Sram Quark XX1 vs Rotor Inpower Power Meters

[George Nel]

Hi Guys,

Just bought a new bike.None of my old powertaps fits my new frame,wich is Boost(arghhhhh)

To fit my powertap i need adaptors(R1000) and wheel needs to be dished.

Stages doesnt have a Boost specicfic crank arm yet.

So my joices are:Quark and Rotor

I had the Quark (2x10) version  a few years back,and it was a real piece of crap,but think Sram sorted that out.

Does anybody uses any of these 2,any feedback will be appreciated.

 

cheers George

Edited March 29, 2017 by George Nel

[Donovan Le Cok]

I have both and I much prefer the rotor.

 

Rotor

I am a huge fan of the Rotor inpower. I have two, one on the road bike and one on the MTB. The power meter has been fantastic. There was a slight issue with battery life (only 50 hours vs the stated 300 hours) and it battled in the cold, but a firm ware upgrade sorted both of those issue out. I have not had to change a battery since the firmware update. I have not yet been able to test it in very cold weather yet.

 

The power data is very clean and I have never had issue with the data what so ever. In my mind it out performs some far more expensive equipment. It is also very easy to live with, you only have to calibrate it every few months or if you make a major change to the bike, unlike other units which you have to calibrate daily or even a few times a ride!

 

Rotor pros

Ease of use. It just works and easy to live with. Get on and ride.

Good Quality power data.

Price. Cheaper than equivalent alternate options.

Gives torque effectiveness and pedal smoothness readings on garmin.

Simple cheap AA battery.

Fantastic cranks, they are amazing to ride.

 

Cons

Battery cover is cheap and fiddly.

For a nearly R20k piece of kit you would think they would include a battery.

Left side reading only.

 

Quark

I am actually not sure what quark unit I have on my TT bike, but it works very well. I have only had it a few months though and done a handful of rides. My brother in law recons it is a top end unit built as a showcase when SRAM bought Quark a few years ago.

 

My biggest worry with the quark is that you often hear of units needing to be replaced. So far I have not had any issues at all though.

 

The quark comes with some good software with a number of setup options and testing functions which is great. Compared to the rotor, with the Quark you seem to be constantly calibrating it. It does have an auto calibrate function though, where by back peddling it auto zeros itself. The lastest firmware upgrade also made the magnet on the frame redundant now so there is no need for that anymore as it was quite fiddly to get right.

 

So far I have had no issues with the power data at all and it seems very good and stable.

 

Pros

Left and right readings

The Qalvin software is very good.

 

Cons

Compared to the rotor calibrating all the time is a pain, although never any calibration issues.

Price

 

Let me know if I can help with any further information at all.

[George Nel]

Thanks Donovan,

That is what I wanted to hear,mind set on Rotor