You don't need to be an 'investor' to invest in Singletrack: 6 days left: 95% of target - Find out more
As cheaply as possible but without compromising too much. I don't have a computer that'll receive power data.
I'm thinking a Garmin Edge 530 and Garmin Vector pedals. I should probably get single sided ones but it would irritiate me in a theoretical sense not to have double sided.
What other meters should I consider? I should probably stick with Garmin for the head unit as I have bought into their ecosystem already.
https://www.halfords.com/cycling/cycling-technology/all-cycling-technology/4iiii-precision-105-7000-power-meter-234214.html at £270 (172.5mm) might be cheapest 4iiii at the mo, probikekit don't appear to have any promos now.
Not sure if you could get 10% British Cycling discount from Halfords on the 4iiii.
Single sided Favero Assioma.
I have had a couple of sets of Vectors and the 2s were fine. Upgraded to Vector 3 and they were good for a couple of years they were much easier to live with and swop between bikes compared to the 2. However i started getting issues and spent lots of time trouble shooting with different brands of batteries, babyoil, lots of battery door replacements (i think it was 4 replacements over my time owning with different revisions to the design). A lot of the issues were due to it being replaceable batteries and some badly made design choices to implement this - the size of battery and the threads for the battery door. These issues may be sorted now but it was such a major frustration i wouldnt purchase again unless they were a very good price - which they aren't.
With the Faveros the power seems accurate, it's consistent, the charging is easy, the app is good and they are easy to swop between bikes. I've only had them a year though so cant comment on long term if they are reliable - but so far so good.
I have the Edge 830, its the best head unit i've had and has great battery life. 530 is pretty much the same without the touch screen so will be a good purchase i think.
Only used the Favero Assioma but no complaints.
Works with my Garmin 530
Garmin 520 plus and Favero Assioma (dual sided) here.
No complaints.
Only thing that I needed to do was replace the bearings in the pedals after about 18 months. One of them was starting to feel a bit rough. Dead simple job.
I went with a pedal option so that I could swap them between bikes and avoided the Vectors due the significant amount of negative reviews.
Another happy 530+Faveros user here, dual sided.
Super-Budget option is a secondhand powertap rear wheel with a secondhand Garmin. You've not said whether it's to ride outside with or on a turbo etc. What's your frame/wheel combo?
Out of interest, why do you think you need a power meter? 😉
Another vote for the Favero Assiomas here. Consistently reliable
Another Favero fan(dual) nearly 3 years without any issues.
I have a poorly fevero Assioma single sided. I’ll buy another. They are good and mine was one of the very first. Will see if they can do something with the old one too. Their customer service is well regarded.
I have a Stages LH crank arm and it works perfectly with my old 810. Similar to the 4iii I think.
I broke a few Stages. These were the very first in the country. I brought one home from the US. The first didn’t survive the first cold wet ride. The second lasted about three rides. They’ve improved the adhesives since then.
Vectors are pretty spendy. Not really compatible with "as cheaply as possible".
I've had a couple of the Stages units, and they can suffer a bit in the wet. They don't have great radios either. No problems with any Edge units I tried, but my Fenix 6 wouldn't stay reliably connected.
Pedals are more future proof, particularly if mis-matched cranks would bother you.
oooh..power!
I think the newer garmins (now Rally, from Vector) have fisxed the earlier battery door issues...
Obvs I've a turbo trainer (tacx neo 2t) for indoor power, but am no running Garmin Rally XC (dual sided) power pedals for outdoor power - I use them on the road/grave bike, as well as sticking on the MTBs for info, rather than training...
I've still got a LH ultegra 172.5mm crank arm with an Avio PM on the road bike... now surplus to my needs.
I wanna sell it, but can't seem to find a blank crank to replace it with (ultegra 172.5)..
If you wanted to play with power, then i'd do that for fifty quid PLUS a crank arm!
DrP
I've got Ultegra on mine pretty sure it's 172.5.
Mine is "Shimano Ultegra R8000 11sp Road Double Chainset" 172.5....
If yours is the same, i'm happy to swap..
The Avio is ANT+ only, and I'v JSUT seen (after looking at their website,which is no more) Avio seem to ahve ceased trading...
PM works..but the company is no more!!
DrP
I have Edge 530 and Vector 3 (double sided).
Edge 530 is excellent, no complaints at all.
The Vectors have been mostly OK in use, but not good in longevity.
I had the battery-door issues, but after a couple of pairs of replacement covers, that issue ended about 18 months ago.
The bigger issue for me has been wear of the pedal body, specifically the hinged jaw at the rear of the pedal that closes onto the back of the cleat. This wore out after 18 months, allowing loads of float and frequent accident pedal release. This is a plastic component that wears, but cannot be replaced. It seems the plastic of this component is not sufficiently harder than the plastic that the cleats are made from. Garmin replaced the pedals and gave a new warranty, but the same thing has now happened again after 16 months.
I have enjoyed being able to switch from one bike to another very easily, which was the main reason i chose this system, but £750 pedals should last a little longer than 18 months in my view.
Isn't it just a normal crank arm with the sensor stuck to it? In theory if it failed and I wanted to remove it, I could simply un-glue it? Can you send some pictures, I'd like to see if it..er.. matches mine.. 🙂
I wanna sell it, but can’t seem to find a blank crank to replace it with (ultegra 172.5)..
They're not that challenging to find though, right?
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/325024993820
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/265500302666
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/165303701280
Tbh I haven't been searching that hard..what with dying of covid and still working etc 🥴😅😅
Will hunt eBay,ta..
DrP
Shush, I was about to take him up!
However even if you buy an arm I might still want to purchase at a fair price.
I have a rotor 2inpower crankset. Had it 5 years. Still works fine.
Mind you they're always bringing new stuff out.
I've got dual sided vector 3 for road use and stages on the MTB - both paired to Garmin 830 and also 520
Only real issue with the stages is it sometimes refuses to connect with the 830, but suspect that's a the garmnin rather than the power meter as a restart generally sorts it out.
Vectors - right side pedal has had numerous battery door changes, 3 under warranty and 1 i had to pay for. I then managed to get a whole new pedal body replacement kit which has meant it's been reliable for about 18 months. Only issue with the Left side was a cross threaded battery door. I like the idea of the rallies and being able to change pedal type from road to spd as well as changing bike.
I've just blagged a second hand dual sided quarq for a very reasonable price which will be going on my race bike and then i can minimise the pedal swaps between my TT bike and Training bike. I've heard very good things about the quarqs but they would be less easy to swap between bikes.