I’m wanting to buy a power meter from my Trek Emonda 2020 SL6. Previously had a Stages power meter on an older Boardman Team road bike - but that bike has an FSA crankset on so I can’t move it across to my Ultegra equipped Trek.
Crank / chain stay clearance looks “OK” based on 4iii and Stages’ advice but tight. It’s made me look at another option which is the Garmin RS210 pedal system.
I didn’t realise that the Garmin pedals were compatible with SPD-SL cleats and am wondering whether folk here could suggest the 4iii / Stages crank (was looking at left hand only - £379) or the Garmin pedals (£699).?
Pedals price seems to have dropped a lot - they were always over my budget hence never considered them before.
Guess pedals are easy to move about / install etc and are dual sided. Crank - fit and forget? I’m not advanced enough to be too worried about using a single sided power meter - just after a consistent number.
Crank vs pedals - what would you recommend I do? Pedals price is at max budget for me..
I’ve had great luck with SRAM and Power2Max crank-based powermeters. Great experience so far with my new Favero Pro RS powermeter pedals. Leaning towads going with Favero on all bikes now that SRAM keeps changing their design (spider attachment, then full chainring that could not be re-used, to the new threaded design that requires a special tool).
I had horrible luck with Stages in the past so never again. I tried SRM MTB powermeter pedals and those were junk.
I’d go with the Favero Pro RS or RL pedals and then get some MTB bodies for gravel/MTB bikes. Easy to swap out.
How long do you expect to keep the bike? A 4iiii is the best value option, but pedals (I vote for Faveros) will last a few bikes and allow you to swap if you add a gravel or TT bike to your quiver.
Love the bike and would aim to keep it for several more years - but all responses steering towards pedal based model for the reasons you suggest - thank you..
I’d go for Favero pedals, I don’t run them but a friend does and has no complaints about them. They will be cheaper than crank based PM systems if you do get more bikes in the future and they have a rechargeable battery. The crank PMs I use need batteries replaced which isn’t a big hassle but it’s something which would be better if they were rechargeable.
This prolly a bit late, but if you’re looking for a less expensive option that the Favero Assioma Pros and aren’t married to SPD-SL, the Favero Assioma Duos are reasonably priced. At Power Meter City, the Duos are $499 vs $814 for the Pro RS-2s.
Power 2 Max I have several on bikes including mtb. All of them line up almost exactly with my trax trainer. Going on 10 years with one and still works like the day I got it. Used them in racing etc.
I’d been Stages fan for years but wound up with 4iiii on last bike purchase and like it, plus it’s also Apple “find my” compatible. They do factory install if you ship them the arm, which is pretty good value.
That said, I also have a set of Favero’ pedals, the old Assiomi, and recently retired them when the pro SL’s came out. They’re fantastic. Long battery life and rechargeable, highly accurate and reliable, easy to swap between bikes. They’re Bluetooth and Ant+, but if you pair using Ant+ they also give you amazing data like pedal offset, which can help identify clear alignment or fit problems.
Magene P515 is a cost effective crank based system with your choice of crank length. Works with your existing shimano chainrings for no degradation in shifting performance. Less than half the price of Assiomas.
That said, I have Assiomas on my gravel bike and they are great too.
I’d add a vote for favero. They have behaved impeccably for me. A quarq spider is the only other power meter that I have found so solid - but that’s a lot of hassle if you don’t have the right cranks!
I have had a couple of 4iiiis (the original and a warranty replacement, which was an easy experience), they seem to be great most of the time but both have gone through phases of not wanting to connect and needing the battery fiddled with a few times to wake up.
If you want pedals, the gold standard is Favero Assiomas. They are offered in several cleat options and you can move the spindle (which contains the power meter bits and bobs) to any other pedal style in a few minutes. Replacement pedals (sans power meter) are available at affordable prices, too. I recommend the dual-sided option.
As far as spindle-based power meters, look no further than SRAM’s Quarq or Power2Max crank-based power meters. I have had a Quarq DZero for over five years now, and apart from changing the battery two or three times now, I have not had to do anything else. No re-pairing to fix some connectivity issues, zeroing the power meter just works™, it’s great. Plus, it is a good value now, me thinks. The biggest “downside” is that you don’t get true left/right power, just an approximation based on total power and taking the pedal position into account.
I hadn’t even got the Favero pedals on my radar and all these replies have led me to look them up and read the reviews.
Looks like the Garmin RS Rally pedals have slowly migrated towards the Faveros in terms of form, function and price but the accessories, spare parts, slightly lower price and recommendations have led me to to go for the Faveros - which I’ve ordered this morning.
Cherry on the cake was reading a DC Rainmaker article where he ends up saying he bought some for himself!
NO to 4iiii. Maybe the worst experience I have had with a bike component (Precision 3+ Pro Dual Sided). The unit I bought and the replacement unit they then sent were both defective. It wasn’t until the third unit that I finally got one that works (and fingers crossed it keeps working).
Favero by contrast - no issues whatsoever over the past 5 years.