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Recommend me a portable power meter

3K views 25 replies 12 participants last post by  marathonrunner 
#1 · (Edited)
Please don't just post whichever power meter you think is best. Yeah, I'd love a verve infocrank, but I'm not spending more than I did on my bike for a power meter.

-Budget is $500 or less. Okay buying used.

-Currently have a wired powertap wheel. Works great, but would like to not use two headunits, and would like power on my race bike. I'll probably sell the PT setup when I get a new PM.

-Would like to swap between at least two and maybe three bikes (cross bike with mtb pedals, road bike with road pedals, possibly mtb with mtb pedals)

-all three bikes use shimano hollowtech II cranks, but my cross bike is 9 speed while the other are 10. Running 50/34 on both my road and cross bikes and would like to stick with compacts.

-Headunit can pick up BT smart or Ant+ power meters.

-Would like to be on Zwift this winter with the PM.

Are stages, 4III precision, or watteam powerbeat (not currently shipping) my best options? As I already have a power meter, not sure I want to go with a single-sided option and find out my leg imbalance is not linear. Or is my better option to buy a better non-portable pm for the race bike and keep the powertap for the cross bike? Seems like those are all more expensive though.
 
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#3 · (Edited)
I would strongly suggest staying away from used if you can help it. Especially on the low end like this. Warranty support is very likely to come in handy.

From personal experience, I recommend a Stages if they make one that matches your crank. I own two of them (soon three), and other than an initial warranty problem with one, I've had no issues with them. They work great.

I've never used a 4IIII, so I have no thoughts there.

If you haven't, please go read Ray Maker's 2016-2017 Power Meter Buyers Guide. It will likely tell you what you need to know.

https://www.dcrainmaker.com/2016/09/power-meters-buyers-guide2016-edition.html

Edit to Clarify: If you can buy used from someone you know and trust, you are probably OK, as if there is a Warranty issue, they may be willing to deal with (Warranties are generally not transferrable).

Edit2: Your budget will not likely manage a dual sided PM. Pioneers is probably the least expensive at $999 (you send your crank off to them for modification).

I would not concern yourself with left/right imbalance. Honestly unless you are seriously out of whack, it's not going to make much difference in the long run. The thing to consider with many of the newer PM's is that they use an accelerometer for cadence, which can be inaccurate in some situations (super high cadence, super low cadence under high power, or over really rough terrain), and those inaccuracies, if they affect you , could lead to power anomalous power readings.
 
#4 ·
Given your requirements for a power meter your only options are really a left crank arm power meter. Watteam powerbeat can't easily be switched from bike to bike.

As far as I know only Stages, 4iiii and pioneer make left crank arm power meters. Stages have a decent reputation of being reliable, but make sure you get the Gen 2 models of their power meters as they had some water ingress issues with their first generation.

Check out stages for some of their close out deals. I believe they have a shimano 105 5700 series on close out. It should still be compatible with newer groupsets.
 
#5 ·
Thanks for the responses. I've read Ray's reviews into all of these products; helpful. Just want to make sure I'm not missing anything or thinking of another angle. I suppose I could use the favero road pedals on my 'cross bike for everything except when I ride singletrack and cyclocross on the 'cross bike, which is decidedly not often. I think I'd rather not get a pedal based PM system though-pedals wear out a lot quicker than crankarms.

I guess another option would be to just put the powerbeat on one crank and switch that crank from the road to the cross bike. One is 6800, one is 5800. But they're not shipping currently. Any problems with stages on gravel?
 
#6 ·
I just picked up the single-sided Powertap P1S pedals for 20% off on a black Friday sale. They were like $450 after discount. Work great so far and I'm not near serious enough to worry about a power imbalance. And why does it really matter as long as you're always basing your power numbers off the same foot? I doubt one leg will have a drastic increase in power or endurance over the life of your training.

When is the last time you wore out a set of pedals?
 
#7 ·
I personally wouldn't want to run a pedal based PM on a cross or MTB when riding in those rough areas. Much higher chance of impact with those.

I'd say Pionner is another option for the left side only and if you ever decide you can upgrade to dual later on.

Or, since both your cross and road bikes are compact why not Powertap C1 chainrings? They are only in 110BCD (5 bolt pattern) and you just swap the rings between the 2 bikes. Not super portable/swappable as a stages, pedals or left arm cranks but manageable.

but a new PM unless on clearance is going to run you more than $500 on some of them (C1 for example is $699 I believe...for that money I'd rather a crank spider based unit instead but it's your money so you decide what works for you).
 
#8 ·
Leg imbalance matters because it might not be 48/52 all the time. At high wattages it might be more like 44/56, but I don't know because I've only used a powertap hub. Maybe I'm perfectly 50/50, who knows.

I wear out road pedals just about every other year. Look keo classic are what I usually use. bearings develop play, cleat/pedal interface gets super beat up and develops play, etc. Look pedals aren't really serviceable so I just buy new ones for like $30 bucks every other year. Don't think I've ever worn out a set of shimano m520's, though I've had to service them from time to time.
 
#10 ·
So, if 48/52 degrades to 44/56 under heavier loads what exactly are you doing about it? What's actionable from that data? Specifically? So leg imbalance matters a lot? Why? Are you training the imbalance that might exist closer to equal? How do you plan to do that? Does that even matter for your riding?
 
#9 ·
I would vote for Powertap C1 or Power2Max FSA Gossamer crank power meter. These are a little over your budget full price but frequently you can use coupons for the powertaps at places like competitive cyclist. Unfortunately you missed the black friday sale for power2max which I think is their only sale of the year.

Left only is probably fine if all you are doing is setting training zones off a FTP test. If you want to do things like virtual elevation testing to improve your CdA or other more demanding applications it probably isn't. Some of the single sided meters can now be upgraded to dual though so that might be a good way to start and upgrade at a later time if you get into the more advanced stuff.
 
#17 ·
I agree with your post.

Three little things:

1. If you left the magnets on the frame I believe the Riken will continue to use them for cadence.

2. Sometimes when I know them and their needs well, I've recommended the Stages. Occasionally I've recommended the PT PowerCal HR strap. I don't recall ever recommending the iBike to anyone, but maybe if I ran across someone with very (very) specific needs it could be the right choice.

3. Training FTP is one of the least demanding things you can do with a power meter. It's also probably the most common.
 
#18 ·
Occasionally I've recommended the PT PowerCal HR strap.
I guess since a lot of people use power meters like a fancy HRM, that makes sense. It's in the ballpark in certain situations, and is certainly portable.

Training FTP is one of the least demanding things you can do with a power meter. It's also probably the most common.
It's kinda like buying a Rolls Royce so you can listen to the radio. Unfortunately, a lot of people believe that a high FTP is the gold standard of "fast".

How many people rode around with a heart rate strap without every really analyzing what it was telling them?
 
#19 · (Edited)
Alright this is helpful. I'll provide a little more detail.

Rchung is right, I am a relative newbie cyclist. I've had the powertap since early October. Used it to figure out my ftp, and am using it for workouts. I own "training and racing with a power meter" and do workouts from there.

Really the only reason I wouldn't want a single sided only is because the data from my powertap I've accumulated will/might? be slightly skewed when compared with a stages or 4iii.

Power on the mtb is not a big deal, though my "A" race in 2017 is the Lutsen 99er in June, and for that race it would be very helpful for pacing purposes, as well as longer gravel training rides I do on the mtb in prep for Lutsen. The race is a roadie mtb race.


I use my 'cross bike as my indoor winter training bike, bad weather summer bike, for gravel races and gravel rides. I don't race 'cross, nor do I ride singletrack on the cross bike often. Hence the compact gearing. It's basically another road bike.

Edit: Before owning a power meter, I used heart rate for everything. Running, skiing, cycling; paced with heart rate for the longer gravel races and mtb events I did. Because I knew exactly what 10k/5k/mile/half marathon/marathon heart rates were, I could extrapolate from there and figured out what bpm I could maintain for x minutes on the bike. My hr max is lower on the bike than when running.
 
#21 ·
After reading these responses and looking at more reviews on the stages I'm willing to consider the fact that I might have to raise my budget.

Is it true that:
1. Power2max doesn't come in shimano 4 bolt design, thus I would also need new chainrings
2. Powertap C1 doesn't come in compact gearing.

Since I ride with multiple wheelsets (3 for 2 road bikes) powertap hub is not really an option; definitely no mtb option then.

Back to square one.
 
#22 ·
Problem really is trying to fit all the requirements of all your bikes with a power meter that can be transferred to all of them. This makes it difficult especially when you are going from mountain bike to road bike.

If the Limits Power Meter actually works as it is marketed, then it would be the ideal solution for you. However... I'd stay away from it, there seems to be lots of issues with the final product.

Crank arm based power meters will only work if all of your bikes used compatible crank arms.

Chainring power meters won't work as you will typically have different chainring assemblies for mountain and road bikes.

I can't see any elegant solution for all the requirements you have, except multiple power meters or just accept that only some rides, you will have power data, others, just ride based on HR and RPE. I would choose the bike that you will likely do your structured training on and put the power meter on that. Hopefully with training with the power meter, you will get a sense of how it feels to be riding at your threshold and can use that experience when riding on your other bikes.
 
#25 ·
I've got a powertap hub already so that is currently on my winter indoor training bike, the cross bike. All bikes have shimano cranksets, but are 6800 and 5800 50/34, so neither will work with the powertap C1 chainrings or the power2max, I don't think.

I'm leaning towards the 4iii precision left side only and no power on the mtb. I think the data will be good enough for doing intervals and tracking my progress, it's 360 bucks new, and I can easily transfer it from the cross bike to the road bike. I can also upgrade to dual sided in the future if I want. If the data is really skewed compared to the PT, I'll return it and keep saving.
 
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