shovelhd

I bought my Quarq S975 for $1325 new from an authorized dealer during a Black Friday sale. It failed twice. They replaced it with a Riken. It failed once. I sold the fourth unit for $1,000 and bought my used SRAM Red SRM for 1,000. I have since replaced the rings with Red 22 ($110) and had it calibrated and serviced ($125). Add another $20 to swap the decal. My Riken was not the only Riken to fail. Are Quarqs more reliable now then when they first came out? Yes. Have all problems been resolved? No.

MDcatV

we all know you're thejosh

MDcatV

my SRM always reads lower than my quarq so all SRMs suck

misterwaterfall

I've had 2 quarqs fail, well start behaving radically is more accurate. They are good about replacing them, and it's very clear when they stop working correctly. I look at it as a free service instead of paying them the $100 to go through it for me.

Wylde06

I just got to the end of the first page. Holy hell.

caloso

It goes on for 4 more pages. And not one Beatles reference.

tetonrider

you don't regard it as a nuisance? they've definitely spun the frequent-replacement-as-good-customer-service story.

that can happen with any product, but it is so common as to be nearly universal with quarq. it's a $1600 disposable product, and that concept just makes me sad, whether it is a power meter or not.

misterwaterfall

I've never had anyone from the company spin it that way. The two times that it has happened has caused me to sacrifice a workout or two but that's not the end of the world.

tetonrider

it's not like they'd say that to you--but surely you have read (everywhere on the internet) "Quarq has amazing service! My power meter failed and on the 3rd time of sending it back and forth they UPGRADED me to the latest one!"

it's common. they DO have good service. i work on lots of bikes and have dealt with many Quarqs. standard protocol is for someone to get a few replacements, and then usually about the 3rd replacement (sometimes it takes a few years) to SELL the new one they get in return when they tire of the process.

some models are worse than others, and a good unit tends to be good for a longer period of time. the hit-to-miss ratio is too low for me, though. anyone else remember that big batch that had lots of cold solder joints? that one was when they first started going through QBP, as i recall.

when i owned one power meter, being without it even for a few days several times a season was more than a mild nuisance for me.

they treat the product like a disposable one, and that sucks.

bmcphx

This is an excellent post.

Wesley36

I have had "8 days a week" in my head ever since I read that post

topflightpro

Ha. I've noticed that too.

I payed about $1400 for my Sram Red Quarq new. It lasted about 9 months before it stopped working - just stopped reporting power, cadence still came through. Quarq replaced it. About three months after that, I started getting major power drift. During one trainer ride, power just climbed linearly - and I averaged 600 watts over that hour. Quarq replaced it. Six months later, no power again. At that point, I bought a Sram SRM - cost about $2k new from an SRM dealer - and sold the Quarq for about $900.

I wish I had just gone SRM from the beginning as the Quarq proved to be totally unreliable.

That said, my wife has had two Quarqs, and so far, both have held up.

Alaska Mike

I have 2 Quarqs- a S975 and a Riken. Both have been pretty solid over the years of abuse, although I did have to bend up the battery contacts on the S975 a few years back. Other than that, no complaints. The S975 has been fully submerged a few times, used in the rain countless times, and generally knocked around. It still reads within a couple watts (rough comparison) of the RIKEN. So, I guess I've been lucky, and I'm hesitant to send it in lest I get upgraded and end up with a lemon. So far I have no reason to.

I also have a Stages, which I'm less thrilled with. I still need to install in on the Quarq and do a DC Rainmaker-esque comparison with 2 computers to see the difference so I can use it more effectively. Right now I was only using it on the rain bike and the 'cross bike, but I'd like to use it on my TT bike so I don't have to swap cranks around as much for stage races.

I'd love a SRM, but there really aren't any floating around here. There really isn't a used market for power meters at all, and until my Quarqs start giving me issues I can't justify one.

TheKillerPenguin

Give me hub based power or give me death.

Truthfully, I'd take a crank based power meter over death.

MDcatV

i'm kidding. i have a quarq riken on my road bike that was a replacement for a cinqo that went wonky when it got wet internally (although my FTP was like 20 w/kg which was awesome for ewang discussions :-)). it has been reliable since i've gotten it with similar offsets during calibration, although it varies when inside v. outside due to temperature differences (i think).

my SRM is on a DA 7800 that I put onto my TT bike. different fit/position, etc., and naturally put less Ws on a TT bike than the road bike due to setup so i cant really do a valid comparison of accuracy between the 2.

big john

The first page was enough to give me a headache, didn't go to page 2.

Last night I took the mtb on some steep dirt climbs for about an hour. I heard someone gaining on me and he was really moving. I moved over and he was on an e-bike. These e-guys seem a little smug to me, like they have found the way, or something.

If I had a YZF450 I could have roosted his ass off the mountain, too.

MDcatV

one of my teammates was commuting on his road bike a few weeks ago in the DC area and saw some dude on a fat bike or mtb ahead of him. teammate said the guy ahead was moving pretty well, esp for a non-road bike, and decided to do an effort and try and catch him to see who it was. after a few minutes of hard pedaling he realized he'd made up no ground, and might have lost some. this garnered my teammates attention as he was wondering who this hammer was up the road on a non-road bike that he, a reasonably fast Cat 2 couldnt catch. Finally, after a bunch of chasing and no catch, a stop light brought them together. Teammate didnt recognize the guy, said hi and complimented his fitness. Rider pointed to his bike and said the motor helps his motor, it was an e-bike.

bmcphx

I have only owned stages meters and ive had zero complaints. I can only compare them to what I observe from friends which are quarqs being replaced and reading high numbers, and srm that seem to work but have super expensive down time.

furiousferret

If eBikes get more people out of cars and cycling in some form, its a good thing.

gsteinb

Living Car Free


:/

mike868y

First day at work in the past two months i'm not totally slammed. feels weird...like a rest week after a few really hard build weeks.

On the apartment front - realized the price for what you get ratio with studios is way off and I can't quite afford what I thought I could. Back to looking for rooms in the neighborhood I'm in now (somerville). Got a few leads.

hack

I think the Stages works well in the dry heat, so you should be all good. The biggest issues seem to come from rain and suspect battery cover.

shovelhd

I installed the updated battery door and seal last night. Offset looks good. I'm sure it's going to get doused heavily again very soon so a test is forthcoming.

Now what is this BS about SRM super expensive down time? WTF are you talking about.

gsteinb

$100 and a week or so? I guess it's a matter or perspective. The new FSA models have user changeable batteries, which would be nice.

globecanvas

Hey @hack.


My status is similarly "never (6/30)". If you get to 30, I'll send you a bottle of Hudson Valley bourbon. What will you send me if I make it?