what powermeter? Garmin Vector 3 vs power2max

[are]

I've been training for awhile with a wahoo kickr using trainerroad and it's been very productive for me. Now, though, I sometimes find myself doing rides on the trainer instead of outdoors simply because I have the power numbers, not for any of the real reasons that pushed me to indoor structured training. So, I need to get a powermeter.

I'm torn between a Garmin Vector 3/3s vs a power2max NG or NGeco.

I like that the Garmins are easy to install and easily transportable. I've been riding a bit on the track, so it'd be nice to have the power data from the track sessions. I don't mind changing to Garmin pedals, either, since my Time espressos have seen better days. On the negative side, their durability is unknown and it's not like I'm going to really be moving them around that often.

re: the power2max, they seem to be accurate and bulletproof; "just works" is a huge positive. I don't like that I'll need to change my chain rings, it's not necessarily portable across bikes, and I'm locked into a particular crank. When I get a new bike, most likely in a few years, I'll be stuck with a potentially unusable power meter.

Also, I love the idea of all the extra data from the Vector 3 (not 3s) and the NG, but maybe the cheaper models make more sense? But, I'll keep whatever I get for quite awhile, so maybe it does make sense to spend more for greater functionality.

Thoughts?

[wingguy]

If you even have an inkling that you might want look at power on more than one bike (and you'd rather not buy more than one PM!) I would definitely vote for the Vector 3. The price is excellent now for a genuine left/right sensing system, they are so quick and easy to fit, setup and use, you've got Garmin Cycling Dynamics to geek out on if you want, and they do "Just work". Put them on, pair, enter a crank length into your head unit, ride. They even auto calibrate after riding so you don't need to remember any zero offset procedure procedure at the start of your next ride. It might not be the only PM that's that easy, but I honestly can't think of any way it could be easier!

On reliability the Vector 1s had some well documented teething troubles, but the Vector 2 has been pretty much faultless for several seasons and I see absolutely no reason why the 3 won't continue on from there. I can't personally talk to long term reliability yet, but I can say we've sold an absolute boatload of the V3 and 3S already and not had a single aftersales contact for any type of fault or issue whatsoever.

[spdntrxi]

v1->V2(on TT bike now) and V3 (on road bike)

They have always been low issue for me... v3 batteries though.. got the low battery warning this morning and its only been about 500 miles.

[yinya]

I have recently broken a set of pedals every year (blade retention mechanism, axle threads), so maybe covered by warranty if you brake em, but that has put me off the Garmins that there is more wear and tear on the pedals than on crank spider


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[spdntrxi]

I have 10K miles + on my original Vectors.

[wingguy]

I have recently broken a set of pedals every year (blade retention mechanism, axle threads),

Yeah well, keo blade attachment is notoriously fragile and doesn't apply to Vectors, and axle threads should never, ever break unless you've totally screwed up somehow...

[MichaelB]

I recently got the FSA Powerbox (P2M NGeco unit with FSA cranks). Cost A$710 delivered from Buike24 to Oz.

Was looking at the pedal PM's (mainly the Assimo), but as I have just one bike, the crank version suited me better, and I didn't want to change cleats on my shoes.

Couple of minor issues (but nothing a battery change didn't solve)

[c60rider]

If you're considering training with power then you really won't look back once using the data correctly so you'll probably end up buying power meters for every bike rather than swapping them around. I always wanted a spider based power meter and went with a quarq sram red 10 that I used with Campagnolo 11 speed. I got it at a good price and about 1/3 the price of SRM Campag. Power2max Campag were very new to the market then so there were limited options. I bought two bottom brackets, one for each bike I used it on, and was a simple case of an allen key to take it off just 5 mins. I've had it for 5 years and it has been pretty faultless in that time.

My new bike 12 months ago I purchased a Campagnolo Power2Max NG and I have to say it's been faultless. Perhaps the spider isn't as slick as the SRM but it wipes the floor with it with having a rechargeable battery and so on. If you have the budget don't hesitate. However if you're just looking at starting out with power then the combination of price and customer support you can't go wrong with Stages. I've recently purchased a Campag Super record version and it's working really well giving me figures close to both the quarq and Power2max based on my perception of effort. But I can buy 2 stages for the price of one Power2max. And if you're on Shimano stages are super cheap. I'd certainly be uneasy with pedal based power meters for fear of breaking them in a crash.

[TonyM]

P2M is very reliable! You will never hear or read any complaints about the quality of the P2M.
I have on on my C60 since 2015 and it just works perfectly.

[AZR3]

Ive owned 5 P2M over the years, only bought one new, and never had any issues with them, so damn reliable. That being said I switched to a pedal based power meter (Assioma DUO) only for the ability to move it from bike to bike and so far so good. Now if P2M ever made a pedal version Id be all over it!!

[tomee]

looking at this since i want to replace my stages with a p2m.
i run shimano cranks and wanted a direct replacement. went to the p2m website and priced up a direct replacement and the total was over $2k!
hard to justify the cost since i have to replace crank and chainrings

[hmai18]

looking at this since i want to replace my stages with a p2m.
i run shimano cranks and wanted a direct replacement. went to the p2m website and priced up a direct replacement and the total was over $2k!
hard to justify the cost since i have to replace crank and chainrings

What country/currency?

$USD:
$490 - NGEco Shimano 4-bolt so you can re-use your Shimano rings, assuming you're using the 6800/9000 rings. Honestly, I would just get the 5-bolt NGEco and add $99 for Praxis rings since 5-bolt rings are less expensive to replace than the proprietary Shimano rings if you manage to wear them out.
$150 - Rotor 3D arms, direct drop-in replacement for your Hollowtech2 arms.

Did you price out the full-on NG? Are you really going to use L/R balance, pedal smoothness, or torque data?

[tomee]

looking at this since i want to replace my stages with a p2m.
i run shimano cranks and wanted a direct replacement. went to the p2m website and priced up a direct replacement and the total was over $2k!
hard to justify the cost since i have to replace crank and chainrings

What country/currency?

$USD:
$490 - NGEco Shimano 4-bolt so you can re-use your Shimano rings, assuming you're using the 6800/9000 rings. Honestly, I would just get the 5-bolt NGEco and add $99 for Praxis rings since 5-bolt rings are less expensive to replace than the proprietary Shimano rings if you manage to wear them out.
$150 - Rotor 3D arms, direct drop-in replacement for your Hollowtech2 arms.

Did you price out the full-on NG? Are you really going to use L/R balance, pedal smoothness, or torque data?

Australian currency from the Australian P2M website which looks to only have the NG and Type-S
Didnt know you could use existing chainrings. Thought i had to buy the Rotor 3D arms with the praxis chain rings since the website says they are the direct replacement for BB that fits the shimano cranks.

might use a shipping forwarder and buy from the states as its much cheaper!

[hmai18]

Might be worth contacting the North American distributor to see if they're willing to hook you up directly.

https://www.instagram.com/p/Be8pXrnA-Xs ... wer2max_na

[Stueys]

I had vector 1 (upgraded to 2) and a p2m type s. Vector 1 was unreliable, really bad genuinely. Vector 2 has been fine. My p2m has been absolutely rock solid since the day I got it. Garmin also have a bad habit of releasing product and then spending 6 months fixing it with their client base. I’d probably give the vector 3 another 3 months of forum tracking to check it works, then I’d be tempted. It’s light, design looks good and the portability aspect is pretty unbeatable.