lsberrios1 

What's your favourite power meter?

So far mine is the quarq. Ive owned the following:

Stages 6800 gen2
Powertap g3
S works quarq
Quarq riken gxp
Recently received a set of powertap p1s and trying them out.

My riken has been the workhorse. On order i have the shimano dura ace powercrank and i imagine that will be my new favourite since nothing beats a shimano dura ace crank and it will be dual sided.

TrojanHorse

Who cares?

Which meter is most accurate?

Other than that, who cares about the difference between S works Quarq and Quarq riken?

Full disclosure - I have a powertap pro and a sram red quarq and..... don't care.

lsberrios1 

Well, I'd guess there are several different characteristics that some people may prefer over others. E.g. (which one is best for me)

* Weight (stages)
* Ease of installation / interchangeable with different bikes (PT P1S pedals)
* Accuracy (Quarq risen / S-works)
* looks (Quarq)
* reliability (Quarq)
* Price (Stages)
* Calibration / Setup (Powertap G3)

I personally go for the Quarq stuff because it has been the most reliable through time. The stages, while cheap, does have some issues with connectivity and it seems to read on the lower end. The power tap G3 had issues with calibration and sometimes would read 2x what it should. etc etc

gregf83 

I have a Powertap wheel on one bike and SRM on the other. Both have been trouble free and I can adjust the SRM to read the same as the Powertap. Over the years I've had multiple Powertap's and SRMs and they've all been solid.

RChung

The most important characteristic of a power meter is the quality of data you get from it. Everything else is a feature.

Sy Reene

It seems that there should be a distinction between accuracy and consistency with PMs. How does one know the accuracy of the power meter they're using?

merlinextraligh

Do you want to use the crank you want, the wheels you want, or the pedals you want?

I've got 2 Quarks, a powertap, and 2 sets of Vectors. They all have advantages and draw backs.

RChung

If your power meter allows it, a static torque check and a check of rotational velocity usually suffice. If not, you have to do more complicated dynamic tests.

Larry77

I have only had the P1s pedals and have been mostly happy with them. I like that they are easy to move to whichever bike I'm riding that day and they don't require any fancy adjustments like the Vectors. I am not thrilled with their choice of cleats though. They are Look style but not identical to Look's (made by Wellgo). I've gone through three sets of cleats at only about 1,500 miles riding and I don't think they clip in as smoothly as my past cleats (SPD-L and Look) did.

nycphotography

Slap it on the Kickr, calibrate each, and compare. My Quarq and Kickr are w/in 5 watts of each other at 250-265. Seems the Kickr reports watts 1-2s early and the Quarq 1-2s late, but they work out the same in the end.

As to favorite: Quarq, Quarq, Quarq, then.... Quarq.

Have had powertaps. They are good, but at the cost of wheel flexibility. I have no interest in owning another.

Used Garmin pedals, they worked well, but I have speedplays on all my bikes and don't feel like changing everything over.

Have one SRM that came on a bike I bought used. I'm seriously considering picking up a Quarq SWorks spider and selling the SRM for whatever I can get for it.

Voodoo76

I've used PT, Power2Max, Quarq and SRM.

Currently SRM on my road bike and P2M on TT. Both of those have an edge over the Quarq in that they come spider only for my preferred crank (C-Dale Hollowgram). I set up a little toe out and really like the ankle clearance on these.

I have not seen significant difference in the numbers with one exception. The P2Max response time on cadence is slow, about a 2sec delay. Only an issue doing accelerations or sprint work. P2Max does give L/R data but I have not found a use for that yet other than noting that I'm very consistently 48/52.

RChung

That tells you they agree with each other at 250-265. It won't tell you whether either one is accurate.

topflightpro

Do you ever feel like you are shouting into an empty room?

I know that you are probably one of the most knowledgeable people on the forum regarding training with power and PMs. And you post the same things on every one of these types of discussions. But I never see anyone ever really listening to you.

At some point, I think I would find that incredibly frustrating and just give up replying.

nycphotography

True. They all four (Quarq Cinqo, Quarq Riken, SRM and Kicker) could, conceivably, each be off by the same exact amount. Oh yeah, plus a set of Garmin pedals were compared at some point too.

However the odds of these measuring devices all being in agreement but wrong are so minute, and the marginal returns for the effort spent investigating so low, that I have no interest in pursuing the matter further.

I don't believe in mass psychoses infecting my sporting goods circa 2017. But with AI and IOT, who knows what joys the future may bring.

Internet forums on the other hand...

RChung

If I have the time and inclination (like I do at the moment) it can be kind of entertaining. My friends think it can be pretty funny when guys try to explain how power meters work to me. My kid thinks it's especially funny when guys quote snippets from things I've written, not knowing that I wrote them.

It depends on one's expectations. I don't have really high expectations that people will listen. If they do, that's great. If not, oh well.

DoubleTap

OP's question isn't a difficult one to understand...

OP, I've tried the Quarq crankset and the Powertap hub. I found that I prefer the Quarq for my type of cycling where I may change wheelsets, etc. I have nothing against the PT, I just prefer the Quarq. I sold the PT and I now have a Quarq Riken and a Quarq DZero, and now that I have mastered the skill of moving them between bicycles, it only takes me about ten minutes to do so.

I haven't tried the pedal based PM's because I prefer Speedplay pedals. I don't care for the other styles that attach something to the back of the crankarms.

Again, personal preference which I think is what you asked for. If you want a lessons in physics, that's a different thread and not one for me.

merlinextraligh

I find your posts informative, and look for your responses in PM threads.

DoubleTap

I agree. Thanks for the input.

RJM

I had vectors...the original ones and they worked well but switched to stages because I got a sweet deal on one and was able to sell the vectors for a good price. I like the stages and dig how it has Bluetooth capability. I ride a lot of rides on trainerroad hooked up with their power match feature using the phone app and having the Bluetooth connection between the smart trainer, power meter, and my phone works well for me.

RChung

My condolences. You'll never get those minutes of your life back.

Seattle Forrest

Exactly this.

For the record, I find your posts informative and extremely valuable.

Voodoo76

Must be this thread's fault, srm decided to no longer turn on this evening, so it's off the list! lol

macca33

I have an SRM and 2 x Power2Max and they all work, faultlessly, every time. The only thing I don't like about P2M is the auto-zero function - I'd rather do manual offset, like the SRM.


cheers

nycphotography

Probably just a battery. Too bad you have to send it in to even find out.

Which is the only reason why I really hate the SRM. In these days of efficient devices that run for 6 months to a year (or more) on a single CR2032, "send it in for a battery" is just unacceptable.

Energizer 2032 10 packs are like $10 on Amazon, and they fit almost everything, from my quarqs, garmin straps, car key fobs, trainer cadence sensors, you name it. I just buy a box whenever I run out. I carry a spare in my flat kit,a and I've given a couple away when guys have HR straps or Quarqs die on rides. Come on SRM, it's 2017!

124Spider

You guys are some combination of far richer than I and far more serious than I, with your multiple bikes and multiple power meters.

For my only bike, I bought a Rotor InPower meter, but returned when it became evident that it was reading very high. I replaced it with a Power2Max Type S, which I like a lot.