Stages or garmin power meters?

[Andy McMillan]

Hi,

Anyone out there using a power meter on their bike? I'm thinking of going down the 'stages1' crank arm route or Garmin vector, just wondered if anyone has any experience of either of these and using training peaks software with it?

Andy

[Deleted]

Two guys I work with have both had to send back their Stages power cranks due to erroneous readings and battery drain. Supposedly Stages have fixed the battery compartment issue which is causing all the issues but out of three of us in the office that have power meters, for two of them to have the same issue is not a great sign.

For the price of a Stages, perhaps a tiny bit more, you'd probably be better off looking at a Power2Max crank. The Garmin Vectors are priced pretty highly, you could get a Rotor Power crank for that price.


Alvro

[Deleted]

I'll second the P2M, I had one for most of last year and found it consistent enough to train with.

[Deleted]

Shopping around it looks like you can get Garmin vector power meter pedals from about £600 upwards. This seems to make sense if you already have a Garmin and want to easily switch between bikes. Has anyone used them since the last post on this thread and got any feedback?

[Deleted]

You need to use LOOK pedal system in order to use Garmins if I recall correctly - I believe @markmccullagh has a pair.

[Deleted]

Vectors now come as a single-foot version as well, which basically halves the price from the original 2 footed model. I've got them; they've been really good - when working(!) Since first buying in Nov '13 I've had to send a pair back (at no cost), and recently had to replace the pedal pods (£100). Garmin's post sale service has been excellent in my experience, and I've realised and accepted that trying to bung a strain gauge reliably in any bike component is fraught with issues, especially if that component goes outdoors in Winter. So although I've just paid for new pods, I accept this cost in the same way that I accept that a set of tyres need replacing come spring.

I'd further point you to www.dcrainmaker.com/ about such matters. He's infinitely better as a reference than me; and has recently done a update on his review of Stages, as well as a reviews of almost every other piece of kit you can imagine.

Regardless of what PM you get, if not done so already, I'd recommend getting a book about training with it. A couple of well-known titles are;
www.velopress.com/books/the-power-meter-handbook/
www.velopress.com/books/training-and-racing-with-a-power-meter-2nd-ed/

[Deleted]

There's a website in Germany selling stages power meters a lot cheaper than via UK prices. Eg. Ultegra 6800 for under £500. Cheapest price here is £670.

Stages have long since resolved the battery cover issues. I thought about vector, but don't want to be limited to look cleats, preferring Speedplay. If I had £1k, I'd get a power2max.

Sent from my Nexus 5 using proboards

[Deleted]

Thanks all. I'm keo'd up so that bit's alright, and just having to have it on one pedal sounds even easier. I want something that I can easily and regularly switch between two bikes most weeks, and using the same wheel for all purposes doesn't stack up. A pedal therefore seems to make sense.

Good to know you're finding the data reliable, Ben, though I'd be interested to know from anyone else if sending them back and replacing the pods is a common experience. I can see why replacing the pods would come about fairly regularly though.

Thanks for the tips on the books and link too - I've read a bit of the second book you've recommended, Ben. Many graphs. I think I'll purchase the Joe Friel one if I go ahead as that looks like a slightly softer introduction!

[Deleted]

Jen, I’ve a pair of vectors as well. Had them since Sept 14 and 275 hrs / 7500km later I remain very satisfied with them. I’ve had no major technical problems with them, no returns or replacement pods. Data is very reliable and I can recall only two rides when it wasn’t. Then it was down to me and not following the install routine properly (a <5 min routine you go thru when you fit the pedals. You have to go thru this routine when you switch them to a different bike or fit new batteries).

Not that they come with standard or large pods. The standard fit most bikes and the large pods are for oversized fat crank arms - FSA SLKs , Look Zed 2s (which I have).

A few other things I’d mention

+/ve
- easy to switch between bikes. 5-8 mins including the install routine. I’ve had them on three bikes including my track bike at HHV.
- When 1% of the time the power readings seem off the fix has been very easy. Perform the re-intall routine on the side of the road and off you go [thank you all for your patience, you know who you are]
- Reliable , consistent

-/ve

- Pedal torque required for optimum operation is specific and important so investment in a torque tool to do the job will set you back 35-50£. But after a while it’s easy to feel the right torque yourself… pretty much as tight as a can tighten it with a short pedal spanner.
- battery life I’ve experienced is 1/3 of the claimed 170hrs. But stages has its own issues there. Battery warning is short (2-3 hrs in my exp) so I carry spares in my saddle bag and 5 mins job to change on the road side if they go.
- the holy grail on interchangeability between bikes is there but I had to buy another standard sized pod to make it work for my winter and track bikes which have standard sized cranks arms. With the large pod the connector plug that goes into the pedal axle didn’t clear the chainline/frame on the drive side. All worked fine with a standard pod but for +£50. Only a problem if you have fat crank arms.
- Vectors don’t like long coffee stops >45mins ish when everything powers down. I’ve had jumpy power readings following some of these. Or was that my coffee legs? The fix is the 5min re-install procedure on the roadside.

[Alex Ioannides]

I spent about 4 years using PowerTaps before moving to Stages last year. I can't tell the difference between the two.

Not only that, but I can swap the stages between bikes and re-calibrate in under 5 minutes. I think Stages are brilliant. I also have an old PowerTap if you're interested ;-)

[Carl Ferri]

Agree with Alex. No issues with Stages as yet and had it since about August last year..

[Deleted]

Feb 2, 2015 7:10:09 GMT Alex Ioannides said:

I spent about 4 years using PowerTaps before moving to Stages last year. I can't tell the difference between the two.

Not only that, but I can swap the stages between bikes and re-calibrate in under 5 minutes. I think Stages are brilliant. I also have an old PowerTap if you're interested ;-)

What torque wrench do you use, Alex?

[Deleted]

Another option to look at are the Rotor one-side power cranks:

www.velotechservices.co.uk/shop/vclose2.asp?prd=182843&cat=7382001346

I have the full both-side ones and rate them highly, had them for a year and a half and never had any problems with them.

I ride a Powertap on my non-race bike, which is solid as it gets. Lucy has just bought an Ultegra Stages power meter for her race bike for £550, but she's yet to put it properly to the test. Know a few people who ride Stages and they're generally ok though do need recalibrating if you're swapping them between bikes.

I'll probably buy a Quarq XX1 crank power meter for my new 29er MTB, if anyone has any experience with these I'd be happy to hear from them

[Alex Ioannides]

Might Torque Wrench via Amazon.

[Deleted]

Thanks - this is all really helpful, and I'm heartened by your notes, Mark! It wouldn't be cycling as I know it if there weren't a few dithering moments by the roadside to fix kit, so that sounds fine.
Alex, what's the power tap you want to sell? There must be a punter interested in it!