Power Meter Brand Reliability

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Dalai
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Location: Melbourne, Australia

by Dalai

KWalker wrote:Like TP I have performed the same tests with 10 powermeters with the same PT wheel. The P2M "reads low" compared to the SRMs, but those all read different from each other as well. The P2Ms were the only ones that were stable in all conditions and over time.


Were the SRM's slope comfirmed prior to testing? The fact you can test your unit easily with a known weight should not be dismissed as an important feature. That this cannot be done for P2M is a negative in my mind, regardless of the manufacturer saying it isn't necessary.

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KWalker
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by KWalker

No, I believe it should for the same point I made on Wattage- almost no one knows the precise calibration of their weight and local Post Office scales are not accurate enough. I recall buying a 45lb weight and getting 4 different weights from 4 different locations. Finally I ordered a pre-calibrated kettlebell to use, which surprise weighed different on the same 4 scales. The variance was over 1.2lbs, which would throw off the calibration.

Again, it also comes down to having to do it yourself versus never needing to. I checked my SRM slope often after I got a slew of errors to the point where it was annoying and tedious to have to do.
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Fixie82
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by Fixie82

Thanks for all the great information contained in this thread, I don't want to hijack from the OP but have a question relating to reliability of the first generation Pioneer Power Meter. It's brand new, will have warranty and is installed on a Dura Ace 9000 crank. I was tossing up between Rotor, P2M and now this Pioneer as the price is a lot cheaper than the others which is once part of the appeal. The other is that I already have the SGX - CA500 computer so can take advantage of the increased data it would produce.

Has anyone had any experience with the first generation Pioneer? Getting info for Gen2 seems easy, Gen1 not so much. The P2M for Rotor is the current front runner as I currently run Rotor cranks on both bikes but the price of the Pioneer is very tempting.

Zigmeister
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by Zigmeister

TS, why did you leave Quarq off the list? They have some of the best customer service, hands down. My second hand Quarq started eating batteries. Worked with support to do some tests. Said it needs replacing. Sent a prepaid shipping label. Replaced it with a brand new model, calibrated an installed my qrings. Shipped it back, all in one week. Accurate and reliable, great customer service, based in the US. Simple battery change.

Zitter
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by Zitter

I had a product demo and Q&A with Pioneer, super cool stuff and innovative.
Last edited by Zitter on Thu Nov 13, 2014 6:16 pm, edited 1 time in total.

mr4fox
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by mr4fox

Ive done about 10000km over the last 12 months on Garmin Vectors. 90% has been on the west coast of Norway which means tons of wet weather riding...it doesn't get much wetter anywhere in the world from what I'm told by people here. So far the only problem I've had is that when its cold, say around 5C or less, i often get a "Power Meter Battery Low". This is meant to occur at 20% battery life. After receiving this message at the start of several (colder) rides over a month my first battery set died after about 70hours (claimed is something like 165hours). I tend to ignore the warning now as on warmer days it doesn't pop up. I have concluded that they probably do last close to the claimed run time at more "normal" riding temps but climbing up into the mountains or long base rides in November were most rides are temps between -2C and 6C for hours just kills the batteries faster.
Its a fact of life that batteries just don't like cold so this wouldn't strike me as a problem if it was normal for all power meters but my mates P2M does seems to last much longer...although he doesnt ride as much as me so maybe his is not a fair comparison.

At the end of the day batteries are cheap, they take less than 2minutes to change and i get plenty of prior warning.
I would have ordered a P2M but i wanted a Power meter for a trip to Mallorca so need it right then and there. pretty happy with the vectors all up but would like to leave the torque wrench at home when travelling with the bike...no biggie.

As for breakabilityx of the pods.... I've crashed twice and got hit by a car once. The cars bumper hit my right shoe and pedal. Myself and the bike went flying up over the front of the car and crashed down on the road on the far side of the car. Whilst my shoulder was stuffed the pods and power meters remained intact and unscathed, and still work perfectly. Worth mentioning that the other two crashes were my own fault and weren't in group rides. Ive just discovered through this thread that Team Garmin has stopped using Vectors. I wonder if the pods are more likely to break in a group crash and therefore potentially affect race pacing/strategies/outcomes ?? Regardless, Ive heard that replacement pods aren't too expensive to replace if necessary. Should a pod ever break my biggest fear would be not seeing/recording the data while training rather than the actual cost of the replacements.

If i had my chance again it would seriously consider a P2M just for the ease of traveling with the bike (not having to take the torque wrench), they're a bit cheaper for me to get in Norway and I'm willing to bet (but don't know) that they are more serviceable....oh and i always wanted to try out speed play pedals ;)

Vicelord
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Joined: Mon Jul 07, 2014 1:46 am

by Vicelord

I'm on my second stages power meter (on two different bikes) and both have been reliable, consistent, and I have no complaints.

My friend has a p2m that is as "set it and forget it" as my stages have been, but another with one of the newer quarqs has had problems with strain gauges.

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$mokeyJoe
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by $mokeyJoe

I do like the SRM's. Never had any problem with them unless one that cracked after a terrible crash but was repaired by SRM. I've 2 wired and 3 wireless. They never let me down. I ride +/- 25000km a year. I can compare my training data from all those years accordingly and they work flawlessly. They never let me down beside that one crash. That are a lot of km's woth power troublefree. If i would buy another one, don't ask me what i would buy. I think you'll know the answer. Oh, i'm not affiliated with SRM. I just love their product. I have never tried something else.
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