I searched, but couldn't find any answers, so if this has been covered before, I apologize.

Anyway, I was considering acquiring a power meter such as a Quarq and I was wondering what the life expectancy of such a product is. I would hate to drop $1800 on a product that will only last a couple years. What is a reasonable expectation of the life span that I should expect with moderate use and regular maintenance? 1 year? 2 years? 10 years?

I am just looking for a few ballpark estimates.

Quarq hadn't been around very long - they started shipping in 2008. I can't speak for their units.

SRM has been around for a while. I don't know when the PowerControl 5 ("PCV") came out but that's what I have. Now they're on PC7/wireless. They still sell stuff for PCV.

I bought one new in 2008 (came with a 2007 bike). I bought another one for a second bike. Both are still going. For me it's been batteries, wiring harnesses, and mounts. I replaced 1 crank battery in each and need to replace one headunit battery, still to be done. I am on my 4th? wiring harness, and I have a new one for the second bike (it was disassembled and needs to be reassembled). I lost a few bar mounts so I bought some of those too.

There are riders using older similar units. We're talking 7-8 years old or more. I think they're PCVs. A friend has owned one for something like 10 years, still uses it, I think it's a PCV.

That is pretty good news. I was hoping that they would last for a considerable amount of time. I am working on picking up a Garmin Head Unit (Edge 800) so I won't have to worry about batteries for it. I have been just more interested in the Quarq for cost considerations, but if they are anywhere near as reliable over the long haul, I will have to pick one up. I really just wanted to make sure that for this kind of money that it would be more of a durable good than a consumable. Thanks for the information!