patentcad

Yes the get a new crankset factor kinda blows. I'll wait and see. I will have a real power meter of some type by January.

Pcad has spoken.

waterrockets 

Cool, we can trade power files like Pokemon cards while everyone else is out riding.

patentcad

Nobody will be out riding in January quite as much as Pcad. Count on that. I have heard that Powertaps don't function so great in the sub 30º*cold. Oh well.

Bullseye

What? The only reason I got a power meter was so that I have some pretty [read: ugly] numbers to look at while riding on my trainer in January.

-bullseye

kensuf

I live in Florida. I'll be riding lots in January.

patentcad

What the F is a 'trainer'? Aren't those for dogs and horses? I ride my bike on the friggin road. That would be the black flat thing outside your house; it's still there in January, you may just forget about it after November. Not Pcad.

UT_Dude

Pcad, I'm no longer speaking with you. SRM DA's are not stupid -- they're far easier to move than the regular SRM's, which means you only have to buy ONE crank unit. Take me 5 minutes if I go super slow to move it. I feel insulted, you called me stupid .

On top of that, you, owner of what...4 wheelsets? Should be the most interested in a crank PM.

patentcad

I never called you stupid, I called myself stupid. So stupid in fact that the very thought of me swapping cranksets is like expecting Homer Simpson to split the atom.

UT_Dude

Haha, nice .

zimbo

If you have any trouble deciding, you can find solace in the fact that for $99 I'll let you pull my finger.

But seriously, if you're not a schwag person (i.e. you don't necessarily buy the latest greatest thing every year) then I'd vote for the latest version of the wired (as opposed to wireless) PowerTap. You still get the upgraded head unit, the coded HR strap, the significantly improved hub (ie. much less chance of water damage) but without the headaches that the early-adopters have had with the wireless.

--Steve

waterrockets 

Why is this? BB interface?

UT_Dude

Yeah, it's a standard Shimano BB interface (the 10 speed one). You just undo the two allen bolts, loosen the cap, pull it off and move it. With the older ones you'd have to do both sides, and you have to use a crank puller and torque it back down. It's probably workable, but the 'new' 10 speed BB interfaces are *much* faster to change. My SRM gets moved usually 2-3x a week, not to mention race weekends, and it takes at most a minute per bike. It's seriously easy.

DrWJODonnell

+1 It is the reason I got the DA version. VERY easy swap between my bikes.

waterrockets 

Does the amateur come in D/A? The easy installation is not worth the jump to pro, IMO. I can swap cranks and BBs both with square taper in 5 minutes, so I'm not concerned about that. I'd pay a little more for it, but not a lot.

UT_Dude

Amateur only comes in the SRM crankset. Here are all the models:

https://www.srm.de/usa/prod_srmts_str.html

The amateur can either be Octalink (Shimano 9-speed) or Square-Taper (Campy).

waterrockets 

That's pretty good for me, since the only two bikes this would go on are 9-speed and single speed

tetonrider

so...we are another week closer to interbike, and i am now interested in power meters. wonder if there is any more speculation on pricing.

as a new owner of a garmin 305, i was a little disappointed to learn that the 705 is coming out, particularly with its ability to pick up power data.

that said, i love the 305 (and have been using motionbased since the alpha stage).

if one were to go the quarq route, do you think it would be necessary to use their head unit? would not getting it save $$? i am lucky that my new bike has a compatible crankset (s-works carbon), so that is appealing (and makes for less overall investment).

i wonder how it will compare to the SRM in performance, as the SRMs seem to cost as much as my whole bike.

waterrockets 

You'd need to use their head unit initially. After other companies determined market prospects based on Quarq sales, they could decide if it was worth the R&D effort to expand their head unit software to accommodate Quarq data. I can't imagine anything would hit the market before 2009.

It's possible that existing units could work with Quarq through a firmware update, but there is still a cost to upgrading the firmware to add Quarq features.

NomadVW 

I missed this the first time through, but I hope to contest this small quote. BTW - my powertap had no problems through last year's winter down and below 30F.

tetonrider

Not sure how I missed this on https://quarq.us/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=37&Itemid=39"]Quarq's site[/URL] the first time around, but my hope looks to be true.

Goodbye Powermeter, Hello Power Sensor

Previous "powermeters" are a dedicated set with a sensor device, head unit and properitary interface between the two. With ANT+Sport you can mix and match between power sensors and cycle computers of your choice.

The CinQo can operate with other Bike Power enabled ANT+Sport computers, aside from the Qranium. Likewise the Qranium can read data from all other ANT+Sport sensors, not just the CinQo.

My fingers are crossed that an Edge 305 firmware update would support display/capture of power data.

esammuli

Not unless the Edge 305 has a built-in antenna that they've been keeping secret. Its a function of the hardware, not the software.

waterrockets 

The Edge 705, shipping Q407 is ANT wireless, and power meter compatible! So, this will all come together rather quickly...
Click "Specs" here and scroll to the bottom: https://buy.garmin.com/shop/shop.do?cID=160&pID=10885

I guess we know why the 305 can be had for so cheap this month...

esammuli

Yeah, there are going to be a lot of possible combinations right away. Basically any combination of-

Power meter:
SRM wireless
Quarq

Computer:
qranium (quarq computer)
SRM Wireless Computer
Edge 705

Apparently the Powertap 2.4 Wireless uses a derivative of ANT technology but at a different radio frequency, so it's not compatible.

UmneyDurak

Yes, but will it have features of those computers: interval markers, changing zero offset, showing time spent in each zone, etc?

waterrockets 

Competition will dictate software development. They need to prove first that there are enough people willing to spend as much on ride data acquisition as they do on their bike. The Qranium will probably be the best computer without GPS, because if the stock software sucks, guys like me will surely provide better software as open source.