Will power meters become affordable in future?

[davidphilips]

Seen an old article about Stages power meters dropping in price but they still seem expensive will there ever be a power meter that can be bought for a few pounds rather than a few hundred pounds?
https://www.cyclist.co.uk/news/7562...r meter on,entire range with immediate effect.

 

[si_c]

Might come down a bit more but I think they are probably close to optimal pricing now.

The market for them is not that big and whilst they are nice to have, ultimately they are a buy once kind of thing.

It also depends on why you would want one, most leisure cyclists won't.

 

[the_mikey]

If you keep an eye on the DC Rainmaker or GPLama pages you'll get info on what's developing on the cycle tech side of things.

 

[si_c]

...

I fall a bit into both camps - I was using power on a turbo and wanted to be able to replicate the numbers on the road to help with pacing as I was starting to do longer rides and understanding exactly how much energy I was burning was useful to me. I'm also a numbers person and it was driving me mad that my calorie counts were basically a guess and I wanted a number that was accurate.

It's good to be able to gauge how hard a ride was on perceived effort compared to the power numbers. I've got a 4iiii as my power meter currently it was about £200 so reasonably priced and for me was a "fsck it, just get it" price and I just didn't buy anything else that month. My other power meter was considerably more expensive and although it's a proper dual sided crank based power meter I don't think the numbers it gives are any better for what I need.

 

[the_mikey]

If you keep an eye on the DC Rainmaker or GPLama pages you'll get info on what's developing on the cycle tech side of things.

A little bit of reading has led me to this, the cheapest option I've found is a left hand crank arm power sensor, and those can be found for as little as £250, you can expect to pay more for a pedal based sensor, but it's worth reading the reviews as some systems require constant calibration and checks to get meaningful data out of them.

 

[si_c]

A little bit of reading has led me to this, the cheapest option I've found is a left hand crank arm power sensor, and those can be found for as little as £250, you can expect to pay more for a pedal based sensor, but it's worth reading the reviews as some systems require constant calibration and checks to get meaningful data out of them.

Yep, basically the one I opted for - sits on the left crank and I've forgotted about it entirely it just works reliably, not had to do anything to it since installation and calibration, not even a firmware update.

I don't mind not being able to move it between bikes as I only really have one bike I would want to use it on.

 

[matticus]

Just my opinion, but i know more gadget nerds with them than people actually racing.

(there are probably a lot of gadget/data nerds who have training plans, but don't really put them to any end ... )

 

[screenman]

Just my opinion, but i know more gadget nerds with them than people actually racing.

(there are probably a lot of gadget/data nerds who have training plans, but don't really put them to any end ... )

Any chance of doing a post without name calling.

 

[matticus]

Yeah, I know what you're saying.
(and I'd add that I recognise plenty of "racing" categories that don't require a licence)

 

[BurningLegs]

My journey with power also started on the turbo and my story sounds quite similar to @si_c - I was curious to know what my power was like on the road, and I also bought a 4iiii for just under £200 recently.

I like to “race” on Zwift (but don’t want to get into any discussions around whether that’s actually racing!) but use a basic smart trainer rather than something like a NEO that is widely considered the benchmark for accuracy. When I compared the options of 4iiii for £200 which would give me better accuracy for Zwift races and power numbers on the road vs £1000 for a NEO which would only achieve one of those objectives (although arguably better) then for me the decision was easy.

 

[mattobrien]

I started with power in late 2016, having bought an Elite Kura B turbo with an inbuilt power meter. I then upgraded my on order bike to have a PM and it has been a slippery slope since then. I’ve now got power on five different bikes, giving me options when it comes to training on the road.

 

[davidphilips]

I started with power in late 2016, having bought an Elite Kura B turbo with an inbuilt power meter. I then upgraded my on order bike to have a PM and it has been a slippery slope since then. I’ve now got power on five different bikes, giving me options when it comes to training on the road.

Lol know the feeling about being on a slippery slope, multi bike owners can be out of pocket quite a lot when they want to change, upgrade or add any thing.

 

[mattobrien]

Lol know the feeling about being on a slippery slope, multi bike owners can be out of pocket quite a lot when they want to change, upgrade or add any thing.

I have now got a set of Favero Assioma pedals, this makes adding power to a bike considerably easier, although realistically it only get swapped between my winter road bike and my really wet weather road bike.

I have got a lightweight bike on order, so need to figure out power for that. At the time of ordering the Assioma were the lowest weight method of adding power, but in the longer term I’m hoping they make a gen2 with a slightly more elegant solution to the pods. New power meter releases seem to have been non existent during Covid...

 

[screenman]

What is considered affordable? There must be a massive variable there as it depends on a person's disposable income.

 

[mattobrien]

Power has come down in cost considerably, with Stages and 4iiii starting at around £250 and Quarq now starting at £350, although you may still need to buy a crank set at £199, but £550 for total power measurement on a Quarq is better value than it has been historically.
I am a big Quarq fan and have a few of them.