New powermeter rumours

[GZA]

I am very much interested in how all of the new systems are calibrated by the user.

[Ritterview]

Ominously, Metrigear has pulled out of Interbike.

Just days after Eurobike (where the Look/Polar Power Meter was announced), Metrigear removed themselves from the Exhibitor list for Interbike next week. We’re talking about pulling out for the biggest bike show of the year, just two weeks prior, and with no further comment from the company. The general rule of thumb in the bike world is if it isn’t out/announced by EuroBike/Interbike…it won’t be out until next fall.

[djconnel]

They'll still be there: they just won't have an exhibit. I'd stay tuned.

I'm not worried about Metrigear.

[djm]

djconnel: Looks like you were right about that.

MetriGear is now overtaken by Garmin.
Dates on availability will be made public later..

http://garmin.blogs.com/my_weblog/2010/09/garmin-acquires-metrigear-adding-cycling-power-to-fitness-portfolio.html

[fujiteam]

Thanks goodness they were not purchased by Polar, that was scary. Garmin will keep the ANT+. Also this sounds like the Vector is close to market, I would not buy out a company that needs a lot of work.

[James_London]

That's excellent news and will give the Polar/Look pedals and the rest of the powermeter players some healthy competition. Metrigear's indicated price point and Garmin's press release (which emphasises 'making advanced technology affordable') both suggest something below the price point indicated by Polar/Look anyway and it's ANT+ so will work with the Edge 500/Edge 800.

Now where's that Zed 2 crankset again....

[Ritterview]

This is tremendous news, as the crickets from Metrigear hadn't been promising, and now the Vector has backing from Garmin.

Will be interesting to see what is on display at Garmin's Interbike booth.

[djconnel]

Well, I'd known something big was in the works, but I hadn't known the details. I think this is extremely interesting. A good thing for Metrigear is there's no overlap between the two, so the original team won't be broken up, and there's now zero issue about the Garmin supporting the rich data supplied by the Vector. Furthermore, it leaves Metrigear with the freedom to support multiple pedal systems.

I wouldn't be surprised if Garmin has nothing to display since this has all happened so recently. But certainly Vector has changed a lot with the shift in pedal platforms and with the on-the-bike data collection. A beautiful thing about this is it will substantially facilitate taking what Metrigear has with its test units to a consumer product which interacts well with Edge computers. However, when such a small team as Metrigear has first switches pedal platforms, then gets involved in such a major deal, it does set back engineering work: they lost a lot of time which could have been spent getting the Speedplay system to market. So the early-year end-of-year projections aren't going to happen, IMO.

[53x12]

Since this is appearing more and more like a real thing, sign me up for one. Too bad Polar wants to stick with their method of data management. Looks like Metrigear + Garmin will be an awesome combo.

[kervelo]

This is excellent news. However, I think that the new power meter should be compatible with more than one type of pedal right from the beginning to be a success. The pricing is also important: the price of the garmin-metrigear pedals should not exceed the price of a simple powertap wheel too much. After all, the rear wheel is even easier to change from one bike to another than a pair of pedals.

I would love to hear some exciting news from Brim brothers too.

[djconnel]

I agree: sign me up for the Speedplay version. Send emails to Speedplay telling them to make this happen.

[Musiker]

Niice! Now give me my Speedplay pedals with ant+ power meter!
I think that it is a BIG plus that garmin bought them. Garmin have a vast experience with electronic consumer products!

Getting a good idea developed into something you can sell in large quantities without the repair/return rate kills you, are not trivial if you have never done it before!

With Garmin to back the technology there is a good chance that the pedals actually is worth buying (well maybe not generation 1, generation 1 is almost always better to skip)
Now the wait begins.....
/Henrik

[paddlemyowncanoe]

Marriages ever made in heaven? Nope, but this one sounds close. Should I cancel my Quarq deposit......?

[Musiker]

Marriages ever made in heaven? Nope, but this one sounds close. Should I cancel my Quarq deposit......?

I guess that depends on how bad you need a PMeter.. It could be a while before they are available - Metrigears homepage still say that they are planned to be available in 2010, but who knows? Personally I am not in the market for a PM yet, so for me its a no brainer to just wait and see.

[si1ver]

I am just curious to know if the mountain bike pedals will be applicable for this .