znomit

They do indeed measure weight, but they purport to measure mass.

colnago62

https://www.dcrainmaker.com/2016/03/...th-review.html

RChung

Ah. In post #66 above I mentioned a comparison "we" tried to do in 2018 of the Power Pod, the Notio Konect, and the Aerostick? That was with Ray.
https://www.dcrainmaker.com/2018/09/...e-edition.html

colnago62

He seems to dig pretty deep into the gadgets he tests. I read what he and his friend from Australia had to say about the issues with the Shimano power meter. I dodged a bullet on that one. I was looking at buying a unit.

RChung

Ray has a lot more patience than I have.

I've known Ray for years, and have worked on a few power meter related projects with him, including that one in the wind tunnel, but also a few others. I think he tries to figure out what the use case and value proposition are for each product he reviews, and then evaluate them from that perspective. That's wise, mature, and probably the right thing to do. I don't have to write reviews for a living so I don't have to be polite. One of the side effects of Ray's wise and mature approach is that his reviews can sometimes be like Rorschach ink blot tests: people see in them what they want to see. You read his short comments about the Power Pod and came away thinking "they're as accurate as other power meters!" I did the behind-the-scenes analysis for Ray's original review of the Stages where I laid out where it did well and where it did poorly. Later, people would cite Ray's review to me in defense of what they thought, not knowing that I did the analysis. I think that's kind of amusing.

Sy Reene

Remember the Arofly?
https://www.arofly.com/main/arofly-elite-en/

spelger

at least it is easy to install.

colnago62

It is probably less of how DC Rainmaker wrote it and more of me not accurately remembering what he wrote.

He didn’t say it was comparable to other power meters.

ridethecliche

"Accurate given the limitations" is a really nice way to say that something sucks but here's some silver lining.

He really is so diplomatic, eh?

binkata

I switch my previous generation PowerPod between two of my bikes and have reduced the hassle completely by using Garmin VIRB combo mounts. I tried with a knockoff, but it was too bouncy and caused inaccurate readings, but the thick plastic Garmin brand mount is beefy and sturdy despite its lack of metal. A simple quarter turn and the PowerPod is locked back into place (then press down on the unit to "set" it at the full tilt up).

The only drawback is that my Edge computer screen is more level, when I liked it a bit tilted up for easier reading.

I'm happy with my PowerPod, even if calibration was difficult. But the company has excellent support--I sent in my unit to be inspected after running into issues when I wanted to add a second bike, and they helped me with it for free even though I've had it for years. The main reason I use it is for the wind data--there is a steady, stiff afternoon bay breeze here, and I like having more accurate calorie burn/work output info than just the estimates on Garmin Connect or Strava. (Especially since it's almost a direct headwind for 25 miles when I ride home from work, about half of which is on a gravel path.)

MovingViolation

IIRC PowerPod is based in Lovely Flat Florida. In flat terrain doing TT/Triathlon type training, I’m sure it’s plenty good for steady state and interval training.

I live in a place with rolling terrain + some steep climbs. I started out with PowerPod and shifted to Quarq after 12 months. For my use case there is no comparison: Quarq wins hands down. PowerPods were definitely overstating power on downhill spin outs. Also would get insane transient power spikes when dropping outer pedal to corner at high speed.

Thinking about this more, another issue is simply road surface quality. PP has settings for this in the software, but bumps and thumps probably don’t just affect rolling resistance part of the balance of forces calculation ... also going to have transient effects on the ability of the system to determine whether or not one is (say) going downhill or level or uphill — suspect this caused transient power spikes as crank rotation when spinning out would then look like big power input.

Anwyay, if you really want to be *sure* and you don’t just ride flat good quality roads, buy a crank-spider type power meter and live happily ever after.

PS: If I were interested in my aero performance, I’d buy one for the CdA measurement feature. Absolutely. They’re a good company and provide good forum support. Just not for me for my use case.