531Aussie

in other words, when will i be able to afford a good one?


I say 'affordable' is under $500 US

merlinextraligh

I'd bet you'll be able to get the base powertap for that pretty soon. I would imagine the Wireless SL may have the effect of pushing prices down a bit for the wired units.

GuitarWizard

I really want an SRM.....maybe in a few years

Squint

SRM prices have been going up...a few years ago, they were $2500-2800 but now their top of the line models are $3400.

Good powermeters are harder to make than people think. Much harder than a glorified Casio.

The next time you feel like getting a new frame or bike, just get an SRM instead. They're about the same price and will do more to make you a faster rider.

botto 

actually the top of the line model is 5200$.

the standard SRM is still 2700$, and the 3400$ SRMs are the FSA/Shimano/Campagnolo cranks. I guess the extra cost is due to the fact that they buy the crank, then cut it down to fit the PM.

just noticed there's a 'budget' model for 2200$ (it has less sensors, and +/-5% accurate, as opposed to the +/-2% of the others).

Squint

The science version has been around for a long time but I've never heard of anyone using it except for scientific purposes. It's not waterproof which could be a problem. Coupled with its price, it's not a powermeter people use for training.

mayukawa

Don't know how SRM can justify the price with what's basically an embedded computer with a few strain gauges. I guess it's overprices like a lot of items for road bikes.

DrPete 

When you figure in the fact that you need an $800 hub for each set of wheels you have, the price difference between the Powertap and SRM drops off a little...

I think the Ergomo Pro is a pretty sweet setup for the money... Still have to buy new cranks though.

Squint

With PTs, at least one wheel is at CycleOps for servicing so you need at least 2 hubs (and 2 computers and 2 mounts for troubleshooting).

You can get a used SRM pro for $1600-2000 which will be more reliable than a PT setup and much more accurate than an Ergomo.

A bicycle powermeter is simple in theory and everyone thinks it'd be easy to create a cheap, reliable, accurate powermeter until they actually attempt to do so. Then they find it's not so simple.

botto 

let's see... they developed the technology, it's machined and assembled by hand, and it's done in germany.

yeah, you're soooooooo right, they're overpriced like a lot of items for road bikes

asgelle

I believe Powertaps have been going up too although with improved features. What I find interesting is that much of this seems to be driven by strong patent protection. SRM got patents on crank based strain guage systems so PowerTap had to develop theirs around the hub. With the crank and hub off limits, newxt was polar working through the chain and Ergomo looked to the bottom bracket spindle. Now I-Bike comes to market and stays away from all these areas. I think as long as there is no direct competition for any of these systems, prices will remain about where they are; though as with computers, we might see added functionality at these price points.

operator

Uh yes it is overpriced because there is close to zero competition in the same market. The price has nothing to do with any of the factors you mentioned above. They charge what they charge because they can.

I don't see why just because a company "developed" the technology means they intrinsically get to charge some arbritrary amount more. That's just ridiculous. k

mayukawa

We're not talking about the general theory of relativity here, it's just using strain gauges and correlating it to power. I'm sure if the Asian market develops something similar, it would be a lot cheaper.

slowandsteady

Yeah, but can you play chopsticks on it?



But seriously, power meters are way too expensive. Heck, I don't want a good one, just give me a low end lousy one. I will buy anything for $39.99.

Squint

Zero competition? There are like 4 other powermeter manufacturers now than the early years when it was just SRM and their prices haven't gone down a bit. I wonder why that is...

Sometimes, the inventor of a technology has a first-to-market advantage. He or she understands and implements the technology better than others. I don't SRM has a US patent and their European patent has expired.

They're really that much better than other powermeters.

Squint

PowerTaps are manufactured in Asia and they're cheaper. The cheap, mass-produced powermeter experiment has already been done.

nitropowered

I dont think the price of the Powertaps are going to go down that much. The new wireless ones are just hitting the distributors. Quality put the PT SL's on "sale" but I dont know if its a temp thing, or if they are just going to keep it at that price. I dont think they reduced prices on the other two models.

I love my PT SL but the only problem I have with it is I won't have power with another set of wheels. I would have to buy another hub for my racing set of wheels. But still I come in less than if I would have bought an SRM.

AND... Powertaps are the only option for people looking to get Campy's new Ultra Torque cranks. Oh, I guess you can get the iBike but I've heard that its not consistent.

merlinextraligh

All3 Sports has a complete Powertap Pro set up for $899, and hub only for $549. I'm sure you can find lightly used PT Pro's on Ebay for under $500, and when the 2.4 SL becomes available, they're will be deals on used Sl's.

operator

Yeah 4 what a huge number of powermeter manufacturers !!11111!111

domestique

Give it a couple years..... the patents will wear off and then prices will go down. In 50 years they will have power meters on x-mart bikes!

531Aussie

thanks for the replies

some good and bad news there

Zouf

It's way too much of a niche thing. What do you think the total world market for road bike powermeter is? A thousand units a year? 10 thou big max? Divided by 4 companies, multiplied by say 2 grand a pop, $5M a year per company. Nothing to get real excited and drop margins to take everyone else's market share...

531Aussie

yeah, good point. For evey million 'racing' bike owners, probably less than 1% (???) would consider buying a power meter

DrPete 

Kinda funny, though, considering most racers seem to agree that it's one of the best bang-for-the-buck upgrades for your bike if you actually train with one.

nitropowered

I know a good bunch of people using powermeters in my racing circle. I would definitely say its more than 1%