Quarq newbie question

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glepore
Posts: 1408
Joined: Thu Mar 28, 2013 4:42 pm
Location: Virginia USA

by glepore

I've had a whole bunch of powermeters over the years and finally have a used quarq (elsa) in the house. It came with 52/36, and one ride with those rings seem ok, but it was on a new bike and I wasn't paying close attention.

Now 3 rides in after changing to 50/34 (sram force 10 spd rings torqued to quarq's spec) its all over the place. Started today with a zero offset of 1300, mid ride was at 750, at one point in the 300's and towards the end of 2 hrs was pretty consistent in high 700's low 800's. I can usually tell when it starts to drift, I've got a decent feel for what p/e to power is at this point.

Question-what does Quarq mean by "a few rides" to settle in? Is this behavior normal? I know a couple jumps are supposed to help, but my max power isn't all that great so not sure if my measly 600w sprint does anything.

I did clean the interfaces before installation. Tempted to do that again, but don't want to start the cycle over again if premature.
Cysco Ti custom Campy SR mechanical (6.9);Berk custom (5.6); Serotta Ottrott(6.8) ; Anvil Custom steel Etap;1996 Colnago Technos Record

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pdlpsher1
Posts: 4016
Joined: Thu Jul 19, 2012 6:09 pm
Location: CO

by pdlpsher1

Your zero offset variations are way too large! Normally I only see drifts of less than 10. Currently my value is sitting at around 160. I'm afraid your powermeter is defective. The good news is that Quarq's service is excellent. Give them a call and give them the serial number of your unit. Quarq's warranty is transferable. So you don't have to be the original owner for your unit to be covered under the warranty. Before I bought mine I asked them about it and they told me this over the phone. If you don't have a sales receipt they go by when the unit was manufactured. They can pull up the date based on the serial number.

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HakeemT
Posts: 167
Joined: Thu Mar 18, 2004 7:39 pm

by HakeemT

My experience is about 2 rides to settle in after changing rings - it really depends on how well you installed the rings (i.e. torqued everything up consistently, and to spec).
Based on what you're saying, the change in zero offset during your ride became smaller and smaller. I.e. zero offset was pretty consistent after two hours. So it sounds like things are settling in as per expectations? Or am I reading this wrong?

glepore
Posts: 1408
Joined: Thu Mar 28, 2013 4:42 pm
Location: Virginia USA

by glepore

In case someone trips on this in a search, I loosened and retorqued the bolts after it didn't stabilize. Made sure that I torqued them in a star pattern. It took another 3 rides, approx 120 miles, but now its rock solid at 135.
Cysco Ti custom Campy SR mechanical (6.9);Berk custom (5.6); Serotta Ottrott(6.8) ; Anvil Custom steel Etap;1996 Colnago Technos Record

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