Just got mine. Not enough frame clearance. It's going back. ****.

Yeah, that's a pain.

What frame do you have?

Sorry to hear that. :(

Domane SL5 Disc/Gravel. I knew that there were problems with some Cervelos, but hadn't seen any mention of problems with Domanes - one of the drawbacks of not having many (relative) C1s in the wild, I guess.

Yup, it blows. Already have an RA on it, but one of my friends has been interested, too, so we'll try it out for him this weekend. If it works, he buys it, if it doesn't, I get money back - losing the time and starting from the drawing board is the worst part.

Over the years, I've gone through way too many power meters. Stages v1, v2, v3, Garmin Vector, Vector 2, Power Tap hubs, Quarq, and others of which I don't even remember the names. If you could use Shimano pedals, I would have a Vector 3 by now. Right now, I've got a Stages single-sided v3 for my road bike and a Vector 2 dual-sided for my TT bike. (The Stages single-sided meter won't clear the frame on my TT bike. I wish it would -- because it's more aero.)


I've ridden both meters for thousands of miles. I've done all kinds of rides with them at all intensities. Here are my observations:


For me, at Zone2 (endurance) intensity, my left leg puts out 2% to 3% more power almost all the time. This was initially a shock because that's not my dominant leg and, in fact, that knee has had surgery within the last two years. I can focus and bring both legs up even (while watching the readout), but that seems pretty pointless.


At intensities above Zone2 -- everything from about Zone 3.5 on up -- both legs put out almost identical power all the time. Rarely is my right leg up even 1%, and my left leg is rarely more than 1% stronger. We're talking 2 or 3 watts max -- not significant. The differences at the power levels that matter are within the margin of error on every power meter on the market. (But this may not be the case for you.)


When I race, I don't need to know anything closer than what power zone I'm in, to a single decimal place. I don't need to know anything closer than that -- and both power meters are consistent to that level all the time.


And . . . although the techno geek in me LOVES the ridiculous variety of data the Garmins provide -- including L/R balance and where in the stroke I apply power (which is significantly different with both legs), I can't honestly say that I have ever benefited that much from it. I've always known I should work on applying power around more of the circle. The first and last time I compared the two meters on an FTP test, they came out within ONE (1) watt of each other.


So, for me, I know pretty well the difference between single-sided and two-sided power meters -- and it's not statistically significant except at an easy endurance or recovery pace. At that power level, who cares? It just doesn't matter.


Still, my inner geek is tempted to add that second side to the Stages meter. Is it worth the investment? No way. But cyclists buy lots of things that don't make "investment" sense. It's just "cooler" to have data on both legs -- even if you already knew how it would turn out.

Are you totally insane? What if some significant others stumble upon this thread? Go back and edit your post immediately! Future purchases depend on it.

The more I think about the less I think anyone really needs L/R data. If you are racing, you would already know if you have a weakness. If not, what difference would it make to know? I guess that's easy for me to say since I have them, although I've already thought about selling them.