustrations with a PM is fixing power spikes and data drops, but I haven’t had to do that with the latest iteration of Inpower cranks. I’ve got them on my road bike aswell as my xc mtb. I rarely use the mtb for proper training, but collect the data to give me a complete picture of training load over the year. It depends what you want to get out of it I suppose. For me, it’s measuring the build across the year to specific target events aswell as doing specific training to power. It’s all completely unnecessary for me of course, but I ride mostly solo and go to the pyrenees several times a year, so it adds a bit of interest and insight. I’ve been playing around with gear ratios vs power this year and it’s been nice to take 3 minutes off my pb on my favourite climb at the age of 47!

start here

https://www.dcrainmaker.com/2018/11/power-meter-buyers-2018.html

then buy Assioma Duo or a Quarq

Son bought a 4iiii based on their reliability. That got replaced under warranty.
So good, but not perfect.

Well, gambling by paying in full in advance for a product that doesn’t exist, probably won’t for ages, and with no way of knowing if it’ll be any good if it ever appears counts as an “entirely impractical” way of spending the money I guess.

But if you actually want a powermeter, buy a powermeter. You might have to compromise by either spending a little more on pedals, or getting a crank-based one within budget. But at least they are real.

Another possibility – if portability is your key demand, and the budget can’t go up consider a powercal (for now). I have one. Crank is better but it works well enough for my modest needs.

Happy with my 4iiii for almost 18 months.

Powertap P2s were 25% off at Wiggle recently for double sided.

My powertap single sided were just reliable and faultless… until they suddenly weren’t. But replaced under warranty at 20 months old. New ones haven’t put a foot wrong. However, not able to service bearings etc yourself scares me in the long term. Also heavier than keos or ultegra etc. On the plus side, simple installation and 2 minutes to swap between bikes makes them a perfect choice for me.

I’ve got Rotor InPower and Quarq power meters on both my road and MTB’s. The Quarqs (one of which is the newest model D-Zero model) have been nothing more than just OK whereas my Rotor InPower PM’s have never missed a beat despite being a little older. They’re not cheap but if I was going to replace any of them I’d go for Rotor. As Kynasf has said, their reliability is spot on and the only issue I’ve had with them is been as a result of me forgetting to change the battery.
If you follow a plan, train to numbers for competition and the information is going to serve a purpose then a power meter is invaluable but getting one for the sake of it might be a waste of money. Be sure it’s something you need not just something you fancy!

Think my Rotor is getting on for 3 years old, it’s been flawless.

Will happily put my money down on a 2INPower when I next upgrade.

Another Rotor here on MTB. Never had an issue. Fab crank too.

Mine’s an inpower one so doesn’t do each leg. Just doubles it.

Would be tempted with the inpower2 but it’s boost only.

I have 3 stages which have all been fine, one on mtb ridden in all conditions. you don’t get the claimed battery life of 200hrs. I’ve had s set of vector3s since April. work fine but are definitely require a bit more fiddling to keep working so not fit and forget.

my stages rival crank 172.5 is not being used since I got the vectors, so potentially up for sale

Have been with stages since Gen 1 and it has been a rocky ride! Now running Gen 3s (3 in the household and have all been upgraded by Stage customer service). The Gen 3s have been faultless, batteries last ages (even in the winter) plus they are very easy to swap between bikes.

I also have a verve infocranks which is touted as an incredibly accurate meter but there is hardly anything between it and the stages (apart from being double sided but you can upgrade stages for left and right).

I have a 4iiii as does the missus, both on our road bikes. Work perfectly.

Personally Id not bother putting one on a MTB, it would be close to impossible to ride to a set power zone on a MTB (unless you road it on the road).

For training on the road a power meter is good. Just remember to set your display to average the power otherwise it will spike up / down too much and leave you confused.

Also interested in the IQ pedals – I hope they at least get something workable out of it not a limits fiasco.
But that aside there is now the SRM MTB pedal power meter which will be available soon – but will be around the £1k mark. The understanding is there might be a few more MTB pedals around soon as the shimano SPD patent has just expired which has been one of the obstacles. hence all the look cleat road ones.
As for experience I use powertap hubs ( one road / one mtb ) and they have been rock solid.
The current mtb hubs can take all the axle types, the only restriction appears to be the 160mm disc. depends on your bikes as to weather that it an “easy swap” or not.

I’m hoping the IQ pedals are good. Would like an add on powermeter for zwift verification but want MTB cleats rather than road as that’s what all my shoes take.

consider a powercal

Is that the heart rate monitor that serves as a power-meter also?

Will it work with standard Garmin head units? Any drawbacks (I’m assuming there is a ‘lag’ just like an HRM, so no good for short intervals?)

Yes and it send two ant signals one for HR and one for power. The power changes based on derivative of HR. It’s a simple metric but better than 2xHR – 80, which is my steady state. I have one and like it for filling in the Strava metrics.

I also have SRM, Assioma, Stages and Velocomp.

This is probably a stupid question but how does the powercal deal with heart rate drift? The attraction of a power meter for me is that my threshold hr (or at least HR relative to perceived exertion and which I can maintain uncomfortably) drifts upwards by about 10-15bpm during the course of a decent ride, while I’m pretty sure my power output probably drifting downwards slightly.