Best Road Bike Power Meter

[cathmtb]

Hi everyone, looking for some objective advice on which Road bike power meter to get and not old or the only stock a salesman is trying to sell me. I would prefer something easily transferrable if I get a new bike at some stage and not the most expensive top of the range, happy with the basics. TIA

[shaper]

If you want easy transferable then you will be looking at a pedal power meter.  Consider Assioma's either single or dual

[ACE Cycles]

1 minute ago, cathmtb said:

Hi everyone, looking for some objective advice on which Road bike power meter to get and not old or the only stock a salesman is trying to sell me. I would prefer something easily transferrable if I get a new bike at some stage and not the most expensive top of the range, happy with the basics. TIA

Power pedals are easily transferred, can't go wrong with Vector 3 or Assioma. Single sided was all I needed, a couple extra metrics didn't warrant the double sided extra cost, personally. 

 

4iiii or Stages Left side crank arms are also easily transferable, as long as you don't change crank lengths or crank brands. It's an affordable option. 

I use my pedals on my road, TT, indoor trainer and even on my gravel at times

[PregoRoll]

Favero Assioma all day long

[Jakkals.]

Assioma for easy recharge etc. Personally I have the Garmin Vector 3s and really enjoying them.

[Jbr]

I'm not sure I understand what you want, do you want the best or "not the most expensive top of the range" 😅

I would recommend a Quarq crank if you want the best (or close to the best), it is very consistent, no need to calibrate, not a lot of issues with them but they are pricy and not so easily transferable (it's a full crank)

Otherwise depending on what you have now a 4iiii or stages left crank arm is probably the best option since for example if you have an ultegra 172,5 crank you'll likely change bikes for another bike with the same crank (not even sure now because the shimano range changed from 11 to 12 spd so the cranks designs changed, not sure how compatible they are but at least the design will be different).

For the pedals I heard of a lot of issues with them, not sure why you want it easily transferable, is it for when you replace your bike or is it because you want to use the same PM on your road bike and MTB ?

If you want consistency in numbers between several bikes the pedals are your best friend as even with 2 units of the same product (stages/4iiii, etc...) you  can see differences in numbers. It is a bit of a headache, I have a 4iiii on my roadbike and a stages on my MTB, I only do HIIT (at least max efforts) on my roadbike for consistency in max numbers (max 1min/5mins/10mins etc...). My MTB PM is almost useless. I wouldn't recommend using pedals on a MTB though, unless MTB-specific products now exists, they seem to be very sensitive.

Edited June 22, 2022 by Jbr

[Jakkals.]

true...also assumed the OP has a bicycle buying problem.

[Jbr]

if it's road bikes and only transferable to a new roadbike, I would go 4iiii or stages left crank any day. Don't buy the last gen 4iiii (I don't think it's available in SA anyways) as the old one seems to be much more reliable, that's what I have at the moment, I had a quarq before and numbers are surprisingly VERY consistent with what I was producing on the Quarq.

also it is cheap if you buy new. Stages you can find 2nd hand ones here, but make sure 1st that the zeroing offset value is within the 790-990 range, otherwise your numbers will be inconsistent (my MTB stages calibrates at 740/750 and on long rides it's okay but on short explosive efforts it gives me cavendish-esque numbers)

[Sid the Sloth]

I would definitely go Favero Assioma. I’ve gotten over 20 000 km with no issues across multiple bikes on mine. 

[cadenceblur]

Yeah, I am on 9000km on my Powertap pedals

[gemmerbal]

Following this thread with interest as I was thinking of getting the 4iiii left crank to beef up my dumb-trainer setup. I have Dura Ace 7800 on my roadbike on the trainer and I was wondering if it’s best to get a new crank as they seem to be having a sale, or is it an option to send my existing crank in to have the module fitted? My wheel-on trainer setup consists of a cadence and speed sensor along with the HR monitor. This is great for zone 2 workouts but doing HIIT sessions it’s not very accurate without a PM. 
 

Thoughts?

[DieselnDust]

3 hours ago, cathmtb said:

Hi everyone, looking for some objective advice on which Road bike power meter to get and not old or the only stock a salesman is trying to sell me. I would prefer something easily transferrable if I get a new bike at some stage and not the most expensive top of the range, happy with the basics. TIA

Favero assioma Left or Dual is the best bang for your buck for now.

Quarq is also a really good option as a full crankset is transferable to a new bike. The latest Quarqs use the DUb (29mm axle standard which has a BB option for every style of BB shell out there.

Stages is transferable as long as you stay with the same brand crank, so its basically the same as a full crank or spider based system.

But bang for your buck lies with the Assioma left sided pedal or a Stages crank arm unit

[DieselnDust]

4 minutes ago, gemmerbal said:

Following this thread with interest as I was thinking of getting the 4iiii left crank to beef up my dumb-trainer setup. I have Dura Ace 7800 on my roadbike on the trainer and I was wondering if it’s best to get a new crank as they seem to be having a sale, or is it an option to send my existing crank in to have the module fitted? My wheel-on trainer setup consists of a cadence and speed sensor along with the HR monitor. This is great for zone 2 workouts but doing HIIT sessions it’s not very accurate without a PM. 
 

Thoughts?

The PM retro fit option works otu to be nearly as pricey as a new unit. However in these days of Shimano Cranks unavailability it may be the only way to go if you want a new power meter crank arm

Edited June 22, 2022 by DieselnDust

[gemmerbal]

1 minute ago, DieselnDust said:

The PM retro fit option works otu to be nearly as pricey as a new unit. However in these days of Shimano Cranks unavailability i may be the only way to go if you want a new power meter crank arm

Thanks. Do you know if they are able to assist within SA? I see they have a sale on their left crank powermeters for the month of June with an additional discount. Basically around 5k for a 105 crank with the module. 

[DieselnDust]

The new units they do supply from within SA. They have a local rep.

For the retro fit units, they send them back to Canada. Its a three week turn around the last time I checked.

[gemmerbal]

Just now, DieselnDust said:

The new units they do supply from within SA. They have a local rep.

For the retro fit units, they send them back to Canada. Its a three week turn around the last time I checked.

Ah ok cool, thanks!